January 27, 2008
Everything is going really well, with my family, at school and with my new friends.
I'm really happy to be here and to live this experience.I think that i learn every day something new and that helps me growing up in my personality and in the relationship with people.
Few days ago I had a homesick, and i was so surprised because i have never had. But it was going away in a night and the day after I was perfectly fine, ready to begin a new hard day!
I'm really excited for the trip we are gonna have this weekend and I'm looking forward for meeting all my friends..we are really a good group, close and we spent a lot of time together outside the rotary meeting.
I wonder when and where is the next dinner we should attend,because my tutor hasn't told me anything yet.
I am going during the february break to Florida and I'm really glad because i'm gonna meet with my friend from Italy who is doing an exchange year in Jacksonville.
Tomorrow at school we are beginning the new semester and i'm excited for the new subjects.
Hope to see you soon
Francesca Rossi (Ballston Spa Rotary Club)
Monday, January 28, 2008
Zach Smyth -- Taiwan
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Well congratulations, you shamed me into writing another monthly report
I (as in Zachary Smyth, but will also respond to Jack, Ja Ke, Jock, Shock (as in the french name), Jackely, and Jackaly, z,s are kind of hard for the Taiwanese) have moved host families.
I Now live with rice (i can not begin to spell his chinese name) in the small town of San Ye, know prominently for its wood carving and Hakka Culture. Hakka originates in Northern china, they have there own language and a different culture from regular Mandarin (or Cantonese or the other dozen or so sub cultures that make up china).
Mandarin is going well, i can now say things like "no problem" "its nothing" "I'm fine thank you", "Madness?, THIS IS SPARTA!!!", and things like that. I will probably get a full grasp of the language by the 7 month period.
school is fine, making friends has proven to be more difficult then first report may have suggested. Its ok though, i do have friends, not a lot, and most of them live in other cities but whatever.
I am having a great time, better then you. i will see you all (well some of you) in 5 months.
thank you
Zachary Smyth
Well congratulations, you shamed me into writing another monthly report
I (as in Zachary Smyth, but will also respond to Jack, Ja Ke, Jock, Shock (as in the french name), Jackely, and Jackaly, z,s are kind of hard for the Taiwanese) have moved host families.
I Now live with rice (i can not begin to spell his chinese name) in the small town of San Ye, know prominently for its wood carving and Hakka Culture. Hakka originates in Northern china, they have there own language and a different culture from regular Mandarin (or Cantonese or the other dozen or so sub cultures that make up china).
Mandarin is going well, i can now say things like "no problem" "its nothing" "I'm fine thank you", "Madness?, THIS IS SPARTA!!!", and things like that. I will probably get a full grasp of the language by the 7 month period.
school is fine, making friends has proven to be more difficult then first report may have suggested. Its ok though, i do have friends, not a lot, and most of them live in other cities but whatever.
I am having a great time, better then you. i will see you all (well some of you) in 5 months.
thank you
Zachary Smyth
Zoe Fullem -- in Ecuador (from Albany)
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Hi Everyone, Feliz Año Nuevo!!
I think I'm one of the less diligent writers, but I've been busy? I swear?
Well I've had a great first half of my exchange year, my family has been great. They are exactly what I could have wanted, like a real family to me. My little sister sleeps in my bed with me every night, my mom is always bringing me to the doctor and taking care of me (I'm always getting sick from the food and water), and my dad tells me "Siempre estas nuestra hijita"/ "You'll always be our little daughter."
I'm changing to my second host family this week, and I'm really excited. They just had a new house built, and we're going to have a pool? I will miss my first family a lot, but I'll be living right next door, so I'm sure I will see them a lot.
I just finished Quinto curso and now I'm on summer vacation, it's great! I spend a lot of time with my family and my exchange friends (maybe too much, I keep promising myself to get closer with my Ecuadorian friends, but it's hard.) I have big plans for my vacation, next week I'm going for a few days to one of the biggest cities, Guayaquil. Then I'm going to Cuenca, the most beautiful and historic city in Ecuador for a few weeks to live with another Rotary family. I'm also hoping to climb Cotapaxi, the highest active volcano in the world! And, most exciting of all, I'm going on a Rotary Paseo for four days to the Amazon rain forest. Ecuador has great exchange student trips; I think they're one of my favorite parts of this year.
I'm having a great time, and it really is going by fast?I just booked my return flight with the travel agent.
I hope everyone is doing great.
Hi Everyone, Feliz Año Nuevo!!
I think I'm one of the less diligent writers, but I've been busy? I swear?
Well I've had a great first half of my exchange year, my family has been great. They are exactly what I could have wanted, like a real family to me. My little sister sleeps in my bed with me every night, my mom is always bringing me to the doctor and taking care of me (I'm always getting sick from the food and water), and my dad tells me "Siempre estas nuestra hijita"/ "You'll always be our little daughter."
I'm changing to my second host family this week, and I'm really excited. They just had a new house built, and we're going to have a pool? I will miss my first family a lot, but I'll be living right next door, so I'm sure I will see them a lot.
I just finished Quinto curso and now I'm on summer vacation, it's great! I spend a lot of time with my family and my exchange friends (maybe too much, I keep promising myself to get closer with my Ecuadorian friends, but it's hard.) I have big plans for my vacation, next week I'm going for a few days to one of the biggest cities, Guayaquil. Then I'm going to Cuenca, the most beautiful and historic city in Ecuador for a few weeks to live with another Rotary family. I'm also hoping to climb Cotapaxi, the highest active volcano in the world! And, most exciting of all, I'm going on a Rotary Paseo for four days to the Amazon rain forest. Ecuador has great exchange student trips; I think they're one of my favorite parts of this year.
I'm having a great time, and it really is going by fast?I just booked my return flight with the travel agent.
I hope everyone is doing great.
Gabrielle Fortes -- Brazil (in Cobleskill)
Friday, January 25, 2008
This is Gabrielle Fortes, from Brazil. I was an exchange student in Cobleskill, from March/07 to Jan/08. I'm writing to let you know that I'm back home already. I came back last saturday.The flights were okay and I'm glad to be with my family and friends again. I want to thank you for the opportunity and all the support. It was definitely the best year of my life, which I'm sure won't be the same thanks for the life experience that I had in the U.S. Once more, Thank you.
