A Year in Norway
RC Karrinyup Youth Director Trish Lynch introduced our 2019 Outbound Rotary Youth Exchange student Alicia, newly returned from her year in Norway, to tell us about her adventure of a lifetime.
Alicia described how having had her application accepted, she attended several preparation workshops, conducted by District 9455 Rotary Youth Exchange. Having received her coveted Australian blazer from RC Karrinyup, she departed Perth on a 42 degree day in January 2019 to arrive in the middle of the dark freezing Norwegian winter to a sub zero temperatures with a turnaround of seventy degrees!
While people in Norway learn English from their first year in school, Alicia had a very young host sister in her first family so was plunged into learning the language right away. She enjoyed the challenge and became so proficient that at the end of the year she wrote her final exams for University entrance in Norwegian! Alicia spent several months with her first host family and learned to ski. She also swam in a mountain lake with a water temperature of 4 degrees Celsius, and did a lot of hiking and white water rafting.
With her second host family, where she made the sixth family member, Alicia travelled to Italy and Denmark, as well as participating in more hiking. She found Norwegians love the beautiful outdoors.
Alicia enjoyed different cultural experiences with her third host family including sheep herding for a whole day in the north, Christmas markets and carolling. She found the school culture quite different as well.
As well as her families, Alicia made life-long friendships with school friends and other exchange students from all parts of the world. She said she would not change any part of it and expressed her gratitude to the RC Karrinyup for sponsoring her. She presented President Richard with a souvenir banner from Nidarvoll Rotary, Trondhelm, her Norwegian host club.
In January, we farewelled our 2020 Outbound student Julia to Belgium. Applications for outbound Rotary Youth Exchange in 2021 are now open and close on 31st March 2020. Could this be you? Read more information or contact us.