Dear New York,

I said my goodbyes this week. I strolled to Central Park one last time, and finally found Strawberry Fields. I went to the Central Park Zoo and walked up and down Fifth, just for the Hell of it. I had an amazing time and made awesome friends. My classes were really good, and I learned a lot. My departure test proves that (a perfect score for the EFCELT and 97% for the other test). I will miss the unpredictable weather (yes, we have snow right now), the punctual train, the colourful personalities and most of all the amazement of such a beautiful city. It was weird saying goodbye this Wednesday, because I leave Saturday. I guess Thanksgiving makes everything a bit different. I hope I will see my friends again, fortunately a lot of them live close to home. I had one last "real" meal yesterday. I celebrated Thanksgiving at an American family's house and it was amazing. The food was exquisite, and the people were extremely nice. And guess what? Half of the people there were originally from Japan. It was fun meeting real Americans and they even brought us back to school in a mini-van. They told me my English was superb, and of course that made me very happy. I'm excited for Japan, but my heart aches every time I think of leaving here. I don't want to leave NY, but I do want to go to Tokyo. All in all, my mood is pretty confusing right now. I am glad to see my family soon, though, and I can't wait to celebrate Sinterkerstennieuw with Ilse and Anne on Skype (yep, we're doing that guys, no escaping it). I did do everything that was on my highlights list. I went on Top of the Rock with Victoria and we didn't freeze to death. I even went ice-skating, and sorry New Yorkers, but you don't know how to skate. That sh*t is dangerous, guys. It was awesome, anyways. On Sunday I even ate a candied apple, how American is that? I loved the Christmas decorations, but they made a little bit sad to, because I won't be able to spent Christmas here. I want to thank my parents for being awesome enough to let me do this and for being the most loving and supportive parents in the world. I love you mom and dad<3. I also want to thank all the amazing people that I met here for making my time here something that I will never forget. Thank you, dear New York, you've been unforgettable.

Yours truly,