Hi! Thanks for taking time to read my blog. Let me take a moment to tell you what this is all about.
Who am I?
My name is Lydia Greve, and I am from Baraboo, Wisconsin.
Why do I have a blog?
I will be spending my junior year of high school overseas in İzmir, Turkey, and I created this blog as an easy way to update people back in Wisconsin about what I've been up to in Turkey.
What program am I a part of?
I am an exchange student with Rotary Youth Exchange. Rotary Youth Exchange is an impressive program that has been operating since 1929.
How did I become an exchange student?
If you are hoping to become an RYE exchange student, you will fill out a 14+ page application that includes information about your family, school, medical/ dental history, and more. You must be accepted by a sponsor club in or near your hometown. Then, you must be accepted by your Rotary district, which is basically a grouping of many Rotary clubs in an area. You will go through district interviews, where you will meet with Rotarians who will decide if you are fit for the program. Rotary districts can only send out about as many students as they take in, so depending on your area, interviews can be competitive. Mine were not.
I began the application in September, had my interview in November, and found out my country information in January. It was a long process, but it is entirely worth it.
Why Turkey?
Part of the Rotary application was ranking all the countries an exchange is possible with, from the one I'd most like to go to, to the one I'd least like to go to. It was a tough process ranking 36 countries like that, but my top five choices were: Croatia, Turkey, Norway, Finland, and South Africa. In the end, it is up Rotary where a student is placed. When I found out I was going to Turkey I was thrilled-- and to this day I'm thrilled! I wouldn't want to go anywhere else. I was hoping to go somewhere very different from Wisconsin, to a place I didn't know very much about. I suppose one of the shallow reasons I listed Turkey so high was because it is similar to Greece, where I really wanted to go at the time. I was also curious about the country's religion, Islam, and the long history the country has. In short, why Turkey? Because it's amazing!
If you're curious, I think the last country I listed was Australia, only because I'm interested in learning new languages.
When do I leave?
I'm supposed to be in Turkey by August 20th, so I'll hopefully leave a few days before then. Right now I'm waiting for my Turkish visa. It's taking a fair amount of time to get, but I'm just trying to be patient!
Well, I think that's a decent explanation of how I got to this point. In my next post I will tell you more about Turkey, İzmir, my host family & school, and then I'll leave you alone until I actually get to Turkey. :)
Hoşça kalın! Good-bye!
Until next time,
Lydia
Who am I?
My name is Lydia Greve, and I am from Baraboo, Wisconsin.
Why do I have a blog?
I will be spending my junior year of high school overseas in İzmir, Turkey, and I created this blog as an easy way to update people back in Wisconsin about what I've been up to in Turkey.
What program am I a part of?
I am an exchange student with Rotary Youth Exchange. Rotary Youth Exchange is an impressive program that has been operating since 1929.
How did I become an exchange student?
If you are hoping to become an RYE exchange student, you will fill out a 14+ page application that includes information about your family, school, medical/ dental history, and more. You must be accepted by a sponsor club in or near your hometown. Then, you must be accepted by your Rotary district, which is basically a grouping of many Rotary clubs in an area. You will go through district interviews, where you will meet with Rotarians who will decide if you are fit for the program. Rotary districts can only send out about as many students as they take in, so depending on your area, interviews can be competitive. Mine were not.
I began the application in September, had my interview in November, and found out my country information in January. It was a long process, but it is entirely worth it.
Why Turkey?
Part of the Rotary application was ranking all the countries an exchange is possible with, from the one I'd most like to go to, to the one I'd least like to go to. It was a tough process ranking 36 countries like that, but my top five choices were: Croatia, Turkey, Norway, Finland, and South Africa. In the end, it is up Rotary where a student is placed. When I found out I was going to Turkey I was thrilled-- and to this day I'm thrilled! I wouldn't want to go anywhere else. I was hoping to go somewhere very different from Wisconsin, to a place I didn't know very much about. I suppose one of the shallow reasons I listed Turkey so high was because it is similar to Greece, where I really wanted to go at the time. I was also curious about the country's religion, Islam, and the long history the country has. In short, why Turkey? Because it's amazing!
If you're curious, I think the last country I listed was Australia, only because I'm interested in learning new languages.
When do I leave?
I'm supposed to be in Turkey by August 20th, so I'll hopefully leave a few days before then. Right now I'm waiting for my Turkish visa. It's taking a fair amount of time to get, but I'm just trying to be patient!
Well, I think that's a decent explanation of how I got to this point. In my next post I will tell you more about Turkey, İzmir, my host family & school, and then I'll leave you alone until I actually get to Turkey. :)
Hoşça kalın! Good-bye!
Until next time,
Lydia
Great blog. I look forward to reading it as your trip progresses. Be sure to post a lot of photos of Turkish architecture.
ReplyDeleteJim Draeger
Ahoj! LOL to me styling my blog site! LOL to how tired I am. I <3 your blog.
ReplyDelete