By: Katie Oberlin
On Thursdays all over the world, Rotarians meet in their local clubs typically to discuss business and projects, have a meal, and take part in a short presentation or program. Parallelly, the Antwerp Rotary Club meets on Thursdays at noon usually at the Essen Haus (means food or eating house in German) to do the same. At the moment and due to COVID-19 complications, the club meets at the Antwerp VFW and gets take out from the Oasis Bar and Grill. Last Thursday, 13 August, the club had invited me to give a presentation for the program part of their meeting. I was asked to show what I had done and experienced during my exchange year, which I gladly did for my sponsor club. The youth exchange program is an interesting part of Rotary that connects communities and is supported by clubs and places large and small alike.
To visualize my experiences for the club, I had put together a Google Slides presentation which included many photos from all of my favorite memories throughout my twelve-month-long roller coaster ride. Shortly before I had returned home from Germany, I had given a speech for my host district’s conference as well as for my host club at my last meeting with them; therefore, I already had a good idea of what I wanted to share and what I wanted to get across. I also wore my Rotary blazer, a token full of pins and everything imagable used to symbolize new friendships, travel, experiences and events, and a new life in a new place that rotary exchange students wear proudly all over the globe.
It was my pleasure to give feedback to my local club and to show them that I had had a life-changing year and had been very well taken care of in Germany, the place that became a home to me. The highlights included my host district’s orientations, language camp, Berlin Tour, and Ski Tour, along with the local festivals I had taken part in celebrating, and the trips I had the chance to make, for example to Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Bonn, Nijmegen, and Amsterdam. Though it is still hard to believe that my exchange has come to an end, I am thankful to have had the support to do what I did and to have the ability to share it now.
