Nuorisovaihto

Robin Botterman vaihto-oppilasvuodestaan Suomessa 2019-2020

"Suomessa oleminen on ollut mahtavaa. Olen oppinut paljon kaikenlaista esimerkiksi itsestäni, muista ihmisistä ja elämästä. Olen saanut asua useiden host-perheiden luona ja olen kokenut ja oppinut todella paljon heidän kanssaan. Lisäksi olen myös tavannut paljon uusia ihmisiä ja saanut heistä elinikäisiä ystäviä. Olen rakastanut aikaani täällä Suomessa.

Lapissa vaihtareiden seurassa, Robin edessä keskellä

Suomalainen kulttuuri on aika erityistä, mutta pidän siitä. Kulttuuri on esimerkiksi opettanut minua olemaan vähemmän kriittinen ja enemmän suvaitsevainen. Se on muuttanut koko elämäni ja olen siitä todella kiitollinen. Olen huomannut, että täsmällisyys ja ajoissa oleminen on hyvin tärkeää suomalaisille. Ranskassa melkein mikään ei ole tiukasti aikataulussa, mikä voi olla ärsyttävää.

Mielestäni suomalaiset ovat rehellisiä ja kunnioittavia, mistä pidän paljon. Suomalaiset myös tunnetaan siitä, että he menevät suoraan asiaan ja joskus ovat hieman "kylmiä". Osasin odottaa sitä, mutta silti se joskus hämmensi minua, koska luulin, että ihmiset ovat epäkohteliaita tai eivät ole kiinnostuneita. Se ei kuitenkaan lannistanut minua. Opin ymmärtää sitä vähittelen ja nyt olen enemmän tottunut siihen.

Pidän monista asioista Suomessa. Esimerkiksi täällä Suomessa on todella kaunis luonto, josta on pidetty hyvää huolta. Kaupungit ovat puhtaita ja koulujärjestelmä on hyvä ja hyvin järjestetty. Sää ei koskaan ole minulle liian kuuma, mitä arvostan sen takia, että kuumuus on minun pahin viholliseni. Toivon, että palaan tänne Suomeen opiskelemaan ja ehkä myöhemmin myös asumaan."

ROTAREIDEN KAUTTA VAIHTOON

Rotarien yksi näkyvimmistä ohjelmista on nuorisovaihto. Vuosittain yli 8000:lle nuorelle maailmassa tarjoutuu mahdollisuus tutustua Rotary-järjestön välityksellä vieraaseen kulttuuriin muutaman viikon, kuukauden tai kokonaisen kouluvuoden ajan.

Rotaryn nuorisovaihto-ohjelma on turvallinen ja edullinen. Turvallisuus perustuu kaikkien ohjelmaan osallistuvien osapuolien perehdytykseen ja koulutukseen sekä vapaaehtoistoimijoista rakentuvaan turvaverkkoon. Isäntäperheet tai Rotary- klubi eivät saa korvausta oppilaan ylläpidosta tai majoittamisesta.

Nuorisovaihdon tuloksena syntyy usein vuosikausia kestäviä kansainvälisiä ystävyyssuhteita vaihdossa mukana olleiden henkilöiden ja perheiden kesken
Jos olet kiinnostunut Rotarivaihdosta, niin löydät lisätietoa rye.fi -sivuilta.

Jos haluat vaihtoon Tuusulan rotariklubin kautta, niin ota reippaasti vaan yhteyttä nuorisovaihtoasiamieheemme Ulla Rosenqvistiin, ulla.rosenqvist@evl.fi ja puh. 040 719 1419.

What a year! Anne Jänchen live on stage May 23

Indeed - we club members had a true pleasure following Anne do a well prepared and fun presentation on her Rotary Youth exchange year in Finland and Tuusula. Not only that but Lapland, Koli, Tallinn and St Petersburg as well.

