Rotary Youth Exchange ~ News from around the world
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Newsletter
2016 Out-bounds
2016 Out-bounds
Hi Everyone.
Well, where has the time gone? August is almost upon us and from reading your reports and stalking some of you on FaceBook from all accounts you are all making the most of your opportunities and enjoying a far warmer climate than us back here.
It is a good time to take stock and check that bucket list so as to make time to try and do everything that you would like to do. Remember to keep those smiley faces on and those ever important thanks you’s.
Enjoy and make the most of all the experiences that come your way. And most important, be safe out there.
Jerry and Karen and all the committee. Read More about what they are doing overseas!
Sarah Bailey Chile
sarahbailey1998@gmail.com
Almost six months. Carretera Austral.
The time has gone so fast. And I’m so lucky to have the host family I have. My host dad has a trucking company that takes medical and agricultural goods all over Chile. He had a client to visit right near the bottom of the country in the city of Coyhaique so he took my host mum and me on the trip of a lifetime to the most beautiful part of Chile, the Carretera Austral.
The Carretera Austral is a highway built in the times of Pinochet to access the rural towns of the south. It’s very remote and the ´road´ is a gravel track most of the way. The highway includes three ferry rides. When you are driving you are surrounded by pure native forest and its spectacular.
We basically drove for two days to get there. Chile is the longest country in the world so when you want to get somewhere it always takes ages! But the beautiful scenery is there to distract me - from the spectacular fiords to distant glaciers, to the lush forests.
We did day trips to other places in the region, the border to Argentina, another town Puerto Aysen and the Cavernas de Marmol. The Cavernas de Marmol are a famous spectacular only found in Chile - beautiful marble caves formed by the lake eroding their marble bank. The water, filled with the residue from the eroded marble is an out of this world turquoise blue.
On the way back home we stayed in the small town of Chaiten. This town was badly affected in 2008 when the volcano Chaiten erupted redirecting a river through the middle of the town. You could see the ends of the road on either side of the river bank where the river had cut through. Just a reminder that Chile is a seismic country. Most people in Chile have never visited the Carretera Austral because it´s far in the middle of nowhere. It was such an amazing experience.
Thank you Rotary for the chance to be an exchange student here in Chile, I am having the best experiences in my life. Sarah
Victoria Beck Chile
victoriaabbeck@gmail.com
Honestly speaking, it seems so unreal to think we’re almost half way through 2016! Time has gone so quickly and as the months go by everything seems to be happening even faster. I like to think we all have the hardest part of our exchange behind us.
Since the past report in March things have got a million times easier and I’ve managed to really enjoy my time here and make the most of it without worrying anymore.
I’m still living with my first host family and change next month which breaks my heart. My host mum is more like my friend and we work out together, share clothes and I really feel part of the family now. Almost every weekend they show me a new place or city, teach me all the Chilean slang there is to learn and bend over backwards to make sure I’m having the time of my life. My two younger siblings call me their sister and my host dad is hilarious.
Thanks to their perseverance my Spanish has got so much better. I can always understand more or less what people say, laugh at jokes, get around the city with the crazy metro system and sing along with Reggaton music (typical Spanish music) at concerts.
School isn’t dreadful anymore and although I don’t look forward to going, I’ve made a cool group of friends which makes life a lot easier. I’ve also become really good friends with many of the other exchange students from all over the world and there will be some really hard goodbye’s in the next few months when they all leave.
Highlights have been going to concerts, The Colour Run, going to Fantasilandia (a fun park), visiting one of the most colourful cities in the world for a weekend (Valparaiso), travelling to the north of the country for a week with a bunch of exchange students, class trips to other cities and just constantly meeting new people.
On a less glamorous note we had a really bad storm here and the water was cut for three days throughout the whole city and I accidentally drank tap water and got food poisoning which was horrible. I’ve felt a fair share of earthquakes here too but it’s all an experience in itself.
Only one more month of school until holidays which I am super excited for. It feels so good finally feeling like I know what I’m doing and not being such a lost foreigner. Cannot wait for the next few months ahead! Victoria
Rose Coppelmans Brazil
rosecoppelmans@gmail.com
Okay so so much has happened in these past few months including my big trip of Brazil. It included going to Rio de Janiero, various cities in the northeast of Brazil, and of course the Amazon.
I went with the other exchange students in my Rotary district and we became very close during the trip, and the places and people we got to know were so amazing and beautiful and it is a trip that I will never forget.
Our first stop was Rio deJaneiro where we went to 'Escadaria Colorida da Lapa' which I now consider to be one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. It's a big mosaic stairway completely covered in thousands of tiles from all over the world, I even found a few tiles from New Zealand which made me very excited!!
