Outbounds 2011-2012

Sawaadeekah!

My name is Emily Adams and I’ll be spending the 2011-2012 school year in Thailand! I’ve lived in St. Augustine, FL my entire life with my mom and my dog, Buttercup. The three of us have a close connection. My mom and I talk, cook, and watch movies while one or both of us are tending to Buttercup, who always wants to play.

For the majority of the time, I keep very busy. This year, I am a senior at St. Augustine High. In addition to school, I also work, and dance. I love learning, working, and dancing. I work at Whetstone’s Chocolate with some of the most amazing girls! No, I have not gotten sick of chocolate. I’ve been dancing for about a year and a half. I take two classes at school and also ballet and contemporary at the Dance Company. One thing I’m looking forward to seeing in Thailand is the traditional dancing.

When I’m not doing any of those things, I spend time with my friends. I love them dearly and am happy that they are happy for me. Other interests of mine include reading, drawing, painting, cooking, music, yoga, camping, and taking pictures. I have a canon rebel xs, which I’m very excited to use on my exchange.

During my year abroad, I hope to expand my mind. I want to have a better idea from another point of view. I want to be able to note the similarities of Thailand and Saint Augustine, Fl, along with the differences. I’m excited to meet and have friends on the other side of the world, and from all parts of the world. I am excited to become fluent in Thai. I am excited to see elephants roam the street. I am just, so excited.

It still doesn’t seem real, and I still can not imagine getting on a plane for a year to be spent in Thailand. But thank you Rotary. Thank you for pointing me in the right direction. Thank you mom and friends for giving me the extra push, I love you.

August 27

It has been a little over two weeks since I’ve arrived here in Thailand but this country already means so much to me. I have fallen in love with a great group of people, delicious new foods and new places. It is so strange to say I have been here two weeks because I have learned a tremendous amount since stepping off the airplane. Upon arriving, I was nervous and unable to comprehend where the next hour, day, or week would take me. Now, as I sit here writing this I am able to predict those things. I am now able to communicate (somewhat) in a new tongue that once sounded so completely alien to me. I can now point out the direction from my house to school, the market and Bangkok. I now can say and comprehend an introduction of myself in Thai in front of a large group of people. I can do so many things and recognize so many foods and places that it is almost impossible that I’ve been in Thailand for just two weeks. But I have and as hard as it is to pick out what’s worth writing about and what’s not, here are a few moments worth remembering.

Exactly one week and one day upon arriving I was expected to give an introduction of myself fully in Thai to all members of my host Rotary club. With many thanks/kob kun ka’s to my “poo” (dad) for helping prepare it, I was literally practicing this introduction every hour until the night of. I was completely nervous. Any time I envisioned this speech, I saw it going exactly how my Spanish speech a few months prior went…drained from my memory the moment I was handed the microphone. So on this particular night I was very nervous and wishing to be anywhere but at this party before it even started. Upon entering, I was seated at a table full of Rotary members, the director of my new school and my school counselor. Of course, everyone began speaking Thai to me and of course, I had no idea what was going on most of the time. I literally began throwing any Thai I could think of into this conversation so I wasn’t completely hated. I felt completely awful and I felt as though they were all disappointed. Although then, they finally switched to English. They told me I was lovely and my Thai was very good for being in Thailand only a week. FINALLY, I could breath. A great amount of stress was thus drained and I began to actually enjoy myself. Around the dinner table, they all took turns showing and teaching me random things about the food and their culture. It was great, and very typical of a Thai feast- everyone was eating, laughing, and generally having a good time. But in the back of my mind I was still stressing. I knew my speech was coming and I knew it would leave me mind the mount I stepped on the stage. So the time finally came and my host sister and I were escorted on stage. As the microphone was handed to me I knew it was about to go completely awful. So I began and then it happened, I got stuck on the first sentence, on “kob kun” which means thank you. It was such a simple phrase and one of my favorites to use. The words would just not come out. But then, right as my “poo” began to yell it from the side of the

The following day was my first day of school. I came into the director’s office of my new school, Thamuang Ratbumrung, with my “maa” and “poo” around noon on last Wednesday. After causing me a little stress by speaking in only Thai, my new principal switched to English. He told me that his students had been waiting for me and then opened a window that led into the student courtyard. He pulled me beside him and yelled to the closest group of girls to come meet “Mali”. They all seemed genuinely excited which left me a little overwhelmed. After showing me his private bathroom (not weird, just different!), the director yelled back at the same group of girls to show me to the concert. So I was then led in a large auditorium that held close to 2,000 kids sitting on the floor. Apparently, everyone in Thailand wants to be a star and they all think singing and dancing is best thing in the world. “TMR” is a nationally known competition that travels to different schools in Thailand and hosts the students singing and dancing. As it began the director came onto the stage and notified everyone of my arrival. I was then given the opportunity to introduce myself (…yay..). As much as I felt like an idiot, the crowd welcomed me back with smiling faces. The concert lasted for three hours of performing but the winner was eventually was named King (predictable, there was only one guy group and all the girls screamed through most of their performance). And yet! This was still not the end to a much unexpected afternoon. Once over everyone got up to take pictures with the different groups. Somehow, I was pulled into the middle of this and there I was taking pictures with anyone and everyone for about 20 minutes. Finally arriving back in the car of my “maa” and “poo” all I wanted was a nap.

Thailand has been so unforeseen but wonderful to me. It is the beginning of a year that I know will all be over too soon. I’ve experienced some of the best days so far, and some of the worst. Some days I have gotten so frustrated because I can’t speak as fully as I want too. But then a few hours or maybe a day will pass and something will happen that turns everything better. This is usually when I have a little laugh because I remember being told that things would suck sometimes but it goes away and I’m left happier then I was sad/angry. I am very excited to what awaits me next, whatever it is. Every moment is precious this year. Rotary, I cannot thank you enough for what has already been given to me.

November 16, 2011

I’ve been in Thailand for about three months now. How time flies! I’ve have gotten so used to the same smiling faces and what now has become a weekly routine that it seems strange that one day I will not see these faces or have this routine. The month of September began where the end of August ended, school during the week, Bangkok during the weekend. Mondays through Fridays I’d wake up each morning at 6:15 for a shower and breakfast. My host father has an extreme affection for sweets so weekday morning breakfasts consists of a “kanom”(sweet bread) and “gaffe”(coffee). I arrive at school each morning at 730 to meet my friends and wait the national anthem to start. This tells us it’s time to go line up on the field with all the other 2,000 students. The national anthem is played again along with a prayer and a school song. This lasts a half an hour despite Thailand’s blazing sun that never fails to reach 85 degrees. Once released, it’s time for class which isn’t really class in comparison to school in Florida, although I’m not complaining. School is fun and the day always seems to go by fast. At 4 o’clock my dad or mom picks me up and we head to the market to pick up 2nd lunch/1st dinner. By the time I’m home and have eaten, it’s around 5 and I’m off to relax before I head outside to meet whoever is cooking. My day pretty much ends when I have eaten again with my family outside. Although no Thai meal is finished after the food is eaten, half the time is sitting around talking with one another. The exception to this routine is Friday night through Sunday night. Every Friday after dinner, my family loads up the car and heads to Bangkok to spend time with one another and so that my younger host brother and sister can take weekend classes. The weekends consist of sleeping past 7, shopping at one the Bangkok’s many malls, riding the sky train and spending time with my brother and sister.

The month of October was drastically different from September and what is beginning of to be of November. For the entire month of October, Thailand’s children take a break from school. Wooo! For 30 days, I got in the routine of not having a routine. I spent it worthwhile by traveling, cooking, shopping, playing, and of course-sleeping in.

But on a typical day in October I began by NOT waking up at 6 for school, but rather sleeping until eight-thirty or nine. I would then, mosey into the kitchen to find something left on the table for me to eat by my parents that are by that time at work. Usually “Yai Pon” (housekeeper/nanny) would take a break from whatever she was doing and try to communicate with me, we’d end up giggling and then go our different ways. The rest of the morning I would spend practicing Thai/ getting ready for whatever may come up during the day.

Around noon time, I’d go outside to have lunch with my grandparents, cousins, aunts, and the workers of my family. These hours spent outside were probably some of the best of October. After lunch I’d hang around as everyone else does, gathered around the table and talking away. A lot of cooking was done during this time (even though we had just eaten). I now can successfully make “pad kao pao”, “pad thai”, “pak boong”, and “som tom”. Som tom is by far my favorite and is now edible to all ^^. I also spent a lot of time with a worker who is now my closest friend at home, “P Than”. With her, I explored all parts of my backyard that I never knew existed. I spent many days with her and a three year old, picking flowers and riding bikes or watching soccer games between the workers. Late into the day when she’d have to start cooking I’d find myself back inside and showering for the 2nd of 3 I take every day. Afterwards all I typically wanted was quiet time trying to communicate all day in a new language can be very exhausting. Around dinner time, which is 630, I’d find myself back outside with the same group of people, fumbling over words and talking about food (this topic has became my best). This was my October, somewhat slow, but very refreshing and rewarding in its own way.

Merhaba! My name is Jane, I’m 16 years old and I’m going to Turkey! I’m currently a sophomore at Nease High School. I will be in Turkey for my junior year. At Nease, I am in the International Baccalaureate program. When someone asks me what IB is, I say that it is a challenging program for students who enjoy working hard. This is definitely true for me, I enjoy working hard. I view being a foreign exchange student as a challenge that I will enjoy very much and that I will remember for the rest of my life.

My favorite subject in school is history. I am very excited to learn more about the history of Turkey. I may be an anthropologist someday! I am also interested in architecture. Daphne Cameron suggested Turkey as one of my countries because of the architecture. So, my special thanks to you, Ms. Daphne.

I am involved in a lot of activities in and out of school. I love soccer and have been playing since I was 8 years old. I play for the JV team at Nease and for the soccer clubs in the fall and spring. I started playing the violin when I was 6 years old. I play for the Jacksonville Symphony Youth Orchestra. I like to try new things. I started hip-hop dance this year after I failed miserably at ballet when I was 6. I also started JV lacrosse this year. Sometime I would like to try playing hockey. I spend my free time creating artwork and writing.

I have heard that…

1. Turkish is a hard language to learn

2. the people in Turkey are very warm and friendly

3. Turkey is a beautiful country

4. Turkey has amazing architecture

I wonder…

5. how many Turks in my area speak English

6. how school in Turkey is different school here

7. what kind of traditions my host family has

8. what perceptions Turks have of Americans

I hope that this exchange will help me become a better person, help me decide what I want to do with my future, and bring experiences that I will remember forever.

Every day, I try to imagine myself in Turkey. But I know that there is no possible way for me to expect what’s coming. I won’t know until I step off that plane in a country within two continents. It is an indescribable feeling just thinking about it. Rotary: thank you so much for giving me this opportunity and thanks to my family and friends for supporting me on this incredible journey that I am about to take.

September 11th, 2011: 

Two weeks into my exchange

The week leading up to my departure was interesting. I hung around my house and basically did nothing except arrange my departure date. Sunday was the set date for me to leave, but either Hurricane Irene didn’t want me to go, or she wanted me to leave sooner. I left a day earlier, on Saturday, Chelsea Holmes with me all the way. It was nice that we were able to arrange to travel together.

I thought I wasn’t nervous when I got to the airport in Jacksonville, but apparently I was because I got sick in the garage parking lot. All I could do was laugh at myself. Saying goodbye to my parents was weird. It didn’t seem like I was leaving them, so since I couldn’t think of anything to talk about, I decided I better just fess up. I told my mom I never walked the dog that week like I was suppose to and I told my brother I stole his back-up iPod and that it was packed away in my checked luggage. I ended up going through security twice because my Rotary club came to say farewell after I was at the gate with Chelsea. I got some exercise running around the airport, but I was so happy that my Rotary Club came to say goodbye. Thanks guys!

Our flights went well. I don’t have any scary stories to tell. We flew from Jacksonville to Atlanta to Amsterdam and everything was easy and quick. The airport in Amsterdam was crazy, and things just got crazier from there. Chelsea and I went though security again and then realized we couldn’t go back out to go to the bathroom. The 3-hour flight from Amsterdam to Istanbul was agonizing. I was incredibly nervous. Seeing Turkey for the first time was definitely one of the most thrilling and exciting moments of my life.

I made a big deal of setting my first foot in Turkey when I took a leap off the jetway. My first landing on another continent, in another time zone, in another country (Canada doesn’t count 🙂 ). Chelsea thought I was crazy.

My host brother picked me up from the airport and our private driver took us home. My first observation: people drive like crazy, but somehow I always find it thrilling, especially when my host dad drives the Mercedes.

We had about a 20 minute drive home from the airport and I couldn’t keep my eyes away from the car window, as I expected. Everything about Istanbul amazed me, and it continues to all the time. My host brother showed me the house. My bedroom is on the fifth floor and from the balcony on the top floor, you can see our neighborhood and the city.

I wasn’t even in Istanbul for 24 hours before I was back on a plane, at 7am the next morning, for Bodrum, a wonderful little summer vacation town. There, I met my host parents and they are truly the most wonderful people. The first thing my host dad told me in his broken English was that I was not a guest; I was part of their family. Just like that. And not once this whole time have they treated me like anything else.

My host mother speaks a few words of English. It pains me to not be able to tell her how thankful I am for the patience she has, day after day, for my extremely slow learning and understanding. I want to tell my host dad how much I love being a part of his family. I want to talk about Rotary with him and tell him how much I love watching basketball too.

I tell my host brother how much he is like my brother in Florida. They are alike in so many ways. He takes me places and always tries to explain things. He answers my many questions and he covers for me when we get in trouble.

I want so badly for my host family to know that I wish I was born into their family, I wish I had grown up as the third child, the daughter, one they love as much as their sons. I know I can have someone who speaks English and Turkish fluently tell them all this for me, but I know that it has to come from me alone, at a time when I can I speak the language with ease.

I spent the next 8 days in Bodrum, swimming in the Mediterranean Sea (I don’t think it’s possible to drown, it’s incredibly easy to float), sitting by the pool (the water level is level with ground, interestingly to me), eating out every night except one (something I’m definitely not use to), and walking around the town (the streets are crowded even at midnight).

I told my parents I would skype them that weekend, but I ended up staying in Bodrum for three more days with my host parents while my host brother went back to Istanbul to study for an English exam. I was curious as to how I would get along without him (he was my lifeline), but it’s amazing how much you can communicate with people even if you don’t speak the same language. It was a concept Rotary taught us that I never quite understood, and now, I do. I also never realized how much you can communicate just by smiling.

Everyone that I come in contact with, whether they be family friends, waiters at restaurants, or people on the street, don’t know that I’m American. Even if I just smile all the time at them, they don’t realize it until they hear me speak English or someone tells them that I’m not Turkish. I happily take this to my advantage, as sooner or later, I will have no problem telling them myself that I am indeed Turkish.

We left Bodrum on the morning of the 6th and I was anxious to see how my life would be like in Istanbul. In the mornings, I come downstairs, eat breakfast with my family, and then I usually just hang around until the afternoon. I don’t mind it. Sometimes I just sit for hours, but somehow I’m not bored. Then, usually we do something, my brother takes me somewhere, we visit the city, we visit friends, etc. I never know what goes on until someone tells me. I’m always out of my comfort zone, everywhere I go. But like so many people told me before I left, that’s what you have to do to be an exchange student.

I hear the calls to prayer all the time. I’m interested as to when my first experience with the religion will take place. School starts in a week.

Everything I’ve eaten is yummy (except I wasn’t a big fan of Ayran, salty milk-ish yogurt). I feel bad when I can’t finish my meal. Everyone eats more than me here. I always have to tell them “doydum!” (I’m full!). My host family feels the need to buy my food that I usually eat (like pork…), but they need to know that I will eat whatever they have to offer and that I love to try new things. So far I’ve eaten octopus, spaguetti with yogurt, eggplant, lots of balık (fish), and many other Turkish specialties. Magnum ice cream bars are really common here (a luxury for me in the states). I absolutely LOVE turkish tea. I have this funny relationship with watermelon, and it’s been a joke in my family for a while. All because I ordered it at a restaurant one night and that the first word I learned in Turkish was…karpuz 🙂 way back in December.

I thought it would be really hard having everyone speak a language all the time that I don’t understand, but it’s not. I just sit patiently, listen and try to catch a few words. And sometimes, I just want to burst out laughing so badly at things that aren’t even funny. What’s hard is that when people laugh, I usually don’t understand, and it makes me want to cry.

Every time I think something horrible is going to happen like I’ll fall off the back of my host brother’s ATV, or my host mom will get mad at me for jumping in the pool with my clothes on (or riding on that ATV…), or making a horrible mistake in front of a bunch of people, it never happens. And usually, the things I fear the most turn out to be the most fun.

Some things to take note of:

•    Smoking is not discouraged here as much as it is in the USA

•    Pop music = sucky American pop music

•    There are random dogs and cats everywhere

•    When one sees a cat you “Tsss!” at it, while in America most people go “Aww, a kitty.” This makes me laugh every time.