This is Gabrielle Fortes, from Brazil. I was an exchange student in Cobleskill, from March/07 to Jan/08. I'm writing to let you know that I'm back home already. I came back last saturday.The flights were okay and I'm glad to be with my family and friends again. I want to thank you for the opportunity and all the support. It was definitely the best year of my life, which I'm sure won't be the same thanks for the life experience that I had in the U.S. Once more, Thank you.
Eva Bosanac -- Croatia (in Middleburgh)
Friday, January 25, 2008
Things are doing great for me. I changed families before Thanksgiving. I liked my old family but the new one is just perfect for me. My family members are great people and I'm having a lot more fun with them. My host sister is an actress and she's i the play M. Butterfly in Albany at the Capital Rep and it's definitly worth seeing it. My family took me on Wednesday to see her and we had such a great time. I'm also in the play at my school. We are doing Annie this year and it's so much fun to sing and dance with my friends from school on stage. Every Thursday I go skiing with my ski club from school and I really enjoy it. For New Years Eve I met with the other exchange students in Saratoga and we had a great time. I also went to NYC a few weeks ago to see my older cousin and his family and I was so happy to spend a weekend with him. In November I went to Florida to Saratoga to visit my other cousin and her family. I had a great time at the beach and at the Mayaka State Park. It was great to see all the wild animals from so close. I'm looking forward to see my parents and sister at the end of March and I can't believe that there only 5 months left. Time goes so fast.
Sincerely, Eva Bosanac from Croatia w/ Middleburgh
Things are doing great for me. I changed families before Thanksgiving. I liked my old family but the new one is just perfect for me. My family members are great people and I'm having a lot more fun with them. My host sister is an actress and she's i the play M. Butterfly in Albany at the Capital Rep and it's definitly worth seeing it. My family took me on Wednesday to see her and we had such a great time. I'm also in the play at my school. We are doing Annie this year and it's so much fun to sing and dance with my friends from school on stage. Every Thursday I go skiing with my ski club from school and I really enjoy it. For New Years Eve I met with the other exchange students in Saratoga and we had a great time. I also went to NYC a few weeks ago to see my older cousin and his family and I was so happy to spend a weekend with him. In November I went to Florida to Saratoga to visit my other cousin and her family. I had a great time at the beach and at the Mayaka State Park. It was great to see all the wild animals from so close. I'm looking forward to see my parents and sister at the end of March and I can't believe that there only 5 months left. Time goes so fast.
Sincerely, Eva Bosanac from Croatia w/ Middleburgh
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Lauren Bardin -- Czech Republic
January 18, 2008
Ahoj,
Yes, it has been ages since I've last updated you. Sorry about that. Originally, I was waiting on purpose until after the holidays so I could tell you all about my experiences here, but the days after the holidays were just as busy. So, I have ample time now on this Friday afternoon before dinner with my host family. So, what has happened in the past month and a half?....
I went to Prague with the Rotary students and had a great time. I got some special tips from older ROTEX students about the city because I knew I would be venturing back soon to guide my cousins and friends around. I've really come to love the city, it's so amazing and I realize new things about it each time. I was in a great touring group with an intelligent leader (ROTEX) so we learned a lot about the history of people and architecture of buildings.
The next week was my birthday! I was a little worried about it because I knew it'd be different from home and I might feel forgotten. Also, I had a Rotary meeting that night and they are never really the highlight of my week. (I'm sure Rotary meetings at home are AWESOME though). Despite this, the day was fantastic. In school, my main class gave me a present and two girls gave me some cute gifts. My host family made me STUFFING (Stove Top that was sent from home) and chicken drum sticks and corn....YUM. And Rotary had a huge cake for me and they even sang happy birthday. My friend Kristen also had a cake because her birthday was the following week. We all thought we were getting out of our Czech speaches because of the cake and happy moods, but in a split second everything turned serious and it was time to stand up in front of everyone and speak Czech like you were fluent.&nbs! p; It wasn't too bad, although it was our first time in full Czech, so we were all very nervous. When I got home my host family gave me a photo album with pictures of us in it, it was really sweet. For "Happy Birthday" here, the person stands and shakes your hand and says, "Vsechno nejlepsi," which means "all the best." Even the kids do it, it seemed really formal but also sincere.
I'm sure there were a few early morning castle/church visits in the next couple weeks but I can't exactly pinpoint them. My host dad was really fond of taking me to them and getting pictures of the steples from every possible angle; some with me in them, some without, some with a tree branch, some without...these were intense moments for him. And I just clicked my camera haphazardly at everything I thought looked old. Nevertheless, I loved the visits.
Christmas holidays came very quickly and even though I had no school, it didn't feel like Christmas was in a few days. I wasn't very excited just because there was no leading up to it. I did sing Christmas songs in English class with my Australian friend on the last day of school, and that made me really happy, but outside of school, there wasn't much excitment going around. The houses didn't have decorations, their trees weren't put up (until the 23 or 24), there were no presents being wrapped and set under the tree. On the 23rd I went to a beautiful neighboring town with my host family and some of their friends. It was a nice visit but it was difficult because they were all being happy and loving towards each other and I knew my family was doing the same...but without me. The next day was Christmas(for Czech Republic). They celebrate everything on the 24th because they don't believe in Santa and that's just how their traditi! on has been. The morning was quiet, then we had a small lunch and went on a walk in the woods. There was no snow, but we had frozen fog, which was gorgeous and like nothing I'd ever seen before. Every tree branch, shrub branch, and blade of grass was individually iced over with snow/ice. It was similar to a cartoon; like when a bad guy fires ice at someone to freeze them, and they are frozen in place while running and their traces of motion are frozen also. Did that make any sense?? As I said, it's like nothing I'd ever seen before, so it's difficult to explain. But try and picture fog moving fast through the air and then immediately being frozen on everything. Anyway, it was pretty. After the walk, we decorated the tree, which was small and reminded me of a Charlie Brown christmas tree. Once it was decorated it was cute though and definitely had character. (They even put chocolate on their trees).&! nbsp; We soon at dinner, which is always carp soup, fried carp! , and po tato salad. .....yummmm..?? I wasn't too excited, but I tried it anyway. It wasn't as bad as I expected because it was fried and lost a lot of its flavor. Don't ask me why they eat carp, I asked many times and no one had an answer, they just do. (I like our prime rib or roasted ham better). After dinner we opened all the gifts. Oh! But first! My host sister played her oversized recorder, my other host sister recited some poem, and then I was put on the spot and they begged me to sing. I have no idea where they got the idea that I could or would actually do that, but they insisted. I finally convinced them that I was not a good singer and I never told them that, so then I just got to recite something also. Phewf, that was awkward. So then we opened presents. That was fun, it was cute to see everyones' reactions when they opened the gifts I gave them too. The next day I went to another fami! ly's house for the day. They have just taken a liking to me and have kind of adopted me as their part-time daughter, because their daughter is on exchange in America and their son goes to college in Nebraska. I visited other families with them, which is all the following days are made for; visiting with family and friends. They gave me ice skates for Christmas and the next day the mom and I went together. It was so much fun because I hadn't been in about 10 years....but she was really good; going backwards and doing loop things. Then I'd get stuck sailing through an intense ice hockey match with middle aged men charging after pucks flying 100 mph. It was fun though, it felt like a real Christmas after the ice skating for some reason.
