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
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
