My year as a Rotary Youth Exchange Ambassador affected a lot the way to think about the world and the direction I want to take in my life and future studies.
I grew up a lot during my exchange year. I had the opportunity to try new experiences, make lifetime friends, learn and explore new habits and cultures. I completely understood what really means being open minded and having an intercultural mindset.
The whole experience develops a very powerful “superpower” that is the love of learning and exploring new cultures. Moreover, an high level of adaptability to any situation. I think that after the lifetime experience the goal for every ambassador is to be a world citizen and to change the world by making it a better place to live. In fact, I am studying in an international university and by having classmates from all over the globe, every time I connect to class I feel the excitement of being exposed to new people from different backgrounds. When I work in groups for the required assignment, I am about to learn something new from another culture and this opportunity is priceless. I can appreciate it just because I was lucky to be an outbound student and I was welcomed in the Rotary Youth Exchange family. The exchange changes completely the view of the world and the relationships with people.
Especially, during these difficult times we are all living thru the exchange program is showing its power. During this pandemic our group of outbounds is still keeping in touch. We are supporting each other by video calls and also by our group initiatives. For instance we played :”Secret Santa” this year and it turned out very nice and enjoyable.
Finally, we are planning to meet all together again in two years after the pandemic situation.
I want to address my heartfelt thank you to : Rotary, my lifetime friends , all my host families and all the people that helped and supported me during my exchange year.
I also have a website where there are the details of my district and rotary club sponsors.
https://genslucchinorye.weebly.com