My Rotary Youth Exchange: One year in a foreign country, a new language, and no
familiar friends or family. For many that sounds frightening and difficult, but to me it was
the chance of a lifetime. I come from a relatively small community. Ever since the third
grade I wanted to be an exchange student so I could go see more than what lay inside of
my small fenced area. My mom was a bit horrified with the idea of her little girl "going so
far away", but after much begging and pleading over the years she finally allowed me to
apply for the Rotary Youth Exchange Program. Never in my wildest dreams could I have
imagined what I had signed myself up for. I went through a huge stack of paperwork,
many stress inducing interviews, and over the course of a year finally completed the...