Canada Countdown: 10 Days to Go

Long time no see on this blog, clearly blogging regularly is impossible for me...
Truthfully I had completely forgotten about it over the Summer, as I was busy catching up with friends, working and travelling, as well as preparing for my year abroad, which is what this post is going to focus on. I think my blog is going to be centred around my year abroad from now on, as I want to document it to look back on in future.

If you didn't know, I am spending my second year studying abroad at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. This is obviously an amazing opportunity and I am super grateful to be able to do it. It has been in the works since I started university, but has only become a reality in the last couple of months. As I have spent most of the summer working and travelling, I haven't really had time to think about it, and I didn't realise how close I am to packing up and leaving everything behind. It only began to hit me when I said goodbye to one of my best friends yesterday who I will probably not see for 9 months, or 5 if we are lucky, but I don't think it will really hit until I have said goodbye to everyone and I get on the plane next week. 

With 10 days to go, I am starting to feel a bit apprehensive, but I also very excited. The thought of leaving everything I am comfortable with behind terrifies me, but the idea of meeting new people and immersing myself in a brand new place is so exciting. My emotions are all over the place and I wanted to sit down and write them out, in an attempt to get my thoughts straight.

My Fears

1.  Missing family and friends - obviously I am going to miss my friends and family, but my main worry is missing them so much that I don't enjoy myself. This year I didn't really have much homesickness, but that was because my family were all within an hour of Nottingham and easily reached. A 7 hour flight plus transfers is very different. 
2.  Missing out on memories - one of the best things about first year was the memories I made with my group of friends, and I am worried that I will feel like I am missing out on those this coming year. I will be making new memories of course, but I think that watching my group on social media and not being there will be so hard, no matter how much fun I am having.
3.  Being forgotten about - this is probably my main worry. 9 months is a very long time by uni standards, and I'm scared that I will come back and my friends will have moved on, and I will no longer fit into the group (this is such an irrational concern to have because they are literally the best people ever, but still, a lot can happen in 9 months)
4.  Hating it and wanting to leave - this was a concern when starting at Nottingham, and I loved it and wanted first year to last forever, but I feel like I can't get that lucky twice, surely?
5.  Forgetting something - this is going to happen, for sure. After every holiday first year I ended up going home the following weekend to collect things I had forgotten, I am so unorganised with packing. There is so much to remember (visas, etc) that I am bound to forget something (in fact, I just stopped writing this to order to UK to Canada adaptors...)
6.  Letting people down - this is such an amazing opportunity, and I was so lucky to have been selected to go, I don't want to let anyone down in any way. My parents are sacrificing a lot in order for me to go (it is not cheap) and I don't want to let them down by getting bad grades or just generally disappointing them in any way. I also don't want to let Nottingham Uni down by not achieving what I should.
7.  Not making the most of it - linked to point 6, I am scared that I will waste it and come home with regrets. 
8.  Not making any friends - I am not a natural when it comes to making friends, and again, I'm worried that I won't make a group of friends like the group I made this year (it will take a LOT to even match them).
9.  Flying - I am just terrified of planes, so a 7 hour flight alone is not ideal.

My Hopes

1. Making friends - this is probably the main thing I am hoping to do, else I will have a pretty miserable year. Luckily I am already in touch with some of the people I am living with, so as long as we get on in person I'm good.
2. Improve my French - Montreal is in the French speaking part of Canada, and after stopping French when I started uni, I have lost a lot of it. I am excited to regain and improve my language skills as I think it is a beautiful language. 
3. Keeping Grades Up - this speaks for itself really, I want to match my first year grades and improve on some of my modular performances. 
4. Travelling - I am probably looking forward to this the most, as I have never left Europe before. I have a huge list of places to go, and the whole of the Americas to explore. I want to visit; New York, Toronto, Quebec City, Ottawa, Vancouver, Florida, Washington DC, Maine, Chicago, LA, Seattle, Mexico, Boston, Baltimore and Niagara Falls, although I have limited $$$ won't hit them all. 
5. Matching first year experience - I was spoilt with first year, and I hope to match or even exceed it.
6. I conquer my fear of flying - if 4 transatlantic flights in 8 months can't do it, then nothing will...
7. Immersing myself in the culture - I want to leave feeling like I was as Canadian as I could have been. I want to immerse myself in their culture and take every opportunity I can (although I don't want to adopt the accent thanks)
8. Growth in myself - as cringe as it sounds, I am really hoping to grow within myself and gain confidence, as well as other skills. I want to come home happy and full of experiences that shaped me and give me something to talk about.

I have literally just let all of my thoughts flow, my head is a mess of emotions, my worries are for the most part irrational and my hopes are going to be what I strive to do. I'll check back with you 3 days before I leave, probably with a few more nerves, but hey, it's all part of the experience. I AM SO EXCITED!