Two local teenagers will take their first tentative steps overseas this month when they leave for Europe on a Rotary Exchange.

Dalton McWah from Narrogin and Carly Fazioli from Wagin, both 17, will leave on January 19 for the year-long exchange and will attend school in their host countries. Dalton will go to Bergamo in Italy and Carly will go to Emden in Germany.

While they are gone, Narrogin and Wagin will receive students from Russia and Brazil.

Carly said she was excited to be going. “I’ve started teaching myself the basics of German and I hope I’ll be able to pick the language up over there because my host family doesn’t speak English,” she said.

Rotary youth exchange country co-ordinator Thomas Popp said Rotary had been offering the exchanges for about 30 years.

“These two will be ambassadors for Rotary and Australia,” he said.

“If everyone went on exchange we wouldn’t have war,” she said.

Member for Wagin Terry Waldron congratulated the pair for their selection and gave them books about WA as well as flags and pins to present their host country.

“It will just be a great experience for them, for their personal development and the friends they will make in their respective host countries,” he said.