WES promotes a World Experience!
WES helps students to have a journey that, we know, will last a lifetime!
You will be like an ambassador of your country and culture to your accepting country community. You will be sharing yourself with your host family and, at the same time, they will share their culture and intimacy with you. We think this experience of communication and understanding is a mean to help true world peace.
WES hopes that by the end of your experience, you will have a better understanding and appreciation for another country and culture, you will have improved your language skills, you will be more mature and adaptable, you will have develop a greater independence and responsibility, and you will value diversity and see differences as a source of strength.
Beryl, 17, from Arkansas, she went to Finland
"Thank you so much for the Christmas wishes! I have now been on my exchange in Finland for four months. While here I have experienced so many new and wonderful things. Such as, recently I went a Rotary Youth Exchange tour to Lapland (the northernmost part of Finland). It was one of the best times of my life! In school I have a lot of friends, and most days after school I am with them too. My normal daily routine consists of school and then coffee with friends. I also have a wonderful host family! Already I have moved into my second host family (I have four throughout my exchange). In this family I have a host brother, Julian, who is obsessed with anything U.S.A, a host sister, Janette, who is an amazing dancer, a host mother, Virpi, who is the best, and a host dad, Tyro, who I have the best conversations with. Oh! I also have a host dog, Nita, who is the most cuddle friendly dog I have ever come across. I spend most of my evenings (after coffee) with my host family. Some hobbies I have started in Finland are rock climbing, gym, and art. I usually go rock climbing with my friend Aniina and I go to the gym with my host mom. My art class is part of my school. The hardest part of exchange so far has been the Finnish language. I have been here for four months and my language skills are still at a basic level. My school is taught mostly in english, most of my friendsspeak english, and my host family mainly speaks english to me. I have Finnish lessons every Friday, and I can tell I have been improving. Everyday I make sure to have 2 conversations in Finnish, and I try to learn at least two new words a day. It is really hard not to revert back to english but just today I ordered my entire lunch in Finnish! So far my experience in Finland has been great, sure I have had a few bad moments (like missing home) but I have no doubts that this exchange has done and will continue to do great things for me. Thank you WES for helping get to where I am today, I have grown so much more confident and independent."
Chase, 17, from Oklahoma, he went to Brazil.
"All in all, I’m so thankful that your organization gave me the scholarship that led to the best year of my life, and that you could help to open my eyes to an entirely new culture that I have fallen in love with over the last year. The memories I carry from this year will always be with me. Thanks to Rotary and WES, I have changed my career goals and know now that my passion lies in a larger world than I previously knew."
Michelle, 18, from Oklahoma, she went to Finland.
"Since receiving word that I have been awarded your scholarship, my life has changed. In the past few days, I have gone from believing that my dreams of studying abroad were out of reach to realizing that those dreams are now a reality. I can’t come near to fully expressing how much your scholarship is making a difference in my life. Without it, I would never be able to experience the incredible opportunity of studying abroad. Thank you for making that opportunity possible for me to pursue. Now I get to go on a year-long adventure to explore the world: a new culture, a new language, and a new perspective. I am so grateful that your organization exists to give people like myself a chance to experience the world."
