Getting Ready

Hey guys!

JUST UNDER FOUR DAYS UNTIL I LEAVE FOR SCOTLAND!! It’s amazing how I can be excited, nervous and slightly in awe all in one! So, over the past couple of weeks I have been preparing like crazy to get myself ready to leave. I’ve gone on multiple shopping trips to collect my gear for Carbisdale.

(If you have no idea what Carbisdale is, it’s a camp that we participate in while we go on exchange, it’s supposedly absolutely amazing but extremely cold. Even in the middle of Spring!)

My exchange sister Kate Hall and I have been in contact MANY times about how extremely excited we are, and about what we will do while I’m over there. It all sounds amazing and I catch myself day-dreaming about it whenever my mind isn’t working hard.

Last weekend I suddenly got another rush of excitement and decided to start packing now. Not a good idea. On Monday morning I woke up and had to rummage through my tightly packed suitcase to try and fish out my school uniform. Throughout this week my suitcase has slowly been getting lighter as I pull clothes and shoes out to use.  *Tip for next time, pack closer to date of departure*

One of my favourite moments this week happened on last Sunday night. Three of my friends invited me over for a ‘goodbye dinner’ just the four of us at one of their houses. I was a little suspicious but shoved the feeling down. When I got there that night we walked into a dark living room, blabbing away about which pizza we should order for dinner when all of my friends jumped out from the shadows and yelled surprise. A surprise goodbye party! In that moment I loved them so much.  That night we sat around in a big circle and talked, laughed and had fun. The colour theme of the night was blue and white (Scottish flag colours) which I thought was quite smart.

I was surprised when someone yelled out that the cake was ready. We headed over to the kitchen to find a pavlova cake with a little Barbie in a bikini sitting on a towel with the Scottish flag on it! They insisted that the Barbie go everywhere I went while on my travels with me.  But all up that night was seriously amazing and I can’t thank my friends enough for organising that.

I think one of the hardest things I’ll face over in Scotland will be being away from my friends and family. But we’ve all promised each other that we’ll try and facetime every day and keep in contact.

Multiple people have given me their best for my travels, one of the cards I was given was from my Godfather. He says:

My Dearest Bella, 

Today is the beginning of the rest of your life. Enjoy every moment as I know you will.

Bon Voyage,

Love Dennis 

And I intend to enjoy every waking moment I can for the next five weeks as possible.

Bella x