”Soon” 

It is almost time to pack my bags one final time and take an airplane that is on its way back home to the USA. This exchange year ends July 2 when I place my foot on that airplane and give one final goodbye to France and everything associated with it.  

Every person that I have met during my exchange year has affected me in a certain way. The affects from the people that I have met have been positive and negative but the positive out weight all the negative. My Rotary club here in France has been extremely great throughout the entire year. I have attend countless Rotary meeting that are like 4 hours each, done function to raise money the club and for medical organization that need for research, presentations in front of my club and for the entire district and what ever has been asked of me by my Rotary Club. In return my Rotary club has been nice enough to take to plenty of basketball games, visit the city of Strasbourg (which is absolutely beautiful) while staying at a four star hotel,  a trip to Italy and also given the chance to participate in events that gathered other exchange students within the country. I have built good relationships among my Rotary club members which has made my life that much easier.

 My language skills are extremely improved since the beginning of the year. I studied French 5 years before coming to France and it was a great positive thing for me. I’m not saying that if you don’t study French for 5 years before coming to France as an exchange student that you wont pick up the language. Those years that I studied French in school just gave me a basis that included a good amount of vocabulary and the ability to use different verbs in different tenses, which is important. At the beginning of the year, I had to adapt to the speed at which people spoke at and at the same time understand what other people were saying. Adapting to the speed took a solid month and a half but understanding every word I hear is still a work in process. I can say between 85 -90% of the things I want to say and I understand about 80-85% of everything I hear. My reading and writing skills in French have processed dramatically but they still need a couple of more years of studying to reach the level of my ability to speak and understand French.  

During my year as an exchange student, I have done a large amount of traveling. My travels have included trips to several small cities, museum, historic sites, many chateaux’s, and some of the most beautiful cities in Europe. I have been able to go to Spain (a trip I paid for with my own money), Switzerland, and Italy. I have been to some of the big cities in France such as Paris (once), Strasbourg (once), Toulouse (once), Montpellier (twice), Marseille (twice), Dijon (twice), and Lyon (several times). While in Spain I visited Valladolid and Salmanque. In Switzerland, I only visited Geneva because there was only scheduled a tour of the United Nations building during the Rotary Bus Trip. Finally, while in Italy I was able to visit Milan (probably just a beautiful as Paris) and Bergamos. Being in countries other then France is cool because its not everyday someone gets a chance to visit Europe so you have to make the best of it. The longest trip that I took during the year was the Rotary Bus Trip, which lasted 12 long days. This trip gathered fifty exchange students from all France and we visited some 15 cities within those 12 days. I love to travel as much as I can but when the trips are over night then things are completely different from just a day in some city then heading back home before dinner. During my time, here in France I have been on the road for a total of 32 nights and 31 days. Being on the road for such a long time has been extremely exhausting but at the same time extremely fun to.         

School has honestly been a told nightmare from beginning to end. I was placed in the hardest classes that you can take as a junior here in France. With me being placed in the hardest classes, I was given no relative chance in hell to get reasonable grades. With the exception of English, Spanish, History, Geography and PE every other class resulted in crap grades the entire year. I have been frustrated on so many occasions because of school. Its typical and I guess expected that exchange will struggle in school while on their exchange. Since I am accustom to performing at such a high level in school its especially difficult to accept the fact that I cant perform at the high level that I normally perform. I have gotten emails from Roy Joseph and calls from my parents back home telling me not to get hung up about school. I appreciate the emails and the calls but my desire to be the best in school is just too strong to be satisfied with nothing but success.  One thing that I learned in school here in France was how much I hate to fail which just has made me that much more motivated then ever to work the hardest that I have ever worked when I get back to Pompano Beach High in the fall to start my Senior year. Making friends at school in France was the easiest thing I had to do this year. Being the exchange gets you enough attention but when you tell them, you live in the United States then word about your presence spreads like wildfire and all of sudden half the people happen to know who you are. Getting accustom too all the extra attention at school took a while to get use too but after a few months it was no big deal to me anymore.   

Throughout my year, I had four hosts that gave me a place to live for a certain amount of time and I am really thankful for that. As everyone knows, the relationship that I had with my third host family sucked. On part, it’s my fault and on the other part is there fault because its takes two parties to have some type of conflict. They pissed me off I pissed them off, I got on there nervous they got on my nervous, I tried to be as nice as possible but they didn’t try at all. I had a brief conflict with my first host mom that was related in part to school and that nearly got me sent home within the first two months. My first host family and I sat down at the dinner table talked about the conflict that just happen and found a resolution to the problem. After that brief incident, my first host family and I did not have any more problems while I was living. The best host family that I have had has been my current host family. I do not know if I have recently been thinking too much about my real family because I leave soon but everything about my host family honestly reminds me of being back home in Margate, Florida. We do not eat at the same time everyday (just like home), on Sundays we all eat together (just like home). There’s all ways plenty to do around the house (just like home), my host parents are real down to earth people but at the same time strict when they have to (just like home) and there are a couple of other things that remind me of being home. The second host family that I lived with happened to be the president of my Rotary Club. Living with my Rotary Club president and his wife was a new experience for me. What I need by that is that I was the only kid that lived in the house, which made me an only child for a period of two months. Being the only child for that short amount felt extremely weird to me. I am use having my two younger sisters roaming about the house and busting in and out my room for any particular reason. My second host was demanding of me, which required that I made a serious effort. They wanted me to cut my hair (something I only do about twice a year), they wanted me to shave (something I never did till I came to France), be extremely organized (something I am but not the way my host mom wanted) and other little things here and there. They took to the barber shop, bought me a razor and showed me how to he that much more organized which has had a positive impact on me and also on my overall way that I present myself when I am out in public. 

