My Life as a Rotary Youth Exchange Student

V stredu 19.6.2019 sa vo Valticiach začala schádzať skupina výmenných študentov. Niektorý so smútkom keďže to bol posledný skupinový výlet výmenných študentov pred ich návratom domov, väčšina však s nadšením že sa môžu ešte raz stretnúť po hromade a najmä s obavami ako po celom roku jedenia halušiek, horaliek a pitia kofoly zvládnu dni plné športových aktivít. Večer sa niesol v pohodovom znení – zahrali sme si hru “Capture the flag”, tí aktívnejší si potom dali basketbalový zápas, ostatní si pospevovali pri hre gitár.

I really enjoyed this weekend! I met a lot of people and everyone was very nice, they all try to speak with me and was interested about myself! I also had a great time during the visits, everything was really interesting! …

As James P. Lewis said: “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you always got.” …

My fresh eyes were impressed by all of these things because they were new. Prague has taken my breath away by being so exciting, liberating and life-changing…

Winston Churchill once quoted ¨ to improve means to change ¨. This is how my journey started , with the desire to change ,To be better and most importantly ,to experience more to life . 

Rotary youth exchange during the Coronavirus pandemic certainly hasn’t been a “normal” exchange and it definitely has not been an easy one. I was fortunate to have experienced at least 2 months of “normal life” on exchange and Ski-Week before Coronavirus containment measures came into effect and we went into the first lockdown…

This year has had many ups and down, there have been many experiences that me and many other students sadly missed out on. Despite that this year has been amazing, I have learnt many new things and seen some amazing sights, from castles, Slovak culture, buildings, churches, and views from mountain tops. Some of my most cherished memories are those spent with friends and family…

One of my favourite places I got to visit was Pardubice in the Czech Republic. My second hostfamily took me there to visit their friends and to see Friendsfest. Their friend’s house was wherewe stayed for the next 2 nights. It was a great time talking in Slovak and them in Czech justenjoying being with each other…

So what has my quarantine been like. Well during my quarantine I have done garden (backyard) work with mainly my host brother. We have done painting (for 3 days straight), sanding, scraping old paint, floorball messing about in the backyard and just some more little bits and pieces here and there…

One day, my host parents, Mia, and I went on a hike in the Low Tatras, or better known as Slovak Paradise. We hiked to Tomášovský Výhľad, which is at an elevation of 680m. It took about 45 minutes to get up, so fairly short. And the view at the top was like no other! …