Rotary Exchange, District 7190

Amy Hayes -- Brazil

2011-04-17T19:29:00.000-04:00

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Everything here is going well. This past weekend, all the exchangers in my district (one of the largest, I think, 50-something of us) had a conference. We took a bus trip to some amazing places I would not have been able to visit otherwise. We went to an amusement part called "Beto Caharro" which was SO much fun. This was my first time meeting all the other exchange students, since I came late, and before this weekend past, I knew only three or four of them through facebook. We also went to a beach for two days, and Curitiba as well. We stayed in nice hotels and ate amazing food.

The district is full of great people,and I love them all. I was thinking on the trip how absolutely amazing it was that we had literally, the entire world, in a bus.

Brazil is so beautiful, especially when you travel it. School is great, and I always take tests with everyone and have my school supplies there. I was talking to other exchangers, and they told me at their schools, they don't do very much. Sometimes I get bored, but for most of the time, they keep me occupied.

I switched families in mid-March. They are COMPLETELY different, but nothing for the better or worse, every family is different. I think this family fits my personality more. I am a bit reserved sometimes, and so is my new mother. I have a little sister, and although I am not so great with kids, she is seven, but we get along. I have no internet in my apartment now, which is a change.

Emma Fullem -- Taiwan

2010-04-15T21:06:00.001-04:00

April 4, 2010

Miao-li Mountain Club

In March, I attended one Rotary meeting. With the other exchange students in my district, I had a weekly tai-chi class to learn a routine that we will perform in mid-April in front of about 2,000 Rotarians. I’ve seen our costumes, and supposedly we get to keep them, which is really exciting. In the middle of March, I went on a bus trip with about 50 other exchange students to the east of Taiwan. Although the whole of Taiwan is smaller than NY, I’ve never been to the east coast before, so it was really interesting to see lots of famous places for the first time. My favorite place was Taroko National Park, which is a huge area filled with gorges, forests and waterfalls. I just wish we had more time there, since we only had an afternoon in the whole park!
In March, I was mildly sick for about a week, which gave me an insight into the Taiwanese medical system-totally different than the United States’! I think the most shocking part to me was how eager the Taiwanese are to take medicine to clear up your sickness-even a cold!
I’ve now been in my new family for about a month, and I’m really happy here. I have three siblings here and it’s really easy to connect with them so that’s helped me feel a lot more at home. I’m already worried about leaving them in June!

Ariel Dunster -- Brazil

2010-04-15T21:03:00.001-04:00

April 11, 2010

Rotary District 4420, Santos- Boqueirão

This past month has been a lot of fun. I started surfing lessons. They´re every Saturday and Sunday from 8-10 in the morning. Surfing has become one of my favorite hobbies here. I´m part of a class of about 60 surfing students, and then we´re broken down into smaller groups based on our skill level. This week the waves have been pretty big actually. Some of the waves yesterday were 3 meters!

Last week I presented a powerpoint to my Rotary club about my life in the United States. I was happy because I actually didn´t have any trouble presenting in Portuguese. I wasn´t at all nervous either. I discussed numerous topics including Ballston Spa, Sacandaga Lake, Niagara Falls, and Dry Brook Sugar House (maple syrup).

About 3 weeks ago I was robbed while out with my friends one night. 2 Brazilians and I were robbed by an armed man. He seemed both drunk and high, so we gave him our stuff without much negotiation because we didn´t want to cause trouble. Amongst the things I lost, I lost my cell phone, camera, and R$50. Strangely enough we had more trouble 3 days later. A young girl called our house screaming that she had been kidnapped and that she was our maids daughter. The man who had "kidnapped" her stayed on the phone and demanded a lot of money from our family. He also had called my host fathers cell phone number and persuaded him that his oldest daughter had been kidnapped as well. We thought this was connected to my cell phone being stolen, but it wasn´t. The man had gotten all of our information about our family through previous conversations on the telephone. Fortunately everything turned out alright and no one had been kidnapped. Our family was shaken up quite a bit, so we created new household rules to ensure our safety.

Easter was last weekend. It´s actually a pretty casual holiday here. I woke up and went to surfing classes. Later, my host family and I went to my host grandmothers house for lunch. We had fish. But afterwards my family went to the mall to go Fall clothes shopping. Here the tradition is to give big chocolate eggs to everyone.

My day to day life has been pretty normal. The weather has gotten a lot colder. It dropped from 91° to 55° in the past few days. I learned that I have a 4th host family and I´ll be moving into their home in June. All I know about them is that they have 4 children.

Beijos!

Ariel Dunster -- Brazil

2010-03-24T20:21:00.001-04:00

March 16, 2010

Rotary District 4420, Santos- Boqueirão
Current Family Address: Rua Alberto Bacarat nº50 apt 21Boqueirão, Santos, SP, Brazil11050-050

In the past month I´ve done a lot. It began with Carnaval here in Brazil. My family and I went to an island just off the coast of Santos. At night they had samba/pagode bands along the beach. I had a head cold for a little over a week, but a lot of rest helped me to get better quickly.

My American sister and her fiancée came to Brazil from March 6th- March 14th. It was good to see them. I was able to do a lot with them while they were here. I ran a 10k, and was able to visit a lot of turistical places that I hadn´t been to before. We visited the old historical part of Santos, including going to the top of one of the morros surrounding the city, as well as passed through the coffee museum. There were several interesting facts in this museum, such as that there were competitions to see who could walk with the most bags of coffee beans on their back. The champion could carry 5 coffee sacks, which altogether weighed about 300kg.

One of my favorite things I did with them was learn how to surf. All of us succeeded in standing up and balancing on the board after only 1 hour.

One of the most difficult things about this month is that 3 more of my good friends left to go to college in different cities. I felt like I had a going away party for a good friend practically every weekend.

This month has been one of my favorites because of all the opportunities I´ve had. I now go to Santos soccer games on a regular basis, and I´ve learned the portuguese chants. I learned how to surf, and I´ve seen some of the greatest views of Santos possible. It was also a month of hard work and training with running in order to complete the 10k. This will be one month I´ll never forget.

Gil Strizich -- Argentina

2010-03-05T21:07:00.001-05:00

March 5, 2010

Host Club: Rotary Club of San Salvador de Jujuy, 4800

Over the last month I attended one rotary function. In late Febuary I attended the one hundred and fifth anniversary of Rotary international. I gave a small speech in Spanish, thanking them for accepting me into their rotary club and giving me this wonderful opportunity.

The first week and half of Febuary I was on vacation with my host family in Chile. My real parents came in late Febuary and are still here, we will be leaving for Buenos Aires tommarow. I will begin attending a local University here in Jujuy to study anthropology on March 22.

I am in good health.

Emma Fullem -- Taiwan

2010-03-04T21:41:00.001-05:00

March 4, 2010

Host Club: Miao-li Mountain Club, Taiwan

In February, I had the last 3 weeks of my winter vacation. I spent 1 week of that in Taipei with a ROTEX member, Jessica Hsia, who stayed at my house 3 years ago through Rotary. I spent a lot of time with her family, which was really cool since I met them when they came to visit her in NY. I also got to see lots of new places, like a famous geological park and some really interesting museum exhibits. At the end of vacation, I celebrated Chinese New Year with my host family, which was very interesting. It seemed to mostly center around big meals! Very similar to American Thanksgiving or Christmas, except it lasted for about a week! I also moved families in the end of February.
In the last month, I have attended one official Rotary club meeting that was the first one of the Lunar Calendar, so it was mainly just a potluck with very little actual business. On New Year’s Eve, I went to a Rotarian’s house for dinner with my host family. Also, I had three tai-chi practices with the other exchange students in preparation for a performance in April at the district conference. Last weekend, my district’s exchange students joined with a larger district in Taipei for a second orientation where we went over the benefits of learning Chinese and of following all the guidelines and rules for exchange.
I am in good health, and trying to make the most of my last 3.5 months in Taiwan!

Eliza Chappell -- Spain

2010-02-28T14:11:00.000-05:00

February 24, 2010

HOST CLUB:
ROTARY CLUB MADRID-SERRANO

I have been attending school daily at IES Isabel La Catolica in Madrid and have completed all assignments, projects, and tests.

I resumed with school after Christmas vacations, and all is well. My mother and little sister can to Madrid to visit me at the end of January. It was great, and it was a good boost for me. I think I've reached a certain level of fluency, which of course is very exciting. The Rotary sponsored trip is fast approaching, and that is something I'm really looking forward to. Everything is going great!

Eliza Chappell -- Spain

2010-02-25T21:19:00.002-05:00

February 24, 2010

HOST CLUB:
ROTARY CLUB MADRID-SERRANO

I attended the Rotary meeting and been in contact with the club.

I have been attending school daily at IES Isabel La Catolica in Madrid and have completed all assignments, projects, and tests.

I resumed with school after Christmas vacations, and all is well. My mother and little sister can to Madrid to visit me at the end of January. It was great, and it was a good boost for me. I think I've reached a certain level of fluency, which of course is very exciting. The Rotary sponsored trip is fast approaching, and that is something I'm really looking forward to. Everything is going great!

