My host parents mentioned in some of their emails that they have been trying for the past couple of weeks to find a good school for me. Why my host parents are looking for a school, and not my host club, I do not know, but that is besides the point. For all of you who don't know, certain schools in Berlin don't accept exchange students, and so my parents thought it would be a good idea to do a true exchange and see if I could actually switch places with their daughter (who is going to Equador next year), and take her place at her school. I just got an email from my host parents yesterday afternoon saying that they have been in contact with the headmaster guy at this school for a while now and he has agreed to accept me into the school- Canisius Kolleg. They sent me this 3-page pdf file (why I say pdf is because I couldn't copy it and translate it online, I had to get it translated by a friend at school) and it was the contract of the school.
Oh yeah... did I forget to mention that it is a PRIVATE CATHOLIC SCHOOL! SUPRISE! I go to a very public school in the states! It is very diverse, semi-violent, and I don't know- typical public school. I must say that I am a little bit nervous for this transition! This school looks pretty intense. It only has 850 students, its a prep-school, and its considered one of the best schools in Berlin. Not intimidating at all. I would've been perfectly happy with a normal public school. I'm really thankful to have host parents who go so far out of their way to ensure that I recieve an education that they want their children to get. That really tells you something- ey? But even though I'm a little nervous, I must realize that this experience, whether it's going to be good or bad, is all of what exchange is all about.
Onto a more somber note- I just realized that I need to start saying goodbye to people I won't be seeing over the Summer. We have one week left of finals... and I only have to come to school on monday/wednesday/thursday. I guess its not THAT sad, because they aren't my best friends, but I mean, the juniors and seniors aquaintances I have, I may not ever see again. Thats super weird to me.
Okay, so my host parents say that my guarantee forms will be coming soon. They're starting to write their messages in German... which is good. Once I get my forms I can send them to my travel agent and get a full itinerary.
... did I ever mention that right now I feel like the luckiest guy alive. I'm still in disbelief that this whole exchange this isn' t just a dream :)
Oh yeah... did I forget to mention that it is a PRIVATE CATHOLIC SCHOOL! SUPRISE! I go to a very public school in the states! It is very diverse, semi-violent, and I don't know- typical public school. I must say that I am a little bit nervous for this transition! This school looks pretty intense. It only has 850 students, its a prep-school, and its considered one of the best schools in Berlin. Not intimidating at all. I would've been perfectly happy with a normal public school. I'm really thankful to have host parents who go so far out of their way to ensure that I recieve an education that they want their children to get. That really tells you something- ey? But even though I'm a little nervous, I must realize that this experience, whether it's going to be good or bad, is all of what exchange is all about.
Onto a more somber note- I just realized that I need to start saying goodbye to people I won't be seeing over the Summer. We have one week left of finals... and I only have to come to school on monday/wednesday/thursday. I guess its not THAT sad, because they aren't my best friends, but I mean, the juniors and seniors aquaintances I have, I may not ever see again. Thats super weird to me.
Okay, so my host parents say that my guarantee forms will be coming soon. They're starting to write their messages in German... which is good. Once I get my forms I can send them to my travel agent and get a full itinerary.
... did I ever mention that right now I feel like the luckiest guy alive. I'm still in disbelief that this whole exchange this isn' t just a dream :)
Hi Ben,
My name is Tom Frost and I was a RYE student to India in the dark ages (1980). All three of my siblings were RYE students and three of my daughters have been RYE students.
Anyway, my wife Maya Frost just wrote a book called The New Global Student that has a whole chapter devoted to RYE.
We will speaking at the multidistrict RYE event July 9-12 in Grand Rapids. Will you be there?
You can read the Rotary Chapter for free at http://www.mayafrost.com/rotary. There are lots of stories from other students.
Hope to see you in Grand Rapids!
Best,
Tom
P.S. Looking forward to reading your blog over the next year!
I definitely will be at the Grand Rapids conference! I'm very excited to see all the other exchange students!
Thanks for the link. I read the entire thing. I loved the student excerpts.
=D
I really like your blog man, I'll go to germany this year too =), but I'll got to Distrikt 1900 =P, I hope you keep writing here all the year, it would be very interesting to see how you develop your exchange year =D, so far it's so similar to mine ^^