Having the label” Rotary Youth Exchange Student” on your head puts a good amount of pressure on you. You don’t just become an exchange student by stumbling upon Rotary, filling out a ton of paper work, and then you’re off to what ever country you were assigned to. You have to realize that the Rotarians that make up the Rotary Clubs are average people. They have a husband or wife, children, work and a personal life that requires their attentions. They don’t have time to waste with some immature teenager that is going to be a pain in their ass while they are abroad. They are looking for mature, hardworking and courageous teenagers that are going to do everything in there power to make there exchange year a great year. As an exchange student not only do you represent your Rotary club back home but you represent your home country, your family, your school and everybody that made it possible for you to be overseas for that year. If you are sent home early, all the efforts of those people go to a complete waste. Your school, your family, your peers, your Rotary club and above all else you (the exchange student) must have faith in yourself you that can do this exchange. Once you are at the airport, say your farewell to your parents, shed your tears while hugging your parents, your luggage is on the plane and when you finally take your seat on the plane there is no turning back. You have to become conscious that not everyone you love you will not see for an entire year, your parent’s caress and advice will be missed, and that everything abroad is so different compared to home. If you can cope with those circumstances for a year and give your hardest honest effort overseas then you should have a great year that is filled with many memorable moments that you can tell everybody.  

This year my district here in France only had, three exchange students (the fewest among any district in France). To my chance, the other two exchange students in my district live an hour’s drive from my town, which is a long drive for a French person in general. My chance to meet other exchange students has been limited. Only having more exchange students in my district would of made this year that much better but every time I met students such as during the Bus Trip around France, we had a blast together. The reason I say that having more exchange students would of made this year that much better is because you can build a solid friendship with another exchange student if you see then on a regular basis then an exchange student that you see only three or four times during the year. I have been extremely lucky that my Rotary Club was patience with me and gave me a fair chance to succeed. At the beginning of the year, my situation was rather ugly and I almost was sent home before Thanksgiving but I hung on and did not let the hard times bring me down. In general, most French Rotarians are in there late 40’s and above. With this in mind they do not like hearing that there exchange student is either causing or having problems with whom ever because they already have enough stuff to deal with. I have done a good amount of stuff that almost got me sent home but if any outbound from district 6990 gets sent home next year it was because you must done something extremely stupid that pissed off a ton of people.  

Over the past year, I have learned more lessons about life and about myself then in school throughout the year. Being in a foreign country all by yourself and for nearly a year will make you change whether you like it or not. When your parents advice, presence and guidance is not at hand when you need it the most then you have to depend on yourself. There have been several nights through the year when I would lie in bed and think to myself what the hell do these people want from me? All that is asked of you is to change, which can be especially difficult.  Last year during leadership class my teacher Mr. Hazell (a.k.a Diesel) gave a speech of how you have to change to get better and that is exactly what I have done. I have undergone a total metamorphosis, which first started by loosing weight, then picking up the French language, and finally just completely changing my mentality and the way I act and react to world around me. The metamorphosis that I underwent through did not only include these elements that I mentioned but other elements here in and there that have made me the person that I am right know. I gained so much from this experience that it is priceless. This year has been one heck of a roller coaster year that has included good and bad moment that I will never forget in my life.                      

There have were many people that made this exchange year possible. I would like to thank the following people for making my dream of living in France a reality: Jorge and Rina Toro (my parents) for supporting me and having faith that I could get through this year and my entire family, which also gave me plenty of support and encouragement. Roy Joseph the man that gave me this once in a lifetime opportunity that I could not pass up. Bob White (a.k.a Web Nerd) for making that Rotary presentation at Pompano Beach High School in the fall of 2002 that completely changed my life forever. I would also like to thank Lloyd Rougier, Greg Foster, and all the Rotary members of the Coral Springs Rotary Club. I am the first exchange student from the Coral Springs Rotary Club, so I am glad that I was able to represent a club that never had an exchange student. Everybody in District 6990 for organizing all those orientations that prepared all 12 outbounds to get ready for what we may or may not experience. All my host families here in France that gave me a place to stay and live. Phillipe L’Hostis (my Rotary Advisor here in France) for supporting me throughout the year and for not sending me home at the beginning of the year when things were not so great. Gerard Morel (my Rotary Club president here in France) for being patience, supportive and open-minded. My entire host Rotary Club of Chalon St. Vincent for host me and for giving me a chance. My guidance consular at Pompano Beach High School, Ms Cardosa for being supportive and for giving the “Ok” to do this exchange. To me school is extremely important so if my school would of never given me permission to do this exchange I would not be here in France. In addition, everybody else that has done something for me that was related to Rotary in some way.       

Jorge Toro

Outbound 2003-2004