-Eliza Chappell

Ariel Dunster -- Brazil

2010-02-25T21:15:00.000-05:00

February 25, 2010

Rotary District 4420, Santos- Boqueirão

In the past month I´ve finished up summer vacation and started the 3rd year (senior year) of school here. I´ve been in good health. From the 14th-18th of January I went to Porto Alegre and visited my host brother. It was interesting to see a southern city of Brazil. Everything was different; the way people dressed, spoke, and the traditions that they had. For example, everyone knew that I was from the coast because I was wearing shorts. For me, shorts is an article of summer clothing, but for them, it is beachwear.

The hardest part about summer was that a lot of my friends moved out of Santos. Several went to a University in a different city, and others went to different countries either starting or ending their exchange trip.

On February 2nd, I started school as well as switching homes. It was sad to leave my 2nd home because they were an excellent family, but fortunately my 3rd family is just as perfect.
I´m beginning to run regularly again, but I´m taking extra precautions to not hurt my ankle again. Carnaval is also this week. For Brazil that means that there´s alway axé music and dancing on the beach, as well as samba bands on the streets.

Lastly, I´ve received my return date. It is Friday July 16th, 2010.
Beijos,
Ariel

Kate Clarke -- France

2010-02-09T21:21:00.002-05:00

Tuesday, February 02, 2010

The month of December was extremely hectic but was filled with excitement! There were so many tests, so many birthdays and a lot of chocolate! The regular gossip was filled with plans of Christmas vacation and I was extremely happy to be apart of it, for I was leaving on a trip to Paris on the 22nd of December, resting at Sophie's (my mother's) parents apartement, and spending christmas day with them and her family. I have never been more excited in my life! And as I road the train to Paris with Sophie, the anticipation was unbelievable, I could hardly sit still. As we finally entered the city from the train station I was on a Photo-spree instantly!The city was so beautiful and the christmas decorations made it even more lively and inviting. I was automatically in love!

Of course I visited all of the usual Paris attractions, the Eifel Tower, the Louvre, Les Champs-Elysée, and I even watched Avatar in 3-D! It was amazing! I spent most of my time with my brothers Paul and Joseph, it was a really great time. The night before Christmas we went to Sophie's brothers house for presents, diner and so on, for the French celebrate their christmas the night before, or at least my family did! It felt really great to be there, I honestly felt apart of their family, and I got to sleep in the little girls princess room which was really funny, but it was a good experience!

Paris was to me the most important part of the month of december, I don't really remember much that happened before! But I deffinately am on serious diet now after december! -- Katelyn

Gil Strizich -- Argentina

2010-02-08T21:03:00.003-05:00

February 4, 2010

Family Atencio
Pasaje Fatima s/n,
Yala, Jujuy
4616Argentina

Host Club: Rotary Club of San Salvador de Jujuy, 4800

Over the last month I have not attended any formal Rotary meetings. However I have been traveling alot to visit other exchange students in Argentina, which has given me the oppurtunity to meet and interact with rotarians outside of my district. The majority of the exchange students I have visited have host parents who are part of their local rotary clubs.

As I stated earlier, for the past month and a half of summer vacation I have been traveling around Argentina to visit other exchangers. This has been very exciting and has allowed me to practice and truly make use of my Spanish. Right now I am on vacation in Chile with my host parents, and i will be here for the next two weeks. I am in good health.

Katelyn Clarke -- France

2010-01-17T13:31:00.002-05:00

December 30, 2009

During the beginning of November the vacation days were finishing and everyone was on their way back to school. School started on the first wednesday of the month and so it was a short school week. That weekend there was a Rotary function that the five exchange students in Lannion all had to attend. It was a long night and each of us had to present ourselves in french in front of all the guests which were quite a few, and we also had to present the courses of the menu in french and in our own language. But nevertheless it was a fun night and there was also cultural dances featuring the dances of Bretagne, the United States and India and Spain. It was fun because we got to experience one another's culture through dance.

However, the night didn't end very well because i ended up getting sick from the night, I later figured out that it was angina...So I didn't go to school for 3 days. But when i returned the school was the same as before the vacation. Everything was normal.

I also joined a scouts group, it is a catholic organization that involves community service and camping and things of that sort. It's fun, the people in it are so nice and welcoming and they include me in everything. We have had several meeting to plan our december functions for the scouts. We are going to wrap christmas presents for the poeple who are in a hurry or just don't want to do it themselves. I think that it's going to be fun.

Audrey Sabatini -- Belgium

2010-01-17T13:26:00.002-05:00

December 26, 2009

Sponsor Club: Rotterdam Sunrise Rotary
Host Club: Rotary of Andenne (Belgium)
Host Family: the Ancions (Pierre, Marie-Paule, Gilles)

Rotary Meetings: Normally my Rotary Counselour texts me, or e-mails me and tells me if I should attend a Rotary meeting. The last meeting I attended was in November, and I gave a small speach about myself (in French).

Health: I am doing very well!

School: I took two exams this December (as required by the Rotary), and passed both. I took English and Math. My teachers just tell me to continue trying.

I am changing families the 3rd of January. I am excited for the change in atmosphere. The mother and one of the host sisters know a lot of english, so I hope to learn a lot from them. I am required to send an update a week after changing families to my district chairman here, so I will make sure to translate it and send a copy to you as well :)

I hope you had a very wonderful Christmas with your families and have a Happy New Year!!

Ariel Dunster -- Brazil

2010-01-14T21:01:00.001-05:00

January 11, 2010

Claudenir and Prescila Couto
Rua Tocantins 77/51
Santos, SP, Brasil
11055-341

Summer vacation has been going well. I´ve been at the ocean practically everyday. There´s a group of Brazilians that like to play soccer every morning, so I´ve been hanging out with them a lot. I spent Christmas with my friends family because my host family was traveling, and it was amazing. All of the relatives got together for Christmas. It didn´t really feel like Christmas, but we were constantly in the pool or playing soccer. The Christmas traditions are so different here. We stayed up on Christmas eve and ate dinner at midnight on Christmas morning. Then my friend and I played Santa and Mrs. Claus and we gave the presents to the children of the family.

New Years Eve was a blast as well. The tradition is to wear a new white dress, and luckily I had bought a cheap one a couple days before New Years. I spent the time leading up to New Years with my family. It was a very religious New Years. My host uncle gave a sermon and we sang hymns all night. I enjoyed learning some Portuguese hymns. Then at midnight we went upstairs to watch the fireworks that were going off on the beach. After midnight I went to the beach with my brother and his friends. Everyone goes to the beach on New Years.

As for health, I was diagnosed on New Years with an ear infection, but the doctor prescribed ear drops to me and my ear was better after a week.

My Rotary club had a Christmas barbeque, and that was a lot of fun. The people in my Rotary club are very welcoming of me and always make me feel like part of the group.

Nothing has been going on in school. Summer vacation will be ending soon and school will be starting up in early February.

I´ll also be switching families soon. I´m suprised that I´ve already spent almost 3 months with my second family.

Eliza Chappell -- Spain

2010-01-14T20:59:00.001-05:00

January 11, 2010

NAME/ ADDRESS OF HOST FAMILY:

SIMON-MARCOS

CALLE ANDALUCIA 7-4

28007 MADRID, MADRID

ESPANA

HOST CLUB:

ROTARY CLUB MADRID-SERRANO

ROTARY PARTICIPATION:

I have been in contact with my Rotary club.

I have been attending school daily at IES Isabel La Catolica in Madrid and have completed all assignments, projects, and tests.

This past month I experienced my first bout of real homesickness... something I suppose is considered normal during the holidays. I spent my Christmas, New Years, and Reyes Magos with my host family. For New Years, we went to the nearby city of Salamanca to visit relatives, which was absolutely beautiful. I am still loving every minute here.

Eliza Chappell -- Spain

2010-01-03T20:22:00.001-05:00

December 13, 2009

HOST CLUB:
ROTARY CLUB MADRID-SERRANO

I attended the Rotary sponsored dinner for "Día de la Acción de Gracias" (Thanksgiving).

I have been attending school daily at IES Isabel La Catolica in Madrid and have completed all assignments, projects, and tests.

There is not much new to say, as I continue with my routine and my life here. I've been trying to take advantage of the cultural offerings in Madrid, so I've recently gone to the nearby city of Segovia (BEAUTIFUL) with another rotary exchange student friend, and I've also been checking out the many museums in Madrid with my spanish friends. Everything is going well with my friends- I have a nice close group as well as many other friends (it's easy to make friends when you're the "famous" American in school with the crazy glasses), and also with the family. We are now starting to try to arrange my USA family's visit to Spain. I must say, I haven't really gotten homesick... of course I'll have my moments, but overall I'm loving every minute of my exchange.
:)
-Eliza Chappell

Ariel Dunster -- Brasil

2010-01-03T20:18:00.001-05:00

December 11, 2009

The past month went really well. My new family is perfect for me. I´ve been able to go out with my host sister sometimes as well as keep my own friend group. I turned 18 this month, and my host family made it a very special day for me. They even let me have my own birthday party upstairs in the party room.

I had tendonitus in my ankle this month, but it is getting better now. I had to take some time off of it, but I am beginning to return to the gym again and this Monday I will begin a program called "Face2Face," in which I will have a personal trainer for 40days, to help make sure that I do not overwork my ankle.

Many of the exchange students, including me, became homesick as the school year was wrapping up, but it was good because we were homesick together. We now are planning several activites to keep us distracted and create a greater bond between us. We´ve seen movies, had a sushi/ice cream night, and gone to the beach and the gym together. We also had a new exchange student from Australia enter our district for the short term program last week. Since we always have something to distract ourselves with, I don´t think anyone was homesick for more than a week.