•    In my family it is OK to put your elbows on the table and start eating even if everyone does not have their meal (I’m still getting use to this)

•    The most common car models I see are VW, Fiat, and some model with rhombus shaped symbol

•    People are amazed that I can drive and I have a car in Florida

•    Turkish television is really dramatic

•    Random people try to sell stuff along the highway

•    People wear everything and anything

•    Everyone is very friendly and people appreciate the effort when a foreigner tries to speak Turkish

•    Turkey is a beautiful country, no doubt about that

•    Most impressions that Turks have of Americans are true

•    Turkish flags are EVERYWHERE. Every time I see one I smile, if not on the outside, definitely on the inside.

All the time, I feel myself becoming less and less American and more and more Turkish. I feel as though I was born here and I’m finally being brought home. Istanbul amazes me all the time and I would much rather live here than anywhere else in the United States. Is that a bad thing?

For all you people who think negatively of Turkey, you should be ashamed. This country is seriously misjudged (and Turks know that Americans are judgemental) and at the time when I told people that I was going to Turkey and some of them said “Oh…Turkey, hmm…” I didn’t think much of it. But now, it makes me so angry that some people would think so negatively of a country that they don’t even know the capital city of. I question being an American, because here I am, falling in love with a country that’s not mine and defending it. And I’ve only been here two weeks.

I constantly have to remind myself that this is my exchange. It is my year and I shouldn’t be comparing it to ROTEXs, Rebounds, or current Outbounds exchanges. It’s like the expression about the elephant (Ms Paulaaaa!)…one bite at a time. I might be taking nibbles for the first month. Every exchange is different and personal, so if it takes me longer to do certain things than it does for other people, SO BE IT.

To all you Rotarians (Districts 6970 and 2420): Thank you/Teşekkür ederim for giving me this amazing opportunity. It’s a dream that only a few (when you think about all the teenagers in the world) get to experience. It will change my life and I will always remember this amazing adventure.

Görüşürüz!

Tuesday, January 03, 2012

December 13th, 2011 – Just over 3 months in Turkey

Exactly one year ago today I learned that I would spend a year in Turkey. Here I am, living this life, learning this culture, trying to learn this language that I once thought seemed easy to learn. What a mistake that was. I’ve made more mistakes, experienced more awkwardness, and cried more times in these past three months than I’ve ever made, experienced, and cried in my entire life. But somehow I’m still here, learning little things, exploring the city and culture little by little, taking small steps everyday, one bite at a time…

I can easily say that two weeks ago I hit rock bottom. And just like all of the other times I fell down, I picked myself up, but this time I walked a little taller. A favorite quote of mine has now become the message I live by every day.

“Grant me serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”

One important thing I’ve learned on this exchange is that there are things in life that you have no control over. There are some people you will never be able to change. There are some bad things that you cannot stop from happening. And once it’s in the past, there is no point dwelling over it, because you definitely cannot change that either.

I now start a new chapter in my life as an exchange student in Turkey. Soon I’ll say goodbye to the life I’ve been living and hello to a new family, a new life, and hopefully, a new start.

While the past three months have been the hardest months of my life, here are the positive moments and adventures. Don’t get me wrong, my life isn’t just a walk in the park.

Some of the most exciting, interesting, and memorable moments of my life in the past three months:

• The first time I was able to travel alone in the city. IT WAS A BIG STEP FOR ME.

• When my host dad hit 200km on the highway. Twice. Just because we had to turn back to get my phone that I left at the house. It was awesome

• Spending a day exploring the city with my Turkish friends and learning about Turkish history

• Visiting Sultan Ahmed Cami (Blue Mosque), Hagia Sofia, Topkapı Palace, and the Basilica Cistern with the Inbounds

• Taking the ferry for the first time across the Bosphorus from Asia to Europe. It never gets old

• Spending a weekend with the inbounds in Gebze and then performing a talent show at a Rotary meeting. I played my violin.

• The first day of school. It was one of my biggest worries about going abroad. It turned out to be the best first day of school I’ve ever had thanks to my kind and helpful friends and teachers who’ve made me feel welcome here in Turkey. I’m so lucky to have all of them. To all you guys: çok teşekkür ederim

• My first Fenerbahçe futbol game. I’ll never forget it. Teşekkürler Halit.

• My 17th birthday and Atatürk Commemoration Day. At 9:05am we paid our respects to the most loved and honored founder any country has ever had. For my birthday I received a outfit from my host mother, gifts from my friends, a cake (called pasta here) from my family, and a singing of the Happy Birthday song

• Visiting Atatürk’s resting place (Anıkabir) in Ankara. It was a long, cold, and rainy weekend with 500 other çocuklar (oh those little kids…), but I had a great time nonetheless.

• Kurban Bayram. It’s a religious holiday when you sacrifice an animal and give the meat to the poor. I went with my host dad and brother to watch the sacrificition of a sheep We ate it for the next week and I believe I took a bite of the heart and one of the kidneys. Uhhg. There was no school for three days and we spend the time with family relatives.

• All the fun class events: going to the kitap fuarı (a HUGE annual book fair), Group 4 project with a boat ride on the Golden Horn and experiments in the İstanbul University Biology Dept., and all the weekend CAS activities

• Thanksgiving party with Rotary. We had four turkeys (and no, its not called a turkey here. Its a hindi) and great night of feasting, family, and fun.

Some things to take note of:

• I can’t get over how many malls there are in this city…and they’re always building another one somewhere.

• In Turkey, you greet people with a kiss on both cheeks (men too), even if you’re just meeting them for the first time. Lets just say it was a little awkward at the airport when I greeted with a usual hug. Sorry about that one Mehmet…

• In Turkey, all drinking water comes from a bottle. A water bottle is about 30 cents. Cheap.

• Nutella is REALLY POPULAR. Çok seviyorum…

• You’ll always have an adventure in a bazaar It’s a good place to go it you’re looking for some excitement. You meet all kinds of people there…ALL KINDS…

• Along touristy spots, you can find street vendors selling waffles, freshly-squeezed juices, Turkish bread, mussles, and all kinds of nuts. How can people in Florida drink that stuff in the carton that they call orange juice???

• Milk does not taste the same here. It’s whole milk, but even if it says its not, it still tastes like it. I want my non-whole milk :/

• Soccer = life. Literally, LIFE. There are people here that will kill each other over a futbol match. No joke.

• At school, we stand up when the teacher enters the room and we knock and ask to come in if class has already started. The teacher-student relationships at school are much more friendly and casual than in the US public schools

• It’s cold in Istanbul from October to April, and while I will be huddled around the fireplace or heater this winter, there will be people swimming in the ocean in Bodrum. Not fair.

• I like the Metro. First, it’s fast. And second, you’ll always find some interesting people(s) in there. The funny tourists…a bunch of chanting Galatasaray fans shaking the metro car…a six-person fist fight. That was pretty disturbing.

• My classmates love British accents. Scratch that. EMIR loves British accents. I don’t understand this. Stop asking me to speak in one!

I often ask myself what I’ll get out of this exchange. Will I really learn Turkish? Will I make long-lasting friendships? Will I have a Turkish family to always come back to? What exactly will I learn from this year? The future’s pretty foggy for me right now, but once in a while I can catch a glimpse of what’s beyond those clouds. I notice a small change in the way I think, of how I perceive things, of how I’ve grown as a person and I remind myself that there will be a positive outcome in the end.

Thank you Rotary for giving me this chance of a lifetime. Also thank you to my family and friends for supporting me, but especially to my parents for giving up their daughter for a year so she can explore the world.

February 24, 2012

There once was a girl who lived in a bubble. She wanted to see more of the world, unlike most of the people around her. With some help and encouragement, she became foreign a exchange student.

Driving back to the town of Bodrum this past January, this is how I felt, as the beautiful mountains passed by the bus windows.

It hits you at random moments. Oh My God. I’m in Turkey.

I’m living a dream. How in the world did I get here?

I must be the luckiest girl in the world.

I moved to my second host family just before Christmas. The changes: a four story house to the fifth floor of an apartment building, a gated community one hour north of the main city to apartment community one hour east of the main city, living near the Bospherous to living on the coast of the Sea of Marmara.

My second life appeals more to me than the first. From my window I can see the five Princes Islands in the Sea of Marmara. Life is much more upbeat and lively (especially with a 6-year-old host brother) than it was before. I now have two host brothers, ages 15 and 6. In the mornings, my host mother (who is also my biology teacher at school), my host brothers, and I have a one hour service bus ride to my school where it took me five minutes to get to from my last place. Can’t say I’m loving that change. In the evenings I help my host mother with dinner. Then we drink çay, watch TV, or I spend time with my host brothers. I have really bonded with my second family, something that, in the end, didn’t happen with my first family. My host mother calls me her daughter and me and my host brothers treat each other as if we’re siblings. They have become my second family, there’s really no need for the word “host”.

On New Year’s Eve I visited my host relatives and learned some of the Turkish cultural dances. At midnight I was in the perfect place- crossing the Bospherous Bridge from Europe to Asia. We stopped the car on the bridge and watched fireworks go off in the Bospherous. Now I can say for my 17th new year I was in two continents at once.

A funny thing I’ve noticed about the Turkish language: everyone is blunt in a straight-to-the-point kind of way which would be considered rude it you were speaking English. Examples: A lot of commands like, “I don’t want that”, “Give that to me”, “Come here”, the click of the tongue and raising of the eyebrows and head meaning no, calling our teachers “Hocam” which is technically the name for the priest in a mosque. But then again Turkish has many respectful everyday sayings lie Afiyet Olsun (enjoy your meal), Elinize sağlık (Good health to your hands), and Kolay Gelsin (may your work come easy). It’s a cultural difference that takes a little getting use to.

At school, we decorated our classroom with Christmas lights, garland, and snowflake patterns. There’s no Christmas in Turkey because it’s an Muslim country, but you’ll still find Christmas-y decorations. For our Christmas celebration with Rotary, we were taken out to a touristy restaurant in the famous Taksim area of İstanbul. There we saw belly dancing along with other performances including a man who could sing a song from any of the nations in the restaurant (over 20 different nationalities). I was impressed.

In my first journal I made a comment about feeling proud to be an American. I’ve done a lot of thinking about this, being an exchange student in a place where national pride is always displayed, inside and out. In the beginning, I felt as though I was failing as an ambassador to my county: I wasn’t defending it or even supporting it. My classmates and I questioned whether there really was a true American. Someone in my class made a comment during a discussion about how American ruled the world. An American might be proud of that, but to me it was like a slap in the face. But being an exchange student has taught me to respect others’ countries, even if I don’t agree with the way their culture works, or how they have acted in history, or how their government operates. I will always have respect for Turkey, its people, founder, and religion, but there is now no doubt that I will always be proud to be an American. Nothing and no one will ever change that.

On January 14th my host dad picked me up from a teacher’s house that I stayed the night at. It was 3 degrees C and raining outside as we drove home. He informed me that a few minutes later the temperature would drop two degrees and it would be snowing. I couldn’t see how it was possible, but we went under a bridge and when we came out the world was white. It was like a dream. Snowy Istanbul is better than any snowy place I’ve seen in the US. It’s a winter wonderland.

Learning a language is hard in so many ways. When you’re in a country where English is the second language by most people, it’s really hard to distance yourself from it. At times I’m jealous of the exchange students in countries where English is rarely spoken. Speaking in Turkish has been a struggle for me since the beginning, but every day I’m speaking more and improving. That’s all that matters.

During the semester break in the second half on January, the Istanbul inbounds went on a tour of Western Anatolia. In nine days we went to Pamukkale, Antalya, Kaş, Fethiye, Bodrum, Kuşadası, İzmir, and Çanakale. I saw the ancient city of Ephesus, the Trojan horse in Troy, hot springs in Pamukkale, the Church of St. Nicholas, and the Dead Sea, just to name a few. I went to a hamam, prayed in the House of the Virgin Mary, and watched some crazy inbounds go swimming in the Mediterranean Sea in 2 degrees C.

Last weekend, I visited my host father’s parents in their apartment in İstanbul. I love how simply and easy it is to live in the Turkish lifestyle. I would rather live in a two-bedroom apartment, eat meals around a small floor table, and have family visit all the time that the way I live in Florida. Families are so close in Turkey, I’m so glad that I’ve had the chance to experience it. After, my family and I went to Eyüp to visit the Eyüp Sultan Mosque and tomb of the Phrophet Muhammad’s close friend. I prayed in the mosque during the Maghrib (senset prayer of the five daily prayers) for the first time. It was quite and experience. Four women helped me with the prayer and as soon as they found out I was recently coverted and an American, they were ecstatic. They gave me blessings, a purple tespih (prayer beads), lots of kisses, and took a picture with me before letting me and my host mother leave. I’ll never forget that experience.

I’m looking forward to the next month here. We will host two German teachers next week and then my friend, an exchange student from Alaska, will stay with us the next week. My dad and brother are coming at the end of March and we will be staying at a hotel next to the Blue Mosque (my favorite place in Istanbul). I’m enjoying and cherishing every moment here now, I have just under 150 days left. Thank you Rotary for making me one of the luckiest teenagers in the world, this is one of the happiest time of my life.

Until next time, görüşürüz!    

June 7, 2012

At the end of March my dad and brother came to visit me for one week. We stayed at a quaint hotel behind the Blue Mosque and for six days I took them around the city to see all the things Istanbul has to offer. They met my host family and we had a typical Turkish dinner together. It was interesting, living the life of a tourist in Istanbul for a week, but I enjoyed watching the expressions on bazaar owners’ face’s when they discovered I was an American who could speak Turkish. I can’t say that I’m fluent, but I’m just glad I’ve made my family proud of what I’ve learned so far.

In the six days that they were there, I got to see many new places I had never been to. We took a tour in the Bosphorous that goes under the two bridges that connect Europe and Asia. We went to the top of a tower where you can view the whole city. We went to another tower by boat that sits in the Bospherous. One of the coolest places we got to see Dolmabahçe Palace, the living quarters of the last seven Sultans, the death place of the founder of Turkey, and the current area for important diplomatic meetings. The fact that Erdoğan, the Prime Minister of Turkey and Hilary Clinton had been there just 2 days earlier discussing Syria made the excursion even cooler 🙂 The interior of the palace was one of the most extravagently decorated places I have ever seen. Crystal chandeliers (the biggest one weighed 5 tons!), real elephant tusks and bear hid rugs from Czar Nicholas II, it was amazing.

In early April, all the exchange students began scheduled days volunteering at a Rotary academy school for disabled children. We baked, helped in music and art classes, and assisted with redecoration inside during the two weeks there. I also got to meet other exchange students from South Korea, Italy, and the US. It has been one of the few opportunities I’ve had to volunteer here in Istanbul and I enjoyed it a lot.

In mid-April, I had the opportunity to go with my host family to a Turkish village. It was great to be able to breath some fresh air and see rolling hills for once. The village had farms, gravel roads, cows, dogs, one mosque, and beautiful wild flowers and tulips. And of course people, no more than 200. Everything on the property that my host grandparents lived on was self-built except the hot water tank on the roof and the furniture in the house. They had fruit and nut trees in their fields, a bee farm, and strawberry and pumpkin patches. All over the village were pipes running fresh water. In the nearby forest I went into a fresh stream up to my ankles in freezing cold water. They thought I was nuts, but it something you have to do knowing you might not get the chance to do it again. We roasted meat over the fire, a Turkish thing, and carved skewers out of nut tree branches. We went to a lake later, where we decided to run a race along the flat gravel riverbank. There I fin ally got the concept into my brain that boys will ALWAYS be faster than girls. I know I won’t be trying to beat a boy in a race anytime soon because all it earned me was a skinned knee.

The next morning, we all woke up at 4am to drive to the city of Edirne and hour away. Why were we driving to another city at 4 o’clock in the morning? In the Muslim’s 5 daily prayers, the first is around 5am. In Turkey, if you don’t have the opportunity to pray the morning prayer in the Blue Mosque, one of the next best is Selimiye Mosque in Edirne. It’s one of the best places to see if you visit the town of Edirne on Turkey’s European side border with Greece and Bulgaria. The population is around 140,000, tiny in comparison to Istanbul’s 14 million, but a great place to see none the less. Edirne has many horses, some even just roam around the side of the roads. Edirne is also famous for the sport of oil-wrestling, something I have yet to experience here in Turkey. My host family and I ate börek for breakfast before walking around the town and then driving to my host dad’s sister’s apartment. April 23rd was a Monday and als o a holiday in Turkey: National Sovreignty and Children’s Day. My little host brother had fun with his new water gun and we watched a Children’s Day march including over 50 primary schools at the local stadium. Afterwords, we relaxed in a Turkish tea garden and I finally found adult-sized swings (there are only baby swings at parks) and the greenest grass I’ve seen in a long time.

At the end of April, my other exchange student friend from Alaska who lives in a Edirne came to stay with us in Istanbul for the weekend. We met up with Anna from Estonia and her mother and showed them some places like the Blue Mosque and the Archeology Museum.

In mid-May I travelled to Amsterdam to meet my mom who was flying in from the States. We spent five days in Amsterdam, biking and exploring around. I fufilled my first real aspiration in life, to visit Anne Frank’s House. Although I couldn’t speak any Dutch, I was able to speak Turkish with the owner of a Turkish market down the road from out place. He informed me that there are about 70,000 Turks in the Netherlands and after some research I learned that about 5% of Amsterdam’s population is Turkish.