Our hotel was just a five minute walk away from Copacana beach! So on the first night we all went to Copacana beach and it was a perfect moment because there was a beautiful sunset, the water was warm, we could see the ‘’cristoredentor’’ on the top of the hill, and of course I was with my beautiful friends. We also went to ‘’cristoredentor’’ and ‘’Pão de açucar’’ which are obvious ‘’must see’’s in Rio.
My favourite city that we went to was Salvador which is one of the oldest cities in brazil.
We explored the Centro historic (historic centre) which is so colourful, there are so many shops selling beautiful handmade things such as jewellery, clothes, instruments, and paintings. Downtown we saw a group doing capoeira (a Brazilian fighting dance) and we also went to a dance school where they were having a dance battle. In Salvador they sell 'wish bracelets' where you make a wish when you tie it on your wrist, and when the bracelet breaks it means that your wish has come true. The church 'igreja de nossosenhor do bonfim' has a fence around it where everyone ties their wish bracelets and makes wishes. I got to tie my own bracelets on there and it was so beautiful thinking about all the different people that have come there and made wishes. Another one of my favourite cities in the Northeast was ‘’Porto de galinhas’’ which is an incredibly beautiful beach town. We stayed in a fancy resort on the beach and went on beach buggies around the town and to different beautiful beaches, and then went snorkelling!
Obviously one of the best parts was the Amazon. Our district joined with others to form a huge group of 69 exchange students. We all slept on hammocks on boats for the whole seven nights and every day we experienced something new and amazing. I held a sloth, a baby alligator, an anaconda, and I swam with pink Dolphins. I met native people of the amazons and got to witness a special ritual of theirs that I had seen before on tv but would never ever have thought that I would be able to see in real life.
I went canoeing, took a shower under a waterfall, went fishing for piranhas, danced in the rain, played football with the indigenous people (we lost),made bracelets out of seeds from the açaí fruit, and of course met so many amazing new friends. I now have houses all over the world which is so amazing. The atmosphere in the Amazon was incredible, we all felt so free and happy and we were continuously smiling.
I am so grateful to be able to see and experience these places and see how beautiful and extremely diverse this country is. I’m still learning so many new things about myself and about my second home, Brazil. Rose
Lilly Devine France
lillydevine123@gmail.com
I have been extremely lucky in the second quarter of my exchange. It’s been jam-packed with amazing new experiences, new people and learning more cultures and learning more about myself.
I’ve been at school improving my French and my French friendships and now it’s the holidays which gives me the chance to travel. I will hopefully be going to Mainsquare, a music festival in Arras, Paris to visit my family, Grenoble, a town by the Alps, with my host family, then to the South of France with a host family from another town!
I’m now in my third host family and they are extremely understanding and also very fun to hang out with! My last host family was also very kind and helpful.
I’ve also been doing amazing trips with Rotary. I did a Eurotour in April which was jam packed with amazing food, people and places. We visited Paris, the Champagne district, Strasbourg, Chamonix and Dijon - France, Munich - Germany, Prague - Czech Republic, Vienna - Austria, Venice and Milan - Italy and Geneva - Switzerland. This was an incredible experience that I could never have experienced without Rotary. I formed new friendships, strengthened old ones, learnt about cultures and visited cities and countries I knew absolutely nothing about.
I also was lucky enough to visit Disneyland – Paris with the best Rotary district in the WORLD, 1520! This was a day I will never forget. I felt like I was in a child’s imagination, with colours and fun happening everywhere! It really is impossible not to be happy at Disneyland. This was my second time visiting Disneyland this year after we went to Disneyland in LA with the other New Zealand exchange students. It was interesting to see the little French influences on such an American theme park.
This was our last time with some of the exchange students so the bus ride home was bittersweet. It’s going to be unbelievably hard to say goodbye to some of my closest friends in the world as they leave to go back to their countries but we get a new group of exchange students in August so it will be great to meet them.
I’m extremely grateful for all support I have received from Jerry and Rotary New Zealand this year. They’re always there to give up their time and provide support for us when we need it and I am eternally grateful for all the effort they put in which allows us to have this incredible experience. Thank you so much! Lilly
Emily Jiang Denmark
emilymayjiang@gmail.com
Wow I can’t believe it’s already time for the second report! So much has happened since the last one: I’ve changed families, started the summer holidays, but the highlight would have to be the 18 day Eurotour which has definitely been the highlight of my exchange so far.
Eurotour consisted of going to seven countries: Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Italy, Monaco, France, and the Netherlands. We saw places you only dream of going to, and the memories made are irreplaceable. In Denmark, we had four different Eurotour busses which were divided by the area we lived in (interestingly enough it wasn’t done by district but it was good because we got to meet others who we hadn’t met before).
