A Decade Later Rotary Youth Exchange is Still Impacting my Life
August 26, 2010, as an eager 16-year-old from Southwestern Ontario I embarked on the once in a lifetime experience of a Rotary Youth Exchange to Istanbul, Turkey. I had already come a long way, from January when I received word that I was headed to Turkey and didn’t even know where it was in the world. I arrived at the airport having never been on a plane about to travel to the other side of the world with a few key phrases of Turkish in my back pocket. I was uneasy but ready for the adventure of a lifetime. I spent one year in Istanbul, Turkey. I was welcomed in to two amazing host families, each making me a member of their family. They went above and beyond to ensure I was always safe, happy and having the most immersive experience possible. I attended a local high school where the students made me feel at home and the teachers always relied on me to read aloud in English class. The Rotaractors, Rebounds and other members of the Istanbul Rotary family supported me in any way I needed, and the other Youth Exchange Students became more family than friends overnight.
I had the most amazing experience while abroad, but my exchange was not without its challenges. Part of the beauty of Rotary Youth Exchange is having the chance to face these challenges and grow as an individual while knowing you have a whole network behind you supporting you if you need them. The most significant challenge for me was coming home. I left as a young person with no real concept of the breadth of the world around me. I had grown up in a town where everyone knows each other. I grew so much over my year in Istanbul, developed a new understanding for the world around me and then moved home for two more years of high school. This was not a challenge I had anticipated; I had prepared for a variety of situations I might face while overseas but never thought I would feel out of place at home.
This shows how much growth and development my year abroad had given me. My exchange gave me the opportunity to connect with cultures, religions and beliefs different from my own. It gave me the deep appreciation for how similar people are while being different all at the same time. People who had no connection to me at all welcomed me into their lives and made me a member of their family. Rotary Youth Exchange seeks to build peace through bridging communities, and it does exactly that. Through providing young people the opportunity to experience and appreciate a culture different from their own it fosters a deep understanding between people of different cultures. It also provides the opportunity to share your own culture and help those you meet to better understand the Canadian way of life.
It has been ten years, and I still think about Istanbul and the incredible people that made my exchange so impactful each and every day. Without the experience of Rotary Youth Exchange, I know I would not be the person I am today. I experienced first-hand how impactful Rotary programs are and continue to work towards bridging communities through Rotary connections.