After Amsterdam we came to Istanbul for three days visiting the Blue Mosque, Spice and Grand Bazaars, my host family, and Hagia Sofia. From there we took a 12 hours bus ride to the town of Göreme in Cappadocia in southern Turkey. Cappadocia is hard to decribe but basically it consists of ancient cities built on a plateau. Deposits that erupted from ancient volcanoes approximately 9 to 3 million years ago have eroded into hundreds of spectacular pillars that litter the landscape. The area is desert-like and full of history that dates back to the Bronze Age. It’s the most amazing place I’ve ever been to.

At the end of May all of our Istanbul Inbounds travelled by bus to Antalya for our district conference. Rotary arranged for us to stay three nights at a five-star beach club. We introduced ourselves one-by-one in a short speech in Turkish on the second day. We all have different levels of Turkish, but everyone did a great job. We were only needed for a few hours that weekend and after we had two full days at the resort. It was so relaxing, the food was great, and the pool slides were fun, but it was little sad knowing this would be the last time we were all together.

Fortunately, almost all of us inbounds were able to have dinner together at a Rotarian’s house last weekend and watch an end of the year video that one of our Canadians put together. We said our goodbyes and took the memories home with a copy of the video. I got a taxi home and had a nice conversation with the driver that night. It was great to hear him keep telling me that my Turkish was “çok güzel” very nice.

I’ve come to the conclusion that when being a foreign exchange student, it’s a major problem, to associate yourself all the time with people that speak your language. Although it’s more comfortable and seems easier to learn through a person that knows both languages, you’ll never learn the language. I’ve cursed myself this year for putting myself in this situation for too long. I feel as though I’ve got myself stuck in a hole, and I just keep digging downwards instead of pulling myself out.

But instead of looking at it with bottle half-empty, I’ll look at it half-full. Turkey has claimed a part of my heart that will never go away. This culture, these wonderful people, and this beautiful land will always be inside, even when I’m not physically here, waiting for the next time I’ll be able to add something more to that part of my heart.

I’ll be able to add Turkish in there somehow, someday…

Wow… what can I say other than all the hard work is paying off! I’ve been accepted and I will be going to the Czech Republic!! My name is Jennings brower, I’m eighteen years old and I live in beautiful Ponte Vedra, Florida. I have a mom Nd dad, a sixteen year old brother and a 14 year old sister. I have the best family ever and I love them all very much. We also have a 12 year old German Shepherd names Scout and a small yellow dog who is 14 named Samba. Steel is our (more or less) 5 year old cat who is grey, big, and goofy. I play lacrosse currently for my high school, Ponte Vedra High-school.

Anyways I am so excited to kick off this journey right and show Czech what southern hospitality is all about! My dad has been a huge help with getting my application done on time (well, mostly) and getting me through this. It is a beautiful country with plenty of forest and many historical buildings in places such as the capital, Prague. There are also many different castles that have survived until today that I hope to see during my experience over there. Czech is a quite difficult language to learn that I started off knowing none of but even before I leave I will make it my responsibility to learn as much of it as I can so I can impress my first host family with how much I know!

Czech is going to be incredible and I am thoroughly excited to take off and meet new people on this quest. This will be a huge life changing experience and I look forward to it and highly appreciate this opportunity Rotary is giving me!

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Dobry Den!

Since about a month before our June orientation, I have experienced the “Up” part of emotions towards leaving for my year abroad in Czech Republic. I don’t think we covered it, but I have realized since signing up for Rotary exchange, we go through I guess a mini series of roller-coasters. Each consisting of its own bumps, jumps, rolls, and chutes. When I first signed up and found out I made it through interviews and had been picked, I was excited of the possibility of a new and “foreign” journey that could literally and metaphorically take me places in life that many others may never have the chance to see or experience. That was the initial “climb” of the roller coaster, the first drop, however, came not so long after. One day I received a call that I was looking so forward to hearing. The call to announce host country placement. My call came from Paula Roderick and a few of the inbounds.

(since I have read some of the other journals from current Outbounds and inbounds alike, I know honesty and emotions are a big part of telling our personal stories so here’s my first possibly shocking roller coaster drop.)

When I had filled out my application I had put

1.Sweden

2.Denmark

3.Norway

4.Czech Republic

5.Estonia

When Ms. Paula and the girls announced the first time where I was going I couldn’t understand what they said because of the inbounds different accents all intermixing all at once. So I politely asked again (a little worried that the first thing I heard didn’t sound a lot like “Sweden”) and when the words Czech Republic came through my phones earpiece, (honesty 101) my heart sank and I tried to give my best “thank you I’m so excited” through my disappointment so that the girls wouldn’t think they upset me with the news. My dad was an exchange student to Sweden in his gap year before college and I had really been hoping to follow in his footsteps and share a life experience with him since I had already (and still do) plan on  attending Florida State University (Go Noles!!)  at some point in my life to follow one of my mom’s life experiences. Even though I was bummed that I didn’t get my first choice, I realize now that even though I didn’t want to hear it at the time, this experience is my own and not my parents.

This leads me to my most recent and quite large up. Since about a month before our June orientation, I have experienced the “Up” part of emotions towards leaving for my year abroad in Czech Republic. Through talking to THE BEST (sorry other Rotex but I got to represent) Rotex ever, Liz Kane, and to others about how awesome the Czech Republic is, by looking at pictures, how cool her experience was, and yes (OMG!!!) even through that AWFUL research assignment that helped me learn so much about the country, I really have become excited about this trip and the destination I was chosen.  The climax, I guess you could call it, occurred three days ago when I Skyped my first family host sisters for the first time ever. I mean… wow.. Just wow. When Rotex say to get connected with your host families now because that will only inspire you more to study more and strive for success before you even depart, they know what they are talking about. My 18 year old host sister, Leona, is sadly going to have already left for her exchange trip to Japan before I arrive in the Czech Republic so I will not be able to meet her face to face, but my nine year old sister, Nikol, will still be there and will be my little sister while I am with my first host family. She is absolutely adorable and doesn’t speak any English. Leona was able to translate back and forth between Nikol and I talking and one of the coolest things I’ve ever heard is her response to my question, “are you ready to have a Big Brother around?” and she said something along the lines of “ I am very excited to have a big brother that will walk me to the bus stop, ride with me to school, walk me over to school, and at the end of the day take the same route back home because our schools are right across the street from each other. My heart instantly flew somewhere around a bagillion stories in the air. I was so excited and happy all at the same time. Someone over there was EXCITED to have ME come live with THEM in their country for a few months. Words can not explain it.

Long story short (too late for that) ((oh well J )) just talking to my sisters on Skype has motivated me enough to ask Liz for an assignment while I am off in Maine for three weeks so that I can have a larger vocabulary in order to better communicate with my little host sister Nikol when I arrive at the airport and see all of my first host family for the first time. Liz has made 18 sets of note cards for me to memorize over the three weeks away.

This is as far as I am right now and I can not explain how motivated I am to work towards this trip of a lifetime.

August 29

Dobry den!

Well its my first night in the Czech Republic and it has been nothing but awesome so far! That is other than the tear jerking goodbyes to my family at about 10:30 AM yesterday morning Florida time L. don’t worry mom and dad I’m doing just fine and moje host otec Ales and host matka Michaela are wonderful and especially little Nicole, my 9 year old host sister who doesn’t speak any English. Today at lunch after being picked up from the airport Nicole and I played tic-tac-toe on the back of a coloring sheet she received.  Even though we kept tying we both had wordless fun and we also shared some dance moves we both knew J and yes, right in front of the rest of the restaurant ha-ha. I love my new room and bathroom, ha-ha sorry Darby but its a lot easier to keep stuff organized when its one person in a room. Even as it is I would never take it over sharing rooms with you buddy. Messy or not. I thought I was going to be able to be strong and not cry on my morning of leaving but there was no way. It started after I had gotten dressed in my rotary travel garb ( I literally have never used that word before) and was waking up Darby and Kendall my sister and brother in the USA. Thinking this could be the last time I see them hit me hard. Then came the airport goodbyes after a not too shabby airport breakfast of French toast and eggs with my family. I survived my mom’s embrace without tears and then started sprouting them like a leak as I hugged my dad. Kendall was next and this opened the leak to a steady flow. But when my best friend, my partner in crime, my brother Darby came up I couldn’t help but completely each strong beam that had been holding my emotions from falling. So many memories flooded my mind of good times with him and I could not hold it back.

Enough about the sadness, but to be honest I believe that may be the hardest part of this whole trip.

The flying went smoothly except for a minor speed bump when I missed my connecting flight from Amsterdam to Prague because of a late arrival but it turned out completely fine. I’m here safe and that’s all that matters.

On the way home from the airport I caught glimpses of beauty from both Prague and Brno’s historic awesomeness. I look forward to exploring more.

But my family lives on the edge of Brno, in a quaint (another never used word) place called Old Lisen. Pictures will be up on face book soon.

Anyways I’m signing out and tomorrow I’m spending the day in Prague with my new friend Kuba Mach. Its going to be great and I promise to upload tons of pictures.

Dobrou noc a mluvim s yall later.

September 1

Well, well, well…

So everything continues to be awesome with a side of perfect on a hot golden platter. Nothing less : )

I have (fortunately) yet to be home sick which for me is a good thing. My parents know I used to have a problem with that just at two week summer camps ha-ha(not fun…).

The 2nd day I was here I met a new friend Kuba Mach who is my exchange sister’s(currently in Japan for her exchange) boyfriend and he is very cool. We became friends quickly and effortlessly. He , my host Dad, and I went to Prague (our ((Czech Republic)) Capitol City) because Aleš had some meetings. Kuba toured me around Prague by Bus, Metro, and trolley-buses, for about 8 and ½ hours. It was really awesome the architecture is absolutely breathtaking and I cant get enough of the cobblestone sidewalks and Prague Castle and just all of it. To think that I only live two hours from this beautiful city is exhilarating.

Yesterday Kuba toured me around our city Brno for about 6 hours and we saw all the important buildings and also free-toured the dungeons of the biggest castle in Brno. It was very cool but made me happy I didn’t have to live in one of those cells for more than a day. Ha-ha.

Today was the first day of school. This will sound very weird. I enjoyed it. I know. My Floridian parents are shaking their heads saying he’s lying. Ha-ha. Totally true though, I love my classmates(we stay with the same group of people all day so everyone becomes good friends throughout the year), my teacher, the way the school works, oh, and school today was only 2 hours ; ) which made it better too : ). There’s a guy in my class who’s name is Martin and he lived in Colorado for a year(I don’t know how long ago) a mluvite anglitcky moc dobře!(he speaks English very well.) He showed me the school and its very simple. Ponte Vedra High school is a 2 level, U-shaped school with many, many, many class rooms on each level. My school here is L-shaped with 3 classrooms on each level and a big field tucked next to the school for gym.

Mom and Dad, everything’s great, I’m safe and beyond happy : ) nothing to worry about.

Kendall, my little sister is just like you, she has a body made of noodles and her gymnastics tricks are crazy. From knots to balls, she can form to almost everything. She’s like a Czech Skylar.

Darby…. Stay lax, Bro. Protect our sister. Don’t mess with her too much while I’m gone.

Anyway tomorrow’s another day. Peace out Floridian and American friends, family, Rotarians, and Rotex.

September 8

Dobry den!!

Jsem moc dobře a ja mamarad moje rodina, moje kamarady, moje doma a everything else : )

Today was very interesting. I had Spanish class for the first time since I have been here. And I thought learning Czech in English was tough…. But no worries, I am now officially (I think) trilingual! I speak perfect, czec-lish, spang-lish, and span-ech!!!! : ) It surprised me though how I perfectly understood 95% of what the teacher said in Spanish but as soon as it was my turn to say my name, where I was from, and what I like to do in my spare time, I couldn’t think of any Spanish words but only Czech words. Even though I had studied 3 years of Spanish, the past three months of Czech have completely taken over. It was like I was speaking to a friend in my Czech school in Czec-lish but to the teacher in Span-ech. Filling unknown Spanish words with Czech : ). Good times.

Ha-ha anyways I still love life here and here’s another interesting story from today, I tried out for volleyball. It was actually more like a showing a coach how I play so he can help find me the right volleyball club in the city. I was only practicing with the team for maybe 45 minutes. And lets just say that afterwards I felt like I played the worse I ever have. My spirits were finally lifted when my dad Aleš told me that I had just practiced with THE BEST TEAM IN BRNO of my age. They had been professionals. Some of them even paid to play. And I had wondered why I played badly. He told me I actually played well but the fact that every one on that team had played all their lives and were planning to play volleyball the rest of their lives. That explained why all their players had been at least 6’3 and could jump like my one of my best friends Nate Cole (very good basketball player). So I felt better about myself. : )

I have decided to still look for a volleyball team with the coach that watched me today, but also keep enhancing my talent on the slack line. (tight rope). I can always get really good in an uncommon sport : ).

So just about 20 minutes my dad was telling me about a little kids movie that he took his daughter and my little sister Nikol to that he thought was actually a pretty good movie. He said it was a musical and one of the actresses is also one of the judges on “Czech Republic and Slovakia has Talent” (just as awesome a show ((talent wise)) as America’s Got Talent ((( for those of you possibly doubting))) 😛 ) and she is a incredibly talented singer. He was telling me about how she has a great vocal range and showed me one of her music videos and after I showed him Josh Turner (country singer) who I think has one of the best ranges of all the singers I know and I showed him the song “Would You Go With Me” and he loved it.

After that I decided to show him my favorite country song of all time. My Floridian Dad and I’s song. Yes, my real dad and I have a song that we dedicate to our father son relationship : ). The song is “I’ve Been Watching You” by Rodney Atkins. Halfway through the song I felt a pang of sadness as I thought of saying goodbye to my dad in the airport. In the music video it has clips of the dad and his four year old son doing activities. (to my Father Darby Brower) when I said goodbye to you at the airport I had flashbacks of watching baby videos of you and I doing things together and you always had so much joy and love in your eyes. At my birthday parties, when you would help me in those indoor playground places, when you and I would spend time together listening to “Morning Wood” with Casey on the fishing trip, and when you would help me in my biggest time of need when my back was in bad shape.  Dad you have always been so strong and you barely ever cry. Listening and watching our song with my host dad made me miss you more than anything.

I am so thankful for you and for supporting me to do this exchange because so far it is the best year of my life and I know it can only get better : ). You are the reason I am enjoying this part of my life so much and I can’t thank you enough.

So I officially dedicate this extremely deep journal to my father Barrington Darby Brower because he has always been my Rock to lean on : )

Czech Republic is wonderful, I have made many friends, I have tried so many new foods (fried cheese is awesome ((its like a giant mozzarella stick))) and my host family is nothing but great.

Tomorrow I leave for my first Inbound Orientation and I cannot wait to meet the other kids lucky enough to come to these wonderful countries of Czech Republic and Slovakia : )

Until next time,

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Dobry den! Cau! Ahoj! Jak se mate?

Good day! Hey! Hi! How are you?

These are only a fragment of the words and phrases that I have come to use and know in the past (ehhh almost) three months I have lived in the Czech Republic. Since my first few journals so much has happened and I will do my best to compact it so I don’t write a book, which with all my experiences right now, I promise would be a lengthy read, but surely a good one.

My first orientation in Strecno Slovakia was wonderful. I have always really liked being one of the first people to arrive at any Rotary weekend, in Florida or here in District 2240 Slovak and Czech Republic. I enjoy being able to play meet and greet with everyone that trickles in so that hopefully I will know and have talked to everyone and I can break the ice with teaching people how to slack line, throwing the American football, or by playing Ninja, the best non-prop-large group game ever invented. It was really interesting to see how people’s progress (or not) with the Czech language were going. On Saturday of the Rotary weekend we all toured Strecno Castle which was the first castle in Europe I had been to so it was a really cool experience to hang out in something other than the Spanish fort in St. Augustine . That night we had a very fun dance party and let me tell you, Spanish people are the absolute best. My best friend from the Czech inbounds is a guy named Alejandro Acosta and he is awesome. He and the other Latinos basically ran the whole night playing DJ with YouTube and teaching everyone to dance to each song. Being a goofy guy I of course donned the medium (towel sized) Czech flag as a cape during the dance night as to distract everyone from my ehh…dancing :D. Sunday (I think) we had a language test after breakfast which I did averagely on. Because of that I have boosted my Czech studies which you will read about in a little bit.

Fast forward to two weeks later where the strangest thing I’ve ever seen occurred. There I was, sitting on my bus, listening to my Czech Rap half asleep, normal morning right? Well, I decide to look out my window. I don’t know why but I just did. One stop from the main bus station, Stara Osada, the stop is Gajdosova and there is a big nice church and a subway station. Well this particular chilly morning a man with a strange ponytail and goatee decided to dance around some poor old ladies, on benches, and on the church steps…without any clothes on… yes ladies and gentlemen, I saw my first streaker… on my exchange. Was it a highlight? No, but definitely one of those moments you won’t (unfortunately) forget. So I looked around the bus and did what everyone else was doing. I turned forward and looked out the windshield with a blank face like nothing happened. Normal morning right?

