| A GUIDE TO PREPARE FOR YOUR EXCHANGE YEAR |
| This page is written to help those who are clueless about preparing for their exchange year and also for those who inspire to be one themselves.Text written on this section 'A Guide To Prepare For Your Exchange Year' may be printed out for your own use. You may also distribute it to anyone who may need it! |
| Pre-application Mental Preparation : |
| 1. Just remember nobody is ever ready to leave their family for a longer period of time, be it 3 months or 1 year. One will always think that they might be homesick the moment they stepped out of their country,so this could be the first and most important obstacle to overcome. If you think you can never leave your family to experience a different culture in another country,think again, you might be wrong! Whatever it is just think again.You never know what is ahead of you. 2. Second step after preparing yourself mentally to go ahead for the programme is to find a good exchange programme. I personally recommend the Rotary International Youth Exchange Student Long Term (1 year) & Short Term Programme. After choosing the best programme for yourself, find the application form! 3. And now, ask yourself again, 'Do I really want to take up this challenge?' 'I might be homesick and may face an hostile environmen?' So overcome all these problems first before moving on to the next step. |
| Applying For The Programme : |
| 1. After overcoming all your fears, go ahead to apply for the programme that you had choose. (Please note that, most programme involve payment ,so be prepared for it) (I personally recommend the Rotary International Youth Exchange Programme, where most of the fee are sponsored and for more info visit your local Rotary Club or the website www.rotary.org ) Fill in the form! 2. Once again, ask yourself if you are willing to leave your home for a period of time, and if the answer is still a 'yes' then go ahead and submit the form! 3. Be prepared for interviews and other formalities. |
| Interview Tips : |
| 1. Always remember this 'The Person Interviewing You Is There To Help You Instead Of Trying To Fail You '. So no matter what, just keep this words in your heart! 2. Use your common sense while facing the interview. |
| After Being Selected : |
| Date : 9th March 2002 |
| 1. There's no way of backing out now, and you may encounter fears of facing the unknown. Just reaasure yourself that ,everything will be fine and wonderful! 2. After overcoming the potential fears, get yourself fully prepared by making a 'To-Do List' so that you can prepare yourself better.It is always easier to chart your progress with a tick list. |
| Material Preparation : |
| 1. Clothings - Buy suitable clothes of course. It is all common sense, buy thicker clothes if you are going to a four season country to overcome winter, and thinner clothings if you are going to a tropical country. Winter Clothings - Most important a rain coat, pull overs, 'inner wear' which wrap your body (a long sleeve version of singlet if you don't have the slightest idea what it is), thick socks, special shoes (to walk in the snow), scarf, cap (if your hair is not thick enough), gloves, ear band (to protect your ears), a thin leg hugging long pants to keep your leg warm during the cold winter. Summer Clothings - Simple, jeans, t-shirt, shorts, and other summer wear. 2. Language Preparation - Bring at least one dictionary, (a thick one is better)(It is also better to use a home dictionary than to buy one in your hosted country), some books to learn the phrase and a notebook to write down important survival words! It will come handy! As a bonus, buy also a pocket dictionary so that you can bring it to wherever you go. Also your simple stationary set. 3. Entertainment - Walkman and CD Walkman (discman) is a good choice to bring along. The only thing to remember is not to bring your whole collection of CD's over to your host country. Just bring a few to cure your boredom. 4. Sourvemirs - Bring as much sourvenirs as you can. It doesn't hurt to give people who help you a lot some sourvenirs. To trick to bring much without burdening the quota of your luggage is to buy small and loght things! Once again, use your common sense. 5. Misc - Bring along an alarm clock (you'll never realise the importance of this simple gadget until you are in another country). Some flags and brouchure to give away. Also some photos of your family ,friends and town which always never fail to interest your new friends. |