CSRYE 2018 Conference Pre-thoughts
Tomorrow will officially start the final conference for the 2017-2018 Rotary Youth Exchange Program before the current inbound students will head back to their home countries and the outbound students will start flying out to their host countries. With that being said I have a few pre-thoughts, what I am excited for, what I would like to see, and what I hope does not happen at this final conference.
This CSRYE (standing for Central States Rotary Youth Exchange) conference, held in Grand Rapids Michigan, is supposedly the biggest conference that I will have attended yet. All the inbounds, outbounds, and rebounds will take part, and it will extend throughout the whole weekend from Friday the 13th (lmao) to Sunday the 15th. I have really enjoyed the previous three conferences district 6540 has had, including the first one, the Exchange Holiday Conference, I attended last year in December 2017. The Linenwood March Conference I attended earlier this year, and the All "IN" District Conference in April of this year, which I wrote my first official blog post about!
Memories from December Exchange Holiday Conference:
Memories from March Linenwood Conference:
Memories from April All "IN" District Conference:
My hands-down favorite part about these conferences was getting to know and spend time with the other students. I know that I will be able to meet tons more exchange students at this upcoming CSRYE conference, but one thing I really hope is that I will be able to continue to keep in contact with them even after this whole weekend is over.
Throughout the conference there are multiple workshops and events scheduled. A couple that I am interested in seeing unfold is the "Germany Ice Breakers," which I am guessing is where all the in-bound, out-bound, and re-bound exchange students for the country of Germany will get together and do a group activity. I am also excited to see the talent show portion, which will take place on Saturday night of the conference. I might even try out for it doing a hula dance! Finally I am looking forward to the pin exchange, where students exchange their countries pins with other students. I heard that at the conference last year this was one of the most fun events and that all the students weren't even able to trade pins with everyone by the time it was over!
Now although this conference will create some wonderful experiences and memories, I have realized there are always a few bumps along the way. One hurdle that I have noticed with every conference is that it is not always very organized. I understand that with every big event that it is inevitable for things to not always go as planned. I really hope that for this conference even the little things such as starting a workshop 20 minutes late, or figuring out transportation between venues, will be smoothed over and nothing will get too out of hand (knowing the crazy Rotarians and Exchange Students, it probably will, lol jk, maybe). A hurdle I am currently trying to get over myself, is how I plan to document this event. I am currently deciding between writing/filming a blog over every workshop/event throughout the entire weekend, or just summarizing each day of the event. If any of my readers have a preference, please comment or email me your suggestion! I am looking forward to this weekend! Time to go pack!