My other trips have included another to Slovakia with Katrina Platkova (Slovak Rotex) and her husband to Spis Slovakia, where we stayed with her mom and dad (who is a Rotarian) and we went to Spis Castle, the second largest castle in central Europe. It was absolutely breath taking. We also went to Slovak Paradise; a mountain where we hiked and has at the top a giant slab of rock that juts out over empty space for hundreds of feet and you can lie down and look over the edge. It was beautiful and had great views. Lastly we hiked in High Tatras, and THERE WAS SNOW!!!! No big deal or anything to us Floridians right? . It’s the biggest mountain range in Slovakia and I can’t explain how wonderful it was but I have an album on Facebook with only pictures from that hike. Gorgeous. My latest trip was to Warsaw, Poland with my family and the Czech Republic Bartenders Association because my dad is the president. It was the 60th annual International Bartenders Association world championship for flair tending (flipping and juggling the bottles while making the special cocktail) and classic bartending (just making the special cocktail. Warsaw was very pretty but too modern for me because I like more historical buildings and so on but still very nice. My second Inbound Orientation was held in a city called Trebic, where I and the other 14 exchange students visted an old Jewish town, a beautiful old Jewish synagogue, and had a badminton tournament which my second host brother and i won! We also had a Speaking language test the first night after dinner as well as a three page written language test after dinner. I was very excited to get the results back(98 out of 100 on the written test) and find out that i currently have the best knowledge and use of the Czech language in all the exchange students living here .

In my spare time I have begun to go to a Gymnastics hall with my friends Petr Zilev and Michael Bejcek, to follow my childhood dream of becoming …. Spiderman. We learn and practice flips, spins, jumps, and vaults, which is what I’ve always wanted to learn to do but not had a place in Florida to try it. Other sports include Floorball, a game much like hockey on a basketball court, where you use a waffle ball instead of a puck, and sneakers instead of skates. Unfortunately I use a golf swing which is not allowed but I am learning fast. Slack line of course is still a favorite of mine (and now my gymnastics friends) but indoor spinning has become another favorite. Not only because one of my friends is the trainer, but it’s an awesome workout for one hour. It has proven to me that it is not only for girls (it kicked my butt the first time!). I have been to a hockey match(Kometa Brno((team name))) and I have found the fans are exactly like ours at a high school or college American football game, loud, obnoxious, and somehow singing or chanting in tune, all at once, so that the bleachers shake. I have also attended my first official Floorball game (Brno Bulldogs) and women’s basketball game (the team name escapes me but our mascot is a Frog.

In school I am in class 3.X which has three subjects (history, geography, PE) in English to see if learning in English helps learn the language faster. Because of its effectiveness my friends only spoke to me in English which (after I asked nicely) has stopped and we only speak Czech, but also I now have three only Czech language subjects with class 3.A, an all Czech class, when 3.X has English subjects. So everything is fixed so that I receive optimal Czech language!

OH MY GOSH THE FOOD!!!! I guess where I could begin with this mystical edible substance is when I was traveling with Katrina Platkova (Slovak Rotex((Lives in Brno))) and another Rotex to my first Rotary weekend in Slovakia. We stopped along the way at what is now my favorite restaurant in the 2240 Czech and Slovak Rotary District, “Koliba Drietomica” where I had one of my favorite Slovak dishes, “Halusky” which is potato dumplings with cabbage(like warm sauerkraut), sheep cheese (like fried macaroni and cheese), and pieces of sausage(delicious bite sized pieces of heaven). My favorite desert is Knedliky s ovoce which are hot baseball sized desert dumplings with a whole plum or nectarine cooked inside. Normally it’s served with shredded cheese, melted butter, and powdered sugar. It’s truly one of those meals where you have to think the whole time, “Pretend its Thanksgiving so it’s ok to eat all of this delicious food and don’t feel bad about it later…pretend its thanksgiving…” The list goes on and on of the foods I love but now for the foods that are waiting to be tried but are sometimes feared by foreigners in new countries. The first “interesting” concoction I tested my insides with was in one of my Rotary club meetings. I couldn’t read what the only thing on the menu was for dinner but the dinners at Rotary had yet to be anything but silver platter worthy so I figured it was going to be great. (WARNING- what I’m about to explain is not for the weak of heart or stomach) What was on the plate was normal white boiled rice with what looked like clear jell-o with pieces of meat floating around inside of it. As I took the first forkful to my mouth my second host brother and Rotex leaned over and asked, “So u like pig tongue huh? Good!”…..As I forced my way through the tongue jell-o, the only thing in my mind was a picture of me kissing a pig…. Nuff’ said. It didn’t taste good either unfortunately… The next food that is not a normal thing to splash down into my stomach acid was goose hearts. Yup. Goose hearts and w

So enough about the heavenly food here. Here’s a cool short story. A few weeks ago I had a Skype call with my Moms dad, Sherman Bryan Jennings, or for me and my siblings, “Peeps”. He had something very important to show me. He contributed a certain amount of money to Rotary in my name and explained some of my past “good deeds” to his Rotary Club of Orange Park and how I was going exchange and I have received the Paul Harris Fellow award. I told him how greatly honored I was to receive it and thanked him for doing it for me. That really touched my heart because he is 90 years old now, still a lively young man in my eyes as I always tell him . But he didn’t have to do that and he went out of his way to do something wonderful for another and isn’t that what Rotary is all about?

Anyways, about my current standing with learning Czech. My Czech lessons in school are not very effective for me. I only have one lesson a week after school on Tuesday and it’s only for 30-45 minutes. I have talked to the teacher myself but because of his schedule he could not make more time for us. So now I have two awesome Rotex friends who are helping me out. My good friend Katrina Platkova teaches English in a school and she is my major Czech Grammar teacher now. She gives me lessons for free whenever I have time that works with her schedule and she has made me a HUGE grammar workbook and everything. We normally meet Mondays before my rotary meeting for about an hour, Wednesday after school for about two and a half hours, the same on Friday and on the weekend Saturday or Sunday. She is a great help and I think it’s really speeding up my Czech learning. On my own I do homework from the grammar workbook and I learn words. When I left Florida I knew 218 words from flashcards made from Liz Kane, a Rotex who lived in Czech Republic two years ago. I am really proud of myself because I have taken her general flash card idea and blown the number up from 218 to around 950 words in almost three months. My personal goal is to be the first exchange student in Czech Republic to be functionally fluent a little earlier than halfway through the year. I can already have conversations with adults and teenagers most of the time understanding enough know what they want to say and being able to respond with not so perfect grammar but I know that will come with time and more practice.

So to those of you who took the time to read this, Dekuji moc, Thank you so much and I hoped you enjoyed it. I have also decided to take a different approach to blogs and I’ve started making video blogs on my YouTube channel (Theredsurfer268) about my marvelous stay in the Czech Republic.

Again thank you to Rotary for this incredible opportunity that not too many people can say they have and I promise to use it to the best of my ability. As you can see from this lengthy journal I am making memories for a lifetime here . Thank you for your attention!

Until next time,

Jennings Brower

Ni Hao!  My name is Kelly Urban and I am very excited to say that next year I will be outbounding my senior year in Taiwan!!  I have always wanted to travel to exotic places and meet different people all over the world, but I had no idea that I would ever have the amazing opportunity of traveling to such a beautiful and incredible country as Taiwan!  I am beyond excited for this new adventure and I know I will appreciate and gain a lot from it.

I am currently 16 and attending Pedro Menendez High School in St. Augustine, Florida.  I grew up in New Hampshire and New York and moved to Florida only a few years ago, but I love it!  It is so beautiful here and I love having fun with my friends and family.  I have an older brother, who is home bound do to an illness, but he is my inspiration and I love him immensely.  I am very passionate about music, theatre, animals, and living life to the fullest!  I am the most open minded person I have ever met, and when I heard about Rotary Youth Exchange I was extremely ecstatic and eager to learn more!  I came home and immediately revealed to my parents exactly what I knew I wanted to do; I wanted to be an exchange student.  I wanted to take my future senior year and turn it into an amazing adventure including everything I’ve always dreamed of accomplishing at a young age.  For this, I cannot thank RYE enough for giving me this amazing once in a lifetime opportunity!  Thank you so much for helping me start what will be the best experience of my life!

Each day I carry positive energy around with me everywhere I go.  Despite what may go on around me, I believe that a strong head and an open mind can do wonders for yourself and the people around you.  I believe that the true meaning of life is to give life meaning, and that is exactly what I plan on doing.  

Zàijiàn for now!

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away” – Hilary Cooper

Kelly’s Journals

May 14, 2012

Welcome to my journey in Taiwan!! =]

Last year, when I was sitting in my high school auditorium being introduced to RYE Florida for the very first time, I had never imagined that throughout the following year, it would slowly become a huge part of my life, my future, and a huge part of who I am today.

A week before my departure, I stood looking at my suitcase thinking about everything I had been through to get to that very moment. All the mental, physical and emotional preparation I had endured to be able to take a breath of relief and say, ‘I’m ready’. And I am, So this is my adventure, my journey, this is my turn.

The Journey~

When I arrived at the airport, I checked my bag and waited with my family in front of security for my friend Devante to arrive so we could enter together. A couple Rotarians had come up to my mother and I and introduced themselves from a local Rotary club in my District. We talked about where I was going and we stood with them waiting to greet their inbound coming in from France! After saying goodbye they wished me good luck, and it came time for Devante and I to say goodbye to our families. We took pictures and gave one big last hug to everyone. As my mother began to cry, I knew that this was it, I was leaving and I wouldn’t see my family for the next year. It was hard, but I was prepared. We walked through security and onto our first flight to Michigan. The 2 1/2 hour flight wasn’t too bad but when we landed I was so excited. A few months prior, I had contacted an old friend from New York, who had told me she would also be exchanging this very year to Taiwan !! It was a crazy coincidence and at the gate, Devante and I met up with a whole bunch of kids going to Taiwan, along with our friends Marco and Elycia from Orlando. I saw my friend Emily for the first time in years and it was amazing. It was the first of many reunions that I know Rotary will be responsible for 🙂 We reconnected with some Starbucks and a 17hr plane ride to Tokyo! ~Not many people can say that 😉 ~

The flight wasn’t too bad…at least.. the first 5-6 hours. It was alot of fun, but as more and more hours passed it became worse. I knew I wanted to be able to sleep once I got home, so I tried to only sleep very little on the plane to avoid jet-lag. But it wasn’t fun, I grew exhausted and uncomfortable. In my personal journal I wrote this at about 3:35am, ” I’m tired, I’m hungry, and all I want to do is climb into a warm bed and black-out for about a week. I’ve been up since 6am, I’ve gotten about..3hours of sleep total and I probably wont get any more. I’ve never seen daylight last so long..I’m soar, really soar, and once I get a solid meal I’ma kiss the ground! “

When we arrived in Japan I was able to get through security with the others very easily. Japan has the quietest airport in the world! It was beautiful, and even though we were only there a little while, being as foreign and exhausted as I was, it was the most amazing thing in the world. After we all had to switch our seating do to a mix up, we finally boarded and headed to Taiwan!!! <3 At this point, all I wanted was a hug..and to sleep. When we were landing over Taiwan I had no words.. The feeling of ‘ Taiwan’ hadn’t really sunken in yet. At least.. I was too tired to realize. It was about 3-4 hours by time we landed, kissed the ground, went through immigration and found our luggage. I said goodbye to everyone, took a deep breath, and walked through the gate into the very beginning of my new life.

I walked out to find over 100 family members and Rotarians with banners and flags yelling and screaming for our arrival. It was one of the most amazing feelings ever..:) The first thing I heard was a young girl’s voice say, “Are you Kelly :D?! ” – It was my host sister Ting-Ting holding a giant banner with my face on it. They all gave me big warm welcome hugs with smiles all around and took the first of many, many pictures. The moment was foggy, but one important thing I do remember is the first thing my Baba (Host dad) said to me. He gave me a big hug and said, “We have been waiting a very long time for you.. 🙂 “

I waited for my host parents to bring around the car with Ting-ting. I watched all the cars and lights of the city and I couldn’t believe it. I, had made it. We headed to the store and I got a drink. My first thing in Taiwan, Tropicana orange juice. ( It was in Chinese, that counts for something). The car ride home was long and tiring, I kept dozing off, but I will never forget my conversation with Baba. He would ask me various things in Chinese or English. I struggled to understand and answer since I was so tired. He would talk and talk and eventually turn to Ting-ting and say “Ok ok I need a translator now” (Ting-ting spent 5 years of College in Utah). When he was finished he turned to me and said, “Right now, I believe my English, better than your Chinese. But, hopefully, by end of year, your Chinese, better then my English! Ok, yes? :)” Then he held out his pinky to make a ‘pinky-promise’. Then, there, I had made a very special pr omise to my Baba that I will never forget.. and I will forever intend to keep that promise.

After our 2-3hour drive home to Nantou in central Taiwan, I was welcomed home with open arms by my host brother Yzu-Yen, my other host sister Tien-tien, and my close cousins. They were all so nice and inviting. We talked a little bit but everyone knew I needed sleep badly. My Mama (host mom) reminded me that I had my Inbound Orientation/ Language Camp the next day, so I had to unpack my things but repack enough for the week ahead of me. Everyone was so nice and took care of me so well. My first conflict in Taiwan, figuring out if I’m suppose to sleep on the flat bamboo mat on top of my bed or if was just decoration. By time I went to sleep at 4:00am, deciding to just plop on my bed and pass out seemed like the best solution.. I had never been so happy to sleep in my entire life.

Month 1~

My first day went by extremely fast. I woke up at around 12pm with a perfect night’s sleep. Luckily I worked it out well enough so I didn’t have any jet-lag. I hopped out of bed and a few seconds later my Mama came in holding her IPad saying ‘ Zǎo :)’ -Morning- and sat on my bed ready to go over the first night questions. Not only did I just wake up, but I still felt kind of awkward, I was quiet and completely out-of-it. I knew I wanted to feel settled right away, but I know that’s something that would have to come with time. It felt great going over the first night questions because I had been looking forward to that moment for so long. My exchange had finally begun.

Ah breakfast, my first solid meal in days. I sat down at the familiar story-told round table seated for 8 and stared at the various dishes. I was handed a pair of chop sticks and a small bowl of rice, ‘take whatever you want’ my Mama said. I took what was closest to me, some calamari in some type of brown sauce. -It was amazing- Truly delicious and I ate that with my rice for my very first meal. I got ready and we left for my orientation camp. At camp I signed in and met all the other inbounds from around the world, though the shock of realizing that everyone was speaking MY language caught me off guard. I never realized how powerful English is around the world. Not that everyone was fluent, some people spoke very well but everyone mostly grouped together with people from the same country. The Language camp was held at Overseas Chinese University, it was pretty big and we got to walk around and get to know everyone. I was happy to finally meet a very good Braz ilian friend of mine Thiago, who I had been talking to for a while prior to coming to Taiwan. We both thought it would be a good idea making some friends before we came to our district, and finally being able to see a sort-of familiar face made things much more comfortable. As we ate pizza for dinner, our district chair introduced the plans and schedule for the week, making everyone incredibly excited.

After a miserable night of sleeping on a hard mat in the freezing cold ‘only know how to turn off if you can read Chinese’ air conditioning, we met for a meeting in the grand hall. The first day we took many pictures and were given many presentations on exchange rules and fitting into our new surroundings etc. We had to each introduce ourselves in Chinese/English and represent our countries. Throughout the rest of the week was just extremely fun, a normal day would include a quick breakfast, very helpful basic Chinese classes, break, class, yummy lunch, cultural activity/craft, break, dinner buffet, and ‘Party Time’. These days I will never forget, in one week we had all become so close, trying new things, hearing so many languages, learning about each other’s different cultures and creating exciting memories of water fights, late night stories, dancing, games, and just having a blast. The Rotex took everyone to our very first night market, I got to finally try the amazing bubble milk tea, and at the end of the week there was a huge dinner and a talent show for all of us to show some talent. My American friend Kris and I practiced all day and sang our hearts out. Everyone put on an amazing show and everyone was so sad to leave.. little did we know how much time we would actually get to see each other in the future, but I guess we just weren’t ready to let go of our only first week as an inbound family. But what I had learned after such an amazing week, which I as well, was not ready to let go of, my host father told me one heartfelt thing to remember as we drove away, “Every party, must come to an end.” But I knew, it was just the beginning.

The following week was crazy busy being introduced to new ‘firsts’ left and right. My host brother took me to eat cho dofu or ‘stinky tofu’ a famous dish in Taiwan. Not many foreigners enjoy it but I loved it 🙂 I was given a tour of my city and had my first Rotary meeting, which was really exciting. I first went to dinner with my host dad in my city and met with a group of Rotarians. They had a pre-meeting before the meeting and when dinner came we went into another room and I was I introduced to all the other members, handing out cards and shaking 100 hands smiling, trying to make a warm first impression. Learning all the Rotarian’s names like Boss, Shoes, Fire, Televy, Post, Blue, Life, etc. In Taiwan they choose their English names based from their profession or maybe a hobby or just something random like House or Car. And when you address a person you must use a title like Shushu, Ayi, Jiejie, meimei, Gege or Didi (Uncle, Auntie, older si ster, younger sister, older brother, younger brother) etc. ~even if they aren’t really a relative. At the meeting I gave my first speech, it was the very first time I had been nervous since my Rotary interviews, and it was the first moment that I truly felt like an exchange student. There I was being handed the mic. from my host dad about to give my very first speech in Chinese, and all I could think about was “How the heck do I pronounce all this!?” I gave it my best shot- thinking about it now, it must have been really funny for all of those Rotarians hearing me fail so abruptly in Chinese for 5minutes straight, for the odds of me only correctly saying 15 words tops couldn’t have been a far chance.

