In Gear | Rotary in Southern New Zealand Issue 2 | Page 44

By Mathieu Demarets, of Belgium
I’ve been asked heaps of times why did I choose to leave all I
knew, my comfort zone – my home, family, girlfriend, friends,
habits, school and country – to travel to the other side of
the world, land in an unknown country and live with people
whose names are the only thing I knew about them.
Well, if you had asked me a couple of months ago, I would
have answered straight away: Well, in Rotarians’ opinions,
this journey will give me a brand new vision of life. I will come
to know interesting people and discover jaw-dropping places
and take part in breathtaking experiences.
On the other side, if you listen to other exchange students,
I will have the best time of my life, make numerous new
friends all around the globe and have THE experience of a
lifetime.
You must have heard some of the sayings, like: ‘An exchange
year is not a year in a life but a life in a year’. However, to be
completely honest, the main reason for this crazy decision
was learning English. It was mostly because I knew for sure
that the fluent English I would speak at the end of the 12
months would be a huge and incomparable advantage for
my future bilingual studies and career.
Now that I’ve been living in (to be exact, I must say, enjoying)
the South Island of New Zealand for 120 days, I realise how
wrong I was.
This might sound pretentious, but you can’t really understand
how beneficial and exceptional this adventure can be, before
taking an active part in it. If you take the smart and clever
decision to travel abroad, you will find out soon enough that
it’s much more than just learning a language.
An exchange year is also a great challenge for all kinds of
shy and self-conscious people. Actually, even if you are selfconfident and pretty social, it will still be challenging. It’s the
challenge to make new friends, to fit in a family who’s not
yours (at first) and into a new school where you feel as if you
were back to your very first day of school - but with people
who’ve hung around together for ages and whose words
sound like Chinese to you.
Nevertheless, challenging doesn’t mean hard or annoying.
During these four months, what this great challenge has
meant for me are discoveries, surprises, pride, a new family
and a new home, new friends, independence, changes,
improvements and a huge difference in the way I see what’s
around me.
I’ve aimed to give you a glimpse of what this exchange
means for me, and what it might mean for you or the future
exchange student you might host in your club or home. I’m
slowly realising that all those unforgettable and singular
experiences I have had are impossible to put into words.
If I had to put this into just a few words, though, I would say
that an exchange year is a brand new life, miles away from
all you’ve ever known. It is a life where everything is different,
singular and wonderful – a life with new friends, new families,
a new home, a new country, a “new you” even.

Marvin Kempf and Mathieu Demarets

By Fena Zavala, of Chile
I am from Santiago, Chile, and I have been
hosted by the Invercargill Rotary Club.
I am leaving in January, and the time has
gone faster and faster since I arrived.
Living in another country with Rotary
Youth Exchange is like having a new life
for a year – the first time you are alone in
the world, and you create your life as you
want.
You earn a lot of experience for your future
and you do have the best year of your life!
Being in a host country gives you
independence and a bit of training for
when you leave home.
The highlights of my year? Bungy jumping,
water rafting, paddle boarding, kayaking,
mountain biking and tramping.

This is your chance to live your life. Take it!

Page 44 | In Gear - Rotary in southern New Zealand - District 9980 | www.rotarydistrict9980.org