Kalle Muscheid

 

Kalle is about to return home to Germany after a year in NZ.

 

He arrived in NZ as a nervous 17-year-old from Germany. ◦ He was not sure about what to expect. Kalle noted the changes he has experienced, including learning a new language, adapting to a new culture, and personal growth.

 

He acknolwedged the support and community provided by Rotary, which allowed him to step out of his comfort zone and see the world in a different way.

Kalle highlighted the various ways he has grown, becoming more outgoing, independent, open-minded, and resilient. He shared his experiences of joy, challenges, confusion, and laughter, which have shaped him. In doing that he also acknowledged the difficulties he faced, such as missing his family and struggling to express himself. 

 

Kalle emphasized the importance of small acts of kindness, inclusion, and support from his host families and the Rotary community. In particular he thanked his host families and the Rotary club for welcoming him and making him feel like part of their family.  It should be noted that Kalle learned to fish, discovered the perils of getting up too early on Christmas Day and played indoor soccer from time to time.

 

    

 

He mentioned the deep friendships he has formed and the new perspective he has gained.

 

In closing Kalle noted that 9920 will not be hosting any exchange students this year due to a lack of host families. While he understands the reason for this including the age of potential hosts and the number of times they have hosted before he did encourage those who have hosted before to consider hosting again, emphasizing that age is not a barrier.

 

(Editors note) I can say the Lucas family enjoyed having Kalle in our home.  He is an engaged young man who is a credit to his family. While your editor managed to lose the function photos he was able to put his hands on some of photos taken during Kalle's stay.