Rotex Roundup

Sarah McCurrach

Sponsor: Kelowna, BC, Kelowna Downtown Club        

Host:  Herlev , Denmark,  Herlev  Rotary Club

Since first arriving in Denmark 192 days ago, I have already seen one of my lifelong dreams realized - to find a home in another country across the world. While in that sense, life in Denmark has become second (or maybe I should say first) nature and rewardingly normal, it has also been the most unique, eye-opening and personally altering experiences of my life so far.  Already I find it incredibly exciting to realize all of the insight I’ve gained in the past six months, learning things about myself, my country and the world around me, that would have never been possible without such an extreme change of surroundings.  There have without a doubt been high points and, just like life anywhere in the world, on exchange I’ve experienced some lower points, but any aspects of my year that have not been picture perfect are in no way disappointing, and are, in fact, exactly what I signed up for! 

One of the biggest challenges of the first half of my year has of course been learning Danish, and I know they probably say this about every language, but I really believe it is one of the hardest languages to learn!   Perhaps the reason for my frustration was that I had heard from rebounds and in general that it is quite possible to become fluent in a language within 3-5 months, and at 3 I was definitely far from fluent!  However now around my 6 month mark I am beginning to think of myself more and more as fluent in Danish, although still not quite where I’d hoped to be.  As outbounds, they can’t tell you enough how crucial language is, and every one who goes out will learn that to be true.  Even if it is easy to get by in English as it is in Denmark, nearly everything improves in relation to how well you speak the language and what you gain from the exchange is an entirely different experience.  So as a piece of advice to next year’s outbounds, I would say not only do your best to prepare beforehand, but when you are in your country make sure that you are actively seeking to learn the language.  I see many exchange students expecting to soak it up eventually just from living here, but in my experience it’s necessary to constantly work for it, always listening, picking up and writing down new words.  Sometimes it can be very frustrating, especially during the first few months, but every little bit of improvement I can sense is incredibly rewarding!

Of all the times this year, I expected Christmas to be when I would feel the most homesick but I didn’t actually, and I had a really cozy danish holiday season, complete with a Christmas celebration on the 24th, singing around the tree, hidden almonds in rice pudding and lots and lots of food.  Honestly, I couldn’t say that I’ve been homesick at all this year, because in being so far away from those I love I think I’ve learned that true relationships exist outside the realm of time and distance. Oh and Skype helps too!  If I’ve ever had feelings of discontentment, it hasn’t been a longing for my life at home, but a desire to build a richer life here in Denmark, and as Rotary says, “If it is to be, it’s up to me.”  So I’ve been working to make my time in Denmark everything I had imagined it would be, finding ways to make school more exciting, to meet as many people as I can and to always say yes to every opportunity that comes my way.  With less than five months left (I can hardly believe it!) I am committed more than ever to make this final half amazing, and for the most part, that just means living every day to the fullest!

There is so much advice I could offer next year’s outbounds, I bet I could go on for days, but the thing of it is that although you receive a lot of great advice as an exchange student, you don’t really understand it until you’ve experienced it for yourself.  Then you realize that everything you’ve been told is so very true.  With that in mind, I would advise next year’s outbounds to listen carefully at all their orientations, but most importantly to, on exchange, be aware of how much your different experiences are really teaching you.  If you take a little time every so often to do some self-reflection, I think it will help you get much more out of your year. Perhaps most of all, enjoy yourself! I can tell you now but once again it’s not possible to fully understand until you’ve experienced it for yourself, that your exchange really will be one of the best years of your life, for so many more reasons than you could imagine.