But that’s experience 😛

The next day my host sister took me to Kaohsiung, in southern Taiwan. It was so much fun being in the 2nd largest city in the country! I went to a famous night market and we ate soo much. The well known fact to foreigners about Taiwan, THEY. EAT. A LOT. Pretty much all the time, I assume high metabolisms work well in their favor, but they definitely do eat a lot healthier. Since I hadn’t eaten much on the plane or very much during camp, I started to become very full, very quickly. One small bowl of rice and I felt like I just finished a Thanksgiving feast. This didn’t work so well in my favor, many people thought I didn’t like the food because I didn’t eat very much. Also in Taiwan, it’s very rude to not accept things that people offer you, as well as food. So it was difficult to explain that I loved the food, I just wasn’t hungry. So what did I do? I learned how to say ‘I’m full’…very quickly.

So back to my story, we had a 2-day city tour and we went to the beach which had blackish-grey sand and gorgeous water. It was the first time I had ever missed the beach..one of the things I surely took for granted. We traveled on motorbikes (scooters) all around Kaohsiung and it was a blast. It was the first time I’ve ever been on one and at first, I was pretty scared. I remember sitting on the back thinking ‘ oh I don’t like this..I don’t like this, I do not like this at ALL’ ~I loved it. When we got off I had such a rush of excitement and all I wanted was to ride more! It was crazy and such a great experience riding around the city at night with great speed feeling the wind in your hair looking at all the other bikes next to you (more bikes then cars) looking around seeing nothing but tall buildings, bright lights and TONS of Chinese signs everywhere. The feeling was amazing 🙂 ~Scooters are extremely popular in Taiwan because Taiwan is so s mall, the streets are very narrow and busy and scooters are extremely convenient to get around, and about every family has at least one. You’ll see anyone from 15-80yrs zoom-zoomin around on these crazy things, I love them, and just so you know mother, I want one :)~

So, *drum roll*

My first day of school.

Was I nervous? No, just EXTREMELY excited. I had gone to the school the week before to get my uniform, my schedule and meet with my homeroom teacher, along with my other 1-on-1 teachers. In Taiwan the students stay in the same room and the teachers change rooms. The teachers have cubicles downstairs and the students stay in the same room unless they have gym or computer class. They stay with the same group of people for all 3 years of Senior high school. ~Since Taiwan is so small, everything is built up, so all the buildings and homes are very tall and most homes have 3-5 floors. So my school has about 6 floors and each year you go higher and higher up the school with each grade you progress in~ So as I met my teacher she asked if I would mind meeting my class as well because they had been dying to meet me. As we walked through the hallways all the students smiled and screamed and giggled waving furiously through the windows. When I reached my class everyone jumped up and sta rted to scream, they were all very excited!! She introduced me and I introduced myself in Chinese and talked about my basic information. I go to a Commercial high school so all the students study for their profession. My class studies ‘Applied Foreign Language’ -or English- so they all speak some English. They practiced introducing themselves and if they didn’t have an English name (most did to my surprise) my teacher would say, ‘ pick one’. ~Cause it’s that easy~

During my first day I didn’t know what to expect. I rode my bike down the hill to school and met my homeroom teacher for a tour around campus. After making friends with some 3rd graders in the library, I met my classmates and we went to our first computer class. It was really odd getting use to all the attention. I expected a little, but it definitely isn’t something anyone can prepare you for. Everyone was staring at me left and right asking to take pictures, laughing and giggling and running away all shy. They point and say hello and everyone would get extremely shocked if I would say ‘Nǐ hǎo’ – Hello- or ‘Xièxiè’ -Thank you. During lunch, a few people from every class goes down to the bottom floor and brings up lunch trays filled with various dishes and sets them on the outside ledge of the classroom. Everyone brings their own bowls and chopsticks and takes whatever they like for lunch. They eat in the classroom and watch the news and a few more people help wash the bowls and set them to dry, as others bring the empty trays back downstairs. One of the first things I noticed during school is that everyone is so helpful and everyone contributes. There’s a lot of teamwork, and no one complains. Everyone is so nice and it helped me feel comfortable more quickly. I made many friends and was given many opportunities to be involved by being invited to many different activities, clubs, and events. Every day is different, I learn about Chinese music, language, and art. I have gym, computer class and English with my classmates. And I also learn Calligraphy and Shoa-lin kungfu outside of school. I have about one or two classes a day, but when I don’t, I try to spend as much time as possible with my classmates and study Chinese.

On September 10th we celebrated my first festival in Taiwan, the Moon Festival. I didn’t know what to expect, but I was extremely excited. All week my friends were eating a round cake-like treat called a Moon Cake, and teachers were giving me bags of fruit and such to take home to eat on the special day. All of my host relatives came to our house for a huge dinner, KTV( karaoke), mahjong, drinking, and telling stories all night. There were fireworks, which were beautiful but scared our dog Mickey who ran away.. but we found her a few days later 🙂 At night my Rotary club had a big event/dinner with the same activities, I went alone because my family had to host the party, but I had a fantastic time and it was great getting a lot closer to the Rotarians. 🙂

My first trip with Rotary was to Yilan, in North-Eastern Taiwan.

I invited my friend Caro from Mexico to join us on our journey, which was a fantastic idea. We traveled 3 1/2 hours towards the high mountains of Yilan. We stopped at 3 major tourist sites that were to die for amazingly beautiful, and took a boat to the famous Turtle Island. We were given a tour of the once aboriginally inhabited villages, and walked the trails around the eye-capturing scenery. Back in the city of Yilan, we were treated in a 5-star hotel with a spa which Caro and I took advantage of all night. The weekend was simply amazing, and it was the first time nature had truly touched my heart.

My name is  LJ Karlson and I am Rotary Youth Exchange student who will be spending the next year in Thailand. I am a sophomore at Fleming Island High School but will be a junior by the time I leave for Thailand. Ever since my best friend’s older brother went on an exchange to the Czech Republic and told me how much fun it was I have wanted to go. I have lived in  and visited  other countries but nothing like Thailand.

I have two siblings, an older sister who is a senior at Fleming Island  High and a little brother who is in eighth grade. I love to play soccer, sail, listen to music, and to travel. I have a job were I am a referee for soccer and also have my own little lawn mowing business.

My biggest fear going to Thailand is the language. Thai is a language much different than English. It is a completely different and much bigger alphabet and they have so many words that look the same but are just pronounced differently. Its really hard to learn by my self especial because I don’t know if I am saying it right, but once I am in Thailand I think it will be allot easier to learn.

I had not really even thought much about going to Thailand until I heard that’s were I was going. At first I was pretty nervous about it, but once I started researching it I got really excited.  The best thing I like about it is that its a completely different culture than America. There are many sights you could see every day that you could never see any where else.

I am very excited and also very thankful for the Rotary to grant me this once in a life time opportunity.

September 23, 2011

My first month in Thailand has been amazing. I have done more this month than I usually do in 2 or 3 back home.

I have had the privilege to meet all my host family’s many times and they are all really nice. My first family lives on a huge farm with about 100 cows, 10 dogs and many other random animals. I live by my self up at the top of the farm in a very nice little house with everything I need in it and my host family lives down in there main house.

My second host mom has a trip planned for me and the other Rye from Mexico every weekend so we get the chance to visit allot of the country. I’ve gone to Bangkok about 3 times and am going one more time this month to visit the US Embassy to here a speech on P.O.W and M.I.A and their work that they do in Vietnam and about the Vietnam war.

I have also visited Pattaya many times and has many foreigners in it. I have about one week left of school and then I am on break for about a month. During this month I will be doing allot of traveling with my family. My Family Has planned a trip for me to go to Singapore. We will go in December from the 19 to the 26 or 27 so I will get to spend Christmas there.

My school is extremely small and old and is not very academic but I have made allot of good Friends. Every day after school we usually go to the gym for about 2 to 3 hours to play soccer and Badminton. I have a really good cousin who loves to teach me Thai and helps me every day. I can now introduce my self and say many other useful phrases.

My Rotary club here is very involved in the community and sponsor many activities. The third day I came here they made me run a 10k that I was not at all prepared for. I have visited 2 other Rotary clubs and both of them were very friendly and welcoming. My first month has been amazing and I’m thinking that it will only get better with time.

January 16, 2012

My first five months here in Thailand have been beyond amazing. I can already notice my self growing in so many ways. After having to give a speech in Thai in front of my whole school the first week was here, I am no longer shy to speak out loud or in front of crowds. Last week we had to go to Pattaya to march in a parade and then do a performance on stage for the people in order to raise money to donate to the flood victims. During this, my job was the MC who was in charge of introducing the people and there routines, if this had been the old me back in America I would have been freaking out and had no confidence to do it but since I have gained the confidence I was able to do it with ease. School here is getting a lot better even tho its still crazy long.

I have got my self very involved with my school and now have just about a full schedule every day. Every Tuesday I have sport day were I get to play futsal and badmittion with my friends. Every Wednesday, my two favorite teachers take me out of school for a class called Thai culture. This class is a blast because the teachers, even no they don’t speak English, have great personalities and a great sense of humor, and the best part about it is that they take me to really cool places, two weeks ago we went to the national Sea Turtle conservation center were we were able to see hundreds of turtles and learn about the type they were and what these people are doing to preserve them. Last week we visited the temple were the Head monk, equivalent to the pope, Lived and worshiped for most of his life. It was a beautiful temple and it also had a room with a giant cage that contained a piece of the Buddhas body which I thought was really interesting. This week we went to a Chinese museum were we got to see hundreds and hundreds of artifacts dating back to the A.D. Times.

I am also very involved with my Rotary. I go to the meetings every single week and join in every fundraiser or activities that they have. Tomorrow I will be join them in going to Bangkok for the whole day to help provide support to the flood victims by giving out food and water or helping them stack sand bags. I have also put on 7 kilos which I am desperately trying to lose. I have got a new work out system that I created so hopefully that should do the trick. The other exchange students are very friendly and its all ways nice to see Annie and Rachel who are my fellow Americans.

Eight weeks ago we had our first trip which was to a mountain called Phu Kradung which is located in the north of Thailand about 16 hours away from where I live. We Started off the trip having a big party with the natives to celebrate Loy Kratong which a huge festival were people light these balloon like things on fire and release them into the air. All in all the festival was a blast and it gave us an opportunity to relax before our big week we had in front of us. The following day we had to wake up at 5:30 am to begin our 12 km mountain climb and when I say climb I mean climb. We were Constantly having to pull our self over rocks and other objects and helping each other out any way we could. For my group it took us 3 painful hours to reach the summit or the top but man was it rewarding. The rest of the week was spent wandering around the 27 kilo plateau that laid on top and visiting its many beautiful water falls. I also had my first in-counter of leeches which I must add are the most disgusting creatures ever.

I Have adjusted my self pretty well tho Thailand and its culture. Some things it only take you one time to learn like for example BRING TOILET PAPER EVERY WHERE YOU GO! I can not emphasize this enough for the Future outbounds to Thailand. Most places let alone even have a really toilet let alone paper. Its more of just a hole in the ground with a bucket and a hose next to it that your supposed to use instead of the paper. I can truly say that never in my life will I be ungratefully for any real toilet that has paper.

One big thing that I haven’t quite got used to is Thai time. In Florida the Rotarian’s emphasize being on time like crazy which I think is great because it gets us very prepared. In Florida when they say it starts and 7:30 that means you must be there at last 5 to 10 minutes early or else your considered late but here in Thailand its the complete opposite. If they say 7:30 You might be lucky if its starts at 7:45 or even 8. In Thailand there is really no sense of emergence to do really an thing.

My Thai has increased greatly within the past two months. I can now have a pretty good conversation and I can defiantly make it by on my own if I had to. As I’m typing this I am on a plane on my way back from Singapore. I was fortunate enough to get the opportunity to spend a week there with my host moms sister and my Thai sister. Singapore is a great country and a great place to spend a week, but I must say that I am re-leaved to be on may way home. Due to the fact that my host sister doesn’t speak English I was her translator for the week and to my surprise I was able to translate just about every thing she wanted me to. I have never felt so accomplished I’m my life as I did then. To know that I can now comfortably speak Thai and also translate it for people was the most rewarding feeling ever.

My Christmas is one that I’ll never forget, mainly because it the first year in my life I was away from my family during the holiday and that I did even celebrate it. I have noticed now that when ever I do allot of traveling I feel my self start to think about going home and crawling into my own bed, and by own bed I mean my Thai bed.

I feel so at home and part of most host family its crazy. I am able to do comfortably joke around and walk around my house like I’ve been there my entire life. I will be switching to my second host family soon. My current host mom told me that she wishes I could stay with them the whole year because she doesn’t know what she is going to do when I leave because the house will be so quite. My host dad also said something along those lines, he told me I had made a permanent family and that I am truly his son and that I will all ways have a room in his house. To know that the impact I have made on them is almost the same impact they have made on me. There is nothing nicer in this world to know that your have met people that now love you and that are just as upset that your switching host family’s as you are. Due to the fact I feel like I am with my real family here in Thailand I haven’t been home sick a single day and I’m starting to think that ill be extremely lucky and wont get home sick at all. Even tho I’m sad that I’m leaving my family I’m excited to move in to my new moms house. She is a very emotional person and has already fallen in love with me and the other exchange students. Each of my family’s also introduce me as their son which makes me very happy. My second host mom loves to travel and she invites me every time, thanks to a mixture of both my family I have seen so much of Thailand .

I realized that I only have about another 170 something days. Time is flying to fast for me. I am dreading having to leave Thailand. My life is at an all time high at the current moment and I’m not expecting it to go down any time soon.

Salut! My name is Maranda Lyon and I am proud to say I will be an exchange student with Rotary Youth Exchange, to Belgium! I am 16 years old and a sophomore at Fletcher High School, when I go on exchange I will be a junior. I live in Jacksonville Beach, FL with my father, mother, sister, grandmother, dog, and cat. My favorite things to do are just hangout with my friends, ride bikes, camp, go to the beach, and listen to music. I know I am going to miss everyone here so much, but in the end it will be worth all the hard work, every second, every breath, and every tear! But I sure am going to miss American football!

The more I read about Belgium the more I fall in love. I mean who doesn’t love chocolate, waffles, and French fries? Also the more I read about Belgium the more I think there isn’t a better place in the world for me to be. There always seems to be something going on in Belgium and I love to stay busy.

Let’s just begin with I am very outgoing, adventurous, giggly, and love to meet new people! I am looking forward to traveling the world and getting to know myself even more and maturing! I come from a VERY big family that has always been here for each other, and they are supporting me every step of the way.

I can guarantee if you are with me there will never be a dull moment. I’m a spur of the moment kind of person; I don’t like to just sit around doing nothing. Why waste your life away when you can be discovering new things? I remember the day so clear when the people from Rotary came in my Spanish class and told us about the exchange, as soon as I got out of that class I called my Mom and told her I was leaving for a year!

Last but certainly not least, I want to give a big Thank You to Rotary for giving me this change of a lifetime! There are honestly no words to describe how happy and excited I am to discover all the new things to come! Thank you so much!

Maranda’s Journals

September 14

Ahhhh! I have been in Belgium for a month now. That is SO crazy. How do I even describe this experience? So much has happened so far; I have met so many people, and have eaten so much! 😀 I love Belgium and all the people who live here.

Thinking about leaving Jacksonville wasn’t hard, it didn’t make me sad, and I honestly thought I would be the last person on Earth to cry. At the airport with my family and friends, I was just as happy as could be, dancing around in my rotary blazer with my sister and trying to crack jokes for my two best friends Alexis and Kayla who were crying their eyes out. Then the moment I actually had to be a grown up and venture off on my own through the Jacksonville airport, I started crying so hard. It was the weirdest thing. I honestly can’t even explain it. I know every single tear that I cried at that moment would totally be worth every single second of this life changing experience!

I remember my first glimpse of Belgium, cloudy. I got here at the airport and I remember being so confused. There were three tunnels to go through and I had no clue which one to go in! I chose the one with the most people that had American passports, haha. When I got to the front of the line, the passport-checking guy asked me why I had so many pins. I told him I was an exchange student here from Florida, and he gave me a pin! From there I picked up my luggage and headed on my way. I turned around the corner and saw so many people waiting, and you want to know what my clumsy self did? I dropped my suitcases everywhere, so embarrassing. I still yet to this day know if my host parents saw me drop them. At first I didn’t see them anywhere and I got so confused, then I saw them jumping and waving, I then proceeded to have the biggest smile on my face ever! They were so cute welcoming me with their little Belgian kisses on the cheek and offering to help me with everything!

My first week here everyone kept on asking me “Are you okay? You look lost. Ça va Maranda ça va? ” I was just taking everything in and trying to get my brain use to everyone speaking French and the time change. It was so embarrassing my first day here I went to my nephew’s Birthday party with a few of my family members here, and while I was watching the soccer game on TV I just passed out. The whole first week I slept so much! Also, during my first week I had a wonderful host sister named Naomi. I’m super glad I got to meet her because she explained a lot of things to me, introduced me to some people, and showed me around a bit! I love when someone ask me where I am from then I say Florida, they then get super excited and say “Me-am-me beach?!” Then I have to say no, but I live at the beach.

