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 Rotary Youth Exchange
In
Southeastern and Central Ohio
What an exciting adventure awaits you,
as a potential Rotary exchange student or host family, as
you look to expand your horizons as they've never been
expanded before. We invite you to explore our site, learn
more about the program, and, if it's right for you, take
those first steps toward one of the most amazing, memorable,
adventurous years of your life.
Become
A Rotary Youth Exchange Student
If you want to be part of this amazing program doing your
part to change the world and change your life, this is the
web site you need.
Click Here.
Become A Rotary Exchange Host Family
Do your family and yourselves a great
service. Bring the world to your home. Expose them to
these wonderful students from all over the world. RYE
students bring their culture, joy and fun to your family.
Great for families with small children. Your kids
learn that the world is a small place. Most exchange
student become your own kids.
Host Family Application
Every prospective
Long Term outbound student must include the forms
with three prospective host families with their application.
This, of course, can be their own family hosting three times
(3.5 months each time). We instituted this rule
because our district has to host as many Long Term students
as we send. The more host families, the more inbounds
we can host.
Read "What My
Host Families Meant To Me"
From Our
Former Exchange Students
Who
Are We?
Rotary International is the world's oldest and most
international service organization, with over 1.2 million
members in 32,000 clubs, in almost 200 countries. The
official Rotary motto is, "Service
Above Self", and Rotarians live their lives in
accordance with the Four
Way Test. Rotary Youth Exchange is the top rated
exchange program, run by people dedicated to Youth Exchange
and International Service.
Local Kids Going On
Exchange in 2011-2012
Long Term
Exchange Students
Short Term Exchange Students
 YOUTH
EXCHANGE CHANGES LIVES FOR THE GOOD
Read
Our Present Outbound Exchange Student's Adventures HERE.
Short
Term Exchanger's Stories
Short Term Exchange is an intense 4-6 weeks.
Learn more from last year's kids.
CHECK OUT THE ROTARY CALENDAR
FOR MORE NEWS
News and Opportunities For Exchange
Students and their Families
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Free Foreign Language Classes
Below is a
link to a web site run by the Foreign Service
Institute which gives you the opportunity to
learn many different languages for free.
Check it out, thanks to Dr. Steve Turpin.
http://www.fsi-language-courses.org/Content.php |
Training Integral Part of RYE
Success
Walter Lundstrom
is the outbound chairman of the District's Youth
Exchange program. He and the volunteers have
implemented a most innovative and effective
program for training exchange students.
Using
Rebound/Rotex (students who have successfully
completed an exchange), past experience, and
various studies done about RYE students,
challenges for expatriates, and culture shocks,
the program addresses what emotions the students
will feel, adapting to cultural differences and
fitting in with host families. Once the
students are assigned their country, they have
access to students who have been to those
countries for tips and additional information.
Training sessions
are conducted during the 9-10 overnight Rotary
weekends starting in September and ending before
the students take off on their exchanges.
During that time, the students are also required
to write a series of term papers about their own
country, the countries they are assigned to and
the culture they will encounter.
Once the students
return, there is a re-orientation and debriefing
weekend. This year a training program for
parents of returning exchange students is
planned.
Walter is a native
of Sweden, but a few years ago became a
naturalized US Citizen. Two of his three kids
have been Rotary Exchange Students. Walter was
a GSE (a Rotary vocational exchange scholarship)
team member from Sweden when, at age 27, he came
to the USA and discovered Rotary.
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Requirements for Outbound Exchange
Students
What Do You
Need to Do To Become An Exchange Student
Download in Adobe PDF Format
As an exchange
student, you’re job is to be a
goodwill ambassador representing
Rotary, District 6690, and the US.
People here in the US will judge our
program on your behavior, and the
people
you
touch overseas will literally get
their strongest perception about the
US from you (good or bad…). Part of
being an effective goodwill
ambassador is to be prepared, and
because of that, the following
learning requirements are mandatory
parts of the program.
RESEARCH
PAPERS & REQUIRED GROUNDWORK
*Four research
papers and each paper should be
750-1000 words. The purpose of the
papers is for you to be prepared for
your exchange. Short terms: email to
the papers to Kathy Gatterdam
kgatterdam@columbuscoal.com.
Long terms: email the papers to
Walter Lundstrom
WalterLundstrom@gmail.com
1. What is
Rotary? (Due 1 week before the
January RYE weekend)
2. USA,
Ohio, and your home town. (Due 1
week before the March weekend)
3. Your host
country and city. (Due 1 week before
the May RYE weekend)
4. The
difference in culture between your
home country and host country.
