Hi! I'm Lindsey and I am going to be going on exchange my junior with Rotary 2015-2016, and I will be going to Germany. At the end of my Freshman year I really started thinking about how cool it would be to go on exchange and be a foreign exchange student, and I didn't really think much of it at the time. As time went on I got really interested and started to look up Youth Exchange programs. I started applying over the summer and finished the application up in November of my Sophomore year. Rotary then looked at everyone's applications and the next step was the home interviews. Two Rotarians came to my house and interviewed me, and let me tell you, i was beyond nervous! I had no idea what they would ask so I needed to be prepared for anything. The interview went really good and the next process was the District Interview where all of the applicants in my district which is 6110 all come to get interviewed. I had eight interviews that day and it was so crazy! I was so nervous, but it was so cool being able to meet everyone applying and hear where they wanted to go and just getting to talk to everyone. After we got done being interviewed all of the applicants stayed at a hotel together and our parents would pick us up in the morning. We stayed up so late talking and playing games. It felt like we had known each other for so long when in reality we had just met each other that day!
The next step was waiting to get an email saying if we got accepted or not. The day before my birthday I got an email saying "Congratulations you guys are the 2015-2016 Outbounds...". That was the best early birthday present I could have asked for. It became real knowing that I would for sure be living in another country for a full year, but the question was, What country would I be living in? In the email they explained that it would take a while to find out what country we would be living in. My country list was 1) Germany 2) Sweden 3) Switzerland 4) Norway 5) Netherlands 6) Denmark 7) Finland and 8) Austria. At that point I was okay with any country I was just so happy to be accepted into the exchange program! About a month later i got an email saying "ARE YOU READY TO GO TO GERMANY?" That was my number one choice!!! I was beyond excited!! How crazy that I actually got placed in my number 1 option! I did not know where in Germany I would be because that takes a while, but I was so happy to be placed in Germany
In January my Rotary puts on a camp called SCRYE where all of the exchange students currently in the South Central part of America from other countries get together in Tulsa and get to hang out and do fun activities. Since my Rotary puts it on, all of the outbounds in my district got to go be a part of the camp which was super fun! The first day we waited for about two and a half hours for our host families for the night. We had numbers and they called out a few at a time depending on how many were staying at each house. Finally they called out my number and I was staying with five other girls. They were from Brazil, Austria, Spain, Denmark, and Taiwan. Once we got to the house we found out that 2 other girls didn't get placed in a host family so they got to stay with us and one was from Brazil and the other girl was in my District, so it was cool being able to know at least one person! It was a lot of fun getting to hear all of their experiences so far, and it made me look forward even more to my exchange. The next day each country got together to make a skit to perform at dinner! Since the Americans were not doing a skit we got to walk around and just talk to different people. The skits were really good! We then went to the lock in where we all had to stay up until 5:30 in the morning! They told us to not even bring our pillows or blankets because we wouldn't be needing them at all. I was so tired, but it was well worth it because I met so many amazing people.
Waiting to find out where in Germany I would be placed was so nerve racking I just wanted to know where I would be placed so I could research more about it, and also so many people ask me where in Germany I am going to and I always have to say "I don't know I should be finding out in May or June". One day I was just scrolling through my email not really paying attention and I saw an email and it was my host district! They said I would be staying in Bremen which has 500,000 people! That is way bigger than where I live, so that will definitely be a different experience but I am so ready! A couple of hours later I got an email from my host family! It is a dad, mom, and two daughters! One daughter is 16 who will be going on exchange to Brazil so it is not likely that I will meet her, and one is 12! Both of the parents are doctors, and I will be living in the middle of the city. I am beyond excited knowing where I am going to be living and already being able to know my host family!