The rest of the days went by as normal vacation days and all I could think about was my cousins and friends coming! On the 28th I went to Prague and met up with a friend who showed me all around the city and let me sleep at his host family's flat so I could meet my visitors early the next morning at the airport. All went well with them; we traveled back to Trebic for one night to met my host family and friends and see my town. Then we traveled back to Prague for the rest of the week; in which we toured everything/everywhere and ate some delicious food and had some great experiences. New Year's Eve was better than I ever thought it would be. We met up with some friends of mine from Trebic/Australia and headed to the main square, Wenceslas Square, where there were hundreds of people and millions of fireworks. These fireworks weren't like American fireworks....nooooooo..they were....much more dangerous! Everyone (you can bu! y any fireworks at any store...I did it in Trebic a few times before and had a blast) had fireworks and set them off everywhere and anywhere. Our group found a perfect standing spot in the middle of the length of the square and just observed. There was a show everywhere you looked and you had to be cautious at all times otherwise you'd have a spark hit you. (I didn't get hit, Tyler, on the other hand, haha...he fell over when it hit him because he was so shocked). Don't worry moms, it wasn't that dangerous. At one point during the night a tram stopped in the middle of the square and it was literally ATTACKED by people with fireworks.....ten seconds later, everyone was rushing out of the tram as it filled with smoke. The center looked like a war zone; smoke everywhere so you could hardly see the opposite side of the street, random explosions every couple seconds, and people running back and forth from side to side. It truly was amazi! ng, I would definitely make a trip back to Prague for another ! New Year s.
This past weekend I had to say goodbye to my best friend here, John, the Australian. He had to return home because his year was up as an exchange student(Australia has different seasons so they go from Jan.-Jan.). That was definitely the hardest time here so far. The next day I switched host families and now I'm with my new family....still trying to figure out if it's going to be okay or not. I was supposed to go to a different family, but that changed last minute, and now I'm living with Youth Exchange Office, who....was never really my favorite person in Trebic. But, he has a caring wife and a nice,fun son, so I think things will be fine.
Let's see...upcoming plans.... I'm going to a ski week in 2 weeks to the Sumava Mountains on the border of CR and Austria. I'm excited about that, although I'm sure I'll have a few sores and bruises when I return. I may be heading to Germany in March to visit a friend! I'm getting really excited about Doug visiting me in late Feb. or early March. I'm tryign to think of some fun, adventurous things to do with him here but I've been told to avoid hiking the mountains because avalanches are common.
The weeks are flying by faster than I can keep up with them and each day seems like it disappears before I realize it's begun. I was told the second half of the year goes by even faster than the first, but I don't know if that's possible. I don't know why it's flying by so fast but it truly is.
I hope everyone is enjoying what winter we have at home. I've heard it's nothing to brag about this year, but I think that's how it is everywhere. I hope you all had a pretty Christmas and New Year and have a great start to 2008!!!
Take care everyone, I miss you all!!!!! Love, Lauren
Ahoj,
Yes, it has been ages since I've last updated you. Sorry about that. Originally, I was waiting on purpose until after the holidays so I could tell you all about my experiences here, but the days after the holidays were just as busy. So, I have ample time now on this Friday afternoon before dinner with my host family. So, what has happened in the past month and a half?....
I went to Prague with the Rotary students and had a great time. I got some special tips from older ROTEX students about the city because I knew I would be venturing back soon to guide my cousins and friends around. I've really come to love the city, it's so amazing and I realize new things about it each time. I was in a great touring group with an intelligent leader (ROTEX) so we learned a lot about the history of people and architecture of buildings.
The next week was my birthday! I was a little worried about it because I knew it'd be different from home and I might feel forgotten. Also, I had a Rotary meeting that night and they are never really the highlight of my week. (I'm sure Rotary meetings at home are AWESOME though). Despite this, the day was fantastic. In school, my main class gave me a present and two girls gave me some cute gifts. My host family made me STUFFING (Stove Top that was sent from home) and chicken drum sticks and corn....YUM. And Rotary had a huge cake for me and they even sang happy birthday. My friend Kristen also had a cake because her birthday was the following week. We all thought we were getting out of our Czech speaches because of the cake and happy moods, but in a split second everything turned serious and it was time to stand up in front of everyone and speak Czech like you were fluent.&nbs! p; It wasn't too bad, although it was our first time in full Czech, so we were all very nervous. When I got home my host family gave me a photo album with pictures of us in it, it was really sweet. For "Happy Birthday" here, the person stands and shakes your hand and says, "Vsechno nejlepsi," which means "all the best." Even the kids do it, it seemed really formal but also sincere.
I'm sure there were a few early morning castle/church visits in the next couple weeks but I can't exactly pinpoint them. My host dad was really fond of taking me to them and getting pictures of the steples from every possible angle; some with me in them, some without, some with a tree branch, some without...these were intense moments for him. And I just clicked my camera haphazardly at everything I thought looked old. Nevertheless, I loved the visits.
