Hi! This is Annie. I am having the time of my life at Algonquin. This is definitely one of the best experiences I’ve had so far in my eighteen years of life. My NYA family is very supportive, and I can count on them to make me feel better if needed. I’ve only had one bad day, but that was not anyone’s fault but my own. During our week in the city, we have gone to the beach. Some of my friends and I have gone on what we like calling “adventures” to different stores. We explored around the Rideau Centre going up and down the escalators. One of the other participants and I went to a dress shop to look for a new summer dress. We were there for a while, up until we saw how much they cost. One of the dresses I liked costs over $200. We could not afford that, so we calmly walked out. It was my first time swimming at the beach, and feeling the sand burning my feet. It was really fun and I learned how to back stroke without my arms. We’re going camping this weekend and I am really looking forward to it. I overheard the leaders talking about s’mores!
My favourite memory so far has been going to the Giant Tiger. We went as a small group, as the leaders had let us gone alone. It really was like an adventure. First, we tried going to the bus stop everyone trusts, only the realize there was one way closer to the campus. During the bus ride there, everyone was laughing. We all rushed over, but somebody forgot their bus pass! He had to run all the way back to campus and not miss the bus. Two of them went to other places while the rest of us went in the store. After a while, I saw the video game section that was in a small corner. While everyone was shopping, I sat down and looked at all the games and DVDs. I hadn’t heard them, too engrossed in what I was looking at. Once I got up, there was an employee pointing at me saying “is-is that her?” Shannon and Stanley never trusted me being alone ever again. I find it really funny, they thought I had left the store and wandered off. I blame their bad detective skills.
The classes we have are very fun. The one we all know best is shop class. Our teacher Doug has an iconic saying. We say it all the time jokingly: “nice and easy”. I swear if you were to hear it, it would never be the same. I am forever grateful for programs like Northern Youth Abroad. It helps out way more than I had originally thought. That’s about it for this blog post. I hope you had fun reading, and goodbye!
