Bluffton Rotary Foreign Exchange Student

The Bluffton Rotary had the privilege to hear our exchange student Matthiase (Matt) Eisenring speak on 4/6/11. Matt is from Aarau, Switzerland which is known for Gables. He is 17 years old and a junior in high school. Matt has 1 older brother and 1 younger brother. His father is in the pharmaceutical profession and his mother is a legal advisor. Matt enjoys handball, volleyball and plays basketball for the high school. He started speaking 3 languages German, French and English at age 10. Matt explained that Switzerland's unemployment rate is 4% and the banking industry is only 11.6% of GPP. Some of Switzerland's industry and trade includes Rolex, Swatch Group, Nestle, ABB and UBS. Switzerland has no war involvement and has not been at war since 1712. It is mandatory for all male citizens between the ages of 18 and 34 to serve in the military. And, their military budget is 3.9 million. The experience of youth exchange has made Matt appreciate all of his parents' hard work. And, even though Mary O'Neil (his host mother) is not his real mother she takes care of him just the same.