Christmas holidays came very quickly and even though I had no school, it didn't feel like Christmas was in a few days. I wasn't very excited just because there was no leading up to it. I did sing Christmas songs in English class with my Australian friend on the last day of school, and that made me really happy, but outside of school, there wasn't much excitment going around. The houses didn't have decorations, their trees weren't put up (until the 23 or 24), there were no presents being wrapped and set under the tree. On the 23rd I went to a beautiful neighboring town with my host family and some of their friends. It was a nice visit but it was difficult because they were all being happy and loving towards each other and I knew my family was doing the same...but without me. The next day was Christmas(for Czech Republic). They celebrate everything on the 24th because they don't believe in Santa and that's just how their traditi! on has been. The morning was quiet, then we had a small lunch and went on a walk in the woods. There was no snow, but we had frozen fog, which was gorgeous and like nothing I'd ever seen before. Every tree branch, shrub branch, and blade of grass was individually iced over with snow/ice. It was similar to a cartoon; like when a bad guy fires ice at someone to freeze them, and they are frozen in place while running and their traces of motion are frozen also. Did that make any sense?? As I said, it's like nothing I'd ever seen before, so it's difficult to explain. But try and picture fog moving fast through the air and then immediately being frozen on everything. Anyway, it was pretty. After the walk, we decorated the tree, which was small and reminded me of a Charlie Brown christmas tree. Once it was decorated it was cute though and definitely had character. (They even put chocolate on their trees).&! nbsp; We soon at dinner, which is always carp soup, fried carp! , and po tato salad. .....yummmm..?? I wasn't too excited, but I tried it anyway. It wasn't as bad as I expected because it was fried and lost a lot of its flavor. Don't ask me why they eat carp, I asked many times and no one had an answer, they just do. (I like our prime rib or roasted ham better). After dinner we opened all the gifts. Oh! But first! My host sister played her oversized recorder, my other host sister recited some poem, and then I was put on the spot and they begged me to sing. I have no idea where they got the idea that I could or would actually do that, but they insisted. I finally convinced them that I was not a good singer and I never told them that, so then I just got to recite something also. Phewf, that was awkward. So then we opened presents. That was fun, it was cute to see everyones' reactions when they opened the gifts I gave them too. The next day I went to another fami! ly's house for the day. They have just taken a liking to me and have kind of adopted me as their part-time daughter, because their daughter is on exchange in America and their son goes to college in Nebraska. I visited other families with them, which is all the following days are made for; visiting with family and friends. They gave me ice skates for Christmas and the next day the mom and I went together. It was so much fun because I hadn't been in about 10 years....but she was really good; going backwards and doing loop things. Then I'd get stuck sailing through an intense ice hockey match with middle aged men charging after pucks flying 100 mph. It was fun though, it felt like a real Christmas after the ice skating for some reason.
The rest of the days went by as normal vacation days and all I could think about was my cousins and friends coming! On the 28th I went to Prague and met up with a friend who showed me all around the city and let me sleep at his host family's flat so I could meet my visitors early the next morning at the airport. All went well with them; we traveled back to Trebic for one night to met my host family and friends and see my town. Then we traveled back to Prague for the rest of the week; in which we toured everything/everywhere and ate some delicious food and had some great experiences. New Year's Eve was better than I ever thought it would be. We met up with some friends of mine from Trebic/Australia and headed to the main square, Wenceslas Square, where there were hundreds of people and millions of fireworks. These fireworks weren't like American fireworks....nooooooo..they were....much more dangerous! Everyone (you can bu! y any fireworks at any store...I did it in Trebic a few times before and had a blast) had fireworks and set them off everywhere and anywhere. Our group found a perfect standing spot in the middle of the length of the square and just observed. There was a show everywhere you looked and you had to be cautious at all times otherwise you'd have a spark hit you. (I didn't get hit, Tyler, on the other hand, haha...he fell over when it hit him because he was so shocked). Don't worry moms, it wasn't that dangerous. At one point during the night a tram stopped in the middle of the square and it was literally ATTACKED by people with fireworks.....ten seconds later, everyone was rushing out of the tram as it filled with smoke. The center looked like a war zone; smoke everywhere so you could hardly see the opposite side of the street, random explosions every couple seconds, and people running back and forth from side to side. It truly was amazi! ng, I would definitely make a trip back to Prague for another ! New Year s.
This past weekend I had to say goodbye to my best friend here, John, the Australian. He had to return home because his year was up as an exchange student(Australia has different seasons so they go from Jan.-Jan.). That was definitely the hardest time here so far. The next day I switched host families and now I'm with my new family....still trying to figure out if it's going to be okay or not. I was supposed to go to a different family, but that changed last minute, and now I'm living with Youth Exchange Office, who....was never really my favorite person in Trebic. But, he has a caring wife and a nice,fun son, so I think things will be fine.
Let's see...upcoming plans.... I'm going to a ski week in 2 weeks to the Sumava Mountains on the border of CR and Austria. I'm excited about that, although I'm sure I'll have a few sores and bruises when I return. I may be heading to Germany in March to visit a friend! I'm getting really excited about Doug visiting me in late Feb. or early March. I'm tryign to think of some fun, adventurous things to do with him here but I've been told to avoid hiking the mountains because avalanches are common.
The weeks are flying by faster than I can keep up with them and each day seems like it disappears before I realize it's begun. I was told the second half of the year goes by even faster than the first, but I don't know if that's possible. I don't know why it's flying by so fast but it truly is.
I hope everyone is enjoying what winter we have at home. I've heard it's nothing to brag about this year, but I think that's how it is everywhere. I hope you all had a pretty Christmas and New Year and have a great start to 2008!!!
Take care everyone, I miss you all!!!!! Love, Lauren
Monday, January 21, 2008
Kristen Kilpeck -- Mexico
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Hello everyone!