Bus three became quite a tight bunch so we didn’t get sick of each other’s company in the 18 days. However, the day after the most exciting weeks of my life were over, I was immediately having withdrawals from being away from other exchange students. I missed travelling and visiting new places with them, relaxing in the parks or getting lost in the cities. But I got over it quickly by making arrangements to visit one of them the next day, so it goes to show by keeping yourself busy you can get yourself out of a depressive state.
Last weekend my host club, Carolinekilde, had their annual canoe trip so I went with them and their kids/grandkids along with two outbound exchange students (one of whom was my previous host sister). The Danish summer is certainly living up to its reputation: it’s been raining, cloudy, and the only ‘true’ days of summer being while I was away on Eurotour.
It is also that time of the year where you have to start saying goodbye to your oldies. A week after Eurotour, my district had a farewell weekend where it was the last time I would see some of these people. (I also got my charger stolen on the train while I went to go say goodbye to some of them so note to all future exchange students: do not leave your stuff unattended for even two seconds.)
The other day, I had to say goodbye to my closest exchange friend, who I don’t know if I will see again. Exchange allows you to meet amazing people whom you never would have met, but then forces you to (temporarily) part with these people.
Over the last three days I attended Tinderbox,
which is a music festival held in my city. It was the second year it’s been held and both Danish artists, such as Volbeat and Lukas Graham, and international artists, such as The 1975, David Guetta, and Rammstein, were part of the line-up. It’s not a camping festival, but that was fine with me as I didn’t have to travel far to get home.
In the first weekend of July I should also be going with my host club to visit a partner club in Germany, and in mid July after my host sister comes back from her exchange in Brazil we’re going to Portugal so more travel! Vi ses snart! Emily
Imogen Jones Switzerland
imogendawnjones@gmail.com
Exchange continues to change me in ways big and small. I write this from a hotel room in Prague. Tomorrow, I'll be touring Slovakia, after that a few days in Austria, Hungary, Slovenia and Italy respectively. I already have memories of Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin and Brussels that will stay with me for life. That's not exactly the kind of road trip you can take in NZ!
It can be easy to adapt, after a fashion, to this lifestyle. I'll be walking the streets of Aarau, my Swiss town, and forget, just for a moment, how beautiful the cobblestones are, or the delicious smell of Sopf and Nussgipfel. Perhaps my host mum will take me to Germany, and I'll sleep over the border. That's my challenge here; to never forget how incredible this opportunity is, and never let acclimatisation turn into normalisation.
I still can't really say I speak German, but I get through day to day life in it now. My host parents had never really heard me talk in English until my mum visited, and later told me they were glad I could get by in German- my accent in English is not easy to understand! Swiss German continues to be a challenge, but one I look forward to beating.
As the summer holidays creep up, I look forward to hanging out with friends and my host family. It has certainly been nice to see an easing on the eternal rain.
I hope everyone else, at home and on exchange, is doing well. Imogen
Samuel McPherson Austria
sam.1997@hotmail.co.nz
Gruss Dich!!!
Crazy to think that we are very close to the halfway mark of our exchanges! The past few months have been very busy, I have been on Euro Tour which was an unforgettable experience and my latest event was our District Conference in Kitzbuhel in which the Rotary World President was present.
Our Euro Tour consisted of travelling through Croatia, Italy, France and back to Austria through Germany in two buses. If I had to pick a highlight from Euro Tour it would have to be swimming in the sea at Cinque Terre in Italy.
As well as the 60 or so exchange students from Austria, we had the 12 exchange students from Croatia join us on our Euro Tour which I thought was quite cool. We did have one accident in Rome, one of our buses was broken into and the thieves took receipts for hotel bookings, the driver’s international licence papers and a few other little things in the bus. This put a big delay on travel plans, so our stops in Luca and Pisa were very short before we carried on to Cavi Di Lavagna to spend the night at a Hotel by the beach. Apart from this one minor setback, everything on Euro Tour could not have got better and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
The most recent event I have just attended was our Rotary District Conference where the Rotary World President was in attendance. Everyone was rather happy and excited to meet the World President, but the feeling was not mutual as he was asleep for the first five minutes of the exchange student presentations. He was not the crowd favourite after all of the exchange students noticed he had been sleeping.
Aside from the conference itself we had a great time in Kitzbuhel making many more memories with our Exchange family and sadly some of those would turn into final memories as this was the last time we would see a large majority of our oldies, so yes the final day consisted of crying and hugs and more crying on top of it all. Everyone was an emotional wreck, including myself as we gathered at the train station and began saying our goodbyes to our departing exchange students. This included people chasing trains to the end of the platforms waving and crying as members of our big family began to head to their hometowns in Austria for their final few days or weeks before making their way back to their family and friends in their home countries.
