• The opportunity for diversity. You will be carefully assigned to several Host Families that are dedicated to your well-being. All Rotary Host Parents are non-paid volunteers that have willingly opened their homes and hearts to you. You can expect to be hosted by a minimum of two and a maximum of four Host families during your 10-month stay.
• Rotary International is a totally nonprofit organization. Rotary International Youth Exchange is only one of hundreds of philanthropic programs that our 1.2 million-member-organization provides. There are absolutely no fees for any service that Rotary provides. There is a $400 application fee to help offset telephone/fax charges, postage/express courier services, and processing materials. You will be refunded $100 of this fee providing; 1) you completed your exchange and; 2) you and your parent/s are in attendance at the debriefing meeting held in August following your return. Rotary arranges for free housing, free education and when possible will aid in reduced travel expenses and insurance. Most sponsoring Rotary Clubs are prepared to assist students in need. It is customary that hosting Rotary Clubs provide their Exchange Students with a monthly stipend equivalent to $50 U.S. Private schools, uniforms and materials may be the financial responsibility of the student. The student may be required to pay direct expenses for certain orientation programs.
• Rotary International is a very close-knit organization Rotary will go to extremes to protect you during your exchange experience. Rotary has a very well structured organizational system, which will give you multiple opportunities to seek guidance or assistance in your foreign exchange country. Rotarians are the business and professional leaders of their community. Rotarians are effective people in the World.

• Rotary does not ask that you become a devout follower. It does however ask that you recognize the principles that Rotary represents.
• You will be asked to attend several Rotary Youth functions, which are intended to better acquaint you with the process of being an exchange student.
• You will be the guest at local Rotary Club meetings prior to your departure. This will help you understand what Rotary does in the World.
• You will be invited to attend Rotary meetings in your host country. These will open doors and opportunities for experiences otherwise unavailable.
• Your host country will ask you to do a brief presentation describing your home, town, school and American life.
• Correspond with your local (sponsoring) Rotary club counselor often. Your sponsoring club counselor will write to you regularly and it is your duty to provide a prompt, written response to him/her each time they write.
• When you return from your exchange year your sponsoring Rotarians will appreciate your sharing the experience of a lifetime. You will be expected to present a 15-20 min. program to them within the first month or two of your return.

• A Rotary exchange is an academic exchange. All participants must attend school in their hosting country.
• Youth Ambassador - Rotary International has long maintained that the best ambassadors of goodwill are to be found among youth, and the cause of world peace will be best served by their international association and exchange.
• You have been chosen among many for your ability to serve as an ambassador. Embrace this privilege and responsibility throughout your exchange experience.
• You will be continually in the public eye and will be judged by your behavior. Thus you will have in your safe-keeping the good name of your country, your school, your home, the Rotary Club that has sponsored you and above all, yourself.
• Being pro-active throughout the exchange is expected of you. You will live within the homes of your hosts. Engage and participate in your host family and assume household responsibilities normal for students of your age. These are courtesies and responsibilities required to fulfill your job as an ambassador.

1. Adapt or fail
2. Ask or be ignored
3. Be lively and active
4. Always be considerate, helpful and appreciative toward your hosts
5. Be punctual
6. Give 100% of yourself and share self and culture
7. Maintain a neat appearance and keep your surroundings orderly
8. Plan ahead and coordinate with your hosts and their schedules
9. SMILE every chance you get
10. Strive to earn the respect of others

1. No Drinking
2. No Drugs
3. No Driving
4. No Serious Dating

• Each family in the United States has "Home Rules". The rules in your Host family will have differences from those of your current home. You will find, however, more similarities than differences.
• To be an effective Exchange Student you must recognize and honor the differences in social mannerisms that you will experience in your host country.
• There are standardized Rules and Recommendations that Rotary International shares with all Rotary Clubs involved with Rotary Youth Exchange. This insures the student that there will be an element of consistency.
Follow this link to get your First Night Questions translated.

