Exchange Program in a Nutshell (Summer 2016)

Wo ich gewesen bin:
Where I was:
Mindelheim, Bavaria, Federal Republic of Germany
Mindelheim, Bayern, Bundesrepublik Deutschland

Population (Einwohner): 14,560

Area (Fläche) : 21.7mi²  (56,4km²)

Lies on the Mindel River
(Liegt am Fluss Mindel)

56 miles west of Munich, about an hour (90km westlich von München, ungefähr ein Stunde)

City Shield of Mindelheim 

(Wappen der Stadt Mindelheim)

Flag of the State of Bavaria
(Staatsflagge Bayerns)


About my Host Family
(Über meiner Gastfamilie)

From left to right: Thomas, Lisa, Nina, and Susanne (and their cat, Dipsy).

Von links zu rechts: Thomas, Lisa, Nina und Susanne (und ihre Katze, Dipsy)

I left for Germany on July 5, 2016, and stayed with my host family until July 26. Then I flew back to America with my exchange sister, Lisa, who lived at my house until August 16. 

(Ich fuhr nach Deutschland ab am 5. Juli und wohnte mit meiner Gastfamilie bis 26. Juli. Dann hatte ich mit meiner Austauschschwester, Lisa, in Amerika ankam. Sie wohnte bei mir bis 16. August.)

About Lisa, my Exchange Sister

(Über Lisa, meine Austauschschwester)

Lisa is 16 years old and enjoys listening to and playing music (she plays piano), cooking, cycling, traveling, and art, mainly photography and sketching. Her favorite color is pink, but she likes every color. Everybody in her family is musical: Her father plays the drums, her 17 year old sister, Nina, plays the guitar, and her mother is a piano teacher. Her favorite food is Schnitzel with Spätzle, and her favorite word in English is "butterfly". She has studied English for seven years and Latin for five. Lisa loves "boom-boom" music, bacon, and all the best fatty, unhealthy food in the good old US of A. She is practically my sister at this point, because I absolutely love her to death. We had a fantastic six weeks together, ones that I will never forget.

(Lisa is 16 Jahre alt und hat Musikhören, Musikspielen (sie spielt Klavier), Kochen, Radfahren, Reisen, und Kunst, besonders Fotographie und Malen, gern. Ihre Lieblingsfarbe ist rosa, aber sie mag jede Farbe. Jeden ihren Familienmitgliedern spielt Musik: Ihrer Vater trummelt, ihre 17-jähriger Schwester, Nina, spielt Guitarre, und ihre Mutter ist Klavierlehrerin. Ihres Lieblingsessen ist Schnitzel mit Spätzle, und ihres Lieblingswort auf Englisch ist "butterfly". Lisa liebt "boom-boom" Musik, Speck, und alle die beste fettig, ungesundes Essen in den US von A. Sie soll eigentlich meine Schwester sein, weil ich ihr so viel liebe. Wir hatten sechs tolle Woche zusammen verbracht. Diese Woche werde ich nie vergessen.)

About the Rotary Youth Exchange

(Über dem Rotary Jugenddienst)

 

From Wikipedia:
"Rotary Youth Exchange (RYE) is a Rotary International student exchange program for students in secondary school. Since 1929, Rotary International has sent young people around the globe to experience new cultures. Currently, about 9,000 students are sponsored by Rotary clubs every year. Typically, students are sent to another country for a year-long stay, generally living with multiple host families during the year and being expected to perform daily tasks within the household as well as attend school in the host country. Short term exchange programs are also quite common. These typically involve direct student exchanges between two families arranged through Rotary to coincide with major school holiday periods. The Rotary Club of Copenhagen, Denmark initiated the first exchange in 1929. Rotary Youth Exchanges (RYE) began in Europe and have spread world-wide."

If you ever have any questions as to how to get involved in this FANTASTIC program, please comment somewhere and I will try to help! This program was honestly the best thing that ever happened to me. Please, please, if you're even mildly considering something like this, this is the best program out there. I'm happy to share my experience through older blog posts and answering any questions. Thanks for reading!