My pre-exchange journey continues, and this month I have been informed that I will be hosted by the city of Flensburg for 12 months from January 2014.

Flensburg is the northernmost city in Germany and is located on the German-Danish border. It has a population of around 85,000 people, which is significantly smaller than Canberra, my home town (and capital of Australia). However I am looking forward to integrating into a smaller community, making friends, attending a local school and experiencing life in a whole new way.

I am very pleased with the location of Flensburg as it is so close to Scandinavia. If I had not chosen to pursue my dream of an exchange to Germany, I would have likely chosen to travel to a Scandinavian country on exchange with Denmark or Finland being my 4th and 5th preferences. I have acquired my love for this amazing part of the world through my father’s exchange to Finland 25 years ago, and my subsequent visit in 2010. Through my exchange in Flensburg I hope to not only learn as much as possible about German culture, but also hopefully discover some aspects of Danish culture through the influence of the Danish minority community in Flensburg.

While living in Flensburg I will be hosted by the Rotary Club of Flensburg. I am looking forward to sharing a year with this club and learning about the German language and culture through building relationships with the Rotarians of Flensburg. I will also be an ambassador for Australia, speaking about my life back home.

I am very excited about my upcoming exchange to Germany, everyday I am one step closer to living my dream. I can’t wait to begin learning about my future host city’s language and culture. Thank you to Rotary International, the Rotary Club of Tuggeranong and Rotary District 9710 for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!