My second week was a lot better, because I got use to the time difference and I had a sleepover with my second host family! My host sister, Pauline, her friend Manu, and I all went to a dance party in my town. I met a lot f new people; it was a lot of fun! I love hanging out with my host sister Pauline, and it is easy since we live so close to each other! Usually at night time I go to the park in my town and hangout with a lot of people I have met here! Everyone here is really nice, even though a lot of them don’t speak English.

My third week here I started school, and before I walked into the school I was SO nervous. I was so scared of school and I thought of every bad possibility available. Luckily, my guidance counselor introduced me to three girls who are super nice and are now my new Belgian friends (they even invited me to hangout with them after school the first day!) They helped me all through out the week get around school. I also met a few other girls in my other class that are also super nice and have asked to hangout! I also now take the bus! On the way there it isn’t so bad because I have people to ride with, but the ride home I’m always scared I get on the wrong bus or I missed it, or I’ll miss my stop. Hasn’t happened yet though! (: Oh, and gym here, let me tell you, I don’t think I will be gaining any weight. So much running!

I hate to say it, BUT I seriously don’t miss home, at all. There is always so much going on here that there’s no way I’m ready to go home any time soon. I love my house here, I love my families here, I love my new friends here, I love the food here, I love the air here, I love the smell of my town, I love my school (even though I understand nothing), basically I love everything. Except the conversion rate of Dollars to Euros, that kind of blows.

Thank you SO much to the Rotary for this opportunity and all the support of my friends and family.

xxx Bisous

Favorite questions so far:

“ Is there a swamp in your back yard with alligators?”

“ So, do you travel to New York and California since they are so close to you?”

“ Is your favorite singer Flo Rida?”

February 2012

Hi there! So my journal is long over due, Oops, but without any further a due…..

My time here in Belgium seriously has gone by so fast! I’ve already been here for 6 months, and I only have 4 months left! So much has happened. Since my last journal it’s hard to compact it all, but I will try! 😀

So, the day before Christmas I switched families. It was sad because I loved my first host family they were super cool and some of the nicest people I have ever met! My second host family is really cool too though. I already knew them before I moved in so all is well. I’m really close to my host sister, and spend most of my time with her, my host brother is pretty cool too, sometimes I hangout with him & his friends. Sometimes it’s hard getting use to having a brother and I just want to punch him, which I usually do, but I’ve always wanted a brother so it’s also really nice.

In December it snowed here, and at first I was like aweeee yeah this is so cool, I freaking love snow. I had a huge snowball fight all over my village with a few of my friends and some of the neighbors. Then came 7 in the morning walking to the bus stop. Needless to say I sure was missing my Florida sun and roads without slippery ice! I had boots on with about 5 pairs of sock, and I wore 2 pair of leggings under my jeans, and a forever amount of shirts with jackets and a scarf. I was still cold. Now, I get excited if it’s 40 degrees. That’s a good day for me.

I think one of my favorite things to do here is go to “soirées” because I always get to meet new people and just dance all night long. It’s also kind of strange because the only music they play at soirées is dubstep and bass & drums. I love music like that but after I leave the party, I always think I will go deaf afterwards. Super good feeling.

I haven’t really gotten “home sick” yet, but yes I do miss things from America…like food and money. Something all exchange students know the feeling of. I mean of course I miss my family but not the way I miss chick-fil-a, the ocean, or country music on the radio. No offense. <3

Oh by the way, I dropped by France, London, Holland, and Germany for a little visit. No big deal. My favorite of them all was London. The atmosphere there was just incredible, not to mention all the boys with beautiful accents that made me want to cry! In the center of London, I had a dance off with a random stranger….and I totally won. Honestly, one of the scariest/happiest moments of my life!! Everything in London just seemed like a dream. As for Paris; it was breath taking. I remember entering Paris, and seeing the Eiffel Tower off in the distance, and all I could think was my life right now is so unreal. Every little thing I saw in Paris was so lovely. All the museums had so much history and all the landmarks as well. Oh, the view from the top of the Eiffel Tower, unforgettable. I felt like I was on top of the World. I went to Holland with my first host mom and my friend Klaudia (in Belgium from Florida.) I’ve never seen so many people riding bikes around; they even had their own lane and lights. It was really strange just to see sheep walking around on the roads like it was no big deal. Germany was really cool, because I went there during Christmas time and there were little markets everywhere. In April I will be visiting ITALY for 2 weeks!!! I’ve only dreamed of going to Italy my whole life. I’m sure I am going to cry.

Yeah, so basically Belgium is really cool and everyone should come here on exchange and bring lots of warm clothes. That’s all.

A big thanks to Rotary for all they have done to get me here and support me! Also a big thanks to my family for supporting me every step of the way without any doubts!

Hej, Jeg Hedder McKenzie Bolin! (For those of you who don’t speak Danish, I said, “Hi, my name is McKenzie Bolin!”) In case you don’t know why I’m speaking Danish, it’s because next year I will be living in Denmark! I am 15 years old, although I will be 16 for my entire exchange year. I am currently a Sophomore at Nease High School where I’m in the International Baccalaureate program.

International Baccalaureate, or “I.B.” as most people call it, is an amazing program that I am very thankful to be a part of. It has taught me to always try my best and instilled in me how important work ethic is. The most important thing it has given me, though, is my love of learning new things and embracing other people’s opinions. This will be very helpful to me next year, when I will be constantly reminding myself that nothing is strange or weird, it’s just “different”.

I have lived in Florida my whole life, and I haven’t even lived outside of the Jacksonville area. I live at home, in Ponte Vedra, with my mom, my younger brother who is in 8th grade, and my maternal grandparents. My parents are divorced, but luckily for me, my dad lives close by, so I get to visit him on the weekends. I also have 4 dogs and 1 cat, which I count as a part of my family.

Some of my interests include volunteering, church, traveling, animals, lacrosse, and acting. I am in 3 clubs at my school: Best Buddies Club, Conservation Club, and Cultural Diversity Club. I also volunteer at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens and at my church as a pre-school teacher on Sundays. This year, I started playing on my schools girls lacrosse team. I love it, because not only to I get to spend my time having fun with some friends doing something good for ourselves, but I also get to show off my school spirit. I have been acting for a few years now, and since I started, I have had small roles on T.V., a movie, and in multiple plays. I hope to someday become a zoo veterinarian as my career.

For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted to do foreign exchange. No, I am not saying that as an expression, because my mom tells me that in first or second grade I asked if I could live in another country. From the moment I heard about Rotary Youth Exchange, I knew it was made for me! I am a very independent person and have always wanted to take an adventure on my own, so RYE was the perfect program. I am very excited to try many new things, foods, and cultural activities in Denmark.

I could not be more excited about going to Denmark! It still seems unbelievable that a year from now I will be living in Denmark, speaking Danish, and living like a Dane. I am sure it will be one of the best years of my life, and a great opportunity to experience another culture first-hand.

So many thoughts have been rushing through my head since I got the phone call about going having Denmark as my future host country…. I keep asking myself things like what my family and friends will be like, what my new home will look like, what I will do each day, and many more random thoughts and questions! It is so amazing to know that in a few short months, I will have all these questions answered!

I will never be able to thank Rotary enough for this amazing opportunity that will certainly be one of the best years of my life.

McKenzie’s Journals

July 19

As I sit here and write this, I know that my time in Florida is limited. I have a small 18 days left in “my world”. Florida is the world I have spent the past 15 years building. I have built a home, filled with family, friends, and comfort. That comfort I have built is the comfort of always feeling that I belong. I always know what is going on and I don’t feel out of place. One would like to think that the thought of leaving my entire world that I’ve spent so long building is insane and I would have a lot of anxiety about leaving it…. Well the truth is: I have never been more excited about anything in my entire life!

I have spent the past year of my life preparing for this and I know that I am ready! Just a few months ago I got an email that I had dreamed of getting for my entire life: telling me I was going to be an exchange student. Then, just 2 weeks after that, I got a phone call that I never could have imagined in my wildest dreams: Jody Davis called to tell me I would be going to Denmark. Honestly, I never expected that. I knew I would be going on exchange, but I never expected Denmark. At the time, I had no knowledge about Denmark. I was in shock. It was a very excited shock, but shock nonetheless. Since then, I have spent every second learning about my future home and dreaming about my new life in my new world.

Since I was accepted into RYE FL, and chosen to go to Denmark, I have changed so much! I have already learned so much about myself and the world. Rotary always told us that after our exchange we would be more confident and responsible and independent, well honestly… I already feel like that (but I’m sure it’s nothing compared to how it will be after next year)! In the past year, I have learned to handle my own problems and I’ve learned so much about myself. I never imagined that I would be able to do everything I have done. Never could I have known that I was capable of handling visa issues and jumping through all the hoops I’ve had to jump through (and believe me, I had to jump through A LOT of hoops to make my exchange possible).

But, I don’t want to write these journals only to boast about all of my upcoming adventures. I want to allow everyone to know what it feels like to be an exchange student. There are ups and downs, and I’ve already had some. I had many downs whenever I would experience difficulties attempting to learn Danish (which I am now convinced is the hardest language to pronounce, but I do know it’s possible…. Somehow it has to be possible) or whenever I had an issue getting my visa (so stressful!). But, the one thing I want to make very clear, is that the ups have always been worth the downs. How do I know that? Well, any exchange student will tell you everything you do in your preparation year is worth the feeling you have when you read your first email from your host families and club counselor.  Now, I know my exchange is real, this isn’t just a dream I will wake up from (or so I continuously hope). I have skyped my host sisters and emailed my host moms. Nothing in the world can top that feeling of knowing that you belong in your new home and they are excited to see you!

I know next year will be hard. I know I will miss Florida and the comforts of the life I have built. But I also know that I must leave this life and go off on my own before I will ever be able to fully appreciate this life I’ve built and myself. So thank you Rotary, for making me the happiest teenager in the world. You have given me opportunities I could have only dreamed of so far.

September 6

I have been in Denmark for one month now and the only word I can possibly say is “Wow”! This past month has been amazing! I never imagined my new life would be this great! So, let me fill you in on everything that has happened so far!

My last week in Florida: I left on August 5th from the Jacksonville International Airport. The last week before I left was full of my “last times” of hanging out with my friends and seeing family members for a whole year. As I said my goodbyes, I honestly couldn’t bring myself to feel sad (not because I’m heartless, but partially due to my excitement and partially because I continuously felt as if I would see them again in a week). I officially got nervous when I went to the airport to greet Belen from Ecuador at the airport the day before I left. Then, the next day, it was my turn to leave. After hearing from all of my fellow outbounds who had already left and greeting an inbound, I finally had my chance. I didn’t cry as I had expected… I knew that I would be back in a year! The only time I really cried was when I looked down at Florida after my first plane took off (I still don’t know if they were tears of joy or of sadness).

Arriving in Denmark: I arrived in Denmark almost a full 24 hours later. I was completely exhausted (I had probably only gotten a good 2 or 3 hours of sleep the night before I left and was so excited and nervous that I didn’t sleep at all on the way here). I was greeted by my club president, his wife, and their 2 granddaughters. That day I spent some time at their house, then went to my new home, unpacked, had dinner, and then went to a surprise party for my host sister in my 4th family (she had just returned from her exchange to Australia and her 17th birthday was that next week). I finally got to go to bed that night after 40 hours without sleep!

School: My school started one week after I arrived. The first day was crazy! I am in the first of 3 grades and on the first day, all of the upperclassmen decided to tease the 1st years. We were greeted at school by people waiting to paint our faces and spray our hair green- surprisingly, though, all of my class found it funny and we had a great day! The Friday of my first week was my birthday, which was amazing… but I’ll get to that later! School is surprisingly fun and easy here. I had thought that school would be much harder, but in the classes I understand (like math), I find them easier than in Florida, and all of the students get much less homework!

My Birthday: On my 2 week mark, I also celebrated my birthday! It was the Friday of the first week of school. My class sang to me (in Danish and English, because they use both songs here). My host families, host club, a few friends, and one Rotarian in my club all gave me gifts- which really surprised me since I had been here for such a short time! That night, my host mom invited some of my friends over for coffee and cake! And not just any cake… kage mand! It is cake shaped like a person, covered in candy- best cake on Earth (and when you cut it, you slit the throat and the birthday person screams!)

Intro camp: For my 4th week here, I went to intro camp. I was able to spend a week with 120 other exchange students. We had Danish classes and also did many other things, such as: private concert with the Danish band “Striving Vines”, spending a day in Aarhus (shopping and at the museum ARoS), watching a Danish film, along with plenty of other fun things! After spending a week with all of the other students, I can’t wait until our next get-together!

Fun things: I have already had some amazing experiences! I got to fly in a glider plane! I have been to the west coast of Jylland where I saw giant sand sculptures. A Rotarian in my club took me to a medieval festival, which was amazing!

This past month has been hard at times, but absolutely amazing! I am so happy with my decision to become an exchange student with Rotary! I have already had so many experiences that wouldn’t be possible back in Florida. I have grown as a person and have learned something new every day. My Danish is slowly but steadily improving, which makes me very proud!

Tak til Rotary og min familie og venner i Florida (Thanks to Rotary and my family and friends back in Florida!)

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Just over 2 weeks ago, I celebrated my 3 month mark of being in Denmark, which I suppose means I should write a journal again!

My life has been crazy since I got here. So much has happened since I wrote last. Not only have I done so many different things, but I’ve experienced so many different emotions, met so many amazing people, learned more than I ever imagined (not just Danish, but about myself and the world as well), and changed as a person.

I have had an amazing time here, but that goes without saying I have also had some hard times. I knew that this year would be hard and would test me, but I will admit I was surprised at how hard it was and in what ways. I honestly didn’t expect to get homesick (which luckily I wasn’t ever too homesick and I never wished to go home, but I have had some days where I’ve missed my mom and dad), and I think I also didn’t realize how exhausting this exchange process can be! I think only exchange students understand what I mean when I say that I never knew it was possible to experience so many different emotions at once (sadness, joy, excitement, pride, disappointment, frustration, and pure happiness, along with other emotions I couldn’t even describe).

One really fun thing I experienced was visiting Copenhagen! My first host family took me to Copenhagen and Roskilde for 3 days and it was a great trip. During my fall holiday, they decided to take me to visit the country capitol (which is something I can’t say I’ve even done in the USA, my home country). The trip was really nice and it was great to see things I have only seen pictures before now. While there we toured castles, saw the harbor, saw churches older than the USA (well actually almost everything we saw was older than the USA which I found fascinating), and of course, visited the little mermaid statue. We also saw the changing of the guard at the Queens castle, where I had an interesting moment with a guard. After the changing of the guard, I decided to take a picture with one of the guards like many other people. I waited my turn, handed my camera to my host dad, and then stood the respectable distance from the guard… my host dad motioned for me to get closer to the guard. Once I tried to inch closer, the guard gave me a very angry look and then shooed me away. Normally I find it easy to make friends, but I guess for some reason he didn’t like me!

My favorite part about visiting Copenhagen was when I realized that I feel partly Danish. While there I felt the same way that I would expect to feel if I visited DC. I felt like a tourist since I don’t live in Copenhagen, but I didn’t feel like a foreigner. It is very hard to explain, but it was a feeling I really liked having!

Another fun thing I’ve done here was go to a national get together for the inbounds! I loved being able to catch up with some of my really good friends. I got to see the 2 other students from Florida, my oldies (the students who come in January- mostly from Australia and New Zealand), and all of the other exchange students! We spent the entire weekend catching up and bonding. We also had a crazy costume party which was a blast! I guess anytime you put a ton of excited exchange students together, blast Danish, American, Spanish, and Brazilian music, you’re bound to have a good time! That night no one slept, because we partied all night long.

I have already switched host families for the first time! I will have 4 families this year, so I will spend about 3 months with each family. I had met with my new family before I moved and I already loved them. My host parents are so sweet and so is my host brother (19) and they’re adorable dog! Even before I moved in, I knew they would be a great family for me, but for some reason, I was so nervous when the time came to move. I guess at that time, I had already put so much hope into them and was afraid that maybe after I moved in something would change and I wouldn’t feel the same way. I was also afraid of having to re-adjust to a new family, especially since I was just beginning to become comfortable here. Luckily, once my new host parents came to pick me up, all of my nerves calmed and within hours of living with them I already felt like a member of the family! I love my new host family and am so happy and thankful they are hosting me!

My Danish is improving step by step. It is hard, but I get better every day. I can understand most of what people say (given that they are willing to not say it at the speed of light!), but responding is still hard. I guess the best way to describe how I feel when I speak Danish is by comparing it to when a puppy barks. Anyone who has ever had a new puppy knows the reaction they have the first time they bark. At first, the puppy doesn’t know barking is possible, and then it hears other dogs bark and is curious. Then one day, the puppy will bark. Not knowing what just happened and given it’s their first time it feels strange, but over time, barking becomes less and less strange to them… I know this may seem confusing, but that is the best way I can explain how I feel speaking Danish. It is weird at first, but it is becoming more and more natural. My Danish has actually improved so much that I have already started dreaming and thinking in Danish. I had one very short dream in Danish a few weeks ago, as well as frequent moments of realization that my thoughts are occasionally in Danish.

