My name is Udo von Grone; I am an exchange student from Niedersachsen, Germany. I am staying here in Groton, N.Y. for one year with Rotary and I will tell you what it is like to be an exchange student here.

I arrived in Groton August 16^th 2002 after a 9-hour flight from Frankfurt to Chicago, IL. From Chicago I flew on to Syracuse, N. Y. where I was picked up at the airport by Mr. Urda, a member of the Groton Rotary Club. I stayed with him and his wife Eileen, also a member of the Rotary Club, for the first day because my 1^st host family was gone at the time I arrived. The very same day I arrived, at night I went to "Groton Old Home Days" in this town of about 2500 people. I met many people and everybody was very nice to me.

When I got to know my 1^st Host family two days later I was very excited. It went much better than I had thought. I hadn’t any contact with them before. They were really nice people and I had a lot of fun with them. For example I went camping with them for a weekend with some of their friends.

School began 2 weeks afterwards and I had no problems with the language. School was a totally new experience for me. It is very different from German schools. For example, the schedule is that you have the same periods every day or some every second day. But I liked it a lot. Even if I had to get used to the form of teaching, which is different too, I got used to everything very fast. I got to know many people and immediately made many friends. Most people here want to know who that new kid is. They come and want to talk to you. Everybody asks you the same questions over and over again.

With my new family I often went bowling, so I joined the school bowling team. I'm not good at it, but it is fun. As an Exchange Student you can get into the clubs and teams very easily. I also go skiing with the school, which is cheaper than if I would go normally, but it is even cheaper for us Exchange Students. I am also in Drama Club (theater) and Art Club. There is seldom a weekend where I am home. Normally I go somewhere with friends or other Rotary Students. Every month we have a meeting for the Exchange Students. We have parties or trips or District meetings. For example we went once to New York City with several Districts. It was a lot of fun. Every Thursday I go to the meetings of the Groton Rotary Club where I made a power-point presentation of my country. I also made this same presentation to the Kindergarten and other students in Groton Elementary School.

At thanksgiving I changed to my 2^nd host family. At that time it was very snowy and cold. Now with the new family I get to know new people that are very interesting. My host father takes me with him and I help him in the clinic. He is a veterinarian. They have a barn with cows so I help there which is fun. They are very nice people and I enjoy my time here in the U.S. a lot.

Christmas and new years is a totally new experience, they celebrate it here somewhat different, just the American way of Christmas. I am having the best time of my life and I enjoy it a lot, I made many new friends, but I still have good contact with my family and my friends back home. And somehow I don’t want to leave.

At the end of the year I will participate at a cross-country bus trip of the U.S. A. for a month. It will be from coast to coast. I am really looking forward to it! May be you will come here to stay for the year and have as much fun as I do…

By Udo von Grone