I´m sorry that i haven´t written sooner, but i changed my host family and they brought me to Acapulco!! let´s see.. december and january have been incredibly busy for me. i got out of school the 5th of december, and from then on it was hanging out with friends, getting to know how to cook, helping out around the house.. and then i went to oaxaca to stay at my grandmother´s for almost three weeks to celebrate the holiday seasons. it´s more of a city so i went to the movies, went to a a carnival.. and then my uncles and aunts brought me to all the touristy places, like the ancient ruins of monte alban and mitla, the 2000 year old tree; el tule, santo domingo, the oaxaqueñan regional museum, i went to see how they traditionally make pottery and to the old markets and everything. i celebrated christmas and new years by breaking piñatas and eating grapes (mexican tradition). they also have another holiday called Dia de los Reyes where the three wise men supposedly come to bring gifts.. it´s like santa claus, but makes more sense biblicly and it´s on the 6th of january. and they accompany it with more piñatas and the breaking of a bread in the shape of a wreath with little plastic figures inside of it. so i celebrated my birthday the 9th of january, but didn´t do anything accept go out to a restaurant with the rotary club adn eat cake. then i changed houses the 11th, and i´m currently living with doribel and juan ramon guitirrez. it´s an amazing house, a more than realistic family.. i love it. they give me chores, we communicate very well, i help a lot and i feel like i´m part of the family. i started school today b-c i got back from acapulco yesterday. everything´s going well, i don´t think i missed anything. i hope all´s going well in new york!!
kristen kilpeck (puerto escondido, mexico)
Hello everyone!
I´m sorry that i haven´t written sooner, but i changed my host family and they brought me to Acapulco!! let´s see.. december and january have been incredibly busy for me. i got out of school the 5th of december, and from then on it was hanging out with friends, getting to know how to cook, helping out around the house.. and then i went to oaxaca to stay at my grandmother´s for almost three weeks to celebrate the holiday seasons. it´s more of a city so i went to the movies, went to a a carnival.. and then my uncles and aunts brought me to all the touristy places, like the ancient ruins of monte alban and mitla, the 2000 year old tree; el tule, santo domingo, the oaxaqueñan regional museum, i went to see how they traditionally make pottery and to the old markets and everything. i celebrated christmas and new years by breaking piñatas and eating grapes (mexican tradition). they also have another holiday called Dia de los Reyes where the three wise men supposedly come to bring gifts.. it´s like santa claus, but makes more sense biblicly and it´s on the 6th of january. and they accompany it with more piñatas and the breaking of a bread in the shape of a wreath with little plastic figures inside of it. so i celebrated my birthday the 9th of january, but didn´t do anything accept go out to a restaurant with the rotary club adn eat cake. then i changed houses the 11th, and i´m currently living with doribel and juan ramon guitirrez. it´s an amazing house, a more than realistic family.. i love it. they give me chores, we communicate very well, i help a lot and i feel like i´m part of the family. i started school today b-c i got back from acapulco yesterday. everything´s going well, i don´t think i missed anything. i hope all´s going well in new york!!
kristen kilpeck (puerto escondido, mexico)
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Rachel Hoffmann -- Bolivia
January 12, 2008
Hey Everyone!
First of all I hope everyone had a great Christmas and a very happy New Year. I can't believe it is 2008 and I've almost been here for 5 months already. I'm almost halfway over, which is kind of scary because it has gone by so fast!
Well I have had the best month of my life, I would say. Christmas was so much fun, I spent it with my family here. They do things different, and pretty much celebrate it all on Christmas Eve. We had a nice dinner, opened presents, and then watched fireworks which were going off all over the city. On the corner my neighbors were setting some off too, it would definately be illegal in the US, because it didnt seem too safe to me. It was really pretty though, I went on the roof and in all directions you could see the fireworks. It sounded like a warzone though. My family gave me really pretty earrings with the jewel called the bolivianita. It has tones of purple, yellow, and clear, and apparently Bolivia is known for it, hints the name. My family isnt really religious so they didnt go to church. The plaza was all decorated with lights on the palmtrees and angels and colors. It was really pretty, but I am kind of glad it is over now and the decorations are down because it feels like people stopped lying to us saying that it was Christmas. I didnt really miss everyone more than usual because it just didnt feel like the holidays.
Two days after Christmas I left for Brasil with four other exchange students and my two aunts and cousin. We decided that we really wanted to take a trip to a different country, and worked really hard to make it work out, but in the end it was perfect. My aunt is a member of Rotary so that worked out really well. It left me broke, but it was honestly the best time I have ever had in my life, and I wouldnt change a thing. The trip there took three days. Split up between a rickety train that hit bumps and you would go flying from your seat, and once we crossed the border, nice buses on smooth, paved roads with actual lines and traffic laws. Honestly the minute we crossed the border into Brasil, in Corumbu, it felt like a differnet world almost. Their economy is so much better than that of Bolivia. It was really cool because we did it all through a tour company, so all together we had four buses worth of Bolivians, including 5 gringos. I feel like my spanish actually improved because most of the time we were hanging out with our Bolivian friends that we made on the trip. There were a lot of kids my age, families, and then people in their 20s and 30s. By the end we were famous for being the gringos who spoke like Bolivians. Everyone loved us, it was so much fun.
For the most part we hung out on the beach for the whole day, got a little sunburned the first day, until we realized it was a good idea to spend money on an umbrella. Everyone would laugh at us, we were like 5 little shrimp walking around with a bunch of nicely tanned bolivians. The hotel we stayed in was called Blumenau and it was only two blocks from the beach, which was so convenient. Oh the city we went to first with the beach is called Camboriu. It was so touristy, but it made it more safe, there was tons to do, a lot of people to meet, places to go, and who cares when you are at the ocean! Most nights we'd just rent chairs and sit with our friends on the beach, other nights the guides who were only a little older than me, would take us to the clubs. It was so much fun, they taught us Brasilian dances and songs. The guys in brasil dance so differently than guys in America or even Bolivia. They actually dance! It was so cool to watch them. My friend Zane from Minnesota even had a little brakedance-off with a kid from Argentina or something like that. It was so much fun.
For the New Years party everyone on the beach was wearing white. Our tour group had a section just for us with cabanas set up, and we shared that tent with some friends we met. My aunts were in another, and the boys got invited to tents of these cute Bolivian girls so they were pretty excited. At 12 they set off fireworks over the water. We ended up partying on the beach for the whole night until the sun came up. A tradition in Brasil for New Years is to jump 12 waves on one foot, and for each wave you jump you make a wish. Well by the 5th wave it was hard to remember what to wish for, and I was just trying not to fall completely in the water. The sunrise was the most beautiful thing ever, and was a perfect start to the new year.