One of the things that I love to do here is go to the Rotary meetings. Over the past month the governor has visited my Rotary club twice. I´ve also participated in the secret santa for my Rotary club and I have visited the Rotary Club of Santos a couple of times. The first time I visited this club, I actually met the man from ESSEX who placed me in Santos! He was there visiting our district.

School has ended for this year and it is now summer break. I´m spending a lot more time at the beach and the mall now. Everything here is going well and I´m excited for the holiday season to begin.

Gil Strizich -- Argentina

2010-01-03T20:14:00.001-05:00

December 8, 2009

ArgentinaHost Club: Rotary Club of San Salvador de Jujuy, 4800

The majority of the month of November(9th- 27th) was spent traveling around Patagonia with fifty other rotary exchange students here in Argentina. It was a very fun trip and exposed to the great things that Argentina has to offer. We started the trip in Cordoba, then drove two days in bus to visit the Patagonian port city of Puerto Madryn, where we visited a seal colony in the Peninsula Valdez National Park and went on a whale watch. After spending three days in Puerto Madryn, we headed South to the town of Calafate, which was another two days on the bus. From Calafate we went on various excursions to experience the incredible nearby scenery, visiting the famous Petito Moreno Glacier( one of the few glaciers in the world that is still growing), and other National parks. After a couple days in Calafate we headed even further south towards the Tierra Del Fuego, crossing through Chile and over the Straight of Magellen, to reach Ushuaia(the Southern most city in the world). We spent 3 days in Ushuaia, then headed back north to Bariloche, stopping briefly to spend the night in the beautiful Patagonian town of Esquel. In Bariloche, Argentina's famous ski resort town, we visited the nearby lakes and other outdoor attractions. From Bariloche we headed 3 hours north to visit the last town on the tour, San Martin de Los Andes. This was my participation with rotary for the month of November.

Ariel Dunster -- Brasil

2009-11-13T21:45:00.001-05:00

November 10, 2009

Santos- Boqueirão, District 4420

Family:
Claudenir and Prescila Coute
Rua Tocantins 77/51Santos, SP, Brasil11055-341

I´ve done a lot in the past month. I´ve attended Rotary meetings regularly. I also have begun to hang out with students from my school. I went to a school dance. It was a lot of fun because students from five different schools went. I feel like I´m finally understanding the material in school. I no longer use my Portuguese-English dictionary on a regular basis.

Unfortunately things did not work out right with my first host family so the head of the Santos YEP asked to move me to a different family because he did not think that my host parents and I were a good match. It felt bad because they were a really nice family, but I´m also very happy and a lot more comfortable in my new family. In my new family I have a 16 year old sister and an 18 year old brother, but my brother lives in a city in the south of Brazil called Porto Alegre. He´s invited me to go visit him in January, and I am happy because it is another opportunity to travel, and I only have to pay for the plane tickets.

I´ve already done a lot with my new family. We went to Guarujá last weekend. It was a lot of fun because there are no roads that connect Guarujá to other cities in Brazil, so we had to take a boat to get there. Also, Guarujá is known as "the Atlantic Pearl" because of its nice beaches. With my new family I´ve also taken a tour of Santos, gone to the coffee museum, and gone to the aquarium.

Keegan Griffith -- Finland

2009-11-13T21:42:00.001-05:00

November 12, 2009

This past month has been very exciting. It started off with a vacation to the sea where we went fishing. It was to cold so we were not able to catch any fish. It was still really beutiful. It has started to snow and all the trees are covered in a snow ice mixture that is just jaw jropping. The only down side to the Finnish winter is the lack of sun. I don't think it has come out in at least 3 weeks. So it is very dark out most of the day. This darkness is making everybody really tired and grumpy. I am sure we will all get over it. My health is in fine condition, I am a bit tired but other than that I am good. I also went moose hunting. That was lots of fun. They shot a baby moose witch I later ate part of, it was allot better that cow. I will be switching families soon so that is exciting. School is going good, I have many friends.Finland is an amazing country.

Eliza Chappell -- Spain

2009-11-07T16:13:00.002-05:00

November 7, 2009

HOST FAMILY:
Simon Marcos
7-4 C/ Andalucía
28007 Madrid

HOST CLUB: RC Madrid- Serano

I attended a Rotary sponsored trip to Pico de Peñalara, a mountain in the Sierras. There were about 30 other exchange students, mostly from the Madrid area, and we hiked to the top.

I have been attending IES Isabel La Católica daily and completing all assignments.

I can now say that I feel as though I fully fit in here. Everything is going wonderfully, and I'm loving life. I can just about understand everything, though speaking correctly is still a challenge. I can't believe that it's already november 7; time is going by far too quickly now that I've got a steady routine (weekdays- school, studying, family time; weekends- out with spanish friends, relaxing, more studying, etc...). All is well here and I absolutely love Madrid.

Gil Strizich -- Argentina

2009-11-04T21:51:00.002-05:00

November 4th, 2009

Family Atencio
Pasaje Fatima s/n,
Yala, Jujuy
4616
Argentina

Host Club: Rotary Club of San Salvador de Jujuy, 4800

Over the last month I have met with the Rotary club twice. The time was spent discussing and preparing for a Rotary trip to Patagonia from Novemeber 8th- 27th, We covered such topics as: how much money we would need, what to pack, how to pay, and necessary letters of permission. I have also been meeting with a local rotarian every Saturday to recieve her volunteered Spanish instruction.

I have been attending school regularly and doing the assingment asked of me. However, there have been many days off due to testing and holidays. I have continued to do Jiu-Jitsu twice a week and have been going to gym on the other days. I have also been taking Spanish classes on Wednesdays and Thursdays with all the other students here in San Salvador.

I am in fine health.

Ariel Dunster -- Brazil

2009-11-04T21:45:00.001-05:00

October 14, 2009

Adolfo and Solange Perez
Avenida Pinheiro Machado 678/95
bairro Marape, Santos, São Paulo
Brazil 11075- 002

My second month here was excellent. I´m already understanding Portuguese pretty well. School is probably the most difficult part. I still am attempting all of the tests, no matter how difficult. If the teacher is giving a lecture I usually lose focus quickly, therefore I usually use that time to study Portuguese independently.

I´m excited for this upcoming weekend because it will be the first time that I will be hanging out with my school friends outside of school. Friday I´m going to a school dance, Saturday, playing American football, and Sunday I´ll go to a barbeque with them.

Oddly enough, I feel like I have been welcomed in by a few families here, not only my host family. I have a friend living in the same apartment building as me and sometimes I go to his apartment and just spend some time with his family watching a movie or eating dinner. It´s also very nice because he has 3 other siblings close to my age so there´s always a lot of conversation.

Also, one of my good friends here is another exchange student from Arizona. Last weekend was a holiday weekend (children´s day) so I went with his family to a town nearby to do volunteer work. It was a lot of fun. We made candy bags as well as cake and gave them to more than 200 poor children. I also enjoyed this trip because we stayed at a camp on a farm. It was amazing there. We ended up getting stuck there for an extra day because the traffic was backed up for 8 hours.

I´ve been growing closer with my family as well. I have found some things that my family and I have in common. Both my host mom and I enjoy cooking, so I usually like to sit in the kitchen and help her cook dinner. With my father, we both enjoy soccer, and he´s actually taken me to a couple of soccer games, which is really nice. We also went to São Paulo for dinner one evening which was nice.

Other than this, mostly everything has been going well. I attend Rotary meetings every week. They´re a lot of fun and I´m beginning to understand some of the things that they are saying.

Gil Strizich -- Argentina

2009-10-11T20:29:00.001-04:00

October 11, 2009

Family Atencio
Pasaje Fatima s/n,
Yala, Jujuy
4616
Argentina

Host Club: Rotary Club of San Salvador de Jujuy, 4800

Over the last month I have attended one Rotary meeting. I also had the oppurtunity to meet all the Rotary exchange students in Northwest Argentina, when they traveled here for the festival of the students . We had two exchange students, one from Belgium and another from Seattle, stay in my house for three days. In addition to that, this past Thursday there was a meeting of Rotary members and exchange students to discuss a possible Rotary trip to Patagonia in November.

I have continued to do Jui-Jitsu two times a week, and go to the gym three times a week. In addition to that I take Spanish classes on Wednesday and Thursday nights, with all the other Rotary exchange students here in San Salvador. I have also started school back up again after the week long break for the festival of the students.

I am in good health.

Eliza Chappell -- Spain

2009-10-11T20:24:00.002-04:00

October 8, 2009

HOST FAMILY:
Simon Marcos7-4 C/ Andalucía28007 Madrid

HOST CLUB: RC Madrid- Serano

PARTICIPATION IN ROTARY FUNCTIONS: I attended a Rotary meeting/meal with the other exchange students and met my counselor. I also attended the Rotary Exchange Orientation weekend with the other exchange students.

PARTICIPATION IN SCHOOL ACTIVITIES: I have been attending IES Isabel La Católica daily and completing all assignments.

My first month in Spain has been wonderful. My host family is perfect and they are trying to make me feel as at home as possible. School is nice, although it is still difficult to understand everyone. I'm beginning to get into a routine here and have friends, and it's starting to feel like my home. My spanish is coming along little by little, and I'm trying hard to reach fluency as quickly as possible. I honestly am not feeling homesick for the most part, although I'm a little bit sad to miss the Upstate New York fall colors. I'm not sure what else to say, but I assure all is well with me.