Anne supported her presentation with beautiful photos and nicely edited video clips on the events, locations and people she visited during the year. More on her views in words and images can be viewed on her special exchange year site here.

Cherry topping on the cake, Anne summarized her presentation in impeccable Finnish.

Danke schön Anne!

Lapland Tour 2017

by Anne Jänchen, our incoming Rotary Exchange Student 2017-2018

Where to begin? It has been one of the best experiences in my entire life.

The Tour began on Friday, the 24th of November. 15 hours of driving in a small bus from the very south to the very north of Finland. We were picked up at 21:25 from my hometown. We stopped in some other cities too to pick other exchange students up. That bus ride was actually kind of fun. We played music, sang together and talked a lot. To be on a bus with people from all over the world and with those people actually having time to have a proper conversation is something that does not happen that often. And even tho it was exhausting and we definitely did not get enough sleep; I think that the bus ride was a great start. The Ride itself was pretty uneventful. Some Reindeer on the road and Finland turning into a big white forest was the only thing that was worth of mentioning. We finally arrived at the Hotel around 12:00 on Saturday.

The three other buses arrived already, so they just waited for us to finally begin the official program. Lunch, a little info meeting and then we went into the bus again. Since we were so many exchange students they divided us into groups based on the buses we traveled in. Which meant we pretty much spent the whole trip with the same people. I think was a good thing though because I really liked the people on my bus. So we went into the bus again to go to the ski resort we would visit on Monday to rent our skiing and snowboarding equipment. After that we went back to the hotel and had some time to get familiar with the building, to unpack our stuff and to say hello to people from the other buses, before we got onto the bus again. Our destination this time was a little cabin in the woods. We got some warm juice, some not so good fish soup and some cookies.

The second day started at 7:30 with breakfast. Then continued at 9 with huskies. The husky farm is right next to the hotel. We arrived to huskies that were unbelievably excited to pull the sleighs for us. It was so cute to see all the puppies and to cuddle with the dogs. Everybody couldn't help but have a big smile on their face.

The next point on our to-do list was at least as exciting as the huskies; Reindeer. The Reindeer were Finnish in their way; we weren't allowed to pet them or give them any attention except walking by because it makes them uncomfortable. But we were allowed to sit in the sleigh and ride through the woods. The reindeer in the front; a beautiful forest covered in snow all around us: It was just perfect. And I can already say that my exchange year is complete after 4 months. Riding with a reindeer sleigh was all I ever wanted in Finland. We walked back to the hotel, with snowshoes. And deep through the snow. It was only like 10 minutes and to be honest we could have done that walk with our normal snow boots but hey I can now say that I was snowshoeing in Lapland, so I don't complain. I just wish we would have done that a little longer.

That being our morning we went to have lunch in our hotel before we got on the bus again. We got a presentation about the region we were in and then had some time in the very small museum that was in the same building. After that we drove to a reindeer farm. They showed us what kind of products they produced out of reindeer leather and how they survived cold and long winters without modern devices. We also visited the house of the people who owned the farm and learned about how they lived their everyday life and about some strange utensils that they used back in the day.

We arrived back at our hotel to have dinner and then the evening snack in a little cottage next to the main building. An old, strange Sami man visited us and performed some traditional songs for us. Then the Rotexes had some little presentation and after that the Oldies gave the district presents to us newbies. It’s a tradition that every generation of exchange students gives a few presents to the next generation. Presents that describe a character or a specific trait that is given on from the person the previous generation thought fits the most, to the next person. It was pretty emotional, especially when the oldies began to sing songs to us and basically said goodbye to most of their friends and the newbies and their exchange year. Everybody started crying. It was a moment that was pretty sad but also awesome to me. Everybody started hugging and even people that never exchanged a word cried together and made each other feel better. So we had a big goodbye even tho the tour didn’t quite end yet. But that was okay.

