Amyn Amende shared the amazing past 10 months he has spent as a Rotary Youth Exchange Student in Germany.
Amyn had never been out of New Zealand before. The first two days of the trip were spent in California with the rest of the exchange students who were all heading to different parts of the world. What stuck Amyn about California was the homelessness – he really appreciated how lucky we are in New Zealand.
When Amyn first arrived in Germany he headed off to Munich for a two-week in-depth language course. He really enjoyed the beauty and age of the city with amazing palaces and buildings. The other thing that really impressed Amyn was the 4 lane highways, and the amazing speed cars travelled.
Amyn reported that it took him two months to get used to the language. He had to try and master German quickly as the younger brother in his first host family could not speak English.
Amyn stayed with wonderful host families who took him on numerous trips. One he shared with us was the opportunity to visit Berlin and Checkpoint Charlie. It is a huge city and he also had the opportunity to dine with the owner of a 1500’s castle, where he was taken by Rotary members. Amyn also got to visit the Dachau Concentration Camp while in Germany.
One of his favourite activities in Germany, especially during lockdown, was taking bike-rides in the woods where there were shooting ranges from the war and castles. There were also lots of different animals – foxes, squirrels and boars.
The hardest experience for Amyn was the first lockdown, however, the students were well supported by Rotary, who planned trips and got the students together.
Amyn’s overall impressions of Germany – wealthy, awesome cars and people were happy. Tradition was seen everywhere.
What’s next for Amyn? He plans to get a job and save some money, invest in some property and get the opportunity to go back to Germany some time.
And a big thank you to Milton Rotary and Rotary Youth Exchange for the opportunity.
His message – Be Happy