Oh and for New Years we ended up meeting up with a friend of Zane's(from Minnesota) his friend Daniel is also from Minnesota and is on his exchange in Florianopolis, Brasil. His friend has a house on the beach in Camboriu, so he decided to meet us there. So it was weird enough meeting someone Zane knew from his town in Minnesota, but when I met his Brasilian friend with the aunt, I looked at his shirt, and realized that he was an exchange student to Cooperstown, NY last year. We got talking and it turns out he was at the same district conference as Lauren and I when we went to the casino. It really is a small world.
We took a trip one day to a private island from this pirate ship. we swam all day and got more tan. we ended up meeting this couple who is taking a cruise all around south america, and they are from Chicago, so we chatted with them for a little while. On the way back the pirate ship stopped in the ocean and we got to jump off of it and swim. It was so much fun.
After about a week at the beach we left for the Foz de Iguazu. It is the biggest waterfall, and supposedly the most beautiful in the world. It is three times larger than Niagra. Niagra is apparently taller and has more water, but this is all spread out over like 3 km. It is on the border of Argentina. We took this safari ride through the jungles of Brasil and saw these spiders that were enourmous. I was really freaked out. I told the bolivians behind me to kill anything they saw on me, but to not tell me first. The forest was full of butterflies and the most beautiful one I saw was the brightest blue ever on the top and brown on the bottom. It was huge. I also saw a Tucan in the trees. Our guides name was Jefferson, and he said that there are 6 types of poisenous snakes there. He spoke portuguese, spanish, and english.
When our safari thing was done we arrived at this river and there a boat was waiting for us. It was kind of inflatable, but kind of a real boat too with a motor. I dont know how to describe it. I couldnt hear the waterfall yet or see it so I was kind of wondering what was going to happen. We had the best seat in the boat by far, right at the front. As the boat took us up the river I finally started to hear the roar of the waterfall. We passed a corner and there it was. There were two parts and I was so excited to see the first part that I didnt even notice the second bigger part to my left. It was honestly the most beautiful and amazing thing I have ever seen in my life. Then the boat jerked us closer to the waterfall and drove under it a bit, in this part thats called La Boca del Diablo (devil's mouth). I have never been so happy in my life. There was this huge rush of excitement, and freedom. Just the fact that we were being dumped on by tons of water from this huge waterfall was so amazing. The boat did a little vuelta a few times and we got so soaked. It felt like I went swimming. It was so amazing. I dont know how else to discribe it. I think I was honestly in a daze for the rest of the time because I was just so happy. I didnt think it could get better than that. Well this cart took us back to the main tourist part and we walk out, and it did get better, we had a full view of the waterfall. I walked out on this creepy bridge that goes to the middle, and we took pictures. I didnt have any doubts before, but this site was just so amazing that it reassured that there is a God. I dont know how else to describe it. Being soaked by the mist from the waterfall and walking out and looking down it, to see a rainbow, I just felt so happy and there was not a care in the world. You all have to visit it now! For me it was like all of the good times I had that past week, and everything I loved about Brasil, put into one huge waterfall. haha.
We spent two nights there, then headed back for Bolivia. On the way we stopped at the boarder of Brasil, Paraguay, and Argentina. It was cool you could see the flags and they were all seperated by the river. I didnt step foot in the other countries, but I did see Paraguay, and I was splashed by Argentinian water, so I feel like it should count that Ive kind of been there.
Three more days on the train and bus, and we finally arrived back in Santa Cruz. I was a little sad when we came back because I just realized that Bolivia economically is a really depressing place, and the poverty is so apparent, not like in Brasil. But the good thing was that I was really excited to come home. That's what it felt like too, I felt like I was coming home to Santa Cruz. I couldnt wait to see my family and friends. The thing that I love was that I got the chance to take a vacation to Brasil. It's so different than my experience here in Bolivia, because I live here, I experience it every day like a Bolivian, kind of. But to be able to travel like that just for a vacation was the best thing ever. It was worth every penny, and I now want to learn Portuguese, and hopefully some day I will make it back to Brasil.
Next Saturday I leave for my trip around Bolivia for two weeks. I am so incredibly excited for this because I get to learn all about Bolivia even more. We are visiting almost all of the important cities in Bolivia. It will be so much fun. When I get back from that Carnaval starts, then after that I start classes again.
I will keep in touch, I hope you all enjoy my email. I wish you the best new year, because mine seems so be going great so far!
I miss you all and hope everyone is well.
Hey Everyone!
First of all I hope everyone had a great Christmas and a very happy New Year. I can't believe it is 2008 and I've almost been here for 5 months already. I'm almost halfway over, which is kind of scary because it has gone by so fast!
Well I have had the best month of my life, I would say. Christmas was so much fun, I spent it with my family here. They do things different, and pretty much celebrate it all on Christmas Eve. We had a nice dinner, opened presents, and then watched fireworks which were going off all over the city. On the corner my neighbors were setting some off too, it would definately be illegal in the US, because it didnt seem too safe to me. It was really pretty though, I went on the roof and in all directions you could see the fireworks. It sounded like a warzone though. My family gave me really pretty earrings with the jewel called the bolivianita. It has tones of purple, yellow, and clear, and apparently Bolivia is known for it, hints the name. My family isnt really religious so they didnt go to church. The plaza was all decorated with lights on the palmtrees and angels and colors. It was really pretty, but I am kind of glad it is over now and the decorations are down because it feels like people stopped lying to us saying that it was Christmas. I didnt really miss everyone more than usual because it just didnt feel like the holidays.
Two days after Christmas I left for Brasil with four other exchange students and my two aunts and cousin. We decided that we really wanted to take a trip to a different country, and worked really hard to make it work out, but in the end it was perfect. My aunt is a member of Rotary so that worked out really well. It left me broke, but it was honestly the best time I have ever had in my life, and I wouldnt change a thing. The trip there took three days. Split up between a rickety train that hit bumps and you would go flying from your seat, and once we crossed the border, nice buses on smooth, paved roads with actual lines and traffic laws. Honestly the minute we crossed the border into Brasil, in Corumbu, it felt like a differnet world almost. Their economy is so much better than that of Bolivia. It was really cool because we did it all through a tour company, so all together we had four buses worth of Bolivians, including 5 gringos. I feel like my spanish actually improved because most of the time we were hanging out with our Bolivian friends that we made on the trip. There were a lot of kids my age, families, and then people in their 20s and 30s. By the end we were famous for being the gringos who spoke like Bolivians. Everyone loved us, it was so much fun.
