the beginning

I've decided to start at the beginning of my exchange year, and document as much as I can. But then, I started wondering, where is the beginning? Was it when my little sister came home from school, clutching a poster for a (different) exchange program? Was it when I first sent emails to every Rotarian I could find, begging for a chance to experience this? Maybe when I finally got a response from my district governor, telling me I was getting the chance to be interviewed, or maybe it all began when the actual interview did take place (in a Tim Hortons, no less....oh Canada!)? The first Rotary weekend was definitely an important thing, meeting all the other brave girls, and realizing that there was a pretty good chance exchange kids everywhere were just awesome, as a requirement. The weekend we spent at snow camp, getting to know everyone and Rotary, and what was expected of us (we also slept outside on a -30 degrees C night, in an igloo. Yes french people, I have indeed slept in an igloo :P). Maybe the exchange really only started when I actually stepped onto that plane the evening of August 27th, bags packed and goodbyes said.  After about * hours on the plane, I got off and found my host family waiting for me, with a little sign saying 'Bienvenue a France!" (I admit, it was about & in the morning in France, so I wasn't expecting anything spectacular). It's about a 3 hour drive from Charles De Gaulle Aiport to Chinon, where I live. It's a little town in the Indre-et-Loire Valley, in Centre region. It's not very big here, but it's beautiful. There is a big river that winds thriugh the white stone village, and a castle high on a ridge overlooking everything. I live in the northern part of the wine regions, and Chinon is famous for it's red wines, and rosés (which is a pink wine, and bubbly).