Country Selection

GERMANY

      An unknown number was calling me at 8:30 on Saturday night as I was settling down to enjoy an incredibly greasy burger and a chocolate milk shake at a diner in Washington D.C. (more on that later).  I picked it up and the second that I heard my YEO on the line, I was positive he was calling to tell me my country.  You see, back home in Detroit, my friend Grace had spent the whole day with exchange students at the auto show and ice skating at Campus Martius, and had been texting me that our multi-district Central States was having a  meeting this weekend to hash out the details of where we're all headed.  I wasn't expecting answers from this conference for a few days so that made the call even more exciting!  After a life time of small talk (okay, maybe 30 seconds) Mr. Sincock told me that I would be going to Germany!  I still won't know my district for awhile but I'm so thrilled that I will be going to Germany that I don't really mind waiting to find out which of the 14 districts I will be placed in!  Germany was my first choice because I've been taking German in high school and I have met quite a few very friendly Germans in my time.

Here's a map of all the Rotary districts in Germany

     So other than learning my host country, this weekend was still amazing because I spent it in the wonderful city of Washington D.C. participating in the 40th March For Life.  The point of this movement for anyone who has not heard of it is to protect the unborn and their mothers and overturn Roe v. Wade.  As it so happens, Germany has some of the most progressive laws on abortion in the world, another point that makes me proud to call it my host country!  One of my favorite speakers, the prominent Pro-Lifer Ryan Bomberger, was adopted as a baby.  His was not a normal adoption case though.  He was a child of rape, and his mother courageously chose life for the baby that came to her in such a horrific way.  His story was moving and helped show the truth that a child conceived of rape is no less human than the rest of us.  His website, www.toomanyaborted.com, is a wonderful source for information on abortion and adoption.  I know this doesn't pertain to exchange, but this blog is about my life while I am involved with exchange, not about exchange while it's involved in my life.  I urge you, no matter your views, to educate yourself on abortion, for it truly is the human rights issue of our time.

Auf Wiedersehen!

~M

Orientation Soon

       It's been awhile now since I last wrote, but there's finally some new information to share so I'm writing you all a quick update!  I received an email from Rotary that the date for the February orientation has been set for February 16th at a place called The Safety Village in Windsor, Canada.  I'll have to cross the bridge from Detroit to Windsor for this which requires passports for me and both my parents.  This is fine for me because my family has done some international travel before but I wonder if the other Americans in our district will all have passports?  It is kind of fun though that I'm going on an international exchange, with in international organization, from an international district!

        From the email that I got, it looks like there will be 10 outbounds from my district, though I don't know how many are American and how many are Canadian.  I'm already really excited for the orientation and meeting everybody for the first time!  Hopefully I'll have my country assignment by that point as well!  Also, a few weeks ago I had to re-do my country selection and my visa form because I had messed up with some signature protocol.  I will be so happy if I never have to fill out another Rotary form again...

      Anyways, still waiting, but at least I have a specific day to look forward to now!

~M

Dreams come true, with a nightmare to match

        If you've ever read the blog of other exchange students, then you have most likely seen their posts about the very first time they dreamed in their host language.  I can't wait until I experience that for for the first time.  Meanwhile, I recently had an exchange dream of another sort, an exchange nightmare.
        The jist of it was that Rotary had finally contacted me about my country selection, but I wasn't going to Germany.  I wasn't being sent to any of the 40 country choices which I had numbered for Rotary for that matter.  They proceeded to ecstatically tell me they were sending me to ALASKA! wait, whatttt??  Dream Mary was very confused by this. Alaska doesn't include a new country or a new language or a new culture!  If that didn't tip me off that it was a dream, then the fact that another girl was being sent to Northern Michigan should have made me realize this couldn't be real.  But Dream Mary couldn't figure that bit out and instead ran around trying to find someone to save her from a year of igloos and English.  You wouldn't believe how relieved I was to wake up in the morning!
       The point for you, in my dramatic little tale, is that I still don't know where I will be next year.  Though I do know it won't be Alaska or anywhere in the U.S. for that matter! Waiting to hear my country selection sometimes feels harder than waiting for my program acceptance was, just because I knew I had a good chance of being accepted, but there isn't any real reason that I qualify for one country more than any other.  Also, having to wait two days compared to 2 months made it easier as well.

I'll be sure to let you all know when I find out my real country!  Until that time, I leave you with this link to a blog that I really think you should check out!  It's not exchange related, but it's definitly a great project, one of my favorites!

Link to: I Wrote This For You

Lasts Before Firsts

I'm feeling a little weighed down by all of the lasts, waiting until I can reach the firsts.  Last cross country meet, last cross country banquet, last Halloween before exchange, last homecoming dance, last high school football game, last family Thanksgiving (for the next 2 years), the list seems to build every day.  It can feel exhilarating at times, reminding me that I really am going on exchange, but it also serves to remind me how life will go on without me.  I normally focus on all the wonderful things I'll be experiencing next year, but there are things that I will miss out on back here in the states.  I know this year will be filled with lasts, but it's not that different to what I would be experiencing my senior year before I left for college.  Not too far away is the prospect of firsts.  Piles upon piles of firsts and that wonderful thought is what I hold onto for now whenever the ending gets me down.

I recently watched a really neat TEDTalk by a women, Brene Brown, on vulnerability and towards the end of the talk, she lets you in on one of the  most obvious parts of her research which is that you can't have happiness without sadness.  Without any reference point as to what bad feels like, you can't know what good feels like either.  When you numb the pain, you also inadvertently numb the joy.  I've decided that I need to live this idea out in my life, embracing the negative feelings so that I might have a greater appreciation of the beautiful side of life.  Now don't take this to mean that I want to feel sad or angry. Nobody wants that!  All I mean is that I hope to face these feelings head on and not try to hide from them, so that when the clouds part I may also look straight toward the sun and not be left hiding from the dark feelings.  So though I hold onto my future of exchange to remind me why I'm  subjecting myself to these feelings, I don't want it to completely distract me from everything I am experiencing and feeling today.

