Good afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I really appreciate being here right now.

It was summer when my Dad came back from the grocery store and he came into the car and asked: “Do you want to do a student exchange?”

I was very surprised, because I really didn’t expect a question like that, especially because I already talked about that topic before and I thought that I would not do an exchange. But at that moment there was still a slight chance. My dad met our pastor who told him that her son would do an exchange and that they were still looking for students.

So at home my parents an me we were talking about it.

Well, and since I didn’t really know about any other organisation exepting the government funded project which was already started, I just had Rotary that I knew of.
I really was not sure about an exchange, although I had dreamed of one for so long. And now I had the chance of really doing it, but I was just pathetic and expecially pessimistic. There was so much opportunity in a student exchange, but I was just thinking about the negatives, which seemed to be a lot, just because I was so into it.
At some point I was sick of thinking about it every night before falling asleep. The answer was easy: Yes or no, but in fact the choice wasn’t. But I decided that night: Give a crap on all the thoughts, it’s an adventure, just do it.
I signed up for the exchange. And I came through.

The first Minnesotan expression wasn’t all too good - it was the old woman next to me on the flight from Chicago to Minneapolis who was licking her cell phone to clean it and I was just grossed out by it - I finally was really glad when the last plane landed, because I found that I had been in planes long enough that day.
I’ll never forget the moment that I entered the airport in Minneapolis. So we students came out of the plane and we went up the walkway. There were two pairs of adults. And the one on the right asked me right away: “Laura? Are you Laura?” I think I just nodded and murmured some kind of “Yes” and started to grin and smile, and I felt really relieved and was glad that I didn’t have to find my family on an airport at the other half of the world where I had nobody and I couldn’t even call my parents. On the other hand: I mean, isn’t it wonderful... or no... extraordinary that you go to a place where you never have been before without a plan, you don’t even know what’s expecting you, and that there is someone who is waiting for you? That there is someone, who cares for you although he doesn’t even know you? That there is someone who likes to get to know you better. That is in my mind totally awesome.
I had a lot of fun and experiences with my first host familiy, the Fishers, but after three weeks already I had to change the family and I came to a kind of bigger family. The experience at their house was not the same than at the Fishers. I’ll never forget the funny weekends at the cabin in Moose Lake, where there is nothing excepting a few awesome friends.

When the time was over I changed to the Jantscheks. And again, they were different too. I had a lot of fun over at their house, and I got to know the wonderful and big family they have.

And at last I came to the Bergs, my fourth and final host family. I have been at their house for about two months and I had so much fun, although I’m more at school than at home because I’m doing track. We were in White Fish, MT the second week I’ve been at their house, and we had lots of fun. This family is really funny. Yaaa!
In all this time though, I recognized that you have no idea what being an exchange student means when you come here, but that you learn it over the time you are here. Being an exchange student is not as easy as many people think. Being an exchange student goes far beyond just being as nice and polite as possible to your host family, it is about taking responsibility. You are responsible for the things you do and for the way you behave. You are responsible for the mistakes you make and the way other people look at you. Being an exchange student means that YOU are responsible how other people look at your country. YOU are your country. It is not just called exchange because somebody didn’t find a better word for it, it is called exchange, because the exchange is not just between the families, the exchange is between your country and your culture and the country  and the culture of the place you are going to. Being an exchange student doesn’t take place just here, it takes place from the second you register until forever. You are here for one year, but you will never forget the experience you got and you can go around with the thought that there is a part of family in another part of the world, that there is a part of you there.
Being an exchange student is not just about being here for one year, it is about having the experience for your whole life and having contact and a deep friendship with all the people you met for a long time after the year.
I think that Rotary gives a unbelievable opportunity to everyone, and not just the people who can afford an exchange. Rotary plays an important role during the exchange what other people probably think isn’t nice, but I think that it is wonderful idea to let the exchange students come to every single Rotary meeting. I mean, Rotary doesn’t just do the exchange, Rotary does a lot of other things. My club, the Stillwater Sunrise Rotary does Trick or Treating for Halloween in a retirement community which is a lot of fun for the children, the elderly people and the volunteers. My favorite Rotary action is PolioPlus, where Rotary fundraises for eradicating Polio in the world. And you are on the best way to suceed. Rotary gives extraordinary opportunities to a lot of people, and we all should appreciate it.

I think through the Rotary Student Exchange I got opportunities I wouldn’t have gotten if went with a different organisation. I know that I changed. I think I’m more mature than when I came. I’m more self-confident in doing things and I can probably think decisions better through. I also learned how to deal with difficult situations better than giving up, and I got more independent.

I met a lot of people, and not just young people. And I met a lot of people who I can call friends, and friendship doesn’t have to do anything with age or heritage, I mean, it’s simply friendship.

Or in the words of Paul Harris: “Rotary has satisfactorily demonstrated the fact that friendship can easily hurdle national and religious boundary lines.”

Thank you.