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Outbound students - Host families - Potential Rotarian - Inbound Students - Rotarians within SCRYE - Rotex (former RYE students) - Corporate Information |
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Will I have help getting
prepared? Most Rotary Districts put a lot into the orientation you will receive to prepare you for your exchange, and to help you adjust to your return. Orientations are an essential part of the Rotary Exchange program. Both outbound and inbound Exchangees must be carefully briefed on the many aspects of an Exchange student's life. The following is an example of what to expect in your orientations upon departure/arrival and return: GENERAL DEPARTURE/ARRIVAL ORIENTATION INFORMATION The following is general information about the Exchange Program. The contents should be covered early in the orientation cycle and may be used as a reference for discussions with school counselors, parents and others who are interested in the program. ROTARY'S ROLE Each Rotary District is autonomous. Although the programs and rules of each district are similar, the host district's guidelines take precedence over those of the sponsoring district. The host district, the host club and the host families are responsible for each Exchangee's well-being and have the responsibility for setting their own rules and guidelines. Exchangees should become familiar with them upon arrival. ORIENTATION BY THE DISTRICT COMMITTEE Our orientation program will familiarize you with Rotary, the Exchange program and the ways in which you can fulfill your obligations. Our goal in the orientation sessions is to prepare you for the cultural differences that you will experience in the first weeks abroad. We encourage you to familiarize yourself with the history, culture, geography, politics and customs of your host country. Use your library; look up articles in the National Geographic magazine; write the tourist office of your host country; visit with ROTEXers (ROTary EXchange students)who have returned; visit with inbound students from your new home. You are expected to make the adjustments necessary to become a contributing member of your host families and community. The better prepared you are to meet these new situations, the greater your chances of success. PREPARATION Start to learn the new language. A few words and phrases a day will be a good start. Get books and tapes; talk to inbound Exchangees. Keep your Rotary instructions in a loose leaf notebook for ease in organization. Arrange for post-exchange schooling (delayed enrollment in college); talk to ROTEXers and inbound students. Know and follow Rotary rules and guidelines which will be explained in detail. TRAVEL The Rotary Youth Exchange Program is an education program, not a travel program. Your hosts are under no obligation to provide or sponsor extensive travel. However, many host districts, clubs and families do present the opportunity to travel and we encourage you to accept these opportunities. Each district will have slightly different rules regarding travel. The following are some general rules:
LUGGAGE, INSURANCE, PASSPORT, VISAS, AIRLINE TICKETS More on these subjects during our orientation sessions, but:
SLIDES AND PICTURES
MAKING CONTACT As soon as you have been notified of the name of the Rotary Club where you will be hosted, you should write to your host club counselor and your first host family giving them some personal and family details. Include pictures. You should ask them to advise you about dress, school, climate, insurance, etc. Every opportunity should be taken to exchange correspondence before departure as this helps tremendously in the initial settling in period. ARRIVAL AND SETTLING IN Arrival will be one of the highlights of your Exchange Experience. The fulfillment of all the planning, orientation and anticipation will start. Your hosts will make every effort to welcome you into their family. But do not forget that you are the one who must adjust. The qualities of flexibility and adaptability were some of the criteria the selection committee considered in choosing you and you must be prepared to use these qualities in adjusting. Flexibility and tolerance are essential traits for Exchangees. Learn to live with silly questions about the USA or your own family or school. Accept that you cannot drive. Conform to discipline that is different and perhaps more restrictive than at home. Remember you have agreed to live as a member of a foreign family. CULTURAL TOLERANCE Be tolerant of the differences. And there will be many differences, e.g., new "parents", new room, different food, strange school schedules, etc. Anticipate the difference and become acclimated to them. Don't criticize your hosts for their differences. HOMESICKNESS Everyone will be homesick, early on arrival, after about 4-6 weeks and at Christmas. Don't be concerned; keep busy; do not withdraw to your room and brood; talk to someone; get out and do something; KEEP BUSY. DO NOT call home when homesick, it only aggravates the problem. COUNSELOR You will have two counselors during your year. A Rotarian from your sponsoring or home