Transcript Slide 1

The best year in your lifetime
has already started
x
what to expect in this talk?
- some remarks on the purpose of the program
- some remarks about your situation
- some remarks on cultural differences and understanding
- some advice and suggestions
Why do Rotarians invest time in this program?
To further international understanding
By enabling you
to study some of the problems and accomplishments of
people in a country other than your own.
To enable you to live a year in an environment entirely
different from your own.
To enable you to meet people of different cultures to
broaden your outlook
and enabling you to cope with day to day problems
different from the ones you experience at home.
This program will help you to learn
To Cope – To Adapt
An experience extremely valuable for your further life.
Develop Tolerance
An experience of utmost importance for your
environment and country.
Develop Ambassadorial skills
In this country and, after this year in your country,
you may become a trait d’union between groups in these
countries.
Gastclubs, gastouders:
Onderschat de inspanning niet die deze jonge mensen
moeten leveren!
Ze hebben hun familie, vrienden, taal en eigen cultuur
achter zich gelaten om hier iets nieuws te beleven en
dat op een leeftijd van 15 tot 18 jaar oud.
Ze komen in families die ze niet kennen en gaan naar
een school waar ze niemand kennen.
Ze willen graag nu geaccepteerd en opgenomen
worden, maar ze weten vaak niet dat daar veel tijd
overheen gaat.
Deze jonge mensen verdienen onze bewondering en
alle hulp die we ze kunnen geven.
Het zijn tieners die veel minder vrijheid gewend zijn dan
onze jongeren van hun leeftijd en die moeite kunnen
hebben om met die vrijheid om te gaan.
Doseert u die vrijheid met kleine beetjes en neem gas terug
zodra u merkt dat het niet goed gaat.
Doseert u ook onze openheid op alle gebieden en ontzie
hun, door cultuur bepaalde, gevoelens.
Realiseert u zich dat we in Europa en in Nederland in het
bijzonder een in de wereld onge-evenaarde manier van
met elkaar omgaan hebben. De jongelui komen in het
algemeen uit zeer beschermde milieus waarin de manier
van denken mij vaak doet denken aan toen ik 18 was.
Ze zijn door en in hun eigen cultuur gevormd en hebben
de kennis en het gedrag van hun leeftijdgenoten in hun
land.
Ze zijn via de in hun land bestaande gewoonten en
regels in dit programma gekomen,
in ruil voor de mogelijkheid om onze eigen jongeren
een unieke ervaring te geven.
Maak contact met de jongelui in het buitenland of die daar
waren; dan kunt u beter begrijpen wat uw pleegkind
ondergaat.
zie www.rotary-jeugduitwisseling.nl -> participants
Back to you exchangees
Welcome, again and enjoy your year !!
There will be ups and downs, but
together with the people in your
environment You will solve all problems !!!
Your
Community
Host
Families
School
Exchange
Student /
Counselor
Host
Rotary
Club
Friends in
High School
Host
Rotary
District
Your Host Family
Be a real member of the family,
Join the family-festivities (they come first)
Adapt, adapt, adapt so….
be prepared to make concessions
Learn about family rules (“first night questions”) and
respect them
Ask your mum and dad, your sisters and brothers to
show you how to behave and ask them to correct you
when, unknowingly, you trespass unwritten rules.
Gastouders/Pleegouders:
Andere gewoonten,
andere cultuur,
andere benadering van ouderen
loop de “first night questions” door
Voorkom een crisis!!
niet naar bed voordat probleem besproken is
A crisis is
when you can't say: "let's forget the whole thing".
A careless word may kindle strife.
A cruel word may wreck a life.
A timely word may level stress.
A loving word may heal and bless.
Cultural differences
The Cultural Iceberg
Conscious
behaviors
1/8th above
the surface
Unconscious
beliefs and
values
7/8ths below
the surface
what is clear to you
may be occluded for me
what you see
is not what I see
the message you send
is not what I receive
“here we see
a nice exchangee
surrounded by
careful people
from his hostclub”
“here we see
a burdensome exchangee
surrounded by
victims of the RI-YEP
in his hostclub”
Two stories
Two stories, but about the same person
when a report is given by two reporters
you will hear two different reports
while this may be true within one culture
it is the common experience between
different cultures
every outing has hidden messages
recognised by friends/family/peers/cultural fellows
we also use to see things which are really not there
Ethnocentrism:
The universal tendency for any
culture to see its own values and
practices as natural and correct.
x
Ethnorelativism:
The acquired ability to see many
values and behaviors as cultural
rather than universal.
“The world in which you were
born is just one model of reality.
Other cultures are not failed
attempts at being like yours.
They are unique manifestations
of the human spirit ”.
Wade Davis
we all project our
background to the
environment
darker
So, remember that your perception
is coloured by the environment and
your own background.
Some lessons
for exchangees as well as for hosts:
Be aware of your own hidden values in the
iceberg.
Don’t assume similar values.
Adapting means taking risks and trying new
behaviors.
Be Like Mickey Mouse !!!
have
Big Eyes
Big Ears
Big Nose
and
a Small Mouth
we all know it is difficult:
when you focus on one image you can not
see the other side of the story
available in English
Nijgh en van Ditmar
Publisher: Intercultural Press
Your
Community
Host
Families
School
Exchange
Student /
Counselor
Host
Rotary
Club
Friends in
High School
Host
Rotary
District
School
Our system is different, less social subjects
Try and find the subjects you can do and change subjects
when your Dutch becomes better
Don’t skip classes without permission
Show your interest in school-subjects and participate in
everything. The reward of the teachers is your motivation
Language:
Work hard to learn Dutch (in four months you will understand
perfectly and one months later you will dare to join
conversations)
School:
Laat werkstuk maken over Nederlands onderwerp in
“eigen” taal
be inquisitive, (there is much information about this
country also in your language, and about our mutual
connections in history.