Gilbert Thomas Strizich -- Argentina

2009-09-27T14:06:00.002-04:00

September 15, 2009

District 4800
Club of San Savador de Jujuy, Argentina

Home address:
Familia Atencio
Pasaje Fatima S/N
Yala, ep 4616
Provincia deJujuy
Argentina

During the last month I have attended two Rotary meetings. At the first meeting, all of the exchange students were introduced to the members of the Club. We then discussed possible community service opportunities that we could participate in. During the second meeting, the majority of the meeting was spent discussing whether or not the Exchange students should take language classes at the local University.

I have been attending school regularly. However, because it is the 'National Festival of the Students' in September, all of the local schools have been working on their parade floats, so most of my time in school has been spent making paper flowers. Once the festival is over at the end of September, normal classes will start up again. I have also been attending a local gymnasium to work out, and in addition to that have been taking Jui-Jitsu classes at another local gym.

I am in good health. I had a minor cold early on, but that has since gone away.

Ariel Dunster -- Brazil

2009-09-23T20:54:00.002-04:00

September 14, 2009

NAME/ADDRESS OF HOST FAMILY:
Adolfo and Solange Perez
Avenida Pinheiro Machado 678/95
bairro Marape, Santos, São Paulo
Brazil 11075- 002 .
.

WHAT WAS YOUR PARTICIPATION IN ROTARY FUNCTIONS DURING THE PAST MONTH? .
*Attended 3 meetings
*District orientation meeting for all exchange students in district 4420 (Santos, ABCD, São Paulo)

WHAT WAS YOUR PARTICIPATION IN SCHOOL/EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES DURING THE MONTH?
*Attended class regularly; completed work and tests in several subjects; stayed after school to complete labs
*Attended a PE class afterschool once a week
*I play soccer with classmates afterschool on Fridays .

WHAT IS THE STATE OF YOUR HEALTH? .
*Good; taking extra precautions because 5 students in my school were diagnosed with Swine Flu

I gained 3 pounds in my first month, but I just joined a gym 2 weeks ago that I go to 4 times a week. I have made several friends, and they are all very nice, patient, and accepting of me. I am learning new sports, such as handball and surfing. I´m enjoying trying new foods, and I´ve begun a Brazilian recipe book.

Keegan Griffith -- Finland

2009-09-23T20:37:00.001-04:00

September 9, 2009

Host Club: Akaa, 9883, Finland District 1390

Pyhtilä
Rauhantie 8
Vesilahti, 37470
Finland

Participation in Rotary: Attended 2 meetings and a fundraiser.
Participation in School: Went every day.

Everything is going well here. I am slowly learning the language. I have made many friends who are eager to speak English. The weather is starting to get colder but that was expected. The school is very nice the lunches are free and very good. My host family is wonderful, I have a host brother who I hang out with all the time.

Keegan Griffith
Finland

Maddie Lang -- Norway

2009-05-19T22:40:00.001-04:00

April 24, 2009

April in Norway has been constantly switching between winter and spring. For the first half of the month, there was still snow on the ground, which was discouraging as I expect spring to begin in April. For the second half of the month, the weather has been switching every few days between warmth and sunlight, rain, and snow. We had a week long Easter vacation, which I spent in the county of Bø in a small fishing village, home to only 18 permanent residents, right on the ocean. The nature was beautiful, and I went ice fishing in a lake and fishing in the ocean. We are now back to school, where I can converse fairly comfortably in Norwegian and I understand almost everything that the teachers say. I go to school every day and spend my afternoons at the gym or hanging out with friends. I live in a very small town and can walk everywhere I want to go. I am starting to get excited about coming home again and seeing my family and friends again. However, I have made great friends and it will be sad to say goodbye to them in just two months.This has been a great year so far, and I am sad to see it nearing its end!

Brittany Cruise -- France

2009-03-09T21:03:00.001-04:00

March 04, 2009

This month went by even quicker then the rest. I met the local Roteracts here and went snowshoeing with the other students. It was a beautiful weekend with plenty of snow and sunshine. I also spent three days in Paris, and met my next and final family. I still haven't been to the new house, as we've been at their chalet in the mountains just north of our town for the past two weeks. I've been outside cross country skiing or snowboard almost everyday. Sad as I am that vacation is almost over, I'm excited to see all my friends as school again. This past month was a blast and I can't wait for the months to come, they should prove to be especially busy. There's also a huge conference in Toulousse, France with ALL the inbounds this year. I'm looking forward to it with impatients because it means I get to see all the friends I made the first day of this trip who're scattered throughout the country, and the people from my region who I've become close with. Less then 90days to go at this point.

Cathryn Salamone -- Japan

2009-03-04T07:57:00.001-05:00

March 2, 2009

On the weekend of February 7th, I boarded the train for Okayama Prefecture, which is on the island Honshu, north of my island. That weekend was the 3-District Rotary Orientation for the outbound Japanese students going to either America, Canada or Australia. I was so excited to meet other exchange students, something I haven't done since the Rotary trip to Okinawa in October. As you can imagine, I was pumped to share my stories (and speak in English, for that matter) with other exchangers in Japan. I am the only exchange student in my entire prefecture, or state, along with three other exchange students on my entire island, so I haven't had much opportunity to meet with other exchangers. I met the two Australian exchange students who just came to Japan in January - they are the other two girls on my island, the fourth being a boy from Detroit. It was wonderful to talk with them, and I loved answering their questions when they had them. It gave me a really amazing feeling when I was answering questions, because it somehow gave me a senior kind of feeling -- like I was now a pro at this or something because I've been here for six months. They asked the same questions that I did when I came. It's hard to explain, but it gave me a wonderful feeling. I had an amazing weekend eating wonderful food, sharing hilarious stories, and just hanging out with other students from around the world during that weekend.

I've been wanting to mix my extra curricular activities up a little bit. In Japan, students usually only do one club or sport, which was hard for me to understand, since in high school I did many clubs and activities. Each club meets every single day, and the sports meet on Sundays for full-day practices. It's still amazing to me all of the time that these students put into their clubs. During the winter, I too followed this hefty practicing schedule with koto club, and thus I think I've become pretty good at it. However, it's become tiresome, and I wanted to try something new. I joined the school's choir, because there is nothing here that brings me more pleasure than singing. Occasionally my host family or friends and I go to kareoke, which is incredibly fun, but I also find myself singing or humming constantly when doing work or by myself...songs from America, Japanese songs (which I sometimes make up the words to...), songs from my childhood...anything. I also can read music (I actually have my clarinet here with me, and tried to join the school brass band, but the militaristic practice schedule of 3:30-7:00 everyday was way too much...) I went to my first meeting last week and had a wonderful time, and it brought me so much joy. I am finishing my time with the koto club after the last concert, in April, and then I am going to fully persue chorus and the school's swim team. I love being busy! =)

In the blink of an eye, it has become March already. I have a feeling it's going to be this way until the end. Valentine's Day was, as you know, the 14th, and in Japan it's actually widely celebrated - although a little different. On Valentine's Day, the women are supposed to buy chocolates or bake sweet treats for the men in their life, not just their spouses or boyfriends. Women buy chocolate for their family, co-workers, friends, aquaintances, even people they don't really like. In this case, it is called "obligation chocolate", where the chocolate is given to a boss or higher individual on the business ladder out of a feeling of necesity, not out of love. On White Day, which is March 14th (a Japanese invention), the men reciporcate the chocolate to the women, usually with white chocolate. My school is an all-girl's school, so friends gave friends chocolate. I tried my hand at origami hearts and was pretty successful...I then attached a candy to the backs with a small sheet of stickers. I was given a LOT of treats and candy, as did my host family, and I think we've all gained a kilo or two. I've only gained one, which is great :) It's funny how it seems like Japan practices the western holidays, but they really are very different. I was excited to see Christmas lights and Christmas trees go up all around the city I'm in...I was half expecting and lementing a year without Christmas. Working all the way up to Christmas Eve, the tradition in Japan is to eat Kentucky Fried Chicken and eat Christmas Cake, which is any sort of cake with a Santa figure on top and Merry X-mas written somewhere on it. On Christmas Day, everyone has work/school. It's really interesting to compare the holidays. Japan has it's own unique holidays which I enjoy very much, including festivals held at the start of each new season...and having a national holiday on the Emperor's Birthday. =)

Anyway, what else is new? Not much else happened in February. Feb. 23rd marked my official six months in Japan, which I thought was an incredible date. I'm already past my half-way point, which was somewhere in mid-January, since I am leaving the first week in July, but six months just seems like an incredible achievement. I always remember my little month anniversaries, but this one struck me as huge - I now have more months here behind me than before me. Six whole months in Japan? SIX? I was flipping through my journal and passed November 23rd, with "Today is my three month anniversary! I can't believe I've been here for three whole months! It's crazy!" I laughed for a long time at that. Yes, now I can sit back and say, "Wow...three whole months. Yeah, compare that to my big six." And then it will be seven and eight and nine, and I'm going to continue to marvel at the amount of time I've been here. I remember my trip to Europe two years ago for four weeks. Four weeks is nothing now! A smigent of time against this year long journey. I've gone nowhere and done nothing in comparison to this year. I've got four more months here and I'm going to make them count even more than the last six.