• One of the strong points of the Rotary Youth Exchange Program is that it is internationally uniform.
• You will find the Youth Exchange Program of Rotary in Australia to be very similar to that of Rotary in Denmark.
• In all countries you can expect to participate in an Orientation Program soon after your arrival. It is the law in the U.S.A.
• In each Rotary District there are approximately 50 Rotary Clubs.
• It is the District Youth Exchange Chairperson that makes arrangements with foreign districts to conduct Youth Exchanges.
• The District Chairperson AND the District Outbound and Inbound Student Officers coordinate with each Rotary Club's Youth Exchange Chairperson
• The Rotary Club Youth Director assigns a Youth Exchange Counselor. The counselor will be a year long, consistent, guidepost and an individual that has had experience with the exchange program.
• You will have a Youth Exchange Counselor in both your sponsoring club and your hosting club. Your Sponsoring Club Counselor will be your Rotary contact and guide from the time you apply to this program until you depart for your exchange. Your Hosting Club Counselor will be your Rotary contact and guide during your exchange.
• Your counselors will contact you regularly and it is your duty to respond to them immediately. It is also your obligation to Rotary to reach-out to your counselor. Keep them regularly updated on your status.
• In turn the counselor and club Youth Director will interview and select Host Parents.
• This Organizational Structure is very important to the Exchange Students and their families.
• This structure insures the student and family that there will be several "check points" for the safety and well-being of the student.
• No individual Host Parent, Counselor or Chairperson will make an irrational decision regarding a student's welfare. It will take several of us to make that irrational decision!

• Rotarians are volunteer business, professional and trade persons. No Rotarian receives any compensation for his or her services in the Rotary Youth Exchange Program.
• Every service and opportunity that Rotarians can provide the student will be at no expense to the student.
• Rotary is not bound to the payment of any services, fees or other expenses.
• The student can expect Rotary to assist in procuring the best price available for such necessary services as airfare and insurance.
• Great variances in expense will occur depending on the country the student visits.
• The following is an example of expenses incurred by a recent exchange to Europe.

Airfare	$2200.00
Insurance	$358.00
Passport/Visa	$100.00
Application Fee	$400.00
Rotary Blazer	$150.00
Monthly expenses (10 months at $75 per)	$750.00
Local Excursions	$250.00
European Rotary Trip	$800.00
TOTAL	$5008.00

• You will be required to attend at least two District Orientation Programs prior to leaving on your exchange. Your Host Rotary Club will pay the necessary fees for these programs.
• The Hosting Rotary Club typically pays monthly stipends amounting to the equivalence of $50 per month.
• Many Rotarians will provide local trips, entertainment opportunities and gifts to their exchange students.
• It is the option of the sponsoring Rotary Club to provide financial scholarship assistance.

• These kind-hearted people will provide housing, food and cultural education at absolutely no expense to the student.

• Make contact with a Rotary Club near where you live and go to school, or contact a youth Exchange Committee Representative for your geographic area. Do this no later than October of the school year prior to when you would like to go abroad.
• Get through the interview and application process. If you are successful and become a Rotary Club's candidate, start the full application right away. Choice of country to exchange to is on a first come first served basis. Good Luck!

• Your Outbound Counselor will guide you through the details of this process. You will also receive a huge amount of information by mail, verbally, at orientation sessions, and from the Outbound Counselor. Stay organized and informed!
• Get a Passport. Do it NOW!
  Call any Federal Office or Post Office and they will tell you where you can get an application. You will need 2 passport style photos and about $60 as a money order, you will need a proof of citizenship and a photo ID...ASK first! Remember it can take as much as 6 weeks after applying for the passport to come to you.
• Get an Application.
  As soon as you have received word from your Rotary Club Counselor that you have been selected for exchange you must begin filling out Rotary International's Long Term Application - Long Form (posted on this website under Forms. The sooner your completed application is received by the District 5130 Outbound Student Officer the better chance you have of being assigned to a country of your choice. Carefully follow the instructions and review all sections and required attachments with your parents and club counselor before signing and submitting your application. The District Outbound Officer can advise you as to when, where and how this is to be done. You must submit your completed application to your club counselor no later than December 15.
  Your application will have been sent to the Rotary District in the country you will be visiting. The Rotarians in that country will take it to the school you will be attending, the club that will host you and your first Host Parents. All of those will sign the GUARANTEE FORM and return it to our district. That form must be sent with your passport to the consulate of the country you will be visiting.
  The District Outbound Officer can advise you as to when, where and how this is to be done.
• Get Airline Tickets and Student Visa.
  All D5130 Outbound student visa processing and airline ticket purchasing is provided by It's Your World Travel of Seattle, WA. DO NOT purchase airline tickets or apply for a Student Visa from any other source. Your airline ticket cannot be purchased until your visa has been issued/received. Tickets must be the OPEN RETURN type of ticket. This means a ticket that can bring you home at anytime. The cost of this type of ticket can be significantly higher than traditional fares but are necessary for student safety and well-being. The open return ticket is the only class of ticket that will be accepted. You must fly directly to the airport designated by your hosting Rotary district. Your hosting Rotary district will tell you exactly what day you must arrive and at what city (if different than airport city).
  
