21-7-19

Final Update: 12 Weeks Later

This will (probably) be the last update on this blog. It's been 12 weeks since I came back from Canada and it's been 20 weeks since I left the Netherlands for this incredible experience. WOW. I have had such an amazing time there, I can't believe that I did it. I have learned and experienced so much, I feel like I have changed a little. I feel more experienced and... confident as well. Maybe that's the wrong word for it, but I feel more secure in being alone and doing things on my own. 

I was by myself a lot while I was in Canada. There were obviously people where I could go to if I had any problems, but I still had to figure out a lot of things myself. I had to travel by myself, plan events by myself and I also had to take care of myself. The latter part might be a bit strange: I'm 15 after all. But there was almost nobody that made sure that I did all the things that I had to do. Did you do your homework, Hannah? Are you going to bed now, Hannah? Do you have everything for tomorrow? These are questions that are usually asked by, well, my parents. Don't get me wrong, I had a lot of support from both my parents and they checked in on me all the time, but I did have a lot more responsibilities while I was there. 

I also fullfilled my goal while I was there: I learned to work hard. As I mentioned before, I had to do a lot of things on my own. This includes teaching myself all the school materials. I did have a lot of support from my teachers, but I was responsible for making sure that I used their support for studying for my tests. I must say, the hardest part of this journey was not travelling on my own or planning this whole thing (although that was hard too, trust me), but it was the testweek. I have never in my entire life worked that hard, for that long. It felt great. 

I loved my time at the hospital. The children were great and it felt so good to see or make them smile. It's not always easy, I had to learn quite a lot so I could help people with a disability in a proper way, but it was worth it! Not only did I really enjoy working with the children, I also really enjoyed working with fellow volunteers or supervisors. I made some great friendships and I won't ever forget the people that helped me there. Thank you.

I think the best trip that I made was when I went to Niagara Falls. That was incredible. I loved the city and the view was magnificent. I can't believe that something like that can actually exist, but it does and it was sooooooo cool. If you are ever close, go there. I promise you, it's worth it.

I think that one of the best (if not the best) things that I got from this journey was definetely my friendship with Natalie. She is an incredible person and I miss her very much. I can't believe that we only had 3 weeks together, it should have been more. Hopefully we'll see eachother this fall (we WILL). 

I would like to thank a few people. I know that a thank you word is not always very interesting to read, but I do want to write it because this experience, this journey means a lot to me. I would first like to thank my parents. Thank you for supporting me before, during and after my journey. Thank you to my teachers that gave me their full support and made sure that I could do this. Thank you to my mentor who gave me her full support and always checked up on me while I was in Canada. I would like to thank my teamleader for having an open mind and helping me plan this. I would also really like to thank all the people in the hospital that supported me and helped me with organizing things, espacially my main coordinator. Thank you so much. Thank you to my hostfamily for having me. I would also like to thank my friends for not forgetting me while I was gone, espacially Sophie. You're the best, thank you for all your phonecalls and motivating texts. I missed you so much. I would like to thank the volunteer that took me to McMichaels, I really felt like I was cared for. And finally, thank you Natalie for filling the final 3 weeks with a lot of friendship and conversations. Thank you all for reading, I have had the best experience of my life and I will remember this for the rest of it. Goodbye.