Dinner tonight was quieter than usual.

We ate on the porch, mostly ignoring the mosquitoes buzzing around us and ate the green beans, rice, and stuffed peppers in the growing darkness. Sometimes my host Dad tried to break the silence with something encouraging.

"It will be hotter tomorrow" he said "but your going by the sea, Kyla, that will be nice."

I agreed, but my heart wasn't in it.  A few hours before I had learned I was going to be moving to a little town six hours away I hadn't heard of. "Balikeser" it was called

With a record breaking total of 13 hours notice, I was told that a family vacationing in Balikeser wanted to host me.  Ocean, Beaches, historical sites. It sounds nice, but it almost feels like a whole different exchange.  I will leave the wonderful support network I have created for myself here and make another life far away from my rotary club, friends, and past host families. Luckily, some things will still be the same.  I've been told the culture is a bit different, but I will be familiar with the basics, especially the language.  Not to mention I already have one contact: A friend of a friend who is an English teacher there.

In a way I feel happy that I feel sad. To me, that means I have made a real, meaningful life for myself in Edirne and I have something substantial to miss:  The park I did my homework sometimes, the walk from school past my old host families house to my new one, and the little shops where the shopkeepers know my name, and speak a little more slowly so I will understand; these things will always be a part of who I am.  Hopefully in two short months Balikeser can also become a part of this.