This paper takes a
lot of research, because you’re
looking for the deep cultural
differences, not music and food.
(Only for long term students. Due 1
week before the July RYE weekend.
Email it to Walter Lundstrom).
Papers, if acceptable, may be
published on the District Web Site.
Paper 1-3 are for all out-bounds.
Paper 4 is only for long term
out-bounds.
 In
addition to the above papers, after
you get your country match up,
you’ll also need to translate the
letter that was in your application
to your new host language. Please
email it to Kathy (ST) or Walter
(LT).
Failing to
deliver any of these research papers
or the translated letter on time,
will jeopardize your exchange and
may result in you not being part of
the program!
LANGUAGE
LEARNING
When you get
your country match, you must also
start to learn your host language.
There are numerous programs
available. Rosetta Stone might be
one of the best ones, but that is up
to each student to find what works
best for you and your budget.
PRESENTATION TO ROTARY CLUB
After you have
been accepted in to the program
(after the district interviews)
you’ll need to get in touch with
your sponsoring Rotary club to setup
a time in April / May for you to do
a 20 minutes Power Point
presentation. I’ll give you more
information about that later. Most
clubs fill up their programs
quickly, so get in touch with them
right away after you are accepted.
ONE IN
7,000 US HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS DO
THIS. BE THAT ONE
You have
started a life changing experience
that VERY few people go through. I
don’t know the statistics for short
term exchanges, but according to a
National Geographic study last year,
only one US high school student in
7,000 becomes an exchange student!
You’re very special!
Example of Excellent Cultural Paper For
Outbound
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Exchange Stories & Photo Adventures
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Stuff Happening
Around The World
With 6690 Exchange Students
To Read The Outbound Student's
Adventures Click Here
Cruz Bonlarron,
Peru, is Sandboarding in Peru
Cruz helping
feed the poor with a Peruvian Rotary
Project during Christmas.
Exchange also involves helping
others.
Karen Fullin is chilling at school
in Ecuador.
Richelle Hecker
(Mexico) celebrates the Day of the
Dead.
Aaron Lefler
(Russia) demonstrates
Japanese/Russian friendship with a
Japanese Exchange Student friend at
a memorial in Eastern Russia.
Manuela Perez on her way to becoming
Korean. Manuela is in South Korea
this year.
Emily Riggs
takes time from Croatia to visit
nearby Venice, Italy. |
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Sytske Miedema arrives in Argentina
to start her year of exchange.
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Amy
Myklebust visits with 2009-2010 Inbound Laura Braun Cano in Brazil.
Friends cross international borders in RYE.
Alana Paynter travels with new
friends she met during her short
term exchange in Ecuador.
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RYE
6690
Around The World
During your Exchange write 6690
somewhere (someplace temporary, no graffiti)
and send us a picture
saluting 6690 Youth Exchange.
Salutes from
Beaches on the 7 Seas and great Rivers of the World.
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 Richelle
Hecker, Mexico, sent us this tribute from Playa Del
Carmen in the Yucatan. |
Sytske
Miedema's tribute to 6690 in Patagonia.
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Karen Fullin,
Ecuador, sends another tribute to the old 6690 from
the beaches along the equator. |
Sytske Miedema's
2nd Tribute in Southern Argentina.
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 Sarah
Galbreath salutes 6690 at a beach at the bottom of
Iguazu Falls in Argentina. |
 Robin
Smith Salutes 6690 in the Amazon Region of Ecuador
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Robin Smith Again
6690 at Chimborazo, the tallest mountain in
Ecuador!!
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6690 in Arches National
Park Utah on the Rotary Western Trip
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Robin (who is
addicted to this) saluted
6690 in the Galapagos too! |
 6690
is feted in sand on an Icelandic Beach by former
6690er Dagur Freddrickson and RYE Volunteer Jackie
Favret.. |
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 Alanna
Paynter finds Rotary in the mountains of Ecuador this summer
during her Short Term Exchange. |
 Lauren
Augostini, on short term exchange in Italy salutes Rotary.
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 Erin
Wible paid tihis tribute to 6690 RYE on beach in Lido de
Jesolo, Italy |
 A
beach in Northern Germany pays tribute to the District, Erin
Wible, Germany, 2009-2010 |
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