Like the title says, this tag post is about Rotary Youth Exchange. I won't tell you how many people to tag, tag as many as you want. RYE bloggers who are not tagged are also welcome to do this!

01 - When did you realize you want to be an exchange student?
02 - Where were you when you found out you were chosen to be an exchange student?
03 - What was your reaction back then?
04 - What host countries do you wish to go? Why those countries?
05 - Name five things you are going to miss about Finland.
06 - Is there something that should be improved in the RYE program?
07 - What do you like most about Rotary and the Youth Exchange program?
08 - Name five things you want to do, learn or achieve during your exchange year.
09 - What does your family and people close to you think about your exchange year?
10 - Anything you want to add or say to people reading this?

I'm more than happy to read your answers, so comment this post with a link to your post so I know to read it! You can also add questions or translate them (as most of my rotary friends are Finnish like me; I just write in English where as other's in Finnish).

Hmm. Maybe I'll answer my own questions, too.

01 - When did you realize you want to be an exchange student?

In upper comprehensive school. I've always wanted to leave Finland to explore the rest of the world and find my place in it. I got Explorius' advertisement and realized there was such way to get abroad as  - I had never heard about such thing before that!

02 - Where were you when you found out you were chosen to be an exchange student?

I can't remember whether it was religion or psychology lesson I was in the middle of when the president of my Rotary club called me, but I do remember where I sat and how I felt. I didn't have his number back then, but I knew right away what the call was about. The President send me a message telling me to call back when I can. I couldn't concentrate for the rest of my lesson, my hands were shaking and I was literally terrified that they would have sent someone else than me. Still, I was even more afraid to hear them say the other answer. As soon as the lesson ended, I ran outside the school doors and had to give myself a quick pep talk before I called the Rotary Club President.

03 - What was your reaction back then?

I might have screamed a little. And jumped. And cried. My voice was shaking and I wanted to keep on shouting my feelings out while I listened the President carefully. I couldn't believe that I had actually accomplished something and that I would actually do something crazy like that! When I came back to the class, I was literally shocked. I couldn't think of anything for the rest of the day. 

04 - What host countries do you wish to go? Why those countries?

Spain, Argentina, Chile and Ecuador in that exact order. What connects them is the language - I want to learn to speak Spanish fluently. Spain is first in my wish list, because that's so much cheaper than flying across the Atlantic Ocean and I can visit there more often. I would have liked to go to Colombia, but my Rotary Club feels it's better not to send me there (due the troubles there) and I also have relatives there - I feel that would make things a bit difficult for me. No matter how much I love my relatives, I want to go somewhere where I can have distance to everyone I know. Nevertheless, no matter how this exchange year is my best chance to learn Spanish, I don't really care where I end up - it's still going to be the most amazing year of my life.

05 - Name five things you are going to miss about Finland.
Sauna, rye bread, winter (if I won't have that in my host country), forests, certain sweets and Finnish silence. I know that makes six, but let's not focus on that ;)

06 - Is there something that should be improved in the RYE program?
I think the YEO's should be more aware of every single step that the exchange year means. I get that the YEO's change every year and that things are getting more technical, but they do get a training for that, don't they? When the YEO can't answer exchange student's question, we students feel quite helpless and stressed.
But don't get me wrong, most of the YEOs do well. This is just a thing I'd like to point out.

07 - What do you like most about Rotary and the Youth Exchange program?
The feeling of not being alone. Let me tell you: my phone hasn't worked in a week or more. I haven't been able to chat with my honey boo boo's on Whatsapp and I miss them A LOT. I know they've noticed my absence and that warm's my heart - I know I've been noticed and cared about. We can share thoughts about the coming year and hype about things we can't wait to happen. They are my personal therapist and the channel to vent out everything about the exchange things to save my friends' ears.
And this is not just the other exchange students that make me feel I'm not alone. I mentioned in my previous post that when I met the Rotarians, I immediately felt they were a group and that I was connected with them. Moreover, today I had a powerpoint presentation about Rotary with my friend in the English class (haha, I used my quick-witted negotiation technique to persuade her to do it). Needless to say, I felt so proud to be part of Rotary while telling my class about the organization.

08 - Name five things you want to do, learn or achieve during your exchange year.
I want to learn to speak a foreign language fluently. I want to get new, long-lasting friendships. I want to find out things about myself and who I am. I want to do something more extreme like bungee jumping, skydiving or mountain climbing. I want to learn a skill, whether it's surfing or just making delicious churros.

09 - What does your family and people close to you think about your exchange year?
I'm not exactly sure. Sure, they are really interested to know where I'm going and what's going on in that field because of course it's interesting. But I don't really know what do they think besides that. I know for my parents it's harder because their little girl is going to the big world. I know my brother will have to figure out someone else to tease when I'm gone. This year is full of changes in my family as my brother is going to graduate from comprehensive school and starts to go to school in another city. My mum will finish her won studies. I'm going to turn 18. Yeah, so a lot of things are happening this year...

10 - Anything you want to add or say to people reading this?
I've thought about a lot of things I'll miss when I leave Finland. It's kind of funny. Even though I haven't even left yet, I've still grown a lot already and started to appreciate things that are part of our everyday life.

And in the end I will tag Essi, Emmi and Saara! Girls, my phone still doesn't work but fear not, it's already in the maintenance ;) Hopefully I will be there to write you nice stories in the end of the week!

I've been so busy lately that I haven't had the time to even think about posting something here. There's still a couple weeks to work my butt off, but in the end of this school period there will be an amazing award for I'm going to All Time Low's concert with my best friend :) I can't wait!