Cathryn Salamone -- Japan

2009-02-24T20:33:00.001-05:00

February 9, 2009

On the 18th, the Kochi Rotex organization had a half-year party for me, which was very special for me because it made it clear to me that I really was half way through. On the 19th, my host father took me to the Kochi North Rotary anniversary party, where I met my third host family, the Masaki's, whose home I would be moving in to at the end of that week.

I still go to Koto club as usual. I'm doing very well and am now playing with the middle school 2nd and 3rd years now, not only with the middle school 1st years. I'm very proud of myself, haha! In January, we had a recital for Traditional Japanese Dance, where me and the girl who is going to America next year on exchange danced to the traditional song of "Sakura, Sakura." It was a great experience, and I wore an elaborate kimono. It was great!

I feel like I'm repeating myself when I write this, but January also felt like it went by quickly. Usually January is a slow month for some, being after the holidays and slowly getting used to the day-to-day again, but somehow I was equally, if not more busy in January than I was in December. I moved to my third host family on the 25th of January, which was a nice and refreshing change to my days. In Japan I will have had four host families by the time I leave, changing after about three months. I think this is the perfect number. Of course there has been a host family that I really did not want to leave, and the three months felt like three days, but there also was a host family where I was excited for the change. It is the perfect amount of time, because I get to experience four different families and ways of living. Any more families and it would be overwhelming to have to move so often, and any fewer and I might not experience any other lifestyles of the Japanese.

School is moving along, but it seems to have lost its charm that it had when I first started. Still not understanding anything is getting old; both because all of my teachers speak in the regional dialect spoken here, in Kochi, that is difficult to pick up on (imagine someone doing an exchange in Texas or somewhere with a heavy accent and completely different words used after studying standard English), but also because I am studying a language with three alphabets and 2,000+ characters. I sit down to memorize more characters and sometimes I feel a heavy sense of futility. I think, "What is the point of memorizing these characters when there are so many, and an individual character has so many meanings and pronounciations?" Three times a week, teachers tutor me in Japanese, but I get the feeling they don't really know how to teacher their language. I don't blame them, I don't know how I would go about teaching English, but a lot of my studies is self-motivated, and being the only exchange student in my entire prefecture (state), some days it's hard to give myself the kick in the pants that I need.

My diet is wonderful - I am so delighted that Japanese cooking is so healthy AND delicious! There was a part of me before this exchange that didn't think that was possible. I'm learning Japanese cooking from my host mother and I love it. This, along with several other aspects of Japanese culture, I will take home with me to America.

Whitney McGinn -- Czech Republic

2009-02-24T20:29:00.000-05:00

February 13, 2009

The month of January was really crazy for me. In the begining of the month I switched families for the first time. I was really nervous but it turned out to be really easy and I love my new family. Also this month with the help of my family I have been making big improvements in my Czech language. It still needs alot of work but it is deffinatly getting better. I have been spending all my free time with my family and friends and recently joined a girls indoor soccer team. I've realized here that its important to keep busy so that Is what I have been trying to do! So far the new year has been really great for me.

Daniel Gally -- Brazil

2009-02-24T20:28:00.000-05:00

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Hope all is well. This is my monthly update.

Everything is fine with me here. I did a trip to Rio de Janeiro and I recieved three months worth of allowance from rotary before I left. Everything is working out well, I started school this week and I am ok.

Brittany Cruise -- France

2009-02-24T20:25:00.000-05:00

Saturday, January 31, 2009

I must apologize yet again for my lack of updates.

December;
The month started off with a new host family. I moved from a little village just outside of Besançon to practically right in the center. My new family is extremely nice, but we don't do a lot of things together. Not like my last family anyhow. The parents work a lot and come home late during the week, so most of the time it's my younger host sister and I. We get along fairly well, so it's been nice. School is going great, with the language barrier having been down for a few months December was easier and easier. Christmas time wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I spent Christmas eve with my host family now, and spent my Christmas morning and the rest of my vacation with my first host family. I was extremly happy about that, because my first host family and I really got along. They really welcomed me as a part of the family and even brought me snowboarding with them.

January;
This past month went by very very fast. There were two other exchange students in my class and throughout my whole exchange and theirs we've been very good friends, they left this month to return home. That was a little saddening for me, but we had a lot of fun and made a lot of memories together. Other then that, this month I recieved news from home about my college acceptance and I've been accepted to the university of my choice. Other then that it's been very cold, with no snow. Mostly sunny, but very cold.

Zachary Smith -- Brasil

2009-02-24T20:21:00.001-05:00

Monday, February 02, 2009

Hi, I don´t remember if I sent a report for January or not but I know I have sent one for every month before that. Any way, I am doing terrific! I unfortunatly had to start classes again today after a much enjoyed second summer break in 7 months. I am learning how to make different brasilian sweats like Brigadeiro ( if you have never tried it,,,,,, well,,, it´s really good!). The other day I made typical American Bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches for my family for breakfast which was a big hit. So it sum everything up, I am doing excellent, love my family, have tons of friends, and thank you again for all your help in getting me here. I have scheduled my return for Sunday June 21st. It was the last day that was good for my host family and was available.

Hope you're well.

Chelsea Choppy -- Venezuela

2009-02-24T20:17:00.001-05:00

Friday, January 30, 2009

Everything is still going great with me. I just got back from a trip to Margarita Island with the Rotary Club here and it was beautiful. I went to beautiful beaches, ate local seafood and even swam with dolphins. Tomorrow morning I am going to Caracas to see Raffaele who was in New York last year. I´m really happy that I get to see him again and meet his family. I am doing really well in school here and just changed to my second family a few weeks ago and that is going very well so far. I don´t really have too much else to say right now other than that everyhting is going great. Take care....

Danielle Willsey -- Italy

2009-02-02T21:48:00.001-05:00

Friday, January 30, 2009

I would like to start off by saying that I am sorry for not sending my monthly letter, as i have no good excuse why I haven't. Its hard to say now everything that I have been doing, but I am alive and am constantly being stuffed with pasta from my host mother. I am having a great time although everything is very different than what I am used to, and am fairly accustomed to everything now. Italian was a struggle for me in the beginning but now I feel fairly comfortable, and I am able to make friends a lot easier. I am also very fortunate to have such a wonderful host family as they are always making sure that I am comfortable and am having a good time, and love to bring me to all of the churches built in Italy. So far they have taken me to Rome, Milan, Venice, along with other major cities in Italy, and we will be going to Florence in the Spring.

School was very hard for me in the beginning but now it isn't as bad and i get along well with the kids in my class. School is only until 12 or 1 in the afternoon so i get to go home for lunch, but we have to get up on Saturdays to go to school as well. It is also different because the teachers move around from class to class instead of the students, and each class is an hour long. Sometimes its a bit hard to stay awake, but so far I have been alright.

I know that this is a very vague outline about what has been happening but I also think I have hit all the main points anyway, and wish for more information I will send it...

Cathryn Salamone -- Japan

2009-02-02T21:42:00.002-05:00

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Around the beginning of December, my host family and I participated in a Rotaract event held at a local nursing home. We did the mochi tsuki, which is the process of making mochi, or japanese rice cakes, during the New Year period from December until the beginning of January. It is done by taking rice and mashing it with a wooden hammer in a stone hearth until the rice molds together and becomes one large rice ball. We made individual rice cakes with anko, or sweet bean paste, inside them. It was a great event and it felt great to help out during the holidays. We gave the rice cakes to the nursing home residents, and I think they greatly enjoyed our prescence there.

On the 10th I went to a Christmas party hosted by the English night class that I help out with on Mondays. We had traditional japanese food and it was a lot of fun. To spread the cheer, I sang a few Christmas songs, and finished with everyone singing "Jingle Bells". It was a great night. On the 19th was the Nishi (West) Rotary Club Christmas party, which was very big and included all of the Rotary members and their families. Also with Rotaract, myself and the past exchange students who went to America last year from Japan made my Grandma's chocolate chip cookies (she gave me the recipie and I converted it to metric units...I was so glad when they tasted great because I wasn't sure if I did my math right...) We wrapped the cookies in nice wrapping and sold them to raise money for the children in Cambodia. On Christmas Eve I attended the Higashi (East) Rotary Club's Christmas party, which, although this was my third Christmas party, it was the most meaningful to me, because it was on Christmas Eve and this was by far my favorite Rotary Club in Kochi City. I had a great time again, and as always, great food!

I continue to go to Koto club, and even went a couple days during Winter Break to keep myself occupied. And I continue to have Japanese Dancing on Thursdays as well.

I had another fever for a weekend but I was better by the following Monday and didn't need to miss any school. Despite the cold weather, I haven't been sick since.

I have to apologize for being so late with this report...to be honest I just completely forgot about it! December, like November, went by incredibly fast. It proceeded to get colder as the month went on, and I kept adding layers underneath my uniform because neither the house, nor the school has heating. I can say that I'm pretty well adjusted now to living without heat...I know to layer up and wear socks and a sweatshirt to bed. Christmas was difficult to get through, because although the commercial aspects of Christmas were blatantly present here in Japan; the TV commercial Christmas Jingles, the santa hats, the Christmas lights in the park, when Christmas Day arrived it was like Christmas never happened. On Christmas Day, my host parents went to work, some kids went to school (I had koto practice scheduled for that day), and by no means was it a holiday. It was weird to ride my bike to the corner store and see the roads filled with cars and people on bicycle going to work or school or wherever they had to be, just like on any normal day. But it passed thankfully, and the New Year's was a much bigger deal, thank goodness. But I will explain more about that in my January post (which will be sent soon as January is about to end...again my apologies for this being late!)