  It's Your World, Travel!
  1969 SW Hillcrest Road
  Seattle, WA 98166
  Telephone: 800-955-6077
  Fax: 206-324-2512
  www.iywt.com

• All students are required to carry medical and liability insurance that meets Rotary International standards. Your mom or dad's group insurance policy will not work, regardless of what their agent says. You will be instructed on the required coverage and cost at the Outbound Student Spring Orientation. Current policies and explanations can be viewed under the Forms link on our D5130's Youth Exchange website at youthexchange5130.org.

• You may have indicated a country that you would like to go to. Whenever possible, the District 5130 Chairperson will send your application to the country of your choice. The Rotary persons in that country will assign you to a Rotary club in their district. That club counselor will make school arrangements and family arrangements for you. This all takes time. When those details have been completed your guarantee form will be returned to our district and YOU will know! That is sometimes as late as June. Please be patient with us.

• Start writing your new family, send pictures, and ask questions. Try to write in their language but if you can't at least let them know you are trying by putting a few words or sentences in their language.

• Take about half of what you pack the first time. Take at least one sturdy "hard" suitcase. Take the basics, mix and match combo clothing. Remember you will be buying new things when you get there.
• ATM cards can be very helpful in most countries. Find out from the ATM provider whether they have service in the country you will be visiting. Ask your parents to set up an account with a limited amount of money deposited each month.
• Gifts for your new families, counselors and the Rotary club are very appropriate. Books about your hometown or region, handmade items or special preserves, mustards etc. are always well received and expected. If there are children in the family be sure to take some small gift for them also.
• Pins and badges that are typical of your area to trade to other students will be priceless. Also small American flags are good gifts for your host families and new friends.
• Photocopies of every important document should be taken before you leave. Take two copies and leave one set with your parents. Pack the other set in a separate bag from the originals.
• Telephone cards are commonly used in many countries. Ask your new host family if this applies where you are going. You may be able to purchase cards in the USA that can be used in other countries.

• Start NOW! Nothing will be more important! There are tapes available in almost any language. Practice! Practice! No one expects you to be totally conversant but you must know salutations and a few fundamental words and phrases. Contact your District Chairperson for information about available intensive language programs.
• Rotary programs are expected in most countries. The Rotarians that will be hosting you will want to see pictures, slides and listen about your hometown or region. A collection of ten to fifteen slides showing your home, school, family along with slides of some business and agricultural views will make for a good 20-minute presentation.
• Immunizations requirements vary widely from country to country. Ask your County Health Department Immunization Department what the current recommendations are for the country you will be visiting and any adjacent countries you might visit during your year abroad
• Read the newspaper everyday for at least a month before you go. Don't be embarrassed by knowing less about your country, politics and gossip than your foreign hosts.
• Smile at least 100 times everyday for 3 months before you go.
  It will be your ticket to a wonderful, exciting and most educational year of your life!
• Rotary International's Long Term Exchange Program Rules And Conditions of Exchange AND District 5130's of Exchange for Inbound and Outbound Students.
  You and your parents must review and sign the above rules and conditions prior to making application to this program. Each student and their parents are expected to honor these rules faithfully throughout the application period and exchange year. View them here