Although my Danish is improving, it definitely isn’t perfect yet, as I have been reminded through some moments of misunderstanding! One day, my first host mom and I went to an outdoor market our town has every year. At the market they sell everything from animals to toys and books. That evening, my host dad asked my host mom what we saw that day. My host mom listed many different things, one of which being “kattekillinger” (which means kittens). I recognized “katte” as cats, but didn’t recognize “killinger” and thought that my host mom just said that we saw cats being killed! I guess my face showed my shock because my host parents asked what was wrong. I then explained that I had no idea people were killing cats, so they had to explain that it was kittens, not cats being killed.

Just 2 weeks ago while watching TV with my new host family I had another misunderstanding that lead to a funny store and a little embarrassment. While watching TV, the words “Sneen falder i 4 dage” (The snow falls in 4 days). I immediately got excited as my host family just watched and laughed! It turns out that the phrase was talking about the Juleøl (Christmas beer), not real snow… And by the way I have yet to see any snow here, but I’m hoping it will come soon! I guess one thing I have learned this year is to laugh at myself. I have realized that I am bound to mess up the language and with the culture and the best way to get through it is with a big smile and a laugh.

Although I may have some moments of confusion or misunderstanding, I am very proud of how much my Danish has improved. Before I came here, my understanding of Danish was horrible and I am now able to express myself and understand quite a lot. My accent and pronunciation is still horrible, but it is getting better. I even gave a full (20 minutes long) presentation to my Rotary club in Danish just 2 weeks ago. I was very nervous before (which is something that normally doesn’t happen but I guess the pressure of speaking that much Danish scared me), but it wound up going great! I loved being able to show off my new language skills and thank my host club for all they’ve done!

While I was presenting in Danish, I realized that just a year ago I was being told by Mrs. Roderick and Mrs. Cameron that I could be presenting in another language! At the time I honestly thought they were crazy to think I’d be able to speak another language in such a short amount of time, but (as always), they were right! I still can’t believe that just a year ago I was contemplating the possibilities of becoming an exchange student. Going to the Rotary presentation was the most life changing thing imaginable and I am so fortunate to have this opportunity!

Some other things I’ve done:

•Toured a cookie factory! In my future town, there is the Royal Dansk butter cookies factory, where a Rotarian in my club just happens to work! Knowing how much I love their cookies, she offered to take me on a tour. It was really interesting and a great experience.

•Gone to a district get together in Ry, a nearby town. We canoed 5km and hiked about 6-7 km (mostly uphill). Although they made us sweat all of our Rotary weight off (which by the way- Rotary weight is real, much to my dismay), we all had a great time getting to know each other. We also got a good laugh when we learned how to dance a Danish folk dance.

•Seen the “bogman” of Denmark in a museum in Silkeborg.

•Visited tons of museums!

•Gone with my club president, his wife, and my friend/ my clubs future outbound to my club president’s Somerhus (summerhouse) for a weekend.

•Gone to a Wafande concert with my French class where we won a rapping competition.

•Visited Kolding with my new host parents. Just last weekend we went into the town which is only an hour away from where we live. First we went to the GIANT mall there (as we drove up my host mom and I both got excited as we saw it!). After a few hours of shopping, we went to “Kolding huset” (The Kolding house- it is a Castle originally built in the 1200’s that has been burnt down and rebuilt since). It was nice because it was my first real outing with my new family and it was good to just spend a day with them (plus touring a castle is always fun!).

•Gone to a handball game! I can now call myself a handball fan!

The past 3 months have been crazy and I have been on an emotional roller coaster, but it has been the most rewarding experience of my life! I never imagined my life would be like this, but I love it! I love feeling like a Dane and speaking Danish. Rotary has given me an amazing experience and although my time here is limited, I will not waste it. I have already done and learned so much, and I know that will continue.

Thank you Rotary for giving me this opportunity and for all of your ongoing support! Thanks to my family and friends in Florida and here in Denmark, because without you I never would survive this year or had this chance. Much love from Denmark!

Walking down the streets, I no longer have the feeling of being forever amazed by everything I see. Instead of everything being special and new, now it’s normal. I no longer question things, and just do them without thinking about it. Danish comes to me much more naturally now and I struggle for words much less often. At first I thought that having everything seem much more normal to me would mean that I don’t appreciate them as much, but now that it has happened, I realized that isn’t true. Although I look at things differently, I still appreciate them as much. I no longer appreciate driving past cow farms everyday on the way to school because it’s new, I appreciate it because it’s become my life and my life in Denmark has become normal to me, which is what I always hoped for!

Since my last journal, things have been both crazy busy but also uneventful. I guess the reason for this isn’t because I haven’t done anything lately (because I have definitely done plenty) but more because of the fact that things that seem normal to me now (like going to my language class two times a week) aren’t as big of a deal to me as they used to be. I have been able to go out and see plenty of fun things lately, but I have also been able to see how my life would be if I was raised in Denmark. I have now experienced the Danish holiday season and been able to have an amazing time.

One fun thing I did recently was visit Copenhagen with my Rotary club president and his wife. It was great for me to get to spend some time with them and we had such a great weekend. One of the best things from that weekend was visiting Tivoli. Tivoli is an amusement park right in the middle of the city. It is completely magical and I will never forget the view I had when on the roller coasters looking over the walls of Tivoli into the city, being able to view both the new and old parts of the city.

I also recently had the opportunity of sharing an American classic with my host family. I made them a mini Thanksgiving dinner. Because it was just the 4 of us it was a small meal and unfortunately given that I made the meal in December in Denmark (which, by the way doesn’t have canned pumpkin or sweet potatoes). My host family loved the meal and I was happy being able to share Thanksgiving with them here (although my host parents practically had a heart attack just seeing how much butter I put into the meal).

My favorite thing I got to experience so far was a Danish Christmas! I have always been a sucker for Christmas and so celebrating Christmas here was amazing. First off, Christmas was celebrated all December long. I watched the countdown shows on TV, had one of the chocolate calendars that I used to have as a kid, listened to Christmas songs in Danish, and what has now become a tradition I will bring to America- we burned a “kalendarlys” which is a countdown candle that burns down each day! Although the Danes celebrate Christmas all December long, it really became Christmas about 2-3 days before Christmas when we decorated the tree (a real tree!) and the house got fully decorated with Christmas decorations!

Here, everyone celebrates Christmas on the 24th which seemed a tad off, but then I got over it because it meant I could open gifts a day early! My host family had a full house for Christmas (my host brother who lives at home, my host parents, their 2 daughters and their husbands, my host aunt, uncle, and grandma, and of course, me!). We had a special lunch, then went to church together, then came home and watched a Disney Christmas special that every Dane watches every year, and then the real celebration began! We all got dressed up, had a large delicious dinner, and then practiced the weird Danish tradition that I completely fell in love with- we danced and sang around the Christmas tree which had candles on it! After we finished that, we started opening presents which lasted a few hours! It was my best Christmas ever and I will forever be thankful to my host family and Rotary for allowing me to have had such a great experience.

Another major holiday in Denmark is New Years and I would say it’s celebrated even better than in America. On New Year’s eve, I stayed at home with my host family where we had many guests who came and celebrated with us! We watched Denmark’s Queen make a speech on TV about the past and future year. After that we had a huge meal and then celebrated the new year by watching the clock ring on TV in Copenhagen and then celebrated with great fireworks!

Just a few weeks ago I got to spend some time with my next host parents. They took me to Århus to visit “Den Gamle By”, which is a town where they have houses from older times. It was a great day, because not only did I get to learn about older times in Denmark, but I also got to spend some time with my future host parents.

One thing I’ve learned here is that my family back home isn’t my only family and that family is what you make of it. My family and friends have become very important to me this year. Not only do I have my biological family in Florida, I have my host families, my close friends, and my fellow exchange students (both from Florida and staying in Denmark). One of the hardest things I have gotten quite good at through this exchange is saying goodbye to family. First I said goodbye to my RYE FL family, then my friends and family in Florida, then my first host family, and now, my oldies (exchangers who come from January to January). Just this weekend I had to say goodbye to the oldie I was closest to. It was bittersweet. Saying goodbye to her was hard, knowing I probably won’t ever see her again, but I will never forget the memories we have together and her leaving also means that there will soon be new exchange students coming to take her place! It was also a lit tle strange because her going away party marked my 5 month mark, which also meant that I have 6 months left. It was a nice little reminder that my time here is limited, and so it should always be treated special because I only get one shot at my exchange.

My time here in Denmark has been great so far! I think a large part of that is because I have such a great host family and Rotary club here. I was very afraid I would get homesick around the holidays, but because of my great host family and how they have made me feel so at home with them, I wasn’t homesick at all! I will be moving in early February which is something I have mixed feelings about. I know my next host family is amazing, but I am so happy with this host family! I tell them all the time that I couldn’t have asked for a better host family!

Before I sign off I just want to say congratulations to the future outbounds (and to you lucky ones going to Denmark- tillykke!) Whether you realize it or not, you have just begun the best adventure of your lives! Enjoy your pre-exchange year and don’t wish it away because you will make it to your host country, but first you must experience the pre-year! I wish you all the best on your exchanges next year!

Thank you again to everyone back in Florida! Without all of the Rotarians and Rotex’s help last year, I am sure I wouldn’t be here right now!

April 7, 2012

“Exchange isn’t a year of your life; it’s your life in a year”.

8 months of my exchange have come and gone and with them I’ve changed and experienced things. I’ve had good and bad experiences, but they have all been important. Through everything I’ve experienced, I’ve changed, I’ve grown, and I’ve become the person that I am right now. I have accomplished things I’ve never thought possible, I’ve seen and done things I’ve always dreamed of, and I’ve learned- about myself and the world.

Whenever I would tell people I was going to Denmark for a year, one of the most common things said was “but a year is such a long time”. I have come to realize these people were never exchange students. With each passing day, I come to realize just how short a year is. It has gotten to the point that whenever someone brings up my “return home”, I have to tell them to not talk about it- my close friends in Denmark and I honestly can’t stand the thought of it, and talking about it makes it worse. I hate hearing people talk about things coming up that will be happening after I am back in Florida. I remember always hearing Rotary tell us that coming “home” will be the hardest part of our exchange, and I’m now starting to realize how true that is.

One of the many reminders about how quickly time passes was moving from my 2nd to 3rd host family. Moving day was one of the hardest days on my exchange. In the 3 months I lived with my 2nd family, I found complete happiness. I celebrated Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years with them. They helped me through things when I needed help (even when I didn’t want to admit it, but my host mom was way too good at realizing when I was having a hard day). I felt so at home in their house and with them, I never had to work at our relationship, they just automatically became like family. With them I was able to not worry about being a tourist and just live my life in Denmark. They were patient with my Danish (God bless their poor souls for all the hours they spent helping me learn this language).

Moving families was hard. I cried. A lot. I had to accept the fact that a part of my exchange was over. But, after the tears were shed and the bags were unpacked in their new home, I realized that my 3rd host parents are really great! I have come to feel at home in this house as well and I’ve had some great times with them as well. After I realized that my 3rd host family will never be the same as my 2nd, but can be just as good (just in a different way), I was able to have lots of fun with my new host parents. I have come to the conclusion that my 2nd and 3rd host parents can’t be better or worse than each other, they’re both great host families, but in 2 different ways.

Since moving, I have been able to travel around Denmark a bit and see some things (actually, A LOT of things). I’ve been to different cities (Århus, Ribe, Odense, and Silkeborg), seen more museums than I imagined Denmark had, and learned a lot about Danish history. Aside from seeing different things, I’ve also been able to spend some time with my new host parents (alright I guess since I’ve lived with them for 2 months now, I should stop calling them my “new” host parents). I’ve gotten to meet their family and have reached the same level of comfort around them that I had with my 2nd family and even with my family back in Florida.

I have been really busy spending time with my friends here. I find I am constantly going out to the city, shopping, sleepovers, small parties, or just to watch a movie with a friend or two. One of the most important decisions I made this year was to be certain that I always say yes to every opportunity and for now, I can proudly say I’ve done just that! Although at times I may have felt unsure or out of my comfort zone, I find I’m always happy I tried it.

Recently, I was able to celebrate a very Danish tradition, festelavn. It is basically the Danish version of Halloween and is in February. My school even had a big party and everyone dressed up! It was lots of fun and a cute tradition.

One of the most exciting things I was able to do lately was visit Paris! I went for a week to stay with my great aunt and uncle and was able to get in all the famous sightseeing. I was able to see so many things that, until now, I’ve only dreamed of seeing. It was an amazing trip and it was great seeing family that I haven’t seen in years. It was also a nice break, I got to think some things through and leave some of the rush of Denmark. As much fun as I had in Paris, though, I was happier than I thought I would be to come back home. It was great hearing Danish again and seeing my friends and family here! I realized by leaving, that Denmark has truly become my home and is the place I love.

Aside from the above mentioned things…. My life is fairly normal still. I go to school, spend lots of time out with all of my friends here (I really couldn’t have asked for better friends than the ones I’ve made here in Denmark), spend time with my host families, and live the life I’ve come to love.

Words can’t explain how thankful I am to Rotary. With the help of Rotary and my exchange, my entire life has changed. I’ve grown so much as a person in the past months and have been able to make my own decisions about my beliefs. My views have been tested through this exchange, and because of that I’ve realized how I truly feel about things. I’ve been forced to grow and mature past my age which is something I couldn’t comprehend happening from an exchange. This exchange has changed my outlook on life and has helped me grow into who I am. Without Rotary I wouldn’t be able to say any of these things and I also wouldn’t have met any of the people I have, I wouldn’t have seen the things I have, and wouldn’t have done the things I have. Tusind tak Rotary!

June 22, 2012

I suppose it’s safe to say time goes fast because I had no idea it has actually been so long since my last journal! As always, there has been so much that has gone on since my last update. I have moved host families, gone on plenty of trips with host families, spent 18 days in a bus on the most amazing trip of my life, and even started the countdown to coming “home”.

I can’t possibly list all of the small trips I’ve gone on since my last update, but I’ll just tell you the best. I think my favorite was going to Copenhagen for the Queens birthday. In Denmark, the Queen’s birthday is a national holiday and many people celebrate it by going to her castle in Copenhagen and waving to her at noon, and since my host mom loves the queen and I definitely needed to experience this, we did just that.

In the middle of May I left for the ultimate trip- Eurotour. I left for an 18 day bus trip spanning over 5,000km into 8 countries. I was able to bond with 49 other exchange students and experience many places that I otherwise may not have seen. Together, we sailed along the canals of Venice, walked the streets of Paris, stood on both sides of the old Berlin wall, and sat and watched the Monaco Grand Prix race trials.

Eurotour was definitely a highlight of my exchange and I will always have great memories of it, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was excited about coming back home to Denmark. After spending 18 days without Danish I was overly-excited to hear the language again and couldn’t wait to start the last 6 weeks of my exchange. Once I got back in Denmark I moved back in with my 2nd host family instead of my 3rd (my 3rd host mom needed knee surgery making it better for everyone if I moved back to my 2nd family). My 2nd host parents were slightly afraid that since I now have summer, I may end up being bored, but I’m far from that.

The past 3 weeks of “post-eurotour” have been insanely busy. I started out with catching up with my friends since I missed them like crazy. Then I took a day trip to Northern Jutland in a town called Skagen (a beautiful place where you can see two sea’s meet and stand as far north in Denmark as possible) with my 2nd host family. I have also been on a day trip to the west coast with a Rotarian in my club, where I was able to try surfing for the first time (of course I would be the weird Floridian that learns to surf in Denmark of all places). I also spent an entire weekend with one of my best friends where we went to an amusement park and threw an American bbq/party for our friends.

Just this week I had an evening with my club president and his wife as well as all of my host families together. It was great seeing them all together and seeing my host moms come together to chat about stories they all had of me. I am currently preparing for my last Rotary meeting in Denmark where I will give a presentation (in Danish of course) for my club about my year. It’s crazy to see how different it is for me now, compared to back in November when I gave my first long full Danish presentation; I no longer feel nervous or have to struggle to write a 30 minute speech in a foreign language.

The next 3 weeks will probably be even more hectic than the last. I will eventually need to say the hardest goodbyes of my life (to my host families, classmates, and closest friends) as well as accomplish the other things I have on my calendar (like an American grill party for my 3rd family, legoland, and my school’s last party of the year). I know that leaving will be the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but I suppose that’s how I know I’ve had such a great exchange.

My year has been full of struggles, whether they be in the form of Danish, school, making friends, or coming to feel at home with a family I just met. In the end, I couldn’t be happier about my decision. Exchange has been amazing in ways that I know only other exchange students will understand. Thank you to Rotary for allowing me this wonderful, life changing opportunity that I’d never have otherwise had. Through this exchange I’ve learned so much- I’ve become fluent in Danish, come to know so many amazing people, and learned the worst lesson for exchange students- that I can’t control time so I better have fun and make the most of it while I still can.

November 3, 2012

I’ve been back in Florida for over 3 months now and I still cannot accept the sad truth- my exchange is over. I’ve definitely experienced an entire roller coaster of emotions since returning home, and yes, I do still miss Denmark.

