So here it is, post number one. Only 44 more days until it’s a bon voyage and I jet set 3,810 miles from Fort Washington, PA to my new home in Toulouse, France. What exactly am I doing? Well for one year, I get to leave my family and friends behind and spend my junior year of high school abroad. None of this would be possible without my help through Rotary International Youth Exchange, a program sending thousands of teens abroad every single year to places all over the world in hopes of bringing on new relationships between countries, and of course to allow us to have the best and most different and exciting years of our lives! The whole process for this started in late September of last year when I was introduced to the program at school and sent home with a stack of papers to fill out if I was interested in participating in the program. I knew for a fact that I really wanted to do it as my family and I have hosted many exchange students over the years and I saw just how much fun these exchangers have had. I also have a passion for traveling and experiencing new cultures, and what better way to do it then by submersing myself into a new country and language. As October and November came around, and all the paperwork was finally filled out, the next step was to go through an interview process. All the people from PA district 7430 who wanted to be an exchange student for the 2010-2011 year had to pass a grueling interview with Rotarians who would decide if you were fit for the program or not. I waited about a week until I heard news that I was officially accepted into the program! Boy, was I ecstatic! From there, all the new outbounds were told that there would be an official meeting in December where we would find out the countries we would be residing in and where we would also meet all the inbound students from other countries who were living in PA that year. Earlier on, we had to choose the top 5 countries we wanted to go to and although it wasn’t guaranteed, the Rotarians would try their best to send us to one of our choices we had put down. France was my number one choice, followed by other French speaking countries because I wanted to put the language I had learned in school to use. When the December party came around, we were all so nervous because soon enough we would find out our countries! We were each called up one by one, and thru some kind of different game show or activity, we won a flag of a country which would become our new home. Of course, I received the French flag, meaning I would be spending my next year in France. Two other girls from my district would also be going to France but they were placed in different parts of the country than I was. Brazil was also another hot spot and other countries included Spain, Belgium, Argentina, Italy, Sweden, Australia, Turkey, etc. Following the December gathering, throughout the rest of the year we were told that there would be get togethers with all the inbounds & outbounds so we could become acquainted with one another and prepare for next year. The next meeting would be an overnight held in January, but unfortunately I was in CA, so I was unable to make it. The next one, however, was a ski weekend held in February and that was tons of fun. We all became really close and it was quite funny to watch some of the exchangers from other countries ski for the first time. Following that came a 3 day trip to Wash. DC and it was a wonderful experience. We had a dinner cruise, time to walk the mall, visit museums, and of course hang out with our new friends. Then we had a day conference in April with all the Rotarians who make up our club and even some special guests from an Indian Rotary club who put on a show for us. It was great! Our final get together with everyone was held in May where we spent a day&night in Philly walking around, taking a duck tour, and ending up at the Philadelphia Zoo. Although that was our last official meeting together, I have spent time with many of my new friends who are either going on exchange or finishing up their year here. These are some of the nicest, most interesting people, and they will be life long friends. Even though it may seem like this was an easy process, it wasn’t, at all. After the first stacks of paper which had to be filled out in the beginning, more kept on piling on. They all had to be written in blue ink and perfect and I even had to fill out paperwork/write essays in French! Following that, a few weeks ago, I had to make a personal appearance at the French Consulate in DC to get a visa, which did arrive a few days ago in the mail. Even with all that, I still wasn’t done. Because I would be missing my junior year, I had to accelerate a few things such as taking SATs, talking to teachers about recommendations and making sure I would have the right credits to graduate. The process I had to take to be able to go to France was long, but definitely worth it. My pre-exchange weeks are coming to an end and in just 44 short days, I will be off!

Bisous for now!

Rebecca