At this stage almost all of our oldies have departed from different airports across Austria to make the journey home, and the thing I heard being said too often at our conference was, “the second half of exchange goes too fast, don’t waste a second.” So for the rest of my exchange I will grabbing every opportunity with both hands and embracing every moment I have in this beautiful country.
I’ll be back in a few months time with updates including, inbound orientation with our newbies, and how my summer has gone.
Auf Wiedersehen! Sam
Oceana Mikaere Belgium 1630
oceanamikaere@gmail.com
BONJOUR TOUT LE MONDE!! Hello everybody!
Today marks the day of 153 days in Belgium for me ! I now have 203 more to go! It’s so true when they say time goes fast, like SERIOUSLY! SO FAST!
In the past three months, I have had a lot of school! But as well as school I have had the chance to explore a lot of Other cities in Belgium! Namur Leuven, Antwerp, and Dinant, My new favourite city is Antwerp, it is so beautiful! Once I attended a memorial day for the American soldiers, and at the event I had to walk 10 kilometres UPHILL!!
I have learnt so much already in these past five months, I’ve taken the wrong train to the wrong city that’s spelt the same, I’ve learnt to perfect my ugly Belgian French accent, I’ve learnt how to survive during a public transport strike for one week. I’ve learnt so many ways of life!
After this past week I didn’t realise how crazy Belgium is about Soccer! I see flags everywhere! Last Monday night was an amazing experience. My third host family invited me over to have a spaghetti and football night. Every one of us dressed up crazier than you can ever imagine! Sadly Belgium lost against Italy but hopefully tomorrow night’s game will go very well for Belgium!!!! (Belgium vs Ireland) Bonne chance Belgique!
I am currently in the middle of my exam month, I have one more chemistry exam on Monday and then my school prom on the Wednesday and then I’m straight into my summer holidays! I leave on the 25th of June for a two week stay in the south of France with my host family and two other exchange students who are in the same Rotary club. After I return from France I will experience JULY SUMMER festivals with my Belgian Friends.
On the 22nd of July my parents are meeting me here in Belgium, we will travel to Germany, Portugal, and Spain which I can’t wait for!
Europe travel list: Belgium - Verviers, Brussels, Liege, Dinant, Antwerp, Namur, Banche, Bastogne, Spa, Leuven
Italy - Roma, Fregene, Caserta, Napoli, Castellammare, De Stabia, Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi, Ravello, Capri, Snacapri, Pompeii, Montecatini, Florenza, Pisa, Punta, Sabbioni, Murano, Lido De Jesolo, Venisia
Oceana
Madeleine Scott Belgium 2170
maddi_scott@hotmail.co.nz
Hello and Bonjour! These last few months have been the best and busiest months of my exchange so far. From travelling, changing host families, school, balancing friendships with exchange students and mates from school and having a good relationship with my new family, I’ve barely had a chance to reflect back on how amazing everything is going.
In the Easter holidays, Rotary Belgium organized an optional trip to Italy. It was 10 days, starting off with a 24-hour bus ride. We started off in Rome and spent the rest of the trip exploring all over Italy. The cities we went to were; Rome, Pisa, Capri, Florence, Pompeii, Anacapri, Tuscany, Naples, Caserte, Vatican city, Amalfi coast, Sorrento, Ravello, Postitano, Punta Sabbioni, Burano, Murano, Jezolo and Venice. My favourites were Rome, Capri and Venice
.
During the Italy tour, we visited thousands of monuments and cool places, including the Sistine Chapels and the Colosseum. At the end of the trip we were all very sad to leave, but also extremely tired.
Not long after arriving back to Belgium, I changed into my second host family. In this family I have my mum Anne, she works at an abandoned castle showing people around but mainly decorating the garden for new visitors. My dad, Hermann is actually a German and he works in Germany so is often away. I also have my two lovely siblings; Pierre and Claire aged 20 and 18. Claire is doing an exchange to Spain in August, so she often asks me for tips and advice. I also have two gorgeous dogs living with me, Kimba and Teddy.
A few weeks after moving in, my parents, Claire and I went to Aywallie (Belgium) where my host mum lives. We spent the weekend in Spas, walking around the city and we also spent a day at the border of Holland, Belgium and Germany.
Last weekend I spent Sunday in (old) Zealand, in Holland. I went to the beach and explored the city center. I can definitely see why NZ was named after Zealand, as the beach was very similar to our beaches.
In May, Lilly (currently doing her exchange in France) stayed at my house in Belgium with me. It was very nice catching up with her, we mainly travelled the country and went to a circus/festival one night.
I have many events coming up in the next two weeks, including the relay for life, school ball and a trip to Prague!
Sending my love to everyone back home x Maddi