Start to study such a subject and write a paper about it in
your language)
join a sports-club and or a music-club or a choir
Your
Community
Host
Families
School
Exchange
Student /
Counselor
Host
Rotary
Club
Friends in
High School
Host
Rotary
District
Rotaryclub
visit your club OFTEN (weekly or every fortnight)
Choose another member every time to sit next to and
show your interest in her/his family and job.
(in this country young people of your age are very
welcome to START the conversation with an elderly
person)
Your
Community
Host
Families
School
Exchange
Student /
Counselor
Host
Rotary
Club
Friends in
High School
Host
Rotary
District
Friends
Try and try hard to make local friends (difficult!)
Get to know your fellow exchangees from the Northern
Hemisphere
Join and mix, do not stay together with same language
speaking fellows
Introduce your local friends in the world of exchangees
and vice versa
Do not use your host-parents house as a youth-hostel
but let it be the central spot in your daily life
Your
Community
Host
Families
School
Exchange
Student /
Counselor
Host
Rotary
Club
Friends in
High School
Host
Rotary
District
Host-District = “The Netherlands”
Dutch Orientation Course
Rotex-weekend
Orientation outbounds 2006-2007
Residentie-weekend in the Hague
Wadlopen
Europatour
Farewell Northies
New schoolyear
Go to www.rotary-jeugduitwisseling.nl AGENDA
Make
www.rotary-jeugduitwisseling.nl
your favorite
forms to download
pictures of happenings
news
rules
contributions of participants
links to weblogs and websites
and more
click on a flag to read in that language
x
Traveling
Outside the Netherlands - no travelling alone
Only official Rotary trips, School trips or
Hostfamily-trips are permitted
But always: your natural parents must give written
permission to travel abroad (form on the website)
- Where you go
- How long
your host-parents and your hostclub must give
permission and finally
Ad Perquin = inboundcoordinator will decide
about permission
read and maintain your email-box
so that you can communicate with us
and
we can communicate with all of you
Onze taak in
Gastclubs
Pleeggezinnen
Commissie Jaaruitwisseling
Een zo veilig mogelijke omgeving aanbieden
Toezien op het welzijn en
voorkomen dat een student fysieke, sexuele,
emotionele of financiele bedreigingen ervaart of
misbruikt wordt en
de wegen openhouden om zulke problemen op te
lossen
Wat moet je doen als een student over zulke dingen
komt klagen?
Luister goed en maak duidelijk dat het heel goed is dat
de student erover spreekt.
Blijf kalm en zorg dat de student zich veilig voelt.
Moedig de student aan om zijn verhaal met u te delen.
Beloof nooit dat het tussen u en de student blijft, leg de
noodzaak uit dat Ad Perquin en Marijke Bollweg worden
geinformeerd.
Omschrijvingen
sexuele en fysieke bedreigingen/misbruik
emotioneel misbruik:
 Gebrek aan liefde en affectie
 Over-beschermend
 Voortdurende kritiek, hoge druk om meer te
presteren.
 Pesten, tiraniseren
 Neerbuigend behandelen, beschimpen
 Schending privacy
financieel misbruik
 Oneigenlijk gebruik van middelen van de student
Wees bedacht op de gezinssituatie:
eigen kinderen geven het goede voorbeeld
luisteren naar en beschermen hun pleegbroer/zus
betrekken ze in hun vriendenkring
Maar niet onbekend is:
jalouzie en gevolgen daarvan
eigen kind neemt afstand van ouders en student
bedreigend gedrag, fysiek geweld
relatie die emotioneel of sexueel te ver gaat
Exchangees,
Problems?
Don’t suffer in silence!
If you have a problem or are worried about something,
always tell someone you trust about it,
contact your host parent, host club counselor,
schoolcounselor, host club chairperson or your junior
counselor.
Prevent risks
Always tell someone where you are going and when you
will be home. Be sure to call your host parents if your
plans change while you are away from home.
If you are out at night, stay in places with streetlights and
make sure that you don’t get separated from your
friends.
If you do get lost or separated, go to a shop or place
where you will be seen by lots of people to ask
directions.
Keep your host family’s address and telephone number with
you at all times.
When you travel by train or bus keep a card with final
destination and in-between stations.
Always keep enough minutes on your prepay card to make a
phone call or use the public phone with money.
Never get into a car with someone you don’t know.
If you are on a bus or train, and someone makes you feel
uncomfortable, move to a seat near other persons.
If you need to use a public toilet in a city, go with a friend.
Dress and behave sensible and responsible
Expect privacy, also in your house and at school
Say NO to unwanted touching or affection
Say NO to inappropriate demands or requests
Report any situation in which you feel threatened
to someone you trust immediately.
Always remember –
We are responsible for the well being of you
There will be ups and downs, but
Together with your
- hostfamily
- club counselor
- junior counselor
- Ad Perquin
- Marijke Bollweg
You will solve all problems!!!
At the end of this year you will go home without a diploma
Has it been just an extended holiday?
Dr. Mitchell Hammer
(international consultant intercultural affairs)
says in a sociological study :
The impact of the experience abroad are extensive
- it reduces prejudices, ethnocentrism
- it increases students’ interest in other cultural practices
- helps students overcome ‘us versus them’ polarization
- it aids in the discovery of common bonds across cultural
boundaries
- it includes first and foremost, a substantial increase in
intercultural competence
acknowledgement:
this talk is based
on five years in Youth Exchange
(thanks to Rotary Clubs in Netherlands
exchangees and hostparents here and overseas).
on essays written by Dennis White and material
compiled by him (RC Sturgeon Bay, A Rotarian
motivated by his love for kids from all over the
world)
on many “talks” by email with “counterparts”