My name is Gabi. I come from a small town on the edge of Minnesota and North Dakota. I am a Youth Rotarian. Some of you may not know what this is, so I might as well add some information about that in this post.
A Youth Rotarian, is someone who participates in a Rotary Club. The Rotary Club, also known as Rotary, is an international organization dedicated to putting service above self. They help people who would like to put water wells in areas where water is scare in Africa, they are helping people end polio right now, the help local organizations by doing fundraising, they go to various countries and bring medical help, schooling, clothes, anything you can think of. On a local scale they help the city flourish.
The Rotary family is large, and I am proud to say I am a part of it, even if only as a junior member.
As a Rotarian Youth, there are options for a student exchange. This is my application and story so far.
I applied early before the school year started for my Junior year (2012-2013). The thirty page (I kid you not) application was a massive undertaking. You need a doctor to look you over, and sign on the form that he did it with blue ink. You need your dentist and eye doctor to do the same. You need all of your prescriptions copied and pasted to the form. You must tell them if you have any medical conditions. You have to have an adult in your life, that isn't a family member, sign a page after they fill out how well you would do abroad and whether you would have any issues with the new culture you would be thrown into. If you ever ask a Youth Rotary about the paper work, they will give you big eyes and a heavy sigh. It was a lot of work, but worth every frustrated moment, every cramped hand, every double visit to the doctor because he sighed it in black ink the first round.
The paper work is the hardest part.
After that you are interviewed. In my case I sat in a room with a bunch of people from my own local breakfast club. It wasn't scary, I'm not afraid of public speaking, but these people were honest in their questions they asked and the answers they gave. It was something that made me relax and speak to them about what this exchange would mean to me, how it would change my life, and how I would teach others about diversity and Rotary itself.
Sometime between Christmas and New Years, I received a letter telling me that I was accepted into Rotary as an Exchange Student. It didn't tell me my country I was to be placed in, just that I was going. It was the best Christmas present ever.
With Rotary, you apply to go to countries. Some of them you are not qualified to go to. I am not qualified to go to Germany. I haven't had two years of high school German. I was qualified to go to Mexico, with my two years of high school Spanish. Some countries don't have certain requirements, and others have a long list given to you with the rest of the paper work to be filled out. There are forty-two countries that you must rank in order of importance to you, or your ability to fill out the requirements.
My list went:
1.) Japan
2.) Norway
3.) Sweden
4.) Croatia
5.) Denmark
Onwards all the way down till I wasn't qualified to apply to the rest.
With this process, I became an Outbound. A Youth Rotarian that was to be going onto a trip. There are three types of Rotary Youth. There out Outbounds, Inbounds, and Rebounds. I am currently an Outbound, but when I get to my country, I will be an Inbound. And then when I come back from my trip, I will be called a Rebound.
In late January, all of Outbounds, Inbounds, and Rebounds from District 5580 (my big Rotary District) came together at a Winter Retreat. We were all a little awkward, but who would have guessed that the people I met there would become members of my not-family. People who I consider my family without any blood being shared between them. I met my two very good friends there, and that weekend was when I learned my country.
I was placed in Japan.
I remember my heart stopping in my chest. I think I made this really weird noise, something caught between a gasp, cry, and giggle all at once. The girl next to me had to hold me upright when I started to get pretty emotional. I will tell you all about why Japan means to much to me in the next post, but let's just say I've been waiting a long time to go back.
I called home. Cried a bit. Cried a bit more because it hit me again. Told my mom that I made it. Cried a lot more. Hung out with people and cried with them, I think even the guys had a few teary eyes (I want to believe it at least). We did so much that weekend, the beginnings of the 5580 family started. The Inbounds from other countries were practicing their English with us, and I can honestly say I was impressed. They were good, I could understand them even with their really cool accents.
We all said our "See you later"s, because Youth Rotarians never say goodbye.
Back to school, back to life, and the magic of Exchange began to fade as testing and finals began to take over. Nothing sucks more than knowing where you are going without really knowing where you are going. I knew my country, but I didn't know my city. I didn't know my school. I just knew that I was being placed in the country I loved.
Then there was the Bemidji meeting in late April. I packed up my brand new Rotary Blazer, ready to see my friends again. To share stories and concerns, to check and see if they had gotten any news as to where they were going.
I'm going to say a few words about the Rotary Blazer. It is your identification card, because it is purely yours. Depending on what country you are from will decide the color of the blazer. I am from America, so mine is navy blue. If I were from Canada, mine would be red. A lot of countries have navy blue. When meeting new people from Rotary, you exchange pins. You trade your own for someone else's, and then you stick them to the jacket. It is a way to remember them, to spread your own name, and to see a glimpse of the country they are from.
I am from Minnesota, so my pin is the outline of the state with the state flag embossed into it. I've been told it's really pretty, but my favorite pins are the ones made by the person handing them out. Those are the ones with a story behind them, they are something special indeed!