club who will assist you in your preparation, orientation and in resolving problems before you leave. A Rotarian from your host Rotary club will also assist you in your stay. He should meet your airplane, introduce you to your host family, assist in enrolling you in school, help with your Rotary obligations, your money situation and in effect be a surrogate parent. Take the initiative to cultivate your counselor. He should be a great assistance to you especially during your first few months. Rotary is responsible to provide a counselor, however we recognize that some counselors do not do their job. If so, use your initiative to get another de facto counselor until Rotary can replace him or her, e.g., club president, teacher or host parent. Develop a special relationship with someone who can listen, respond and help. HOST FAMILIES Hosting arrangements are the responsibility of the host club. The usual arrangements are for the exchangee to be hosted by three or four different families, each for a three or four month period. However, some host club hosting arrangments may vary, especially if the host family--exchangee relationship is very good...or not so good. You, the exchangee, must at all times remember that you must acclimate to the host family. The host family is under no obligation to adjust to you or to treat you as a "special guest." You are to accept the normal discipline of the family and settle into their routine which may not be the routine you have back home. Ask you host parents what they would like to be called, e.g., mom and dad? first name? certainly not Mr. and Mrs. You should receive a list of questions about everyday thangs to tactfully resolve early in your stay. The response to these questions provides a basis for compatible understanding. Lack of understanding on little everyday things can grow into bigger problems, if they accumulate. SCHOOL AND EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES This is an education program not a travel exchange. We expect you to attend school, take classes which permit interface with other students (speech, physical education, drama) as well as academic courses and local history and culture. Many extra curricular activities we associate with high schools in the USA are conducted in the community. Join them...band, athletic clubs, etc. Uniforms may be required. Ask your host contact who pays for the uniform. PARTICIPATION You will get the most out of your visit if you participate to the fullest. This means sharing the family life, school life and community life. If you play a musical instrument, get involved with other musicians. Play your favorite sport...or learn another. Contribute what talent you have wherever you can. Be willing to take the initiative in finding things to do and asking your hosts about their country, their jobs, their life. The best way for you to get people interested in you is to show interest in them. Say "YES" when asked to go some place or do something with your hosts. "NO" means you are not interested and you may not be asked to participate again. Even a visit to some aunt's 90th birthday may lead to a great adventure. Participation will help avert homesickness. Keep busy, don't be a recluse. Get out and enjoy! BEHAVIOR AND MANNERS As an exchange student, you will be different and judged as "that Exchange Student." Who you associate with and your behavior will effect the success of your year, Rotary's ability to obtain host families and the willingness of the local community to accept you. Choose friends carefully; get in with the "right crowd." Good manners are not a lost art. But is practiced by educated, cultured people world wide. Look at manners in three ways:
If a little shaky on manners, get a book and review. Don't embarrass yourself. Good Manners permits you to be confident in different social situations. GIFTS You will be obligated to give gifts to a variety of people. Gifts need not be expensive, but should be something distinctly American. Special gifts should go to host families, probably upon your departure. Remember birthdays, Christmas and other events for siblings. Swap gifts---little pins with the US flag--are given to everyone. Take 100 and you may run out. Simple, inexpensive gifts, like manners will help in any situation. HOW TO GET SENT HOME--EARLY Cannot, or will not, adjust to country, hosts or school. If you break the law, drive, get involved in a serious romance, substance abuse and travel without authorization, you will be sent home. The host district makes the decision, the sponsoring district has little opportunity to rebut. FINALLY--COMING HOME Mixed feelings...you may not want to come home. You have made very good friends, feel comfortable in that culture. But come home. Be profuse in your thanks to host families, club, friends. Burn no bridges; leave a trail of good wishes. When you return home, you will realize you have changed; but your parents have not! As usual, you must acclimate to them even though you have been making your own decisions for many months. Many of your friends will not appreciate your great adventure and you will find you will have little in common with them. A SUMMARY The benefits are great: getting to know yourself, to better understand family life, making new friends, learning a new language, cultural tolerance, travel and great fun. WHAT ROTARY EXPECTS OF YOU
