Exchange Students
Posted by Bill Molesworth
on Jul 18, 2012
Phil introduced Juliette, who will be going home soon, Stephanie, recently back from Switzerland, Samantha, home from New Zealand and Jacob who will be our outbound student in Germany this year.
Juliette has just returned from a two week trip to the East Coast which she found beautiful and very different from here. Again she made many friends and found it hard to say goodbye. She said that this was her last meeting with us and it seemed like only yesterday she was at her first. She feels she has been lucky to be part of this programme and has enjoyed meeting everybody and she thanked the Club for the opportunity. Jamie Tripp and Phil presented Juliette with a watch.
Jacob said he hadn't left yet and it was already stressful. He arrives in Germany on Sept. 6 and will be in school the next day but he has already met other exchange students which has been helpful and is working on the language. He feels it is an honour to be selected and he thanked the Club for their support.
Samantha had been sponsored by the Wasaga Beach Club and went to New Zealand. She got back on Sunday and it all feels like a dream still. While it is hard to describe the experience she says that meeting people and experiencing a different life has changed the way she looks at things and changed her thinking. The scenery in NZ is beautiful and very varied and she had wonderful host families but she thought her school - with no boys - kind of sucked. All the girls had been together for a long time and were all close friends so getting to know them was hard at first but it all was a wonderful experience.
Stephanie was gone almost exactly 11 months and it wasn't nearly enough - she would have been glad to stay. She says you can't imagine the experience before you go and how much you'll miss it all when you come home. Her language problem was compounded by having to speak high German in school and Swiss German among her fellow students and they are, apparently, quite different languages. The stress was telling and she sometimes fell asleep - in class and once on the train which then took her to another country.
In response to a question about how they'd changed Juliette said she thought she was better at getting to know people, at accepting help and in learning to grow. She says she is more aware of how much there is to do, how many places there are to go and how important it is to understand people from their perspective and to be less judgemental. When asked what they would advise others to do Stephanie encouraged us to say yes to everything. You'll be surprised at what opens up.
Ron offered the thanks of the Club and of Rotary for being such good representatives and wished them well.
Another question
Juliette has just returned from a two week trip to the East Coast which she found beautiful and very different from here. Again she made many friends and found it hard to say goodbye. She said that this was her last meeting with us and it seemed like only yesterday she was at her first. She feels she has been lucky to be part of this programme and has enjoyed meeting everybody and she thanked the Club for the opportunity. Jamie Tripp and Phil presented Juliette with a watch.
Jacob said he hadn't left yet and it was already stressful. He arrives in Germany on Sept. 6 and will be in school the next day but he has already met other exchange students which has been helpful and is working on the language. He feels it is an honour to be selected and he thanked the Club for their support.
Samantha had been sponsored by the Wasaga Beach Club and went to New Zealand. She got back on Sunday and it all feels like a dream still. While it is hard to describe the experience she says that meeting people and experiencing a different life has changed the way she looks at things and changed her thinking. The scenery in NZ is beautiful and very varied and she had wonderful host families but she thought her school - with no boys - kind of sucked. All the girls had been together for a long time and were all close friends so getting to know them was hard at first but it all was a wonderful experience.
Stephanie was gone almost exactly 11 months and it wasn't nearly enough - she would have been glad to stay. She says you can't imagine the experience before you go and how much you'll miss it all when you come home. Her language problem was compounded by having to speak high German in school and Swiss German among her fellow students and they are, apparently, quite different languages. The stress was telling and she sometimes fell asleep - in class and once on the train which then took her to another country.
In response to a question about how they'd changed Juliette said she thought she was better at getting to know people, at accepting help and in learning to grow. She says she is more aware of how much there is to do, how many places there are to go and how important it is to understand people from their perspective and to be less judgemental. When asked what they would advise others to do Stephanie encouraged us to say yes to everything. You'll be surprised at what opens up.
Ron offered the thanks of the Club and of Rotary for being such good representatives and wished them well.
Another question