Can you tell I'm taking a philosophy class this year?? ^.^

To wrap this post up, I'd just like to add how thankful I am to have such a loving family, wonderful friends, and of course Rotary for awarding this exchange to me!  Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

Mary

The Call

"Hi Mary, this is Sue, calling to tell you that you have been accepted to the program."

I am officially an outbound Rotary Exchange Student!  I will be living on a completely different continent, not to mention country, speaking a foreign language and assimilating into a new culture for ten months.  This time next year, I will not be living in Michigan, lying in my bed like I am now.  I will be who knows where experiencing a new way of life!

It feels so great to be able to say that without having to add a "hopefully"  "maybe"  "probably" or other clause to make it PC!  It's just such a relief!  Don't worry, my friend Grace is in too!  She called me right as the voice mail was ending to share the news with me.  I did accidentally fill out the wrong application...(I used the standard Rotary form instead of the Central States application).  Thankfully they're very similar so I have most of the information I need I just have to sit down and fill it all out.  The first time was much more exciting, but I'll have all the forms made up by the end of this week so it can be sent up to the head guys at central states!  Now I wait for January when I will hopefully be getting my country assignment!!

Ecstatically,
            Mary

Interview of a life time

Sooooo... Interviews.

I had them this Saturday, November 3rd.  My dad was running a little late because he had been on a church retreat and was leaving early to come to my interview.  Trying to explain the concept of a church retreat to the inbound girl from Brazil was...interesting.  But it helped give me an idea of what I have to look forward to while I'm on exchange!  The whole thing went off without a hitch from there! Well, mostly.  There were a few questions I wasn't prepared for like "What's your favorite international current event?" uhhh what? They then clarified by just asking if I watch the news much so I talked about some current event stories I had recently heard and stuff.  That was probably one of the worst answers I had.  They also asked who I look up to and I talked about my parents and then they asked for someone I didn't know who I looked up to.  Again, that put the brakes on my thoughts! I normally look up to people who I know on a personal level not a faceless name that's attached to some great deed.  That's just me though so I sort of explained that and then talked about some lessons I had learned from people I did know.  I was scrambling at parts but my best answers came when I thought for a second and then just calmed down and spoke.  That's my nugget of advice for all of you future exchangers reading this!

Next was the parent and student interview which was fast and easy, all the questions were for my parents.  Then I left and talked to Grace while my parents talked to the panel.  Apparently the interviewers told my parents they were impressed with me so that's good, right?  There was one other girl there with us and another one came in with her parents when we were leaving.  Over all I think there were supposed to be 6 interviews Saturday and then an unknown amount on Sunday over in Windsor for the Canadians.

After interviews, Grace and I drove an hour down to the state finals for cross country.  We missed the race unfortunately but were able to congratulate our teammates and of course take a crack at the all important food table!  The team took 5th which was our seeded place, and everyone was happily satisfied with the result.  On the drive home, Alex came with us and we made many detours to see cows, sculptures, and grab some more food!  We took plenty of pictures on the way as well...

My new cow friends and me

Grace and me in a barn

Grace and Alex at the cafe we stopped in!
Isn't that tea pot adorable?

 It all ended up being a super fun weekend and I was busy enough that I didn't think too much about the final acceptance for Rotary.  Come Monday morning though, that was all I could think about! It all seemed nearly official before the interviews but now that I have to wait for the word, everything is feeling much more up to chance!

 Ahhhhh waiting......again......



~Mary

Monthly update

        It's been a while since I've posted here, and I have lots of fun exchange news to share!  First for that meeting back in September.  It was really informal because it was only me and my parents with a group of Rotarian's, no other kids showed up from the American side of our district.  Most of the information in their presentation I had already known through my own research and our experience with rotary exchange students through hosting.  This was fine though, because my parents and I then used the time to ask  any specific questions we had.  After the meeting, all I had left to do was turn in my long application.  After doctors visits, dentists offices, and meetings with counselors, teachers, my parents, and  Rotarian's, I finally turned in all 4 copies of my completed application!

I had the hardest time picking my country list but finely settled on this for my top 10:

1. Germany
2. Austria
3. Denmark
4. Norway
5. Finland
6. Spain
7. Sweden
8. Italy
9. Switzerland
10. Netherlands

They say that you normally get a country in your top 5 choices, and I'm feeling pretty confident in this final list.

Now you may have noticed the way in which my last post became rather melancholy in reference to my friends.  Those facts all stand the same, but one key piece of the puzzle has changed.  I used to try and not talk about my upcoming exchange too often with my friends, just because I knew they didn't understand all of it, and it only seemed to bore them or make them sad.  But now, I have someone to share all of my exchange thoughts with!  One of my very closest friends, Grace, has decided to go on exchange next year!!!!  It's great to have someone to talk about this with who knows everything I'm going through.  We won't end up in the same country unfortunately because she's looking at Spanish speaking countries which will likely lead her to South America, but it's great knowing I'll have a friend through all of the pre(and post)exchange.  If you read this Grace, just know I am SOO HAPPY that you are exchanging next year :) 

Well now that I (and Grace) have turned in the application, the next step is the interviews.  They're going to be held on November 3rd and will consist of an interview of myself, of my parents, and then of all of us together.  November 3rd is also the state meet for cross country, so I'm hoping the interviews can be later in the day so we can still cheer on the team! (Grace runs cross country with me as well)

I'll be back on here to let you know how the interviews go down later.

p.s. yes the title IS a tribute to SNL