For the most part we hung out on the beach for the whole day, got a little sunburned the first day, until we realized it was a good idea to spend money on an umbrella. Everyone would laugh at us, we were like 5 little shrimp walking around with a bunch of nicely tanned bolivians. The hotel we stayed in was called Blumenau and it was only two blocks from the beach, which was so convenient. Oh the city we went to first with the beach is called Camboriu. It was so touristy, but it made it more safe, there was tons to do, a lot of people to meet, places to go, and who cares when you are at the ocean! Most nights we'd just rent chairs and sit with our friends on the beach, other nights the guides who were only a little older than me, would take us to the clubs. It was so much fun, they taught us Brasilian dances and songs. The guys in brasil dance so differently than guys in America or even Bolivia. They actually dance! It was so cool to watch them. My friend Zane from Minnesota even had a little brakedance-off with a kid from Argentina or something like that. It was so much fun.
For the New Years party everyone on the beach was wearing white. Our tour group had a section just for us with cabanas set up, and we shared that tent with some friends we met. My aunts were in another, and the boys got invited to tents of these cute Bolivian girls so they were pretty excited. At 12 they set off fireworks over the water. We ended up partying on the beach for the whole night until the sun came up. A tradition in Brasil for New Years is to jump 12 waves on one foot, and for each wave you jump you make a wish. Well by the 5th wave it was hard to remember what to wish for, and I was just trying not to fall completely in the water. The sunrise was the most beautiful thing ever, and was a perfect start to the new year.
Oh and for New Years we ended up meeting up with a friend of Zane's(from Minnesota) his friend Daniel is also from Minnesota and is on his exchange in Florianopolis, Brasil. His friend has a house on the beach in Camboriu, so he decided to meet us there. So it was weird enough meeting someone Zane knew from his town in Minnesota, but when I met his Brasilian friend with the aunt, I looked at his shirt, and realized that he was an exchange student to Cooperstown, NY last year. We got talking and it turns out he was at the same district conference as Lauren and I when we went to the casino. It really is a small world.
We took a trip one day to a private island from this pirate ship. we swam all day and got more tan. we ended up meeting this couple who is taking a cruise all around south america, and they are from Chicago, so we chatted with them for a little while. On the way back the pirate ship stopped in the ocean and we got to jump off of it and swim. It was so much fun.
After about a week at the beach we left for the Foz de Iguazu. It is the biggest waterfall, and supposedly the most beautiful in the world. It is three times larger than Niagra. Niagra is apparently taller and has more water, but this is all spread out over like 3 km. It is on the border of Argentina. We took this safari ride through the jungles of Brasil and saw these spiders that were enourmous. I was really freaked out. I told the bolivians behind me to kill anything they saw on me, but to not tell me first. The forest was full of butterflies and the most beautiful one I saw was the brightest blue ever on the top and brown on the bottom. It was huge. I also saw a Tucan in the trees. Our guides name was Jefferson, and he said that there are 6 types of poisenous snakes there. He spoke portuguese, spanish, and english.
When our safari thing was done we arrived at this river and there a boat was waiting for us. It was kind of inflatable, but kind of a real boat too with a motor. I dont know how to describe it. I couldnt hear the waterfall yet or see it so I was kind of wondering what was going to happen. We had the best seat in the boat by far, right at the front. As the boat took us up the river I finally started to hear the roar of the waterfall. We passed a corner and there it was. There were two parts and I was so excited to see the first part that I didnt even notice the second bigger part to my left. It was honestly the most beautiful and amazing thing I have ever seen in my life. Then the boat jerked us closer to the waterfall and drove under it a bit, in this part thats called La Boca del Diablo (devil's mouth). I have never been so happy in my life. There was this huge rush of excitement, and freedom. Just the fact that we were being dumped on by tons of water from this huge waterfall was so amazing. The boat did a little vuelta a few times and we got so soaked. It felt like I went swimming. It was so amazing. I dont know how else to discribe it. I think I was honestly in a daze for the rest of the time because I was just so happy. I didnt think it could get better than that. Well this cart took us back to the main tourist part and we walk out, and it did get better, we had a full view of the waterfall. I walked out on this creepy bridge that goes to the middle, and we took pictures. I didnt have any doubts before, but this site was just so amazing that it reassured that there is a God. I dont know how else to describe it. Being soaked by the mist from the waterfall and walking out and looking down it, to see a rainbow, I just felt so happy and there was not a care in the world. You all have to visit it now! For me it was like all of the good times I had that past week, and everything I loved about Brasil, put into one huge waterfall. haha.
We spent two nights there, then headed back for Bolivia. On the way we stopped at the boarder of Brasil, Paraguay, and Argentina. It was cool you could see the flags and they were all seperated by the river. I didnt step foot in the other countries, but I did see Paraguay, and I was splashed by Argentinian water, so I feel like it should count that Ive kind of been there.
Three more days on the train and bus, and we finally arrived back in Santa Cruz. I was a little sad when we came back because I just realized that Bolivia economically is a really depressing place, and the poverty is so apparent, not like in Brasil. But the good thing was that I was really excited to come home. That's what it felt like too, I felt like I was coming home to Santa Cruz. I couldnt wait to see my family and friends. The thing that I love was that I got the chance to take a vacation to Brasil. It's so different than my experience here in Bolivia, because I live here, I experience it every day like a Bolivian, kind of. But to be able to travel like that just for a vacation was the best thing ever. It was worth every penny, and I now want to learn Portuguese, and hopefully some day I will make it back to Brasil.
Next Saturday I leave for my trip around Bolivia for two weeks. I am so incredibly excited for this because I get to learn all about Bolivia even more. We are visiting almost all of the important cities in Bolivia. It will be so much fun. When I get back from that Carnaval starts, then after that I start classes again.
I will keep in touch, I hope you all enjoy my email. I wish you the best new year, because mine seems so be going great so far!
I miss you all and hope everyone is well.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Milind Rupchandani -- Albany, from India
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January 11, 2008
Happy 2008!!!
