What's Up?

Most 17-year-olds don't plan on spending their graduation year overseas and away from family, friends and home. In fact, where I am from, most teenagers don't even think about spending a year abroad in general. When I first applied for the Rotary scholarship, the actual thought of me not graduating with my class didn't seem real. It wasn't until after I had won, and was beginning to make preparations for my year abroad when it suddenly became real. I wasn't going to graduate with my friends; I was going to graduate with a younger class. I was going to repeat grade 12. And then, when that realization hit me, another one did too: I was going to leave home for a whole year and go to live in a continent I have only dreamed of going to, in a country I have never been to, and in a place where I don't know how to speak the native language. What had I signed myself up for? Yet, somewhere amidst my wall of fearful realization, I knew that by signing myself up for this, I was giving myself the opportunity of a lifetime and hopefully the best year a 17-year-old could have- despite not being able to graduate on time! I know this is the right thing for me to do.


My name is Courtenay, I'm 17 years old (almost), and I am from Vancouver, BC, Canada. I will be living abroad in France for a year thanks to the Rotary Youth Exchange program and the Rotary Club of Tsawwassen, to whom I am eternally grateful for this opportunity. So far as I know, I'll be living in a small town in western France called Lannion, and then a smaller district or suburb called Trébeurden. The province of Bretagne is known for being a touristy destination in Europe and for having awful, rainy weather (yay!). However, from what pictures I have googled and seen in tourist websites, Bretagne looks like an awfully beautiful place and I feel privileged to have the opportunity to live there.

Here is a picture of the area:

And here is a picture of where I am on the map - yes, it's right on the coast :D :

How's my French? I would say non-existent except for the fact that my lovely Rosetta Stone and French classes from school have given me the basis for a basic conversation. I know how to tell you your house is green, the keys are in the shoe, and the man is on the car. Impressive, I know.


I am scheduled to leave Vancouver on August 27th, and, after a quick stop over in Trudeau, Quebec, arrive in Paris early in the morning on the 28th. Then the plan is to wait for the rest of the students going to my district to arrive so that we can all travel by bus or train to our final destinations. If Google maps is correct, Lannion is about 5hours away from Paris by train... I can already tell this is going to be a long and exhausting trip, yet I am too excited to fret about it yet. I'm sure the scenery going through France will be beautiful and personally, I love airplane travel.


There are 13 other students in BC who will be going on exchanges as well. I had the privilege of meeting these lovely people in May of 2012 at our Outbound orientation. Of these people, 3 will be in Brazil, 1 in Spain, 1 in Italy, 2 in France, 2 in Belgium, 1 in Sweden, 1 in the Netherlands, 1 in Taiwan and 1 in Germany. It was really nice to meet them and to have that comfort of knowing that I won't be the only one going away to live in a country with an unfamiliar language. We are all in the same boat. It will be nice to keep in touch with them throughout the year and then again to see them after the exchange and hear about all the amazing stories they have to tell. Here's a picture of all of us below :)

Starting today, my countdown to departure is 30 days. I have an app on my iPod that is counting down to the second. :)