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT OF ROTARY
SUCCESS OF YOUR YEAR DEPENDS ON
GENERAL DEPARTURE/ARRIVAL ORIENTATION INFORMATION STUDENT RE-ENTRY; WHOSE RESPONSIBILITY? YEO Ken House, D 5060, British Columbia Re-entry orientation is as important, if not more important than, outbound orientation. In both cases Rotary is sending teen aged kids into another culture. The outbound program is meant to prepare students for culture shock they will meet in the foreign country. Experience and research has proven that the home country can easily be just as "foreign" to the returning student. The reason is twofold and simple. First, the student's home, family, friends and culture do not stand still during his absence. Second, the student now sees life through different eyes. Rotary, having opened these new eyes to the world must take responsibility for introducing them to yet another new culture--their own. To many people, including Rotarians, the youth exchange experience is seen as a commodity. Hence the usual question put to or returned students is "How was your trip?". This summer one of our students had the perfect response: "It wasn't a trip, it was my life." The youth exchange experience immerses the student in another culture. Living in a foreign environment they come to discover that culture is not a thing, but a process of interpreting the world. They learned the lesson of perspective taking rather than position taking. Our sage advice that nothing is better or worse , just different, makes sense. A re-entry orientation can be structured in any number of ways. Based on the experience of missionaries, the military and ambassadors who have traveled overseas for extended periods, two very simple but important messages need to be understood by our students. One, that it is OK, even predictable, to feel frustration, loss and confusion upon returning home. Second, the intensity of these feeling and the time to resolve them will differ for each student. Although the re-entry orientation is primarily directed to the student's well being, both Rotary and parents can benefit too. By encouraging the students to review many aspects of their year, Rotarians are better able to understand exchange programs and thus to select their outbound candidates more effectively. As well, the districts own program is brought under useful scrutiny. In particular, our orientation and sponsor support can be closely examined. Parents attending have the opportunity to put the child's experience in perspective with all the other students. Often in the discussion sessions parents will hear their children express feelings not necessarily disclosed at home Along with getting the general message regarding re-entry stress across, particular situations with our students can be addressed. A highly unusual example that comes to mind is one student who had no host family for an entire years. He lived in his own apartment for the first six months and then traveled for the remainder of the year. Normally, this should have been dealt with by Rotarians responsible for him back home at both the club and district level. He was incredibly angry and bitter at Rotary for letting him down. The re-entry orientation was an opportunity to help him look past Rotary's shortcomings and focus on the incredible personal growth he attained while on his own. Another example was young lady who lived with just one family for the entire year, a family that became as close and important to her as her natural family. The orientation was her chance to express those feelings and for her parents to better understand their daughter's experience and accept how she felt. The re-entry orientation is not just of dealing with problems. It should be the beginning of formulation of strategies to combined the best of both worlds in the student's future. The best orientation is when the students express themselves and their feelings and concerns and then collectively formulate solutions and strategies for success. it is also an opportunity for Rotarians to encourage the students in their pursuit of new international academic and career goals and to emphasize the Rotary opportunities availed them: Ambassadorial Scholarships and Group Study Exchange. The Rotary International Youth Exchange program is based on the goal of world peace and understanding. It is Rotary's responsibility to assist our students through a re-entry orientation to better understand the changes that have occurred within them and to assist them in putting their new found knowledge and ability into actin for their successful and satisfying future. In our ever continuing quest for world peace, the Rotary International Youth Exchange alumni will be the leaders. If you're still interested, please take the time to learn more about Rotary Youth Exchange or visit our contacts page to find a Rotary Youth Exchange contact near you for more information. |
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