Back to late April. It was the District meeting, so Rotary members from all around the District of 5580 gathered in Bemidji to listen to speeches, raise money, eat, have fun, and see the exchange students. As an Outbound, I gave a speech on what it was like to be an outbound. There will be a post of said speech eventually, I have to copy it down into a post.... anyway, there was a talent show. We all have something special about us (arguably crazy because we are all putting ourselves out into the world). Some can dance, some can do amazing things with basketballs, some can sing with a beautiful voice, some can give a moving speech, and others can't quite to get up onto that stage to prove to the world that they are special too.
I loved that meeting. Bonds were reinforced, we spent the whole day, and night, together as a group or smaller groups. We ate lunch and dinner with other Rotary members, taught them about ourselves and how much their support means to us as Outbounds, Inbounds, and Rebounds. They support us by sponsoring us, hosting us, and welcoming us back home. A few of them didn't realize how much their time and effort meant, they should know! They do so much for us, and we can only do so much in return.
I got no news on where I was being placed until the last day of the meeting. I was eating breakfast with my roommates and my IPod pinged. It does that to tell me I've received mail. I ignored it for a bit, figuring it was spam. Well it wasn't spam, later that morning I opened it and saw that my host district had contacted me.
My Host District was 2740.
They were welcoming me already, they gave me a contact to e-mail. She was my counterpart, she and I were switching districts. I have been talking to since, and I plan on talking to her for a very long time. They also said they would send my guarantee forms as soon as they possibly could. We needed those forms to apply for a Visa to get into the country and stay (American can spend up to 90 days in Japan without a Visa as long as they can prove to be finically stable). They forms would prove that I was an Exchange Student to their District, and it would also tell me which school I would be in. These forms also give you your first host family, and your YEO (Youth Exchange Officer, who you have to speak to if there are any problems, concerns, or if you need help.)
My forms gave me my Host Club, my Host Club Counselor, my First Host Family (In Rotary you may be paired with around three families), my school was given to me (also when my school will start), my arrival dates, a list of Japan tours I would have to pay for (but I've been told they are so worth it), and a whole slew of rules.
So I was in contact with my Host Sister, my counterpart is also a member of my First Host Family. I am going to go to a Vocational School, my Host Sister's Twin goes to my school and would like to be a cook. This is awesome for me, I graduated from High School early (though I am waiting to get my diploma when I get back stateside) and would like to learn how to cook cultural foods, get an education in simple arts and crafts, and join an afterschool club.
It also gave me my leave dates, one of the most important things on my forms, were August 16/17th. A month after I turn 17 I will be surrounded by a new culture. I can't wait for this adventure, this experience, this madness.
School ended somewhere in the haze of my amazement and excitement. I don't remember much of my last days, but I'm fine with that. It was a lot of testing, a lot of worry and heartache over the good grades I needed and wanted to get. I don't have my diploma, but I have enough credits to not have to go back to High School when I come back. I'm missing the entirety of my senior year, and a lot of my American friends are horrified at that thought.
"What about Prom?" "What about Homecoming?" "What about your family? Won't you miss them?" I'll expand a bit more in a different post, but these were a lot of the questions I was asked.
So in mid July there was a District wide meeting, of all the clubs and various other District from the surrounding areas coming together to welcome home some of the Rebounds who have already come back, to say goodbye to the Inbounds who have to go home now, and to welcome the Outbounds to what is to be a crazy year.
I met up with my other fellow 5580 members. Quite a few of the Inbounds had already gone home, but a few of my really good friends remained. It was hard to be happy when around them, but I did it anyway. It's not like I won't even be seeing them again, just a bit of distance will be placed between myself and them. I was told it's bittersweet, the going home.
You fall in love with your host country (usually), you may have just finally mastered the language, you are no longer in culture shock and have become bi-cultural, and now it is time for you to return to a home that you are a stranger to. One of my Thai friends admitted to me that she forgot how to be polite in her own language because English became such a big part of her life. Back to the people you love and miss, who love you and have missed you before you even stepped foot on that plane. Sweet because it's been almost a year, and bitter because it's almost been a year.
I exchanged pins and business cards with my fellow Outbounds, Inbounds, and Rebounds.
I watched an amazing talent show, had many of my questions answered. My Grandma and Mom also went with, and they had their questions answered. It was helpful for culture shock and reverse culture shock. It was helpful with language skills, and connected me to the other students who are going to Japan as well. I talked to Japanese Outbounds, Inbounds, and Rebounds. And they soothed a lot of my fears, worries, and fanned my passion for my Host Country,.
And now here I am, back home, back to the normality of work and family. Back to the American dream of a life. I am so lucky. SO VERY LUCKY. Saying lucky is shallow in this situation, but there are no other words that suite the situation. Maybe blessed, maybe something else, but I have a feeling there is no words that accurately describes my situation.
I tick of the days on my calendar. I plan my "see you soon' gifts to my younger siblings. I plan my "see you soon"s to the people who have loved me since the time I took my first breath. I plan my new life in a new country. And I am planning for a trip of a lifetime. I'm saying goodbye to American High School (because I am NOT going back. EVER.)
So this is the beginning of it all. I'm feeling pretty brave about this new world.
See You Soon
Mata chikaiuchini
また近いうちに
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