Week 6 – August 23^rd to August 30^th

Exchange can’t always be all fun and games.

Sometimes, you have a bad day. And sometimes, you have an even worse day. Correction: An absolutely horrendous day. And that bad day followed by a worse, horrendous day makes for all-in-all a downright, horrible week. The kind that leaves you thinking, ‘It just couldn’t get any worse than this’. The kind that leaves you 100% ready to give up, get on the next plane to Vancouver, and fly back home.

But then you just need to stop and think; I am healthy. I am safe. My family is healthy. My family is safe. As long as I have those four things, no matter how bad my day or week seems to be going, everything will be alright. Because there isn’t anything else I could possibly want more than to know that the people I love and care about are doing well. My week may have been absolute sh*t (sorry guys, not going to sugar-coat this one), but thanks to the support of my family and some very special friends, I am okay. I will be okay. I am going to put aside what happened this week and look forward to the adventures to come on this amazing opportunity. I’m not giving up quite yet.

On a happier note, last Sunday I participated in the Sydney Tower Stair Challenge with a crew of hard-working, exercise enthusiasts like myself from the Queen Mary Building. Helping to raise money for children with autism, we each climbed the 1504 stairs up the fire escape to the observation deck of the infamous Sydney Tower. It was hot- it was sweaty- it was up the fire escape, for goodness’ sake. But it was exhilarating knowing that I had just climbed 1504 steps, all the while supporting a cause that holds a special place near-and-dear to my heart. In the end, my results ended up pretty decent! With a time of 12:20, I ended up winning the Female 20-29 category (out of 98), placed 7th (out of 365) overall in the Female category, and ended up 60^th overall out of a total of 765 finishers. Not too bad considering Tim Tams have become a staple in my everyday diet (they’re apart of the 5^th food group, right??

The lesson of the week – sometimes bad things happen. And it sucks. But, look to the friends you’ve made while on exchange for support and look to your parents for help and support back home. It’s incredible when you realize how truly loved you are, no matter where you are in the world. Because believe me, you are loved.

Much love,

Steph