Today I returned home from my first Rotary Bus Trip, I left on Monday the 20th of February at 6:40 am for Paris. I learnt so much this week, especially about the world around me and how lucky I am to be Australian. I got to see a lot of France, which was really cool, the South in completely different to the North (where I am from). Spain was completely different again, and the weather was really good there (25 degrees the first day). We stayed in Paris for 3 days, and did all of the touristy things, such as visit the eiffel tower, go to the louvre (mona lisa), did a tour of Paris, visited the Notre Damn and much more... Paris was really nice, it is a huge city and it was always really busy, for lunch on the second day I ate snails and they were actually really really nice. We then left for Barcelona and stopped off in the South of France for a night because it was a long bus trip. The bus trip was actually really fun. I got to meet so many people, there were 46 people from 19 different countries so there were many different languages being spoken at once. I made so many friends, and it feels as if I have know them my whole life. There was a boy from South Korea there who was always laughing and was always so happy, and him and a Swedish guy ended up being my roommates for the South of France and in Barcelona. Seok-Jae (the South Korean) was telling me about his life in South Korea, and it was the saddest thing ever. Last year he had to start school at 7:30 AM and would finish at 1 AM the following night, so that is 19 and a half hours of school every day. Next year he finishes at 10 PM instead but that is still 16 and a half hours of school in one day, which is ridiculous. He said that school is so hard and they put so much pressure on you, and school is not an option, you must go. They don't have trades or anything like that, you must finish school and go to University to get a job. After that he told me that every boy in South Korea MUST go to the army for a minimum of two years! He said he is dreading it so much and doesn't want to go at all. It made me realise how lucky I am to be Australian, I don't understand how a government could put people through that. Anyway, back to the trip... We then left for Barcelona, Spain, we stayed in a town outside of Barcelona called Lloret de Mar which was really nice. Out Hotel was amazing, 4 stars and had the best food ever. I really liked Spain, everything was really cheap, the people were really nice, the shopping was really good and it was just such a different city. There were mountains everywhere and really weird architecture. Spain also made me realise how much better I have actually improved my French, because nobody in Spain really spoke English, and I have forgotten a lot of my Spanish since I have come to Spain. I usually spoke to people in broken Spanish, French and one time I had a conversation with a guy in Spanish, French and English. It was so hard leaving everybody behind on the trip, it was like leaving Australia again because I had become so close to them but we all live at the other sides of the country. I will meet up with everyone again in about a month in Annecy, which is near the Alps, all the Rotary Exchange Students from France will be there (hundreds and hundreds of people). I am now on school holidays, this week I am just going to take it easy and catch up on some sleep, and see some friends. Then on Sunday I am off skiing to The Alps with my Host family for a week!
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