It’s hard for me to think that 3 and a half months ago I was standing in the Billund airport crying my eyes out, dragging my 5 pound blazer around, and hugging the people that I love most dearly goodbye. That whole day is a complete blur in my mind, and yet I continuously go over that day, second by second. I remember hugging each person goodbye, promising my best friend in the entire world that this would not be the end of our friendship. I remember the way the sun hit my tear filled face as the plane took off from Denmark. I can’t get the stream of images out of my head.

Oh… and maybe I should mention the crazy “we can’t find your plane ticket” drama…. Basically, my plane tickets weren’t issued properly (to no fault of anybody, but basically due to the airline merger drama). Then I was sent on a plane to Frankfurt and told to “figure it out there”, after much fighting and stress and long layovers (gotta love those Texas rainstorms that cause 6 hour flight delays!), I finally made it to Jacksonville.

Once I got home, I realized something. That day was both the worst and best day of my life. In that day, I of course had to say goodbye to everyone I love, but I also got to come back to everyone else that I love. That is the one day of my life (albeit the one 30 hour day of my life) where I was able to see everyone I love in one day, I was able to be in both of my homes in one day, and I was able to hug all 4 of my moms in one day.

As I said earlier, coming home hasn’t been easy. I still have random emotional outbursts of joy and pain when thinking about Denmark. I cry from happiness and sadness, sadness because I miss those moments with those people, but happy because I am just so happy that I was able to experience those things and meet those people.

It’s been hard adjusting back into a culture that used to seem so normal. I question everything now. I still have language lapses. Although my Danish is slowly slipping away, it will randomly pop up in unexpected moments, an occurrence my friends and family have started getting used to. I will admit that Americans confuse me. After experiencing something so different and amazing, I can’t help but wonder how some of my classmates are so content in their bland lives, not even curious about the world around them.

School was probably the biggest shock in general. I couldn’t get over the fact that I must now call my teachers by their last name and ask to go to the bathroom. And…. Well high school is tough in general, but once you’ve seen the world and matured, high school is next to impossible. But, I’m finding a way to survive.

During the summer, district 6970 hosted the welcome home dinner. When I received the email telling me to write a 3-4 minute speech about my exchange I thought Paula had lost her mind. There was no way I could do that. So, I decided to write about the best part of my exchange, the people. The love I saw last year was incomprehensible. My host families will always be a part of my life, as well as my amazing group of friends.

Somehow, I made it through my entire speech without crying. I came surprisingly close to surviving the entire night without crying, until Paula called everyone up to the stage. I immediately knew what we were receiving. In our preparation year, everyone in D6970 was asked to write a letter to their future selves explaining what we hoped we accomplished during our exchange. In the second I walked up to that stage I couldn’t stop myself anymore; because I knew what that letter meant. It meant I had accomplished everything I wanted. I had a successful exchange. And then I noticed something, I had written “Do not open this until you speak fluent Danish” on the outside of the envelope. That night I gladly tore open my letter and realized just how much I’d grown.

After last year, I know that I will never finish having an adventure. I will just move from one adventure to another. Some might call me crazy, but I know that I will be the happy person who can die knowing I gave life everything and I will refuse to live with regret.

Now I get to spend time helping others find their journey, since I’ve been staying as involved as possible in helping Rotary find possible new outbound student. It’s weird knowing that at the high school presentations I helped present, I was one of the audience members just a couple of years ago. It’s crazy thinking about how it only takes a moment to change your life forever.

This journey has been crazy. It has been the best thing that ever happened to me. It has been life changing. I now know who I am as a person. I know what I want in life. And I know that I am capable of accomplishing my dreams. Thank you Rotary, you have given me a gift that I will never be able to pay back, although I will spend my life trying.

Oi! (A way to say “hello” in Portuguese that I find quite entertaining.)

My name is Samantha Conklin. I’m currently an eighteen year old senior at St. Augustine High School. I am fortunate enough to graduate this upcoming June and spend my gap year living abroad in….*insert an intense and dramatic drum-roll here*…BRAZIL.

In this quaint little city I call home, I live with my mother, my three younger sisters, and my cat named Tabitha. No more than ten minutes from my house, live my grandparents. Thankfully, every single one of them was in full support of my decision to become a youth exchange student. I haven’t resided in St. Augustine my whole life, or Florida for that matter. I was born in Ohio, and have moved multiple times (my last being from Memphis, Tennessee). So, change regarding relocation isn’t something completely new to me, and hopefully will work to my advantage in the near future.

In school, my schedule revolves around my enrollment in the AICE program. As for extra-curricular activities, I’m a member of the InterAct club, and hold the position of “vice-president” in French Club.

When I opened the email that notified me of my acceptance, I practically went into a state of pure excitement/shock. Questions such as, “Is this for real?! For real, for real?! Did I read it wrong?! I was accepted?!” were thrown at my mother accompanied by a smile that was plastered to my face, and abundant amounts of joyous flutter-clapping.

I can’t explain how amazing it feels to know I’m going to take part in this program, and to be going to Brazil nonetheless. I send a huge “THANK YOU” to Rotary and its members for allowing me to embark on this journey that will surely challenge and change my life for the better.

–“Growth means change and change involves risk, stepping from the known to the unknown.”–

Monday, October 10, 2011

Four cities.

Three flights.

Two continents.

One destination.

That’s what it took to end up where I am now, in Brazil.

As I’m writing this, I’ve just passed my 7-week mark.

(I’ve realized this year will pass rapidly, and that’s a sad thought.)

After saying goodbye to my tearing up family, I made my way through security and out of Florida from JAX on August 5th, headed to the airport in Dallas, Texas. Now, I find it necessary to mention that I had a few small nerves about having to travel alone. (Not to mention the pressure of not wanting to be an exchange student that missed a flight.) Hint for future exchange students: When Rotarians tell you to wear your blazer at all times in the airport, DO IT. My blazer ended up being spotted by four other exchange students from Houston and one from Mexico, all making their way to Brazil, and then I didn’t have to worry about being alone. I took an ever so long flight (over ten hours) and the next thing I knew, I was in the Sao Paulo airport. By the time I landed there, I honestly wanted nothing more than to shower, eat, and sleep the day away…but I had one more flight to catch. I arrived in the Ribeirao Preto airport about 1 o’clock, had to ask one of the flight crew members to help me with my back because it was too heavy for me to lift, and walked out of the baggage claim’s doors. As soon as I saw the large “Welcome Samantha” banner, and a bunch of strangers with smiles on their faces, the nagging feeling of needing a nice bed to sleep in completely left my mind. I was bombarded with the repetition of “Welcome,” kisses, and hugs.

Since I’ve been here, I’ve been lucky to have experienced the sense of “homesickness” only twice, of course that’s along with the normal and occasional “I don’t understand” frustration and the “I’m surrounded by many people but still sometimes feel lonely” feeling. Everyone here is beyond nice though, which of course makes a world of a difference when in one of those moods.

I have a wonderful dad, mom, brother, and sister as a first host family.

I honestly find it hard to imagine what my exchange would be like up to

this point had I been placed with anyone else.

I’ve tried so many new things and I’ve met so many new people. (Occasionally feeling bad that it takes a few times to actually remember their names and not just their faces, when they always end up remembering mine.) And I’m growing in the process. When I came here I was extremely shy, awkwardly so…but with every new day that comes and passes, I can feel myself becoming more comfortable. As for the language, I find that to be the hardest part of an exchange. I know others will say, “You have Portuguese, that’s easier than trying to learn the one I have to learn.” But in reality, a new language is a new language. Period. From being here about two months, I can understand simple things, and can sometimes end up guessing what the person is talking about just by recognizing a phrase or a string or words. It’s more than reassuring when someone reminds you how good they think your Portuguese has gotten.

I know it’ll take time, and I’m trying to “take one day at a time.”

Patience.

Another essential of being an exchange student, and something I’m learning I need to work on really quickly. Things won’t just happen because you think they will, or you dream about it….Time has to pass and hard work has to be done.

It’s crazy to think that back in Florida, right now, other students are getting ready to do exactly what I did one year ago….Apply for the chance of an exchange year. I can still pinpoint the day and approximate time I got the call saying I’d be coming to Brazil, or the exact time I checked my email and found out I was accepted for this amazing program. I’m excited for all those even CONSIDERING to apply, and I hope that reading the beginning journals of the current outbounds, and the journals of past outbounds, only encourages you to fill out the forms, and go for it. (That’s my advice: GO FOR IT.)

List time? Oh yes. These are just a few things I’ve learned/noticed:

• Don’t walk up to a stranger and say “Eu gosto” (I like) when pointing at their Justin Bieber T-shirt. They will give you a look that implies “You’re a weirdo” and your host sister will have to chime in, explain you like the SHIRT not the woman, and that you aren’t Brazilian. (Won’t do that again.)

• There’s no need to say “Saude” (Health) to someone you don’t know passing by you when you sneeze….Apparently it’s an automatic sign that you’re a foreigner.

• Brazilians seem to be really comfortable with themselves and their bodies.

• Cars will NOT stop for you. (Thankfully, I was told this one and didn’t have to learn the hard way…No need to worry, family.)

• Set times for meetings/classes/church/etc. don’t mean anything. It’s apparently normal to be late for everything.

• American music is on the radio….all the time. Which I find entertaining because even whenever someone can sing the whole song, I’ll ask in Portuguese, “Do you understand what the lyrics mean?” and they almost always reply, “No.” – Then again, I guess it’s the same for me and the Portuguese songs I can sing-along to, because half of them make no sense to me…

• Soap operas are really popular here. (Personal note: I like them! Hard to understand, but the facial expressions tell you all you need to know.)

• When people tell you in Brazil you’ll eat beans and rice with what seems like every meal, they aren’t kidding. I eat rice and beans with two meals some days, but it’s alright because it’s absolutely delicious.

• Brazilians are fanatics about soccer. I know this seems like a, “Duh,” moment, but I find it difficult for anyone to understand just how fanatic they can be unless you’ve been to a real soccer game here. I have. And though it was fun, I’d be lying if I said at some moments my eyes weren’t in a wide stance, wondering what the heck was going on.

• It’s hot here. (Obviously) But my city reaches 108 degrees Fahrenheit, and it’s supposedly “winter-time.” I’ll need to save up some Rotary allowance to buy myself a personal carry-around fan.

• Speaking of money….I think it’s normal that every exchange student will experience the feeling of being completely and unfortunately BROKE. Rotary allowance-day is like Pay-day, and it’s something we all look forward to.

I could go on, but I think I’ll end my first journal here and get into more specifics when I begin to write my second. Thank you again, Rotary!

Beijos.

When people tell you in Brazil you’ll eat beans and rice with what seems like every meal, they aren’t kidding.

January 14

Five months.

It’s surreal to think I’ve been living in Brazil for the last five months. Some days it feels like a week ago where I was saying goodbye to my family and carrying around my Portuguese-English dictionary everywhere I went, while other days, five months feels about right.

It’s hard to think of everything that’s happened since the last time I wrote in October. The rest of the month passed by fairly normal, while in November, I experienced one of the things that every exchange student has to go through, switching host families. I wasn’t too nervous about the transition, since I had met my second family on multiple occasions and traveled with them prior to the actual switch. I can honestly say I’m completely comfortable and love this family already! In comparison to my other family, this family doesn’t speak English, and for that I’m glad.

Language, Language, and more language.

My Portuguese has improved, though sometimes it’s still easy to get on myself about not feeling quite up to par where language is concerned. Like I said, for the family I’m in now, English isn’t used so my ears have had to get accustomed to hearing only Portuguese with me translating a few things here and there when asked. I can understand most things that are being said around me, a lot easier than I was understanding a month or two ago. As for speaking, I think any exchange student will tell you, speaking is always the more difficult aspect. I still haven’t had a dream in Portuguese, but I try not to get down on myself and keep the hope that one day it’ll happen for me. It’s always best not to try and compare yourself level-wise to other students around you, and that’s what I remind myself. This is my year, and I need to continue taking things at me pace.

Oh the holidays.

It was strange for me to miss out on Thanksgiving, with it being an American holiday and all. I thought of the foods I was missing, the family I wouldn’t be with, the football games, but a little while afterwards, I thought of the things I have here that aren’t in the U.S. that I’ll end up missing when I return home. I celebrated my 19th birthday during the beginning week of December. With my birthday falling on a Monday, I had to attend my weekly Rotary meeting, and was surprised when I was welcomed, wished ‘Happy Birthday’ in both English and Portuguese multiple times, sung to twice, had presents, and a cake waiting just for me. It was just another assuring situation of how wonderful the people of my Rotary club are. And of course, the holiday that everyone always asks about, Christmas. I learned that Christmas here is different, for sure. Presents and spectacular decorations aren’t as big of a concern, and it’s more normal for families to take a trip somewhere together to meet up with other members of the family that might not live as close. As for myself, my family and I spent the Christmas weekend in Sao Paulo, while leaving that Monday to travel a few more hours to a large city that has multiple beaches! I never thought I would miss the sight of a beach that much when I left St. Augustine, but it was honestly refreshing to see salty water bordering fine sand. New Year’s ended up being great for me too! It was raining, and cold, but my family and I went out on the beach to watch the shooting of fireworks near a bridge, and it was beautiful. Not even just seeing the lights and hearing the booming sounds of the fireworks, but having been there with my host family that makes me feel like a true family member. Holidays weren’t too hard for me, but it’s always good to remember this when you’re missing out on a holiday that’s going on in your home country: There’s always next year.

With summer coming to an end in about a month, classes all over town, including school, will be starting back up again. I’ve already made plans to get more active: Joining a music class to re-learn how to play the clarinet and taking up a piano class. I’ll also be switching schools, going from a University to what’s considered the senior year of high school again. With me being in the University, I didn’t have a chance to have Portuguese classes or outside of school projects, so my Rotary club and I both think it’ll be better for participation reasons, even if I’ve already graduated back in the states. I can tell you that it makes things easier to do once you have some language skills under your belt. You feel more confident to step out of your comfort zone, and get into more things that you normally wouldn’t be getting into.

For the new outbound group: PARABENS! Us current outbounds are proud and excited for what we know you all will experience in the next few months. (Even if we have our moments of thinking that you’ll be the group to replace us.) Be ready for the experience of a lifetime, for the unexpected, and for discovering more about yourself. I can honestly say I’m more comfortable than ever with who I am. I’m growing into the person I want to be, and you all have just taken your first steps to doing the same.

And now time for what everyone skips down to read: The list.

– While everyone was writing statuses about being excited for Winter Break and nervous about finals, I was already out for Summer break.

– Country music is different here in Brazil.

– Dubbed films can be annoying when you already know an actor’s voice, but you deal with it merely to practice your language skills.

– Beans and rice have continued to be part of my diet for the past five months.

– Japanese food (particularly sushi) and Arabian food are popular here.

– On Brazilian beaches, it’s common to see everyone munching on corn on the cob.

– There are at least four English language schools in my city.

– American restaurants such as McDonalds and Outback Steakhouse are more expensive here.

– The Twilight series is just as big here in Brazil as it is in back in the U.S. I watched the film three times in movie theatres and each time, girls gushed when Edward spoke Portuguese. (Yes, I gushed a little bit myself too, but that’s not the point.)

– Brazilians overall tend to be naturally curious and friendly, which makes it less intimidating when meeting someone for the first time.

– There is a Brazilian song right now, “Ai Se Eu Te Pego” that is currently famous and spreading around to different parts of the globe. (Future outbounds: learn this song and the simple dance to it.)

– Importation taxes on electronics aren’t the most fun thing in the world to deal with.

Thank you again RYE Florida, and the Rotary Foundation in general, for still being the reason that I’m in Brazil in the first place. Obrigada, obrigada, obrigada. This opportunity has given me the chance to live abroad and meet some extraordinary people, along with this being the opportunity I needed to discover exactly who I am and where I want to go in life. You’ve broadened my horizons.

Until next time.

Beijos e Abracos.

Hello/Hallo! My name is Taylor Jarrett, I am 16 years old, and a junior attending West Nassau High School in Callahan, FL. I will be spending my senior year in Germany/Deutschland! That being said, let me tell you a little about myself..

I am very outgoing and adventurous. I have never met a stranger, and I have been to many parts of the world on both vacation and church mission trips. My family is very close knit and supportive of my ventures. My parents have always been there for me, and push me to pursue whatever I want to do in life. I have one sister- Hannah, and many grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and even 3 dogs, all with whom I am very close.

My favorites in life would have to be sushi (spicy tuna), funny movies (The Hangover is my favorite!), rap and rock music, and hanging out with my friends. I have a 2001 Hyundai Sante Fe, which I call my baby. It is quite frequently taking my friends and I on weekend trips.

My best subject in school is history, by far. Everyday I look foward to going to my 4th period APUSH class! I am also involved in Yearbook, and my school’s High-Q team as well. My classmates would describe me as loud and somewhat of a class clown. I love my school and will surely miss my friends and teachers back home.

I consider myself very patriotic. I love my country and what it stands for. Also, I intend on pursuing a career in the International Relations field after college. I feel that RYE providing me the opportunity to go abroad for a year will help me tremendously in achieving this goal. Going to Germany is especially rewarding, as my family comes from a German background, and I will get the opportunity to explore my roots.. Ich liebe dich, RYE Florida!