Emails from Host Families and Counsellors

Wow, I am about 34832984234523 times excited for Switzerland. Yesterday I recieved an email from what I think is my first host family. And let me tell you, they sound AMAZING! Perfect english and from what I can gather a perfect family too. There is Heiner (53), Irene (42), Olivia (17), Maurice (14), Phoebe (11) , Cassian (10), Amarin (8). Yep, 3 boys and 2 girls. But while I am on exchange so is Olivia: she is going to USA. They live in Lenzburg which only has 8,000 people AND THERE IS A CASTLE!!! Yes, a castle. It is crazy. Anyway here are some photos:

aahhh I love them already!!! And look at Amarian! aaawwwww.

Oh and the counsellor. His name is Reudi (I think) and he sounds really nice :)

Bye :)

The first blog of RIS?

At the moment this blog will be dead for quite some time as I don't leave to Switzerland for about another 4 months. But I feel like I should post some things to remind myself in the future for what I have done to prepare myself for the exchange. 

What an earth made me apply for exchange? Well, turns out my father is a Rotarian and my mother is an Inner Wheel club member. And from there we have hosted 5 exchange students in a row that have come from the Rotary Club of Berwick and 1 Gap year exchange student. They were from Austria (Matt), Denmark (Christoffer), Sweden (Anna), Finland (Marjukka), Germany (Bernadette) and our current exchange student from Germany as well (Philipp). So from sharing my home with these complete strangers has inspired me to go on exchange too!

This is Philipp and I at both of our first AFL match. LOL bit weird that an Australian hasn't even been to the footy! 

He speaks High German which is what I have to learn in Switzerland, ahem-person tutor much? :D

Anyway, I had like a 15 page application to fill out. Let me tell you, it took forever! Had to have 4 copies of medical things from my Doctor and Dentist. Funnily enough I couldn't answer "Why do you want to be an exchange student?" I could only put down a paragraph. I had an interview with the Rotary Club of Berwick to sponsor me; which they did :)

Then we had Rotary Camp. WHICH IS AWESOME! The first camp was just for the committee to see if we were up for exchange and country selection. 11 of us applied and all got accepted but one girl pulled out so now there are 10 of us going on exchange. The second camp we got to learn more about our exchange and we also had the inbound exchange students too.

 

This is all of us at the second camp. From L to right

Annella (going to USA), Anne (Sweden), Florian (Austria), Ruth (Austria), Hannah (Sweden), Mathias (Denmark), Gus (my country co-ordinator), Philipp (Germany), Maddee (going to Brazil), Magdalena (Austria), Julia (Switzerland), Jake (going to France), Jarrod (going to Sweden), Prue (Denmark), Lauren (went to Japan), Alison (going to Austria), Zara (going to Austria), Xavier (France), Me! (going to Switzerland), Robin (went to Sweden), Amaya (France), Marisa (USA),  Emma (Sweden), Luan (Brazil), Filipe (Brazil), Bonnie (going to Brazil), Annabelle (going to France) and Corinne (going to Sweden). 

Yep, thats all of us! District 9820.

If your wondering whats with the blazers, its a a Rotary exchange student thing. Each country has a blazer that is different and you basically decorate it with places that you have been. You also trade pins with other exchange students. So far I've gotten an Eiffel tower figurine and lots of country flags from all of those exchange students ^. Australia has the green ones (UGLY!). The Sweden ones are the best. 

I can't wait for exchange: its not too far off! :)

I plan to post everyday while I'm in Switzerland, I hope it all works out. 

Until next time,

Rachel