Gabe Gerhardt -- Brazil (Home Club: Cobleskill)

November 30, 2013

                So third month down and eight more to go till I come home. This month was pretty slow as school goes but outside of school it was pretty good. The school year is winding down and the lots of my friends at school were stuck studying and preparing for final exams. So at school it was pretty boring, but I was able to hangout and get to know the exchange students in my city. I started going to the movies and with them after our Portuguese class. I found out also that I can finally start watching movies in Portuguese without subtitles and understand it pretty well.

                This month I was able to go to the beach which was awesome. My third host father invited me and the rest of my family to spend the weekend at their house on the beach it was amazing. The first day we went to the beach and my host brother showed me this awesome rock that if you hit with it a hammer it makes the sound of bell when you hit it. The second day we went on this awesome hike into the jungle where we swam in this awesome waterfall. It was an awesome experience.

                Another awesome trip I got to go on was a visit to the Intuition of Batana which is a campus where they make anti venom for snakes and siders. If someone gets bit by a venomous snake or spider they can be airlifted to the intuition and injected with the anti-venom. They also have an awesome reptile house with every possible snake, frog, lizard, and spider that Brazil has to offer. I got to see a rattlesnake from the northwest of Brazil, a poison dart frog from the Amazon, and a 10 foot long boa constrictor. It was really cool to see.

                The biggest news that I have so far though is I will be changing families within the next two weeks. I am still a little nervous because I know who they are but I really don’t know what they are like and what their routine is. I want to still be able to do things like go out with my friends and continue doing Ju Jitsu but I unsure if they will let me or if they can take me. I explain this to my host mother and she was really awesome she is taking me to a couple of activates with my next family so I can talk and get to know them a little better.  I really am going to miss this family they have been so nice and have treated me just like their own. 

                So I guess that it, for now. A chapter closes and another opens, filled with experiences and adventure. Hope you all have a nice Thanksgiving and an awesome Christmas. 

Brendan Kelley -- Brazil (home club: Albany)

November 20, 2013

Everything is good here in Brazil.  It's VERY hot, usually above 40 degrees every day.  Right now I'm working on finding my next family.  My Portuguese is improving, I've been doing a lot of cool stuff.  I get to ride horses almost every week, and I swim almost every day.  

Hope everything is good in the states!

Lucy Holecek -- Belgium (home club: Albany)

November 19, 2013


Belgium is great I love it so much. It's very different, but I think it's good for me. I have been pretty homesick, but the past few weeks have been much better. I have made a lot of exchange friends and a few Belgian friends, but making more and more as the time goes by. My French is also getting better, but it's still difficult for me. I'm trying my best because I want my exchange to be the best it can be.

I've been in Belgium for about three months and I have already had the chance to go to Italy and France and in two weeks will be going to London.

My families are great they all live on the same street and they all try to do stuff with me. The time I went to Italy I actually went with all three of my host families it was great.

I'm looking forward to improve more and more as the time goes by. And I can't believe it's almost already been 100 days into my exchange.

It's a hard time, but it's worth the good times.

Lucy Holecek

Gabriel Gerhardt -- Brazil

26/10/13

October update

                Hey everyone. It has been a really big month. This month I got to go the city of Sao Paulo itself which was awesome. I got to see a lot of the sites like the Mercado principal which is like their version of the Boston market, where you can buy almost any food you want from Brazil. I also got to see Liberdad which is like their China Town. You can buy a lot of awesome things there that are really cheap which is rare here. The government puts a lot of taxes on everything so all the prices are really high. My father was telling me that 30 % of every Brazilian´s salary goes to paying taxes.

                 I also got the visit a different state, the state of Minas Gerias which was awesome. It one of the bread basket states so it is a really big industrial center and agricultural center. I really reminded me of Cobleskill with the rolling hills and all the farms. It was really nice to get out of the city and out into the country.

                Ju Jitsu has been great. I have made a lot of friends and my Ju Jitsu has improved a lot. My professor says  that I am really strong on the ground but I still need to work on my posture which I will learn in time. One of my teammates has invited to his wedding in December which I am really looking forward to. I really want to see if a Brazilian wedding is any different from an American wedding. Also in December I will be able to compete in my first competition in Sao Paulo, which I  think will be awesome.   

