Well... January is coming to a close, and February will be here in a matter of days. I can't begin to tell you what January has been like for me, but i guess if I had to describe it in a few words, I would call it life-changing! I know, i know... the whole " life changing" part is what is supposed to be happening while I am in Germany, but to be honest my life has been completely flipped upside down- And I'm not even close to leaving! I'm guessing that the mere prospect of me going overseas and leaving all the people and events and organizations that I love... Has changed me.. and I feel like I'm starting to look at normal activities and circumstances from a new perspective. I never ever have looked forward to something so BIG in my life... Its so amazing to just live these months before my departure with such joy. Even though the road to where I am now, has been pretty complicated and tough... (and i know... it will get tougher) - It has been totally worth it!

One major helper in this process has been this girl at my school, Malina, who is going with Rotary to Spain! Even though we're going to different countries- without her I wouldn't be going anywhere, and she knows what this process feels like and we just help each other day-by-day. I strongly recommend that anyone going to another country on foreign exchange should go through the process alongside someone else. Oh yeah, also- this other girl named Ane at my school, a foreign exchange student from Norway, is helping me out a ton and has inspired me incredibly in the last few weeks! thank god for her :)

Anyways... to think about all That I've accomplished so far. SUPER-LONG applications- check. Rotary sponsor- Check. country selection- check. Now all I need to wait for is my exact placement which I'm not that worried about. I'm not going to waste my time thinking in excess about who I'm going to be living with and what school I'll be attending... that's a long way away! As far as where I'm at now- I'm, learning the German language by myself. I feel as if I'm grasping the basics... I can't stress enough how helpful it is if you already are learning another language- I would be clueless if I didn't know french! I have numbers, alphabet, some basic vocab/phrases/transitions, and I've been really focusing on conjugations of irregular verbs. The whole cases thing tripped me out at first, but I understand the concept behind it now. (dont get me wrong i still have no idea when to use der, die, das, eine, einer,ect...) Ha- Believe it or not I'm feeling good about the learning... I've found that i love languages and am hoping that that mentality will stay with me while I am struggling to speak in Germany) oh quick note- just realized that I know quite a bit of french... sure there are things that I dont know and my vocab would be super limited if I went there, but now that Im learning german, I constantly am finding that I know how to say all the things Im learning in French.

So I've talked way to much so far, These observations have just been on my mind. I'm hoping that these next few months will pass quickly and anything that needs to happen... will happen!!! until next time!

As of 9:55am on January 17, 2009 - My sponsor district called and announced that the country in which I will be living in next year is going to be GERMANY!!! I AM SO EXCITED! Even though i didn't get France or Belgium, GERMANY was my #4 choice, and considering that my application was sent in extremely late, I am so relieved that I was able to get such a wonderful country! WHEW! There are so many emotions I'm feeling right now! I'm so excited because I no longer have to worry about where I'll be living, and I finally can start studying a language, and man... This is so amazing- I feel like its official now... like Im going! so even though there are 6 months standing in the way... it is GOING to happen. Ill finally be able to leave Madison- ye-haaw :)

Hey my name is Ben Mau! I'm a sophomore in Madison, WI and next year I'm hoping to be a foreign exchange student through Rotary Youth Exchange.

So the reason why I'm starting the blog so early, is because the journey to BECOMING an exchange student is pretty tough. There's a ton of anxiety paired with the registration and waiting process, and on most blogs, the only thing everyone writes about is actual time in which they are "exchanging" in their specific country. This blog is for anyone interested in finding out what its like being foreign exchange student, from the very beginning- to the very end. (through Rotary Youth Exchange). Hopefully by summer of 2010, The blog will be complete and people will be able to understand the entire process.

One huge problem that I am facing right now, is that I really havn't been exposed to ANY other rotary exchange student yet (besides one of my friends at school). I started this whole process really late in the game, (December) NOT because I put things off, but because I was NOT planning on becoming an exchange student until I had this epiphany at my friends house in the first week of December...Crazy right! I kinda entered this like weird, dazed, perplexed state, (after my friend mentioned that she knew someone going on foreign exchange) and my life was turned upside down. I've thought a lot about going on Summer trips in the past, but NEVER an academic year because I have such a huge role here in my hometown. I'm class-president, in forensics, drama, track and field, and have had a plan for the classes I'm taking in High-School since like the 6th grade! But for some reason, the concept of leaving EVERYTHING behind for an entire year, made me sigh in relief, and instead of being disappointed that I would be missing AP BIO and AP 11 English, and all those classes that I would be taking next year, I was like NO! Im not going to. I could be doing something different! So my friends were like... BEN???? hello what are you thinking about, because at that moment I had been staring at the wall for like 5 minutes, and all I could do was smile, and just say... "nothings up, Im just thinking"

... I left my friends house that night, and immeadiately went to my parents with what I had on my mind. I expected them to do what they always do... say, "give it time, you need to think about it more." But instead, they were both interested and thought it sounded very interesting. I was super shocked, and just started to look for possible programs. That was the first of many sleepless nights!

So the next day, I went first thing to my counselor and got all the information I needed for foreign exchange. Since I have good grades and everything, my counselor thought it would be great if I went. That night I found that rotary was probably my best bet if I wanted to study abroad. I contacted my outbound coordinators and asked if it was too late to apply, and they told me technically yes, but they would see what they could do. The next day I got a teacher to send the recommendation, got a letter of proficiency, my official transcripts, my dental forms, and typed my letter. By the next day (wednesday) I had my entire applications filled out, managed to get my doctor to fill out all of the forms, and inserted all of my pictures/extra stuff. It was a lot of work, but I managed to finish my rotary applications in 3 days! (miracle?) My coordinator called me shortly thereafter and had good news, he found me a rotary sponsor, and because the interview process was already over for the district, he scheduled an in-home interview with me and my sponsor district the next week (Toni Pabon). With her signatures I was done with my application, and all I could do was wait for my coordinator to call me and say it was okay to send in the application to them. I sent in the application the day after Christmas, and that's where I'm at now- waiting for my country results.

At this point, I'm happy to get basically ANY country, but I'm really hoping I'll get a place in my top like 20! My top stops where: France, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, Norway (the list goes on) Basically my top 20 are all European... I'm really fascinated with the diversity of culture there, and believe that anywhere I go will profoundly impact me for the rest of my life! Seriously when will I ever get this chance again???



haha, so If you can tell, I'm a little frazzled. I've had a ton of anxiety due to the whole "late" situation. I've searched high and low for someone in the same situation, but havn't found a single blog out there. Hopefully, if everything will work out for me, someone with this situation will find my, and feel better about their situation:)

Next time I write, I'll know my country!!! yeeeHAA