Unlike Pre, my ‘marathon’ of sorts has nothing to do with running. No one comes in first place, and there isn’t a chance that I’ll win a gold medal. Although his words describe his running career, they can be used to accurately describe my experience as a Rotary Youth Exchange Student as well.

Similar to the above quote, "I’ve given myself a thousand reasons…" to become an Exchange Student over the past four years. Although the idea of leaving behind everything and everyone I’ve ever known for almost a year and essentially being thrown into a country where I didn’t fluently speak the language, let alone know anybody seemed frightening; I also realized that it is a once in a life time opportunity that should be taken advantage of. I knew exchange students from the past, and they all said more or less the same thing "I wouldn’t trade what I experienced during my year abroad for anything, and I would do it again in a heartbeat." It was two Septembers ago when I decided that I was ready for an experience that would change my life, probably forever.

The first obstacle I had to overcome was the application; seventeen pages worth of medical and dental history, grades, written recommendations, both a passport and a visa application, a guarantee form for my visa, supplemental information and questions, and rules and conditions of being a Rotary Exchange Student. September 2006 came and passed, and after filling out four copies of this monstrous application, it was time for a District Screening. This screening consisted of having a conversation with other Exchange Student hopefuls in front of Rotarians (to see how we worked together and our maturity level, I’m assuming) and then going into separate interview rooms and being interviewed by a panel of Rotarians. I wasn’t the only person being interviewed either, at the same time that I was being asked questions, my mom was being interviewed also. After the District Screening came three orientations, which occurred over the course of winter and spring 2006 and 2007; and one final ‘get together’ with all of the inbound kids for the year and future outbound students from three districts at Turning Stone Resort and Casino. Following the Triple District Conference, I still needed to take the trip to the French Embassy in New York City and get my visa, and I was waiting to find out where I was going to spend the next 11 months of my life. On the last day of my sophomore year at BG, I got a letter in the mail saying that I was accepted to district 1730 in France, which happens to be the district situated right in the heart of the French Riviera.

The second obstacle that needed overcoming was learning the language. I came to France relatively confident in my language skills, seeing as how I had taken it in school for a cumulative amount of four years. It is safe to say that I was completely lost my first few weeks here. Comprehension was extremely difficult, especially because people speak about a thousand words per second; with an accent that was unfamiliar to me at first (they have a ‘southern’ accent here). After about a month though, I found that I was progressing in my language skills and that I understood and could better communicate my feelings and thoughts much better. My accent, however, is still in the works and whenever I speak right off the bat people can tell that I am foreign. With time, I hope that it will improve and I will sound like one of the locals.

Adjusting is something that every exchange student must do. Majority of the time, it means adjusting to a new language, culture, ideas and beliefs, and sometimes in even a different climate. I am very fortunate to be living on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, and that is an adjustment that I was very happy to make. The coldest it has been since I have been here is about -1 degrees Celsius, which is a little less than 32 Fahrenheit. Compared to our ‘harsh’ upstate winters with snow until February or March, my winter here is very mild. (Being able to swim in the sea until October was a nice surprise too.) Moving host families is another fact of exchange student life that one must get used to. In my case, there are three other exchange students who go to my school, therefore there are four families. In order to live with each family for about the same amount of time while here, we have to move once every two and a half to three months. Moving, for me, has been difficult for two main reasons, the first being that it’s hard not to get attached to each family that has graciously taken me into their home and given me their time and attention, and the second being that I have accumulated almost 25 kilos (50 pounds!) of memorabilia that I didn’t come here with and it’s hard to find space to put everything when my suitcases are bursting. School is another major adjustment one must be ready to make when they go on exchange. For me, that meant going from a school day that begins at 8 and ends at 3 to a school day that begins at 8:30 and ends at 5:30, and going from interscholastic sports that are practiced with the school to sports played with clubs that are not affiliated with the school.

Since being in France, I’ve been to Italy once, seen the castle of Monaco (a small principality located on the South Eastern Coast of France), and been to Nice, Marseille and Toulon. I’ve also explored the towns that I have lived in, including Saint Tropez, La Môle, Cavalaire-sur-Mer, (which is where I will live until the end of my exchange year); and towns that I haven’t lived in but that are nearby to where I live like Grimaud, Cogolin, Ramatuelle, La Croix-Valmer, Draguignan, La Garde-Freinet, and numerous others. The locals and Rotarians have been extremely friendly, helpful and patient here; taking time out of their busy lives to try and connect with me (and the other students) and take us places, show us things, or just sit down and get to know us a little better. Unlike in the states, I only go to a Rotary meeting when I am invited by the president of the club which, on general terms, is every month and a half or so.

Before I come back home, I hope to go to Rome or Paris with the other exchange students and some of the host parents, and I hope to be fluent in French or as close to fluent as I can get for being here for almost a year.

Almost two years have passed since I first started filling out that application. Nearly six months of my exchange year have flown by, and looking back on it, it only feels like it’s been six weeks. I cannot wait to come home again and share my experiences with my family and friends and anyone else who will take the time to listen to me, but I know that I am going to miss France terribly, and that I will undoubtedly come back sometime soon. Until the day comes that I have to come home, though, I’m going to continue living my life as an exchange student to the fullest and continue to make memories that will last more than a lifetime. Like the late Steve Prefontaine said, "it comes down to self satisfaction and a sense of achievement." And I certainly am satisfied with myself and my exchange, and I feel like I have achieved more here than I have in 10 years of my life in New York, and I’m just going to keep running.