                My school is also celebrating Halloween so they have asked me to help organize the event and make a presentation on Halloween all in Portuguese which maybe hard but I think I will do just fine.

                 So, one more month down, one more chapter in my exchange, and a ton of memories to remember when I am done. Hope everything is going well with you guys at home I look forward to hearing what you guys are dong at home.

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13/9/13

September update

My trip so far has been really good. I really haven’t been having any problems with the language I can understand what they are saying pretty well, but I have trouble sometimes pronouncing the words. To improve this I have asked for help from my English teacher and in return I have been helping out in my school with the English classes.

I also started going to the gym and I am starting Ju Jitsu. It is really fun and I love to do it. It is a great way to keep fit and meeting friends. I also can practice my Portuguese there which is great. I think I have learned more Portuguese there than I have in school because I am forced to really pay attention to what they are saying and forced to ask question.

My school is great everyone is really receptive to me and helps me out a lot. The students like to practice their English with me and in turn I practice my Portuguese with them. The teachers like to ask me a lot about the US foreign policy though which is like a balancing act because I don’t want to say the wrong thing. I like to ask them a lot though about their politics specifically about Vargas there leader during the 1930s because  I find it interesting how if  you ask one Brazilian what they think of  Vargas they say he was the best thing that happened, if you ask another he was the worst thing that happened. 

Rotary here is really big, every town I go to I see a rotary sign or symbol. They are also are big into an organization called ROTEX which is a club for ex foreign exchange student. They organize trips and community service projects which is awesome because I can participate in them and get to see more of the sites.

I love it here and so far I haven’t been having any problems. Hope everything is going well there.  

Shilo Christiansen -- Japan (Home Club: Cobleskill)

November 7, 2013

Late again, time really flies! I didn't even know it was November until yesterday! How is everyone doing?

11/07/2013

Host Rotary Club: 7190

Sponsor Rotary Club: 2560

Current Host Family: Minami

Counselor Name: Nishiyama-san

 

I really don’t know how a month passes so fast. It has been another month of being in Japan, and once again it was a really great month. I feel my language skills improving so much, it’s incredible. I think completely in Japanese unless I hear English, but I don’t think English once while speaking Japanese. It really is an amazing feeling. 

                       School is going very well. I’m just a little sad because next month I get a new classroom. In Japan, after everyone takes their college entrance exams, they don’t have to come to school. So I will be getting a new class. That is a great opportunity to meet new people and make more friends, but I am a little sad to not be in my current class.

            I really love my rotary club...a few of them really take the extra step to make me feel like home. I went with my counselor and another exchange student and met his whole family. It was really nostalgic. There were little kids and I felt like I was apart of their family instantly. Nishiyama-san, my counselor, really is the best counselor I could ever wish for.

            Next weekend, we are going on our three-day excursion to Hiroshima. It should be great! Lots of really beautiful places are on our itinerary, and I am very excited to go! It has been another amazing month in Japan.

Michaela Schnore -- Finland (Host Club: Glenville)

November 13, 2013

  I have now been living here for over 3 months! I have now been living with my second host family, the Siltanens, for two weeks. They are very kind people, and I have been really enjoying living so close to the center of town and so close to my friends.
       The Rotary club has kept me very involved in their activities this month, and they have decided to pay for the Lapland tour costs for me. As a thank you for taking care of those costs of the trip, I made the club two pumpkin pies with the help of my friend from Florida. Everybody really liked them.  

    This month, I visited a castle for the first time, in Hämeenlinna with my exchange student friends. My second host family brought me to Tampere with them for two days over autumn break. It was snowing quite a bit in Tampere!
        My current host family brought me out to dinner after a nice trip to an art museum in Helsinki. The restaurant was called Chico's and their slogan was "America on a plate". It was a really great restaurant and everything they had was actually American. I ordered a pulled-pork burger which came with coleslaw and onion rings. I was in heaven.
       With my friends and host families, I carved a few pumpkins, which none of the Finns had done before. I also made piparit with my host sister's scouting group, and made cake-lolipops with my host family for Finnish Father's Day, which was today. It has been a really fun month!