I changed my host family last month and I celebrated my Christmas with them and also my birthday which is on Christmas day. It was a lot of fun.
I celebrated New Year with all other exchange students in Saratoga.
School is going good. Everything is alright. My health is good and getting used to cold.
We also made a snow man and an snow angel.
Happy 2008!!!
I changed my host family last month and I celebrated my Christmas with them and also my birthday which is on Christmas day. It was a lot of fun.
I celebrated New Year with all other exchange students in Saratoga.
School is going good. Everything is alright. My health is good and getting used to cold.
We also made a snow man and an snow angel.
Alice Kelly -- Spain
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Hello Everyone! Feliz Año Nuevo de España! Everything has been going well here. I celebrated Christmas and Reyes with my family, the 3 wise men brought me presents and I got to eat a lot of good spanish food! It was hard of course to be away from my family during the holidays but my host family helped me through it! I´m very excited because my parents and my brother will be visiting me in December and we´ll travel a bit in Spain. I´ll be able to show the the Alhambra in Granada, which I went to last month, it was wonderful. I also found out that I´m going to be visiting Paris with my school in March. So everything has been going great! The language is even comming along better, mostly thanks to my host mom´s dedication. I hope everyone is having a wonderful time!!!
Alice Kelly, Torrevieja, Spain
Hello Everyone! Feliz Año Nuevo de España! Everything has been going well here. I celebrated Christmas and Reyes with my family, the 3 wise men brought me presents and I got to eat a lot of good spanish food! It was hard of course to be away from my family during the holidays but my host family helped me through it! I´m very excited because my parents and my brother will be visiting me in December and we´ll travel a bit in Spain. I´ll be able to show the the Alhambra in Granada, which I went to last month, it was wonderful. I also found out that I´m going to be visiting Paris with my school in March. So everything has been going great! The language is even comming along better, mostly thanks to my host mom´s dedication. I hope everyone is having a wonderful time!!!
Alice Kelly, Torrevieja, Spain
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Whitney Brown -- Belgium
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Gelukkig Nieuwjaar Everyone!! Well I can truly say, this has been an amazing year!!! This month alone has been great! I was off from school for most of the month, so I got to do a lot of site seeing. My friend Nichole from Cooperstown, NY is an exchange student in West Flanders, so I went to visit her for three days. And then she came to visit me in my city for 3 days. It was a ton of fun. We also took day trips to Gent and Antwerp and also toured Rodenbach Brewery! I made another day trip to Antwerp and also Hasselt with groups of exchange students to do some site seeing and ice skatinggg! My host mom took me to the Museum of Fine Art in Antwerp and also to visit the christmas market. Belgium is so beautiful during the holiday season! Each town has a christmas market for at least 2 weeks and an open air skating rink for a month. Everything is all light up and there are vendors in the shopping streets selling roasted chestnuts. In front of each town's cathedral in the grote markt are life size mangers.... with real animals (a donkey, sheep, goats, sheep, ducks, chickens)!! Its great!!! The holiday season has been difficult though... not being with my family for the first time during the holidays. I miss you all very much, but my host family tried really hard to make christmas special for me. (Their daughter is in Chile on exchange, so they know what I'm going through.) We had a great christmas eve dinner and I went to Belgian christmas eve mass. Christmas day, all of their family came over and we had Fondu. It was a fun time!
Last night my host family took me out to a really nice restaurant for a going away dinner. And today I packed up all of my things. Tomorrow I am going to Brussels and celebrating New Years Eve there with some exchange student friends. Then on New year's day I move to my second host families house. But I won't be unpacking until two days later because once I get there, we are going to Holland to visit some of their family.... this second host family is originally from Holland. Then on Wednesday, I go on a day trip to Brugge (a city named to be the most beautiful in Belgium - famous for its picturesque canals) with Rotary.
So it will be a busy next few days. And I have so much already planned for the new year... time is flying by!
Thank you all for your Christmas wishes. I miss you all and wish you a happy and healthy new year!!
P.S. My new mailing address while I am living with my second host family is...
Whitney Brown
Larikslaan 1
2460 Lichtaart
Belgium
Gelukkig Nieuwjaar Everyone!! Well I can truly say, this has been an amazing year!!! This month alone has been great! I was off from school for most of the month, so I got to do a lot of site seeing. My friend Nichole from Cooperstown, NY is an exchange student in West Flanders, so I went to visit her for three days. And then she came to visit me in my city for 3 days. It was a ton of fun. We also took day trips to Gent and Antwerp and also toured Rodenbach Brewery! I made another day trip to Antwerp and also Hasselt with groups of exchange students to do some site seeing and ice skatinggg! My host mom took me to the Museum of Fine Art in Antwerp and also to visit the christmas market. Belgium is so beautiful during the holiday season! Each town has a christmas market for at least 2 weeks and an open air skating rink for a month. Everything is all light up and there are vendors in the shopping streets selling roasted chestnuts. In front of each town's cathedral in the grote markt are life size mangers.... with real animals (a donkey, sheep, goats, sheep, ducks, chickens)!! Its great!!! The holiday season has been difficult though... not being with my family for the first time during the holidays. I miss you all very much, but my host family tried really hard to make christmas special for me. (Their daughter is in Chile on exchange, so they know what I'm going through.) We had a great christmas eve dinner and I went to Belgian christmas eve mass. Christmas day, all of their family came over and we had Fondu. It was a fun time!
Last night my host family took me out to a really nice restaurant for a going away dinner. And today I packed up all of my things. Tomorrow I am going to Brussels and celebrating New Years Eve there with some exchange student friends. Then on New year's day I move to my second host families house. But I won't be unpacking until two days later because once I get there, we are going to Holland to visit some of their family.... this second host family is originally from Holland. Then on Wednesday, I go on a day trip to Brugge (a city named to be the most beautiful in Belgium - famous for its picturesque canals) with Rotary.
So it will be a busy next few days. And I have so much already planned for the new year... time is flying by!
Thank you all for your Christmas wishes. I miss you all and wish you a happy and healthy new year!!
P.S. My new mailing address while I am living with my second host family is...
Whitney Brown
Larikslaan 1
2460 Lichtaart
Belgium
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