Last few days of the first semester is here! Which is CRAZY. Thinking back to my first blog post, sitting on my mom's bed, having so many questions and having no idea what I was in for. Well, to tell the absolute truth, this program was way better than I expected in some ways. As of right now, I don't really want to go home! :P I of course want to see my friends and family and ooofff courrsee go to London! But I've grown to love the people here so much, and the community living aspect of this program has shaped me so much. (maybe even more than the speakers!) I won't make a list of all the change that has happened in me, it'll be long!A lot of my fellow Site 3 Outtatowner's are worried to go home, depending on the different circumstances that each one of us has. I'm excited but also a touch worried. I want home to feel like home, for it to be were I want to be. Over thanksgiving my parents couldn't be around because before they got my schedule they had planned to travel to go to a dental conference. If I didn't already explain that, but it never hurts! It was a good weekend for sure, but I felt not really at home....at home. It was like I wasn't supposed to be there, I needed to be back with my group having adventures and traveling all over the place.
And frankly, I think that's an aspect of growing up. You get to the point where home is of course always going to be home, and I love my home, but I have so many other adventures and things to see. I learned a lot about myself, and in the first few weeks of Outtatown I wanted to go home quite badly, but I realized after a while that I could not only survive away from my family but I could enjoy myself!
A couple weeks ago I felt the itch to go home, because of idea of Christmas in Manitoba. :) I love Christmas. So I'm not saying I never want to go home, but I know that I can go and do what I want really anywhere I want. Awesome.
On another note, it's awfully early....well not really...it's like 8:30. I'm sitting in the hotel lobby of Irwin's Mountain Inn in Banff. We got here on Saturday evening, (it's now Tuesday!) and this 
last weekish until Thursday we are having our debrief sessions and our ski days. We had our first ski day yesterday, which I must say I was less than excited for. (Today was the second day, and it was optional because you have to pay for yourself!) I am not a sport girl, at any means. I can dance, I can act, and I can sing. However, you ask me to ski or snowboard down a freakin' mountain I'll be freakin' afraid. I had decided to try skiing because I hadn't ever before, and I had snowboarded a few times and I wanted a change. We decided not to learn on a bunny hill...but rather on what has to be the longest run there was. It was HUGE. At the top I nearly had a mental breakdown because I couldn't stand up! By the time it was lunch, my friend Rachel and I were deciding if we should even go out again in the afternoon. After almost not going we decided that we should, but we would go on a few shorter runs just in case we wanted to go inside again. To make a long story short, that was the best afternoon on Outtatown for me so far. All of a sudden I was doing it, we did one run (number 40) and it was alright I fell once or twice...but then we moved onto an adventurous homemade almost completely random runs. It was a combination of three runs 2 chair lift rides and then the gondola ride back up to the top! It was AWESOME. Rachel and I did it with some newer snowboarders at first and we had to wait for them because they were a touch slower, and the second time we did the same. The last time we did it on our own all alone and from taking us 40 minutes to do the whole thing it only took us ten! We improved time 1000!! There are 
three different levels of runs you can do, the easiest is green (Besides the bunny hill) then blue then black diamond. You also had the option at the end of the day to ski or snowboard down the mountain. Rachel and I with so much adrenaline in our veins we decided to do it. It was seriously breath taking going all the way down a mountain, twisting a turning and watching the sunset over the mountains. Rachel and I improved soo much and didn't fall once after run number 40, both our first time and by the end we were skiing down the mountain that was leveled at blue. Aweeesommeeee. So good. BEST DAY EVER!
We have our Christmas party tonight which will be fantastic, we are all dressing up and having a nice dinner and games in the evening. I through up some pictures and updates tomorrow :)
Last week we spent at Camp Kawkawa once again, which I thought would be so long and boring...but our entertainment committee planned some seriously awesome shenanigans like the crazy utensil meal, and the twin meal. Aled and I dressed up as twins, I even straightened his hair! Also we had two speakers, one of which we all really loved named Nathan Reiger speaking on idols. So good, he was awesome :) Also, coincidentally both the girls and the boys had the idea to plan a appreciation day for each other. The boys started doing the dishes, serving us food, looking all spiffy, and being all around gentlemen. The girls all thought that was all they had up their sleeves. Not the case! One evening they kept all the girls outside the dinning hall and then escorted us in three at a time. We walked into the dinning hall and found a candlelight dinner, with rose petals on the floor and table. Each place setting had cookies with our names on them, and a note from one of the boys. Each boy picked which girl he wanted to write for, it was freakin’ special. It was the sweetest thing ever, we have THE BEST BOYS. No question. :)
last weekish until Thursday we are having our debrief sessions and our ski days. We had our first ski day yesterday, which I must say I was less than excited for. (Today was the second day, and it was optional because you have to pay for yourself!) I am not a sport girl, at any means. I can dance, I can act, and I can sing. However, you ask me to ski or snowboard down a freakin' mountain I'll be freakin' afraid. I had decided to try skiing because I hadn't ever before, and I had snowboarded a few times and I wanted a change. We decided not to learn on a bunny hill...but rather on what has to be the longest run there was. It was HUGE. At the top I nearly had a mental breakdown because I couldn't stand up! By the time it was lunch, my friend Rachel and I were deciding if we should even go out again in the afternoon. After almost not going we decided that we should, but we would go on a few shorter runs just in case we wanted to go inside again. To make a long story short, that was the best afternoon on Outtatown for me so far. All of a sudden I was doing it, we did one run (number 40) and it was alright I fell once or twice...but then we moved onto an adventurous homemade almost completely random runs. It was a combination of three runs 2 chair lift rides and then the gondola ride back up to the top! It was AWESOME. Rachel and I did it with some newer snowboarders at first and we had to wait for them because they were a touch slower, and the second time we did the same. The last time we did it on our own all alone and from taking us 40 minutes to do the whole thing it only took us ten! We improved time 1000!! There are 
three different levels of runs you can do, the easiest is green (Besides the bunny hill) then blue then black diamond. You also had the option at the end of the day to ski or snowboard down the mountain. Rachel and I with so much adrenaline in our veins we decided to do it. It was seriously breath taking going all the way down a mountain, twisting a turning and watching the sunset over the mountains. Rachel and I improved soo much and didn't fall once after run number 40, both our first time and by the end we were skiing down the mountain that was leveled at blue. Aweeesommeeee. So good. BEST DAY EVER! We have our Christmas party tonight which will be fantastic, we are all dressing up and having a nice dinner and games in the evening. I through up some pictures and updates tomorrow :)
Last week we spent at Camp Kawkawa once again, which I thought would be so long and boring...but our entertainment committee planned some seriously awesome shenanigans like the crazy utensil meal, and the twin meal. Aled and I dressed up as twins, I even straightened his hair! Also we had two speakers, one of which we all really loved named Nathan Reiger speaking on idols. So good, he was awesome :) Also, coincidentally both the girls and the boys had the idea to plan a appreciation day for each other. The boys started doing the dishes, serving us food, looking all spiffy, and being all around gentlemen. The girls all thought that was all they had up their sleeves. Not the case! One evening they kept all the girls outside the dinning hall and then escorted us in three at a time. We walked into the dinning hall and found a candlelight dinner, with rose petals on the floor and table. Each place setting had cookies with our names on them, and a note from one of the boys. Each boy picked which girl he wanted to write for, it was freakin’ special. It was the sweetest thing ever, we have THE BEST BOYS. No question. :)
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| Thanks Boys! You're The Best <3 |
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| Funny Utensils Anyone? |
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| Do We Look Like Twins? |
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| Menu At My Hostess Booth |
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| Mentor Dinner With Natalie :) |
