About
Growing up in Vermont I always wondered what it would be like to experience another culture. I was raised in a large family with their roots deeply planted in Vermont. Despite this, I always felt different from my family, I knew at a young age that I did not want to stay in Vermont. I never knew where I wanted to go, but I knew I wanted to go far. I dreamed of learning to surf on the west coast, spending late nights in South America, walking through exotic markets in the middle east. My biggest dream of all was to move to a big city, I didn't care where, and open my own law firm. I had to get out of my tiny state.
During my freshman year of high school I was fortunate enough to become friends with a few exchange students. Their experiences inspired me. One winter night I began to explore my options. I was disappointed to find that many of the popular programs were far out of my price range. I figured this was going to be impossible. Still, I proceeded to consult with my guidance counselor about my options. She researched some more for me and found Rotary Youth Exchange. I had never heard of the Rotary before this, but was happy to do what I needed to make this happen.
At first my biggest fear was having to speak french day in and day out. Therefor, I decided to apply for exchange in Australia. The application process was rigorous and incredibly expensive. I was promised that in my tiny club I was guaranteed to be accepted. Finally, I received the conformation for my exchange year, my dreams were coming true. The one downside, I had to go to a foreign speaking country. I was asked to choose my top three countries from the list, I chose 1. Switzerland 2. Belgium, 3. France. Quite obviously, I was chosen for France.
I cannot ever thank my parents enough for the financial help they have provided throughout this process and am also thankful for the hard work I myself put in working the entire summer at Skinny Pancake. I am also very thankful to my friends that spent so many summer nights with me, trying to make up for the time we would be missing this year. Finally I am thankful for the support and love given to me by the family, friends, and teachers so very close and important to me. This blog is in testament to those people and a gift to anyone curious about what this experience is like. I hope this inspires everyone to experience the beauty of other cultures.
During my freshman year of high school I was fortunate enough to become friends with a few exchange students. Their experiences inspired me. One winter night I began to explore my options. I was disappointed to find that many of the popular programs were far out of my price range. I figured this was going to be impossible. Still, I proceeded to consult with my guidance counselor about my options. She researched some more for me and found Rotary Youth Exchange. I had never heard of the Rotary before this, but was happy to do what I needed to make this happen.
At first my biggest fear was having to speak french day in and day out. Therefor, I decided to apply for exchange in Australia. The application process was rigorous and incredibly expensive. I was promised that in my tiny club I was guaranteed to be accepted. Finally, I received the conformation for my exchange year, my dreams were coming true. The one downside, I had to go to a foreign speaking country. I was asked to choose my top three countries from the list, I chose 1. Switzerland 2. Belgium, 3. France. Quite obviously, I was chosen for France.
I cannot ever thank my parents enough for the financial help they have provided throughout this process and am also thankful for the hard work I myself put in working the entire summer at Skinny Pancake. I am also very thankful to my friends that spent so many summer nights with me, trying to make up for the time we would be missing this year. Finally I am thankful for the support and love given to me by the family, friends, and teachers so very close and important to me. This blog is in testament to those people and a gift to anyone curious about what this experience is like. I hope this inspires everyone to experience the beauty of other cultures.