The end of something big

 

Per l’ultima volta, ciao a tutti!! HOLY SH*T, I’m sorry but I don’t have any words and still can’t believe how fast time went by! This was the last week of my exchange in Sicily, It’s time to close a beautiful chapter in my life, a chapter full of ups and downs, new discoveries, new people, and most of all personal growth…

Now my suitcases are packed, my room is empty again, I’ve said goodbye to my classmates, my hobbies, … I’ve said goodbye to this life. It doesn’t feel right tough, the last weeks I’ve been feeling really at ease here, like I started to become part of people’s life here. The people at the gym, the people from the pool, the people from school, my lovely neighbor I waved to almost every day from my balcony… I will miss them a lot. All these memories and little habits I made here will become old ones once I leave this place, but those memories I well cherish forever, that is for sure.

Tomorrow morning I’m going to the airport in Catania and there I will say goodbye to my host family, I want to thank them sooo much for the crazy thing they did, voluntarily hosting a stranger and letting them be a part of their family. I can’t thank them enough. So here I’m saying it again, thank you so much for everything you’ve let me be part of and taking care of me <3.

Next I’ll board a plane to Rome, where I will meet all the people from Italy who were here in Italy for 3 months. I’m excited to see them, to hear all their stories about their exchange. I seriously can’t wait! Next on, Sunday morning we are all taking the plane to Brussels where we will sleep for 4 nights and will be delving into discussions about world peace. Although it will be interesting, I can’t wait to just be home and hug my dad, my mom and of course my dog 😊. I missed them  so much during the exchange and finally I’m going to be able to hug them again! Mom and dad, I know you’re reading this, I can’t wait to see you Thursday 😉!

 

Now that my exchange is almost done, I’m able to say how I feel about exchanges and if I would recommend it to fellow people. My answer is a 100% yes. It is hard tough, harder than I thought it would be, but I feel like that’s the whole point of the exchange. Discovering. Not only discovering a new culture, but also yourself.

If someone would’ve asked my how my exchange is going while I was happy, I would tell them that I never could have been happier in my life, that it is like living a dream, but if someone would’ve asked me while I was sad, I would have told them that this is one of the most difficult experiences I’ve ever had, I would have said that I miss home every day, my friends, my family, my culture, my old habits… and I would think I’m not made for an exchange. Sometimes I would sit in my room, just being silent, and feeling so lonely that the only thing I felt I needed back then was one big hug from my family and friends. Now, I’m grateful for feeling like this. It made me learn how important family is to me and how much little things count. I learned how much I loved the life I had back in Belgium and how brave the people are leaving their country to take a step into the unknown, to begin a total new life that exists of 1 big question mark.

I’m happy to say that I’m proud of myself. In this short period of time I’ve accomplished, learned, and incredible people, and handled my emotions very well… . It’s almost surreal.

Even though I was kind of obliged to make this blog for school, I’m genuinely I did. Now I can revisit my blog whenever I miss Sicily, it feels like a little personal diary. I hope you enjoyed reading it, I hope I got some of you interested in doing an exchange, I swear it’s worth a shot! It’s an experience you’ll never forget and should never be forgotten.

Now I’ll have to say goodbye to you, for the last time. Mi mancherete tantissimo. Baci, Noor xx