All in all though, December is really sort of a blur to me. I established a routine of going to school, going to koto practice for three hours and riding my bike home, eating dinner, studying, and then going to bed. It is said that December and January are the hardest months, and I'm very happy that I made it through them and that I'm passed the big hill of my exchange year. I'm making deeper relationships with my friends because I'm learning more and more of the language each day. There are days that I feel like I'm completely fluent and that I've known Japanese for more than only a year and a half, and then there are days where I feel like I've made absolutely no progress at all since my arrival here, that I've "plateau-ed" in my language learning. But I take each day by the day, and I learn something new about myself and about life with each passing month.

Dan Gally -- Brazil

2009-02-02T21:37:00.002-05:00

January 20, 2009

Hello everyone. First of all please excuse the length of time it has taken me to write to you, I know I should have written sooner. Things are going great here in Brazil. I really love it here and my family is very good to me. They all know about what happened in Spain and there are no problems. I just got back from travelling with my family for a few weeks. We went to the beach near Curitiba and Rio Grande do Sul. I recall from a story in the May orientation that Mr. Dwyer has visited Brazil, and may be familiar with these places. Portuguese has been very easy to learn due to my Spanish and at this time I can converse pretty easily with everyone.

I think this year will be really great, and once again I would like to thank you all for helping me participate in this program and for going out of your way to help me get a second chance.

Thanks again -- Dan Gally

Cathryn Salamone -- Japan

2009-01-01T13:29:00.002-05:00

Kochi-Shi, Japan, December 3, 2008

On the 8th, I went with my host mother and the ladies of the Kochi Higashi Rotary Club to a resturant for dinner. The Kochi Higashi club is all men, but the wives to play a significant role in the Rotary as well. Afterward we all went to the Kochi Higashi Rotary Anniversary dinner for...second dinner? and dessert, which was held at another Italian Resturant. The Japanese people sure do love Italian food! (And Japanese-Italian food is actually really really good, even if you find a strictly seafood pizza or octopus in your bowtie pasta). I gave a small speech at the dinner, telling everyone how my year was going so far and thanking the Rotary for allowing me to go to Hokkaido and Okinawa last month. It was a great night and I think they had to roll me and the Rotary ladies out of the resturant when the dinner ended -- stuffed!

In addition, a few Sundays ago, Rotary Higashi also hosted a barbeque lunch in the mountains of Shikoku. I went with my new host family, and we rode a bus into the mountains. It is colder up in the mountains, so the trees were in peak foliage. It was so beautiful and I took a lot of pictures. We got to the camping grounds and all cooked skewered vegetables, meat and mushrooms, while also having the necesary rice and soup along with it. It was a great time, and we all were warmed by the fires on top of which we cooked our meals. Afterward, we all went to a green tea museum and I got to have my first green tea ice cream. Delicious!

I am greatly improving on the koto, as I go Monday through Saturday, except Thursday. When I heard that the high school first years were playing a Christmas Medley, I immediately asked for the music and if I could practice it. I`m at the beginner level with the middle school first and second years, but I was so excited that there was actually and seriously CHRISTMAS MUSIC for the traditional japanese instrument I`m playing. I couldn`t believe it!!! So, I practiced both the Disney Medley that I was to play with the middle schoolers, along with the Christmas Medley. I auditioned in front of the teachers and they told me that I could play both pieces at the concert. I was ecstatic. In Japan, Christmas isn`t celebrated, but you do see some of the novelty aspects of Christmas, such as malls being decorated with Christmas trees and presents, Christmas lights in front of some buildings, etc. But to actually have Christmas music, when I thought that I wasn`t going to hear any at all, was awesome to me. So, last Saturday, November 29th, after school, the koto club had a mini concert, and I played in both songs. I was so happy!

Also, once a week, I bike to the public pool near my house and swim. It`s cheap, and it`s a thing that I enjoy doing...I was glad to find it.

I bike to and from school every day for about twenty minutes, and I can tell that my endurance is so much better than when I came to Kochi. I`m also getting exersize through that so I`m not gaining any weight. That, along with my diet, which is very healthy.

November seemed to go by quickly for me as I type this on the 3rd of December. I switched host families on the 9th of November, which was a little difficult for me and my family because we`ve gotten to know each other so well, only for me to move so soon. The first host family is so important in my eyes because they are the ones who comfort you when you first arrive in your host country; often nervous, unsure, and really unable to say much in your host language. The Uratas were incredible. They helped me tremendously with all of my questions about school, Japanese, speeches that I had to give, etc. They also loved to joke and laugh. Leaving them was difficult, but thankfully I live in a city, and I occasionally see them in supermarkets or other places.

My second host family is good, and I have a little bit more free time with this family so that I can focus on my studies or make plans with friends.

School is also going well. My Japanese is getting better and better, although some days it fails me, other days it comes out like it`s my native tongue. I`m understanding a little more each day in my lectures as well...I`m being exposed to a lot of listening practice because classes in Japan are lecture-based, with the teacher basically talking the whole time. I`m making a whole lot of friends through Koto club, which I plan also on going to during winter break.

And around this time most exchange students begin getting homesick, and I have a bit as well. But when it comes, it comes at night only, and the simple remedy for it is to just go to bed. I got to bed, I fall asleep, and that`s the end of that. Getting through Christmas might be hard, but I`ve got a lot of support here in Japan from my friends and teachers at school. And also, it`s not like my holiday season will be completely void of a major holiday -- in Japan, New Year`s is a huge celebration, complete with family gatherings and big dinners and most elements associated with Christmas, too, which will be great.

Brittany Cruise -- France

2008-11-25T21:42:00.001-05:00

November 19, 2008

Ok, so a quick summary about my first three months. It started off perfectly, my family is amazing and at the beginning they were extra cautious of explaining things slowly to me and helping me form sentences, and not just.. "thank you" and "yes I understand." Now we can communicate on a normal level. It was nerve-racking to start school, not knowing anyone (or French) fluently, but I've made really good friends and it wasn't that bad. My host family takes me on small day trips to see the region and so far I've seen a lot. I've been to Paris to see a real football game (France won) and I've seen a lot castles and historical sites. It's really interesting to say the least, and I'm learning a lot (but in a fun way.) This Saturday we're going to the Matignon where the Prime Minister works. It's normally closed to tourism, but we're going to have a chance to visit. I'm moving to my second family the first of December and am excited. I'm a little sad to be leaving my first family but not dissapointed. I've had a few moments of homesickness but it's not a big deal because I'm normally busy and have things going on. I'm part of one of the two girls soccer teams in the city and that keeps distracted from missing the US too much. Over all, I'd say after just three months here, I know that it's been the most exciting experience of my life and I can't wait for the following months. Thank you Rotary for the opportunity to be here. (And the Rotary here is amazing; everyone is so welcoming and kind.)

Sorry I've forgotten to write, but I've been really busy here. It's a good busy though. I'd say I've adjusted well, and I really feel like part of my host family. I'll be sure to remember to write again next month. Sorry again, and Happy Holidays.

Chelsea Choppy -- Venezuela

2008-11-25T21:39:00.002-05:00

November 17, 2008

I did my newsletter from September but i forgot about October....I'm not
sure if you ever got it because you never responded or anything -- haha.
Anyway it's now November and things everything is still going well. its
been about 2 and a half months since i arrived. School is going really
well and i have a lot of friends. The spanish is improving of course and
im learning a lot. About 2 weeks ago i went on my first rotary trip here
to another state in Venezuela called merida. It was a lot of fun and i
met all the other exchange students in venezuela. We are going to
margarita island in january so im very excited for that. I'm really
looking forward to christmas here because it is a lot differnt so I've
heard; but we'll save that for the December newsletter.

Zachary Smith -- Brasil

2008-11-25T21:35:00.000-05:00

November 18, 2008

Brasil is going great, I have been speaking straight portuguese since I got here ( except in emails such as this and helping a friend with his english once every couple weeks). I have made enough friends that I only remember about 50% of all their names. I have even began helping a mexican exchange student with his portuguese. Once again everything is great, thanks again for your help and work to get me here and you said to keep these short so I'll stop here.

Danielle Willsey -- Italy

2008-11-25T21:33:00.001-05:00

September 25, 2008

So far Italy has been very wonderful as my family is extremely nice and help me learn Italian. The people in the school are very nice also, although it is extremely boring because the teachers talk much too fast for me to understand anything that they are saying. I have been involved with Tennis so far, and will be learning the piano and ceramics at a nearby Conservatory that I'll go to twice a week after school. Although I have had a cold in the past couple of days I am feeling a lot better and look forward to a trip to Venice on the 1st of October with the school. I hope all is well in the states and I will be sure to write again.

Cathryn Salamone -- Japan

2008-11-25T21:27:00.002-05:00

November 5, 2008

One of my sponsoring Rotary Clubs, Kochi East Rotary Club, gave me a birthday party on my exact birthday, October 13th. Most of the Rotary club came, along with a few friends from school, and some aquaintences that I have made since coming to Japan; some of whom are including members of the English night class that I help with every Monday, friends of my host family, and others. It was held at an Italian resturant, which was so perfect because my heritage is half-Italian and having Italian food came me a little piece of home. It was a great time, and I wore my host mother`s kimono. I am so, incredibly grateful to the Rotary clubs for hosting such a fun party for me.

