Okay so I haven't left yet...But I thought I'd give this Blogging thing a test run first. My name is Jane, and I am going on a Rotary Exchange to Japan. I don't know where in Japan yet...in fact, there is still a small chance that my forms won't be accepted by the district they were sent to.
However, I know one thing. I'm going on a Rotary Youth Exchange. My dreams are becoming reality. I'm going to learn another language. It's such a crazy thought you know...One day, I was trying to figure out Universities...now, I'm going to Japan for a year. I leave in about 7 months.
So this first post...I thought I would let you know a little about Rotary, and how I came to be accepted by my town's club as a RYE (Rotary Youth Exchange. I'm going to be using this abbreviation in the future) student. One morning I woke up. I think it was a Saturday morning...I woke up and went on my computer. As the obsessive "thinking about the future all the time" freak I am, I started my morning by looking up different Universities and their Engineering programs and all that. And then...I don't know. Those voices rang in my ears. The ones of those friends and teachers that like to be inspirational now and again. They said: "Follow your dream. Do what you've always wanted to do." And maybe I thought of my friend Alex. She's on a RYE in Germany right now. She actually initially wanted Japan, but something went wrong and she didn't get it. Though, she's having the time of her life now. So I found the Rotary International website, and had a revelation. I realized that this was everything I wanted. This is it. In those few minutes...I decided. It didn't take a whole lot of thinking. I called a contact from my local Rotary club and asked about it.
Turns out I was just in time...the first interviews were the following week. It was my first panel interview. Only 3 people...but still, I didn't know what to expect. I went there and they asked me situational questions about being in another country, Canadian government questions, and questions about Rotary. I didn't know as much about Rotary then. I did so much research. I love Rotary. For those of you who don't know what Rotary is...it's an international service club, dedicated to helping people in need. It promotes goodwill, creates peace, saves lives (PolioPlus is an example of this), and it helps people in need. So I made it past my first interview. This year, there were only four of us. Other years, there have been over twenty. Two were chosen from those four. A very awesome guy named Bowen, and myself. We were now "competing" for the spot. I hated it, because he deserved this too.
We both toiled over an 18 page application form (which was a serious pain in my buttocks, not gunna lie), and then, we went to the "big time." That's right...the infamous, District Interviews. Six people on one side of the table...me on the other. Once again I was asked situational questions (close to a trillion of them), a Canadian Government question, and a Rotary question.
Examples of Situational Questions:
If you were sent to South Africa, and your host father was white and also very racist, and he started to beat the black servant boy infront of you and call him a "good for nothing" and "garbage" what would you do?
scary question definitely...but my favorite was:
If you were sent to Finland, where they are really into Saunas, and you got all ready and into your bathing suit, and when you entered the Sauna, your entire host family was naked, what would you do?
Anyways... I made it passed that. I was made to wait two days before I found out. Two days of anxiety and flying hormones. Two days of purgatory. Then...I got the call. I made it. I didn't know where I was going...but I was in. I was going somewhere. To one of these countries:
Japan
France
Argentina
Germany
Brazil
Switzerland
And two weeks later...I received another phone call. I had gotten my very first choice. Japan. My dream is on its way to becoming reality. And now...well now they've shipped off my forms to Japan, and I'm waiting to find out about which host town or city I will be staying in and the host families I will be staying with. I hope everything works out okay. I should know by around February or March. I'll keep you posted.
That was my very long-winded first post. Hope there's more to come.
I'm sure my English will get worse and worse when I'm in another country and you'll be able to laugh at me.