The next day most people woke up with swollen eyes. Glad to let all the sadness out we took the bus to a nearby ski resort. A few hours of either snowboarding, downhill skiing or cross country skiing. I chose to go downhill skiing. After some fun on the ski run we stopped to have a little snack outside. 6 hours and our skiing adventure was done.

In the afternoon we had some time to hang out with friends, go to sauna and just chill. In the evening we drove to a school in which we all did some kind of performance in country groups. Me and my fellow Germans performed the “Fliegerlied” which was fun. It was interesting to listen and see what the other countries had planned, but it was kind of repetitive because we did something similar in the Karkku Camp already. It still was pretty good.

Our last night was very short. We had breakfast, packed all our stuff together and put it in the bus. Around two hours of driving we arrived in Rovaniemi. The city in which the real Santa lives. We had some time in the Santa Claus Village, I wrote some postcards and we took some pictures around the area.

A picture with Santa was incredibly expensive, so I didn’t take one. Around 2:30 we took off again with the bus. 13 more hours of driving and waiting to finally go to bed. My hostmum picked me up from the bus. We arrived home around 4 in the morning. Laying in bed after this experience was very sobering. I didn’t fall asleep immediately, but when I woke up this whole thing felt like a long and awesome dream.

The time after the Lapland tour I suffered a little bit from withdrawals. It was such an awesome experience that I happened to spend with incredible people. I was sad that this was over. And I still am. It was probably one of the best things that I’ve ever experienced. And then it was over after only a few days. It was something that I looked forward to a long time. Even though I was incredibly tired and exhausted after it, I still wish it would have lasted longer. Thank you Rotary for making this tour so awesome!

Annen tuoreimmat kuulumiset

Viesti veli Ristolta:

"Vaihto-oppilaamme Anne vietti leppoisan illan kotonamme samanikäisen tyttärentyttäremme Susannan kanssa. Söimme lohikeittoa ja pannaria sekä juttelimme lukioiden eroista Saksassa ja Suomessa. Tulevaisuuden toiveet tuli myös käsiteltyä ja ensi viikolla Anne suuntaa Lappiin ja Susanna Kiinaan."

Looking back - my first months in Finland

by Anne Jänchen, incoming Rotary Exchange Student, Tuusula 2017-2018

On the 6th of August 2017 my big day finally came. After endless waiting my exchange year would finally begin.

On the 6th o was rather easy, since it only needed two and a half hours from Düsseldorf to Helsinki. After a long bus drive from Helsinki airport, we were well welcomed to Camp Karkku. A language camp at the beginning of every exchange students year in Finland.

It was truly an awesome time there. Meeting all the exchange students from all over the world really made it a great start into this year.

On the 6th and last day of this camp I met my first host family for the first time. Some exchange students didn’t know more than the last name. So I felt really calm in contrast to some other exchangers who literally knew nothing about what to expect and what they have to deal with in the next few months.

I had contact to all three of my families and I knew that every family is really great. I had Skype calls and already talked to them, I saw pictures and send e-mails and text messages. So my feelings on that Saturday were rather good then afraid. And it turned out that there really wasn’t anything to worry about. It wasn’t weird or awkward and I felt comfortable from the first second on.

On Sunday my first host family had a little welcome party and invited my second and my third host family, so we could get to know each other a little bit and simply see each other before I’ll move to their home. They were so nice and hugged me right away. This day was a success and I realized once again, that I’m incredibly lucky with my families.

I’m going to the Tuusulan Lukio, to the first grade of the upper secondary school. It’s only a few minutes away from home and when I’m driving with the bike I’m there almost immediately. It only has 570 pupils but it’s combined with the Hyrylä secondary school with another 380 pupils.

My first day of school was on the 14.08.17. Of course I was nervous, especially because I missed the first two school days already, I don’t know why but in my head it would have been easier to be there at he first day of school. But everything was fine. After my first week I was pretty confident and found at least one person in every class that I could talk to and ask for translations.

