Jack Cheshire
Lions Youth Exchange 2018 Review – Jack Cheshire
This year I was lucky enough to participate in my third Lions Youth Exchange program. I received my first choice of a camp in Germany for approximately 20 days. As soon as I arrived at Dusseldorf airport I was greeted by my host family Antje, Michael and Mats who live in a medium-sized town named Unna, situated about 15km from Dortmund. Throughout the 10 days I stayed with them we visited many local cities including Cologne, Dortmund and Munster. One of my favourite moments from my stay was a tour of the Signal Iduna Park also known as the stadium of German football giants Borussia Dortmund. I am a keen football fan myself so to have a stadium tour of one of the biggest stadiums in Germany was truly amazing. Other activities included Go Karting, chilli making and visits to the local Golf club. I had such a great time with my family and I am sure I will keep in contact with them in the future.
After the 10 days with my host family, I spent 10 days in a city called Gelsenkirchen at the youth camp. Here there were 18 students from 14 different countries including Canada, the USA and as far as Brazil! We all bonded so well so quickly, and many great memories were made. What I really liked about this camp was that each day we would do a sporty activity and a cultural activity. This meant we would be doing something active and learning about the area we were staying in each day and allowed for a truly interesting experience. Our activities included visiting a theme park, canoeing and a German performance of Starlight Express. Of course, it was sad to say goodbye to everyone on the final day, but we have all remained in contact ever since and I am sure we will see each other again in the future.
Finally, I would like to say a huge thank you to Ringwood & Fordingbridge Lions Club for allowing me to participate in this program for the 3rd year in a row. I have enjoyed myself so much over the past 3 years, met so many amazing people and made so many lifelong memories. Many thanks once again to Stephen Sheering for sorting out all the administration and communication, I really appreciate it.
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