I want to wish you all a big Willkommen and a Danke Schön for visiting my nascent blogging endeavor here! That is a "hello my friends", a "welcome", and a "thank you very much" for your interest in my exchange. My exchange from my home in Newton, Iowa to Freistadt, Austria begins in a few short weeks, indeed I have less than a month before I fly straight into my life's dream! For starters an explanation on the blog's title is due to my readers: My dear friend Barbara Alliger, herself a Rotary exchanger this year of 2012-2013 to Pella, Iowa has been a reliable resource for me in my pursuit of learning German. She came from Kufstein, Tyrol, Austria to spend her year here, and I fortunately was able to work with her to develop my skills, as well as our to be lifelong friendship. Most memorable to us, was my initial attempt to approach her in German whence I titled myself "Ich bin Kartoffelsalat", which translates to "I am potato salad." This special line became our inside joke, as the Austrian inbound and outbound in Rotary District 6000. And so I started my life as a Rotary Youth Exchange Student to Austria. In going with Rotary, the organization playing parent to the world's largest youth exchange program, there are words and phrases that form our typical vocabulary we use to describe Rotary itself and exchange. Newton and it's corresponding Rotary club belongs to Rotary District 6000, one of so many district divisions the organization has, this one covering a large portion of our state, from Des Moines to Iowa City and Davenport down to the Missouri state line. In exchange we utilize the terms "inbound" to refer to a student who is currently in their host country living out their exchange. Conversely "outbound" is the student preparing at home for his or her exchange year. Beginning last August I filled out an application known as a guarantee form to send first to be accepted by our exchange program in Iowa, and then to my future host country. My second step was to attend an interview around Thanksgiving time this year, where I gained my acceptance into the program. After this came the initial training step, a leap into preparation for the big trip and the commencement of my assimilation into the Rotary exchange world: Wesley Woods. This is our district's training event to start off the life of the outbound with a fantastic weekend at the camp combining the year's inbound and outbound class of roughly thirty students. The time had here translates into the grand impacting thrill that seems to say "Hey, you get to start your exchange soon, FINALLY." What a wonderful time it was to meet my classmates there, socializing and learning. Guided by our Rotex (former exchange students turned counselor) and the Rotarians themselves, we learned the meaning of our trips, and saw the glimpse of the experience in the eyes of the inbound kids around us. There a family was built. Between the shared dreams and interests, time spent preparing and just having fun getting to know one another, my fellow exchangers and I began our journeys together, never alone. From then we went along to social events in Davenport and training sessions in Pella, growing closer up to the big point in our Rotary calendar year: D6000 District Conference! Time was spent familiarizing yourself with the culture of your exchange destination as well as the purpose of your exchange. Rotary itself is a massive service organization, and so the intention to serve as a respectable, knowledgeable, ambassador sent to learn and share culture was taught to us. Once we reached the time of District Conference on April 12th and the 13th, we went in and presented our host countries along partnered with the students from those lands, showing Rotarians from all over the district who we are and what makes this program what it is. This was one of my grand opportunities to pair up with Barbara again to share Austria with Iowa. The both of us also shared the honor of addressing our District in speech at the conference, on behalf of the exchange program students. District Conference was a long, memorable, fun-filled weekend spent with so many close friends from Italy, Germany, Turkey, Spain, Austria, France, Brazil and more and was also my last chance to see all of them together before those inbounds' years ended and they began to head home. I am now at the point in time where I am working to take my Deutsch from "Ich verstehe nur ein bisschen Deutsch" to "Ich kann nicht für Österreich warten" and "Wann ist mein Flug??!!" This time during the summer is one for me to prepare details of my flights, gather all I need for my visa and the year itself, communicate eargerly with my host family and other exchangers, to learn German and sadly say goodbyes to those who have lived out their own year here in Iowa. My final step with Rotary is the Outbound Picnic this coming Saturday at Woodland Park here in Newton, the last time to get ready and a chance to meet with some of the "rebounds" students returning from this year's exchanges. After this, my fellow 2013-2014 outbound classmates and I will say our goodbyes and we will be on our way for our on exchanges. Only a few short weeks separate me from my trip, the time is near to say goodbye to my workplace, Fareway, and to say the same to friends and family here at home. I am glad you have joined me for the beginning of this adventure, I shall see you soon with posts to tell you of my situation in Austria, where I shall live and what family I will join, as well as my tale of how Rotary Youth Exchange came to me and what it means to myself as an outbound. For now I say goodbye, Auf wiedersehen!
Benjamin Hoffman Ellis