In addition, toward the end of October, I went on a Rotary trip to Okinawa, the southernmost island chain of Japan, with two other exchange students on my island of Shikoku. It was just for a weekend, but it was incredibly fun, and it was a great chance to meet the other exchange students on my island, although we are at least an hour away from each other.
Finally, every third Tuesday of the month I go to Rotex meetings with the other Rotex officers and former exchange students from my school who went to America last year. We are raising money for children in Cambodia, and we are going to bake some treats during Christmas time (either my mother`s banana bread recipie or my Grandmother`s chocolate chips -- tough choice!!) to sell at Rotary meetings.

I continue to attend Koto club every day except Thursday, which is Nihon-Buyou class (Japanese dancing). I am submerging myself in the vast and traditional culture of Japan and I am absolutely loving it. I am keeping busy with my clubs and I realize the importance of being busy as an exchange student -- only rarely am I homesick, if at all, because I am so busy and am making friends through my clubs. It is definately a good thing to stress getting involved to exchange students, because being idle and bored only brings homesickness. I am so happy that I attend Rotary meetings frequently and have many things going on after school.

I am healthy now, but I had a fever right after my birthday and had to go to the family clinic, where I was given antibiotics to help my coughing and fever. I got to 100% by the end of the week, and now I am perfectly fine! =)

An incredible amount of things happened in October. I don`t think I`ve ever been more busy in my life! The month started with me going on my school field trip to Hokkaido, Japan`s northernmost prefecture. It is on the same line of latitude as New York, so the weather was refreshingly cold and a little chilly, as it was still summer-like weather in Kochi. I also saw some things akin to New York that I haven`t seen in Kochi, like fall foliage and birch trees. Hokkaido was a lot of fun and I was able to make many more friends in my class during the trip.
On the 13th, as I`ve written above, my host Rotary club threw me a birthday party which was such a nice surprise. I never expected a birthday party when coming to Japan, and not nearly one so great, with so many people that I knew and met who came. I truely feel blessed with all of the things that Rotary has provided for me, including my school uniform, my trip to Okinawa, some spending money for my trip to Hokkaido, and including me in on several Rotary activities, such as the Rotex meetings.
School has been very rewarding. It is very difficult to understand my teachers and the lesson being taught, but I am still being submerged in the japanese language and I still am being exposed to new words and phrases and how the speech sounds, which is essential to me learning the language. My Japanese is coming along well, and I am working hard to begin understanding the content of the lessons in class. I am studying the japanese kanji, or characters, slowly but surely, as there are around 2,000 of them in use.
Finally, the Rotary-sponsored trip to Okinawa was wonderful. It was a weekend long, but it was such a great experience to share stories with my fellow exchangers on my island and to hear how they are getting along with their host families and with school life. There aren`t any other Rotary exchange students in my area, so I was happy to have had that opportunity to meet the other exchange students in Okinawa.

I am so happy here in Japan, and I am learning lessons here that I will take back to America with me...things that I`m not sure I would learn back home, in a completely comfortable enviornment. I love being abroad and learning and experiencing, so much so that I`m not quite sure how to express it in e-mail form. I want to thank Rotary already for giving me this opportunity, as already I am enjoying myself and seeing that it is incredibly worthwhile and will definately be, I think, the time of my life. So, I`m experiencing all that I can in my year!

Cathryn Salamone -- Japan

2008-11-25T21:23:00.001-05:00

October 12, 2008

NAME/ADDRESS OF HOST FAMILY: Kenji & Hinako Urata, 3-14-11 Hyakkoku-Cho, Kochi-City, Kochi Pref., JAPAN 780-8015
HOST CLUB: Kochi Chuo Rotary Club
ADDRESS: 1-3-35 Takajo-Machi, Kochi-City, Kochi-Pref., JAPAN

Kochi City has several Rotary Clubs within it, those including Kochi North, East, South, West, Central (my current host club), and Royal. During the second week and a bit of the third week of September I have been leaving school at lunchtime and going to the Rotary meetings of each of the clubs. There, I gave a speech in Japanese and was introduced to the club. I spoke about how happy I am to be in Japan, about my school activities, and a few facts about Albany, my home city, like population and so forth. Also, on the 18th, Kochi Central Rotary Club had a party, at which I was a guest. It was a traditional Japanese-style dinner party, and I wore a yukata, or a summer version of a kimono. There was lots of food and fellowship amongst the Rotary members. I was surprised and excited to see later, that three geisha women entered and danced, played the Japanese woodblocks, and served some guests. They showed me a funny dance and my host father and I, along with the geisha, danced in front of the club. It was very funny, and so much fun. On the 23rd I had my Rotary Orientation, where I met the other exchange students. There are three exchange students on the island of Shikoku, myself included. One is from America and the other from Australia. I also met the former outbound japanese exchange students and got to ask them questions about their experience. It was a nice day and I was happy to meet everyone.

I have still been going to Koto Club and to my traditional japanese dance lessons. They are very fun and I am learning and advancing slowly in both. The koto is a beautiful instrument, and I cannot believe that such a traditional and old instrument is still being played today; that I am now playing an instrument that geisha centuries upon centuries ago once played.
On the 27th, my school had the annual Undokai, or Sports Festival. It was resemblant of a Field Day at school, with our school split up into three teams of Red, Blue and White competing against each other at various fun games. I was on the red team, and I had such a great time that whole day cheering people on...so much so that I lost my voice for that day and the next! School is great and I already have some good friends who are patient when I stumble with the language here and there.

So much has happened in September, and then September 23rd came around, I seriously could not believe that I had been in Japan for a month already. In the begining of September, I had been introduced to my school, gotten aquainted with my host family, ridden to school on my bike for the first time, fumbled with my japanese and learned the essential japanese customs of every day life. By the close of September, somehow I miraculously memorized the location of all of my classes, love my host family and truly feel like a member of the family, know the route to school by heart, am getting along much better with the japanese that I do know, and am completely accustomed to the japanese customs such as taking shoes off before entering a home, and essential dining ettiquite. I have grown to love my life here in Kochi very quickly -- Kochi is a city of around 300,000 people, however, the city seems close-knit and is without any very tall skyscrapers or several side-streets that might be a little overwhelming. I feel very comfortable riding my bike to school, because there is an aura of safety that surrounds Kochi. Even late at night, I still see people walking on the sidewalk or riding their bicycles casually...I don`t think I would ever find myself alone if I were ever to get lost.

Being in another country is absolutely amazing...I am re-experiencing life as if I`m a child again, amazed by small things like new foods, or different foods at a grocery store, or even the way Japanese Yen looks and feels when I hold it in my hand. This was everything that I have been wishing for prior to being selected for Japan, and I couldn`t be happier that my wish has come and is coming true.

Chelsea Choppy -- Venezuela

2008-09-15T21:53:00.001-04:00

September 11, 2008

I've been here for a little over a week and i love it. The spanish is going really well. Everyone keeps telling me that i can understand a lot and that my accent is really good. School hasn't started yet, because here it starts later but it's going to start next week and i'm really excited. I've already met a girl that lives in my neighborhood and she introduced me t a lot of her friends. I've been having a great time. The food is really good too and my family is very nice. They are very patient with me when they ned to talk a little slower of reword something. The weather is really nice, pretty sunny and around 80 degrees or up I'd say. Really, the only negative thing i can say right now is that when I hang out with a group of kids, sometimes it's hard because they all talk at once and it's really hard to understand them, but that all comes with time. I'll keep you posted.

Cathryn Salamone (Colonie-Guilderland Club) -- Japan

2008-09-15T21:44:00.000-04:00

September 7, 2008
Kochi-shi, Japan

NAME: Cathryn Anne Salamone
NAME/ADDRESS OF HOST FAMILY: Kenji & Hinako Urata, 3-14-11 Hyakkoku-Cho, Kochi-City, Kochi Pref., JAPAN 780-8015
HOST CLUB: Kochi Chuo Rotary Club
ADDRESS: 1-3-35 Takajo-Machi, Kochi-City, Kochi-Pref., JAPAN

WHAT WAS YOUR PARTICIPATION IN ROTARY FUNCTIONS THIS MONTH?

On August 28th my host club held a Welcome Party banqet for me at a nice hotel. Several Rotary memebers attended, along with a teacher from my school, the school`s principal, and four former exchangers who have just completed their year abroad in the US. In total there were about 30 or 40 people there, I was so thankful and couldn`t believe how many people came to welcome me to Japan. It was a wonderful night.

WHAT WAS YOUR PARTICIPATION IN SCHOOL/EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES DURING THE MONTH?

I began school on September 1st, on which was the school`s welcome back ceremony as the school started up again for the next semester. I gave another speech at the ceremony, in front of 2,000 girls (my school is an all-girl`s school), all dressed alike in the school`s uniform. It was great, and I felt accomplished after giving the speech, as I wrote it and read it in the japanese script of hiragana, katakana and a little kanji, instead of using the roman alphabet. I have gotten involved in the Koto club at my school and am learning how to play the Koto, a traditional japanese instrument. In addition, I was offered to take Nihon-buyo, traditional japanese dance, which meets every Thursday, and I accepted. I love school very much and I enjoy my classes, even though I understand very lttle outside of English class.

