Hola Amigos!
My name is Fiona Macdonald, I am from the Pacific Northwest area in the state of Washington and I will soon be traveling to Chile to live for a year as a Rotary Youth Exchange Student. I cannot describe how excited I am for the journey ahead of me. While I know it will not always be easy, I am determined to learn and become apart of the Chilean culture while learning and improving my fluency of my host language: Spanish. Along with that, I look forward to creating meaningful relationships with families and friends in Chile that will last a lifetime. Everyday at almost all times of the day I think of all the possibilities that are soon to come and the unforgettable year that I will graciously experience. I cannot express the sincere gratitude I have towards the organizations and people that have made my dreams of traveling come true. I would like to give an absolutely huge 'Thank you!' to the following organizations/people:
1) Rotary. Without this organization, none of this would be happening! I absolutely cannot express how lucky I feel to be part of such a beautiful, kind, globally-minded organization. Not to mention that all of the individuals in Rotary are volunteers (Yes, they are all volunteers! Isn't that amazing?). They have given me so much of their time to make my experience successful and for that I will never be able to repay them, but I know that I will continue to be an active, globally-minded individual my entire life.
2) The Lee Belas Scholarship Foundation. The Lee Belas Foundation was formed in memory of Lee Belas, who was a Rotary Youth Exchange Student to Belgium in 1985 to 1986. Upon this exchange, his perspective of the world changed entirely. He believed that peace could be achieved once we have accepted each others differences. As I first researched more about Lees unforgettable life, I was greatly impacted by his outlook towards life. Following his death in 1991, Port Orchard Rotarians decided to create a foundation "to fulfill Lee's wish by helping outbound students with travel costs" along with sharing his intelligent, optimistic views on life. I of course plan on elaborating more on the foundation in a later blog post, but I truly want to give my utmost respect and gratitude towards Lee and the absolutely amazing board of individuals who change lives. I hope every member on the board knows that they have made a profound impact on myself and the countless other students. Thank you.
3) My family and friends. Last but definitely not least. I love you all SO much. I really do. You have all been such an incredible support system with this process. Thank you especially to my parents and sister! Mom, Dad, Erin, I love you so (x10000) much. Thank you for letting your 16 year old daughter/sister go live in entirely different country for a year. You are truly the brave ones.You have always supported me in everything I do, whether that might be playing a sport, making a decision, or traveling the world. I know with the way you have taught me and raised me that I am ready to become an exchange student and be on my own this year. You have made me the responsible individual I am today. You have taught me to chase after what I want in life. You have made me laugh, cry, and have loved me unconditionally. You have taught me the importance of giving back and being kind to everyone no matter what. You have made me who I am today: the tired girl blogging in her bedroom at midnight. Just kidding! Well... anyway, because of you all, I know I will be able to successfully live abroad and truly enjoy every moment of it. Thank you a million times. Don't worry Mom and Dad- you will make it through the year fine! If you ever need some support, I am right here for you ;). And to my friends- each of you are so beautiful, kind, and absolutely fun to be around. Thank you for all of your interest in my exchange to Chile and making me laugh no matter what! My love for you all is like the stars that I can't fathom into constellations (TFIOS reference, I had to!) I don't think these words have been used enough in this blog post (you sure about that...) so I want to say it again...Thank you to everyone! All of my teachers, travel agents, Rotarians, volunteers, family, friends, pets (who have no idea I am leaving. Sorry guys.) Thank you for the inspiration.
Adios!
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