Well, I guess the best place to start this blog is about me, and the best place to start that is at the beginning. I've been in the Rotary Exchange Program for the past 3 years. Only one of those, though, was abroad. I spent a month overseas in Taiwan the year prior to my actually 10 month Odyssey in the same area. But those two years beforehand put me into contact with some the most interesting people in my life. Exchange students. Before I was even a true exchange student I had started to develop a mindset geared towards the world. I originally went into the program with the mindset to go to Japan for a short one month exchange in the summer and then go again to Japan for a whole year since my Dad had gone there in college for a year. In the end, though, I went to Taiwan for both my short- and long- term exchanges. Foreign exchange was probably the best thing I've ever done, the people, the places, just everything made it the most amazing thing in my life.
My prep year's exchange students
Before I knew it, my time to get ready was gone. Two years flew past, and I was already on a plane to Taiwan. I probably should of been nervous, but my flight was honestly at 6 in the morning and I was too tired to be scared in any sense of the word. I sleepily said goodbye to my family and hopped on the first flight to Chicago. I ended up running into several other exchange students as I traveled through both Chicago and Tokyo, and we ended up waiting together, sharing our stories, who we were, and what we expected. Then suddenly, as if it was just a gasp of wind, I alighted into Taoyuan International Airport and thus began my great adventure into Asia.
The exchange students in Tokyo
My host families and Rotarians meeting me at Taoyuan
