WHAT!?!?!?! 2 DAYS!

Hej!

It is unbelievable that I leave on Friday.  Words can't even explain how weird this feeling is.  I am going to be away from friends and family and the country of Canada for one whole year.  If your reading this, thinking that I am crazy for leaving the people I love, your wrong!  I like this feeling.  For some strange reason, I like the feeling of the unknown.  I like the feeling of experiencing something new and exciting.  Being in a new environment with new friends really puts a smile on my face.  Even though I will miss everyone back home, a year will be over before you know it and I will be back!  This has been something I have been wanting to do for quite some time and I am extremely looking forward to getting this year started!

This past weekend my family hosted a going away party for myself in Toronto at my aunt Rosie and Liisa's place.  It was so great because everyone came to support me! People that I am so close to and grew up with came to show their support and to say goodbye!  They all made this party just a great time.  Thank you all for your love and support and your generous  gifts!  Also thanks to Uncle Doug and Aunt Carolyn for that grand entrance, it was so funny!  I will miss you all so much.

So I was thinking that the summer olympics start 08.08.08. and I was wondering, who the heck to I cheer for?  Canada or Denmark?  If you have any ideas just let me know.

I think I'm all packed up.  I realized the other day that, I don't have very many articles of clothing.  Being in a school with uniforms, you don't need very many clothes.  But now at my new school in Denmark, I don't have a uniform, which is kind of a bummer.  I think I'm going to stick out like a sore thumb to tell you the truth.  It doesn't help that I have black hair, that will most certainly stand out in a sea of gold locks.  Also it doesn't help that I have alot of plaid shirts, so I will probably look like a stereotypical Canadian beer drinking, maple syrup eating, lumberjack.  And I'm fine with that!  But my clothes will probably change within months and I will look more and more like a Dane before the year is over.

I will probably put up one final post before I catch my flight.

Here are some photos of my going away party in Toronto

Cheers,

Dillon

dillonrahkola@hotmail.com

Very Soon!

Hey everyone,

My flight to Denmark, as many of you know is on August 1st at 9 pm.  It's kind of starting to sink in that I am actually doing this.  Its a weird feeling because I have my last shift at my job (Patterson-Kaye Lodge) on the 24th, so thats a relief.  I can really start to focus on what is needed to be done.  Packing, and lots of it.  Also gifts for my family.  

The other day my student visa came in the mail which is also a big weight off my shoulders.  It is really awesome to see the visa in my passport.  I have my e-ticket for the flight, and it looks like everything is running according to plan and on time, which is always a good thing.

I had a going away party with friends recently which was a blast.  They made me a lovely card and gave me a gift.  Thanks friends I really enjoyed it!

I'm now working on a "playlist" on iTunes full of Canadian Musicians that I can burn a CD from and hand out to different people I meet through Rotary.  I am trying to get music that people from across the globe will know.  I'm not going to put some local Canadian band thats trying to make it big on the CD.  I'm going to put well known names (Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, The Band).

Everything is going well and I can't wait to get to Denmark.

Much love,

Dillon

dillonrahkola@hotmail.com 

The Sørensens

I forgot to to post this! I have heard from my second host family that I will be staying with, which is pretty rad. So here is the run down.

My host mom is Annette and she is a secretary in Brædstrup and her husband Ole is a carptender and runs his own company. They have 2 children, Anne 16, Frederik 13, and Frida 5. Anne is leaving to Austraila on exchange in late July so I won't be able to meet her. Frederik seems like a really awesome kid. He loves to play rugby at his local club and he is into rock climing. They have told me that sometimes his team goes to Sweden and Germany to climb! Frida is starting kindergarden this coming school year.

Their house is in Brædstrup, and Annette says they are "5 minutes from everything". Sounds just like Bracebridge! The bus station is very close, which is always good because that is the same bus I will be taking to school all year. They seem like an amazing family and I can't wait to meet them.

This past Wednesday, I got a package in the mail from my first host family! They wrote me a lovely postcard, and a nice "information guide" I guess, about their area in Denmark. Different sights and history about different places in Denmark. I have been reading it and it really neat! They mentioned in the postcard that, "Soon you will be able to see all of this yourself, instead of looking in this book", which is so true. Everytime I do research about Denmark or anything like that, I think to myself, "In a little more than a month, I will be living there!" It is so hard to believe that this is actually happening.

Much love,

Dillon
dillonrahkola@hotmail.com

Website

Hej!

I made a website in Communication Tech class and I want to share it. It was my final project for the class and it was done very fast and it is really plain. I plan on making another one if I end up getting a laptop.
http://www.downhaul.ca/Rahkola/Index.htm


Vi Snakkes Ved
(I think thats how you say it?)

Tons of love,

Dillon
dillonrahkola@hotmail.com