My host mum signed me up to an art school near our house. Every friday for two hours. We also go to Tehokeho, every Saturday waking up at 8:30. But it feels good to do it. When Haiku (our dog) is around we go out and walk with him through the forest. In general we do a lot of walking. Sometimes we just go out and walk somewhere to get fresh air and practice vocabulary with the things around us.

My host family is probably the best thing that could happen to me. I’m super happy. They treat me like a member of the family and make sure I feel like I’m home. And I do. I am at home. It’s so easy to communicate and talk about how I feel and share lovely moments. And I really think that is something that every exchange student should have but not every exchange student gets. It’s something precious, and I really appreciate the way it is.

After almost exactly three months now, I experienced so much, I met so many people, I learned so much about Finland and about myself. I’m so thankful to have the opportunity to do this year and I’m so thankful for Rotary Youth Exchange making all of this happen. I enjoy pretty much every second so far. And I’m looking forward to all the exciting things that will happen in the next months.

Rotary-järjestön yksi toiminnan näkyvimpiä muotoja on nuorisovaihto.

Sen avulla tarjotaan vuosittain noin 8000 nuorelle mahdollisuus tutustua turvallisesti eri maiden kulttuureihin. Vaihtotoiminta ohjaa nuoria vastuuntuntoiseen kansainvälisyyteen.

Tavoitteena on opettaa erilaisuuden ymmärtämis- ja sietokykyä ja kulttuurien moninaisuuksien arvostamista.

Suomen nuorisovaihto-organisaation kautta kulkee vuosittain noin 600 suomalaista ja ulkolaista nuorta.

Rotary-järjestön nuorisovaihtomuodot ovat :

1. Vuosivaihto

Vuosivaihto on vuoden mittainen opiskelujakso, joka toteutetaan ensimmäisen lukiovuoden jälkeen. Hakuaika on elo-syyskuu ja vaihto tapahtuu seuraavan lukuvuoden aikana.

Vaihtomaina USA, Australia, Väli- ja Etelä-Amerikka, Etelä-Afrikka, Kaukoitä ja Eurooppa. Kustannukset oppilaalle tietenkin vaihtelevat matkan pituuden mukaan, mutta yhteensä ne ovat n. 2500 euron luokkaa.

2. Kesävaihto

Kesävaihto-ohjelmassa rotaryjärjestö tarjoaa 15-18 vuotiaalle nuorelle hyvän mahdollisuuden tutustua joko valtamerentakaiseen ( Kanada, USA, Intia, Etelä-Afrikka, Argentiina, Brasilia Meksikko tai Taiwan) tai eurooppalaiseen elämänmenoon. Vaihtoon kuuluu noin kuukauden kestävä ohjelmoitu oleskelu perheessä asuen. Suomalainen nuori palaa seurassaan kohdemaansa isäntäperheen nuori, joka puolestaan palaa kotimaahansa neljän viikon jälkeen.

Hakuaika on loka- joulukuussa ja vaihto toteutuu suomalaisen kesäloman aikana.

Paikallinen isäntäperhe vastaa vaihdon aikaisista kustannuksista ja oppilas maksaa matka-,vakuutus ja osallistumis/järjestelykustannukset.

3. Leirivaihto

Kansainväliset leirit tarjoavat nuorille lyhytaikaisen erikoiskokemuksen 2-3 viikoksi.

Alueella, johon kuuluvat Euroopan ja Afrikan maiden lisäksi Turkki ja Israel, järjestetään 1-9 leiriä maata kohden. Usein leirit on suunniteltu jonkin teeman ympärille. Esim. purjehdus, maalaus musiikki jne. Hakuaika lokakuusta lähtien ja leirit toteutetaan heinä-elokuussa. Leiri-ikä yleensä 15-20 vuotta. Leirit ovat yleensä ilmaisia, mutta oppilas maksaa matkansa, vakuutuksen ja pienen järjestelymaksun.