All "IN" District Conference April 2018
- May 5, 2018
- 6 min read
Yay! My first official blog post! I am super excited to start out my adventure by writing about the All "IN" statewide conference I attended the weekend of April 20th and 21st with my other fellow exchange students. The "All IN" conference includes the three Rotary districts in Indiana which are district 6540 (northern third of the state), 6560 (center third of the state), and 6580 (southern third of the state). Attending the conference was a great opportunity to meet the other inbound and outbound students from around Indiana, as well as socialize and talk with other rotarians from across the state. I have been to two other conferences prior to this one, both being more focused on the youth exchange program. However every time I have been to a rotary conference, I have always had an amazing time, and this one was no exception.
To kick off the conference, all of the Rotary youth exchange from the three districts met up at Conner Prairie, an interactive and living history museum/ park in Fishers, Indiana. We started by having a luncheon. I really enjoyed getting to meet and converse with many of the other inbound and outbound exchange students, and was even able to meet another student from Germany, as well as a girl named Makenna, who will also be traveling to Germany next year on her exchange.
After the luncheon, we were broken up into small groups of about 6 or 7 to start our service project. Students as well as Rotarian chaperones were given the job to walk around Conner Prairie and help pull weeds called "Garlic Mustard", a destructive species that invades woodlands, yards, and has become one of the most major invasive species in all of Indiana. As groups started the project, we all quickly realized, from the horrible odor, how "Garlic Mustard" received its name.
These weeds grew everywhere along the trails and further into the woods throughout most of Conner Prairie park. We did this project from about 1pm until 3-4pm and with the nice weather and good company, I found this project to be pretty fun. After pulling weeds, we were then rewarded by getting the opportunity to spend the rest of our time at Conner Prairie exploring the park. A group of students and I decide to roam around the different "eras" they offered in the park, interacting with the actors from that time period. Not only was this entertaining, but also pretty informational on the history of Indiana and the Civil War.
After exploring the park for about an hour and a half, everyone made their way to Noblesville High School, in Noblesville, Indiana, where we would be spending the night. Once settled in on one of the basketball courts where we would be sleeping, everyone began to unwind by playing games such as volleyball, basketball, or card games (like a very interesting game of Cards against Humanity), as well as exploring around the school which had AT LEAST 6 gyms. For dinner we had some pretty good Pizza, Salad, and Cookies from a local place in town.
The rest of the night was lots more socializing and talking to other students. We were even able to trade pins for a bit before the lights turned off at 11pm. Once the lights finally did turn off, a few others and myself found a place where other outsources of light weren't seeping in, and went right to bed.
We woke up the next morning around 6:30-7am to start another filled day. Some of the students mentioned the hard time they had sleeping on the gym floor, however I was so tired from the day before that I slept like an angle. The only complaint I had was that I shared a little sleeping set up with one of my closest friends, Madeleine, from Belgium, and it was very chilly in the gym. Everyone was doing their own thing while getting ready to leave for the Marriott at 8am. Many just ate a light breakfast to prepare us for the big Luncheon we would be consuming in just a few hours.
Getting to the Marriott in Downtown Indianapolis wasn't a trouble at all, the traffic was light and I was able to find parking in a parking garage right across the street from the hotel itself for $10! Once there, we made our way into the conference area which was already filled with hundreds of Rotarians. This was definitely the biggest conference I have been to yet. There were multiple rooms setup throughout the entire conference area, a few including one with the history of the Rotary, a little Gift Shop, a room full of gifts that you could bid on, and the main eating/conference area. The official luncheon was scheduled to start at 12pm, so until then the other students and I were able to look around the conference and socialize with Rotarians on our spare time. Madeleine and I walked through a couple of the rooms to see what was inside, as well as talked to some rotarians here and there, answering any questions they had about the exchange program. One thing that I noticed right away is that no matter who we spoke with at this conference, they were all super sweet and friendly!
As is got closer to 12pm, all the exchange students were brought into a conference room and we were given directions for what to do during the main Rotary Youth Exchange event, the flag ceremony, which is the introduction to the start of the luncheon where all the current exchange students and future exchange students walk into main dining area carrying their country flag. After directions, we went around the room once more saying our name and the country we either came from or are going to. Also while we were waiting, many students shared their stories on how they figured out where exactly they were going in their country. This was interesting and fun to listen to because I have not found out exactly where I am going yet in Germany and the anticipation is dreadful!
Finally were were let into the dinning room, and students flooded in to grab ahold of their country's flags. There were only two German flags, so me and Makenna thought it would make the most sense to allow the two exchange students from Germany to carry them in. Instead I ended up settling on sharing the Rotary flag with Edward, another student from district 6540 traveling to Argentina next year. We all lined up in the order we were to walk in and then waited outside one of the entrances, while all the Rotarians filled up the room.
Finally at (around) 12 it was time for our grand entrance! Edward and I were towards the back of the line so it took a while longer to actually get to the entrance of the dining room, but when we did I got a good look at over 400 Rotarians that attended the conference that day. Previous to this, I was not nervous at all for the Flag Ceremony, but as we waited for our turn to start walking, the pressure was on. More specifically, to somehow walk to the front of the room, onto the stage, back off the stage, and to a seat without tripping in my high heels. Everything went smoothly though, and it was AMAZING! Getting the opportunity to say my name and the country I will be traveling to in front of all those people was a very proud moment for me, especially when not many others can or will ever get to do the same.
Directly after walking off stage, I went to go find a seat. Students were asked not to sit together in order to further meet and socialize with other Rotarians/ share information about the Rotary Youth Exchange program. While sitting at my table and eating the delicious lunch, I was able to meet some awesome Rotarians. I had some great conversations with many of them as they shared their own experiences with traveling, the youth exchange, etc. I even discovered that the Woman and Gentlemen sitting to the left of me both attended Indiana University, Bloomington, and both were involved in sorority and fraternity, which is what I plan is to do after I complete my year abroad!
Unfortunately though, my time at the conference had to be cut short because my schools prom was the same night, so Madeleine, Noe, and I needed to make our way back to Logansport. Before we left however, I was able to watch Barbara Nieviadonski's presentation about her exchange year in Germany! This not only provoked a few tears of joy, but also reminded me how exciting my exchange will be, especially since it will be in the same country! I added in a video of the presentation that she uploaded to her youtube channel. I highly recommend watching it!
Overall this conference was, as they always are, incredible. I really love spending time with all the students, and even though most of us have only known each other for a few short months, we have all became very close. I may be doing this exchange by myself, but I know they will always be there to support me in ways nobody else can because they will, or have already been through the same thing! Also a big thank you to the Rotary for hosting such a fun weekend, I can't believe we only have one more exchange student conference before all the inbound students go back home and all the outbound students depart!
More Photos from the Conference (click to view more):
Photos from Prom (click to view more):
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