What is an international exchange with Rotary like?

I am 17 year old American and going to Belgium through Rotary Exchange, HELP!?

• Hello, I live in Nevada and I will be going to Belgium this august for a 10 month exchange through rotary. I have some basic knowledge about the country,but would like to know more. I am from a middle class family, I go to a public high school, I am open-minded, and all my traveling experience has been in USA, Canada, and Mexico. I do very well in school, I am athletic and enjoy bike riding. I would like to know what the high schools will be like, both international and regular (hours a day? Monday through Friday? shool's expectations?), as i do not know which school or city i will be placed in yet. I will know in about a week. Any other useful information will be appreciated.

• Answer:

  A lot depends on where you end up. I'll speak for Flanders, the richer, Dutch speaking north of the country, since that's where I'm from and what I know best. School is Monday to Friday. You'll have 7 or 8 hours a day, starting at around 8.30am, until 3.30 - 4.20 pm. On Wednesday school ends at noon. As far as expectations are concerned, a lot depends on what you end up doing in school. Over here, you choose a 'package' of classes, depending on your interest and capabilities. There are three major 'streams', categories if you will, in high school: ASO, TSO and BSO. ASO is aimed at students who plan to go to university / college, for Masters or Bachelor degrees, and consists mainly of theoretical lessons (sciences, languages, etc.). TSO is more aimed at those planning to go for a professional Bachelor's degree in college. Still a lot of theoretical lessons, but also some more practical courses (e.g. working with electricity, mechanics,...). BSO is aimed at people who don't plan to go to college, and go to work at 18. It offers very limited theoretical lessons, lots of practical lessons. Within each 'stream' there are many lesson packages to choose from, depending on your interest. Just so you know what to expect, a few examples of the lessons you get every week with a few of the 'packages' in the school where I teach: Latin - Maths (ASO) (subject, then number of hours a week): religion/morals 2, Dutch 4, history 2, geography 1, sports 2, French 3, English 2, maths 7, biology 1, chemistry 2, physics 2, Latin 4. Economics - Languages (ASO): religion/morals 2, Dutch 4, history 2, geography 1, sports 2, French 4, English 3, natural sciences 2, German 3, Spanish 2, economics 4, maths 3. Electromechanics (TSO): religion/morals 2, Dutch 3, history 1, geography 1, sports 2, French 2, English 2, maths 4, mechanics 8, electricity 6, electronics 1, industrial ICT 2. Woodshop (BSO): religion/morals 2, 'project general subjects' (basically a little bit of maths, history, Ducth etc in project form, very simple) 4, woodshop 22 (!), internship woodshop 4. This is just a small selection, there are many more possibilities, but it gives you an idea. If you perform very well in school in the US, you'll probably end up in ASO. Be warned that it is in general quite a bit harder than high school in the US. Belgian students who move to the US and were very average performers here in ASO, often suddenly find themselves to be the top performer of their class in the US, despite the language barrier. But don't let that scare you, it's just something you ought to be warned about.