Amazônia

Imagine this, waking up in a hammack on a boat after an exosting day in the amazon forest the day before, surronded by 78 of your friends, watching a beautiful sunrise. Being excited by all the new wonders you will see and all the things you will learn about this amazing place. Not only is the landscape amazing but also what lives inside of it; monkeys, butterflies of all colors, fish, dolphins and almost every kind of bug imaginable. This was what it was like to spent 10 days in the amazon. We started in the in a city about 2 hours from Manaus, the capital of the State, where we spent 2 days hicking in the rainforest. We saw 3 waterfalls and some pretty incredible things in the forest. We got pretty wet and dirty since it rains about every day in the amazon forest. Then we headed to Manaus where we spent 2 days. We went to some zoos, some parks, one which included the largest leaf in the world, and we got to eat some delicious fruits, typical to the amazon forest. Then we went straight into the amazon forest. All 78 of us boarded a boat and spent 5 days all together on the Rio Negro. We saw the meeting of the Rio Negro and the Rio Solimões. It is an amazing sight because one of the rivers is black and the other is brown and they do not mix for about 5 kilometers after they meet. We saw a tribal ritual preformed by a still existing tribe of indians. We swam with pink dolphins, had a survival course in the rainforest, fed monkeys, fished for piranas, caught some aligators, visited an idian city and got to play soccer with the locals, slept in hammacks and had plenty of time with all of the other exchange students. These were just some of the things that we saw. It was an experience like no other. Every time I think that my exchange can't get any better, I keep getting surprised.

Now I am back home and the fact that I will be going home soon has hit me at full strengh. As of today I only have 40 more days here. I am so torn in being excited about going home and sad about leaving everything behind. It is just as scary thinking about going home as it was thinking of coming here before my exchange. Things will have changed, my friends will have different jokes and some will have differnet interests, but most importantly I have changed. I don't see it very much now but I'm sure when I get back home I will realize that it's me who changed the most. Although I am enjoying every last moment to the fullest and I am looking forward to seeing everyone back at home and being able to eat Tim Hortons again.