Hej!
I am so super excited to say that I will be going to Denmark! Here in Georgia, I have a small family consisting of my mother, father, and twin sister. Together, we’ve traveled around the western hemisphere and seen so many different cultures. I knew I wanted to see more cultures and really open my eyes after spending a month in Chamonix, France, during a previous summer. Seeing how people lived so differently is fascinating to me. In my free time, I play saxophone in classical, marching, and jazz settings, and have just started the oboe (to the dismay of my mother’s ears). I truly hope I can play my instruments abroad. Additionally, my Duolingo account is always active with new languages, and they get all jumbled in my head. However, my strongest language is French, which I study in school. My favorite subject to study is anything related to medicine. In the future, I hope to study medicine abroad or become a cheese connoisseur (as I make my own cheese). Although I don’t show it, A long-running interest of mine is alternative style and music. However, I can’t say alternative music is the only thing I listen to. My playlist consists of everything from Romanian folk music to classical to Metallica. Music, both that I play and that I listen to, is a huge part of my life. Finally, I would like to thank one of our inbounds for my Little Dane, Hans (yes, my pin has a name), my Danish flag pin. He accompanies me in my Danish studies and may join me in Denmark. I feel like me naming him displays my personality well. I am so excited to go and learn all about Danish culture and see the world in a more open way!
Hej hej!

Hej! I’m 16 and I am going to spend my senior year living in Sweden!! I have always been interested in travelling the world and have been fortunate enough to visit Germany, Paraguay, and Canada. I enjoy learning new languages; I can speak some German and Spanish and am excited to learn Swedish. I spend most of my time swimming, enjoying experiences with my family and friends, and studying. I have been swimming competitively since I was in 6th grade. My mom, sister, a and I love to play card games and board games, even though sometimes we get a little competitive (ok… maybe I just get competitive). My mom and I also volunteer through Rotary as much as our busy schedules permit. When my friends and I hang out together, we eat and then walk around Target for what seems like 5 minutes but turns out to be a couple hours. I am extremely excited to be given this opportunity to experience a new culture, meet new people, and learn a new language. Ever since I first heard about this program, I knew it was what I wanted to do. Any challenge that I face, I will overcome because I am strong-willed and can do anything as long as I put my mind to it. I look forward to meeting my new families and making lifelong friends.

Hej! I’m incredibly excited to begin my adventure in Denmark for my junior year in high school. From a young age, my parents have taken me and my sister on many trips throughout much of the world. This, as well as a desire to explore, has created my dreams of travelling and living abroad. When I discovered the Rotary exchange program, I immediately knew that this was the perfect opportunity to embark on a journey of a lifetime, and begin my dreams of exploring.

In my free time, I enjoy various activities such as listening to music, playing piano, cooking, and spending time with my family. I have a younger sister, who I love very much. My parents are incredibly supportive of me, as well as this study abroad experience I’ve decided to do. I’m so thankful that I have the opportunity to complete an exchange program through Rotary Youth Exchange, and I look forward to this experience as well as making lifelong friends and family along the way.

The reason I decided to become an exchange student is so I can explore this wonderful planet we call Earth, as well as learn about other people’s culture and customs. Becoming bilingual is also an incredibly valuable skill, and being familiar with the way of life in other parts of the world can be eye opening and inspiring. I am aware that living abroad will be hard at times, but in the end I will be a better person for having this adventure. I know that being an exchange student in Denmark will be a phenomenal, lifechanging experience, and for that I am incredibly excited.

Sawattdii Krap! Hello, My name is Gabriel Hill, but you can call me Gabe. I shall be going to Thailand. I’m 15 and live in Harris County; Georgia. I go to Harris County High School and am a Freshman. I live with my Mom, Dad, little brother, older sister, and our dog. I love to play soccer and hope to play in Thailand. I also love to snowboard and read, sadly I don’t think I will be able to snowboard in Thailand but there are so many other things to make up for it. I enjoy meeting new people and hope to meet many in Thailand. I have spent time in the Netherlands before because my dad is in the military and it was exhilarating, I hope to have just as much fun in Thailand. We hosted exchange students in the past, and they all seemed to have had a great time. I was very excited to get to go to Thailand and started studying almost immediately. Surprisingly I didn’t even put Thailand as one of my 5 countries but did get it and am very excited. I hope to learn how to cook Thai food and speak fluent Thai by the end of my exchange. I’ve heard many good things about Thailand and am elated to have the opportunity to spend a year there.