WHAT IS THE STATE OF YOUR HEALTH?

I am healthy.

REPORT:

I arrived in Kochi Ryoma airport on August 23rd at around 8:30 or so at night after around 25 hours of travel. I was beyond the point of exaustion, when the mind spaces out and when you don`t really think or feel anything. But when I left the baggage claim and walked through the two automatic doors, a large cluster of cheering people appeared, with three girls holding a gigantic American flag. I remember walking out of Narita airport in Tokyo, anxious to make my connecting flight in a different airport, and seeing families holding signs of the names of my fellow exchangers that I had just met and eagerly scanning the crowd of people. I wished that my journey had ended there like so many of the other Rotexes, but I still had one more flight on my journey. But at that moment, finally at Kochi Ryoma airport, finally seeing my host family and Rotary club members and the girls from my school, I then realized that I was home. I left Albany, New York, I arrived in Chicago, then to Tokyo Narita, I boarded the bus to Haneda airport and navigated Haneda airport alone, found my gate and boarded the plane just in time. I did it, and I was finally home.
My life in Kochi has been great so far. I love my host family, Kenji and Hinako Urata. I speak enough Japanese and they speak a little english so that we can usually understand each other, which has been fantastic. I`ve always been a little nervous about not understanding people, but so far it has been not too bad. At school I can understand my classmates fairly well, and I am so thankful for the japanese class that I took at my high school last year, it has helped me so much. My home is small but not too small, and my room has an air conditioner, which is great, because Kochi is very hot, even in September. I ride my bike to school every morning and it is very nice, in America I`ve always wanted to ride my bike to school but I livet too far away and there was no place to put it. I like the ride to school, I ride over a large bridge and I look down at the river and look out to Kochi City in the mornings and the evenings.
Kochi is a great city. It`s big but not too big, and so far seems very safe. Everyone is so incredibly friendly at school and always are happy to help when I don`t know where my next class is or have a question about the lesson. My favorite subject in school so far is Dance, it is incredibly fun and I honestly get far more of a workout from Dance than from Gym. I again am so happy for the little japanese that I do know, because I have been able to make a few aquaintences and am able to hold a little conversation and make jokes at lunch time. I enjoy Japan so much already, it is very different and I enjoy learning about the differences greatly. I hope to have a year filled with experiences and I am working hard and studying japanese every day.

Rachel Hoffmann -- Bolivia

2008-06-04T21:27:00.002-04:00

May 30, 2008

Saludos para todos!!!

Hello Everyone, I know it has been a long time since Ive written, but I figured I should still let you all know what is going on. I only have 17 more days until I am back in the big USA, and have really mixed feelings about it. Of course I am so excited to see my family, but I really really really dont want to leave this place. It has been such an amazzzzzzzzing year and its hard when things come to an end. I´ll be back June 16th.

Lets see....to catch up on what I have been up to... well, I am in love with my family. I switched in February and honestly I am so incredibly happy I did. It was a choice I wasnt really sure I wanted to make, but I am so happy now. I was happy before and I had a really great family also, but I am just feeling so comfortable with this one. They really have taken me in as another daughter and I just have the best time with them. I am not supposed to know, but my mom apparently is making plans to come visit the USA already. I will miss them so much. I have kind of finished the University. It has been going so great. They call me ¨La Reina de la U¨which is the queen of the university. I have such a fun time there, I get to see all of my friends and I have actually learned quite a bit in my geopolitica class. The semester ends on Monday so I think thats probably it for me. I was lucky to take a trip with my class about a month ago. We had such a fun time together.

Last weekend I went to a place called Samaipata with my family. We rented a cabaña and even though the weather wasnt perfect, we had a really nice time. The most dangerous road in the world is supposedly on the way to Las Yungas in La Paz, where theres pretty much one lane, you, and a huge cliff. I have never been there, but I joked that the road to Samaipata is the second most dangerous road. There are rockslides and probably enough room comfortably for one and a half cars. Then the cliff. But it was hard to be too scared because the view was just so amazingly beautiful. There were mountains rolling everywhere covered in trees, it was georgous. On the side of the road there were country people selling manderinas. Samaipata is in the valley of Santa Cruz, and its famous because well one, its beautiful, two, that is where Che Guevara spent the last days of his life and was killed in a town close by, by our very own CIA, and three, many years before the Incans built and lived in this really amazing ruins up on this mountain. So we went up to see the ruins in the afternoon, they call it the ¨fuerte¨or fort. It was just really amazing to have a 360 degree view of beautiful mountains, and I just thought that it was pretty obvious why they chose that place to live. It was so peaceful. We were up there for the sunset, it was really great.

It was one of my favorite places Ive been too, but then again, it seems like every place I go is my favorite, only that they are so distinto and I dont like one more than the other. I just love everything here!!

Its finally getting cold here. I mean its probably not cold for you guys, but when it was 95 one day and the next it is like 50, theres a huge change. And I dont know, the cold is different here. They are just starting their winter. I even have this big jacket that I have to wear because Im so cold. I feel like Im just not used to it though. At first I thought it was refreshing, but now Im really looking forward to hot weather again.

We are starting to do all of our ¨despedidas¨here. Which are the going away parties. I have had a few friends go home already, and Im starting to hate the airport. Everytime I go there it is a little reminder that my turn isnt too far off. But we are enjoying everything we can these last couple of weeks. Tonight I am going out with all of my friends and we are having a party at the place where I dance salsa. All of my salsa friends are coming, along with the exchange students, and friends from the U. So it should be really fun.

Well, I wish everyone the best, I know that you are all starting your summers and enjoying being together. I will try to write one last email before I go home, but if not, then you all know Im a litlte closer than I am now. Just in Minnesota. I miss you all so much!

See some of you in DC in about three months!!!!

Love,
Rach (Raquelita)

Whitney Brown -- Belgium

2008-06-04T21:22:00.002-04:00

Monday, June 2, 2008

Hi Everyone!

I have been really busy since my last email. Belgium finalllllly has nice weather! Its finally warm and a lot less rain! Ive been busy going on day city trips around Belgium with other exchange students and concerts with my Belgian friends. lots of time spent outside, enjoying the sunny weather!

In the beginning of May I went to France with my host family for 4 days. They have a beautiful house in the countryside near Dijon. It was a quiet long weekend in the sun! It was so beautiful there... fields and fields of yellow flowers. We also went to visit an Abbey from the 1100s, so that was really exciting to see!

I also gave a presentation to the rotary about my year in Belgium. They had an American themed night which made it a lot of fun. Everyone wore american attire (jeans and sneakers), we had a big american BBQ with ribs and chicken wings and cole slaws, and they even arranged a line dancing lesson! haha it was a fun time. My presentation was a big hit! everyone loved it. I spoke for 45 minutes, entirely in dutch!! I was quite proud of myself and everyone was amazed at how quickly i learned the language! So that was an exciting moment!

Last week I went to sunny spain with my step mom, sisters, aunt, and grandma. And it was an amazing trip!! We stayed right on the southern coast near Malaga. It was soooo beautiful! We visit the impressive Picasso Museum, went to a spanish market, visited Granada and the Alambra, and had lots of delicious spanish foods and sangria! We had a great time soaking in the sun on the beach and catching up together. It was great! :-)

Tomorrow is my last day of school because then the final exams begin for the rest of the students. So I am free for the rest of June and will be spending a lot of time enjoying my last few weeks in Belgium with the other exchange students who are also finished with school. Only 23 more days and I am home sweet home! I hope all is well and see you all soon!!

Love,Whitney

Allie Ritz -- Italy

2008-06-04T21:19:00.001-04:00

Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Ciao.

Sorry I haven't written these last couple months. I completely forgot until now. Well things are going better. Its warm and I can go outside and be active. Nothing special to report. But I stoked to see my sister in Italy tour with her after the school years done!!!!!!! Hope everyone is doing well.

Lauren Bardin -- z Ceské Republice

2008-05-31T17:04:00.001-04:00

May 29, 2008

Ahoj, So, here I am with less than 4 weeks in this country and I'm not so sure I'm ready to say goodbye and leave. Another boy in my town here is leaving in less than 2 weeks, which I can't imagine, but it'll be here all too soon.

May here has seemed very similar to May at home, when kids are getting antsy in school and the weather is getting warmer and people are outside wearing t-shirts and sandals. It's been beautiful here and the fields are FULL of bright yellow blossoms, it's amazing! We have corn fields everywhere at home, but here it is all bright, beautiful yellow, (used for oil).

We've had a few Rotary functions this month, one of which was a benefit concert. We had to dress in our lovely Rotary jackets with the pins and present some flowers to people on stage. It was pretty amusing (mostly for people in the audience) because not even the people in charge knew exactly when or to whom we were supposed to present them. Afterwards, we were invited to a little gathering and I got to meet some Rotarians from Germany and the Netherlands, so that made it exciting.

Last weekend, we had the Rotary District Conference in Prague. We got to meet the Slovakian exchange students and we presented and sang some songs for the Rotarians then had a big fancy lunch with everyone. It was the last time I saw a lot of my exchange friends and it was really difficult to say goodbye. It made me realize that the end is nearing and it officially hit me that this year is over and I have more, harder goodbyes to do soon.

The next two weekends there are some exciting things planned in Trebic, like a rock festival. It's supposively very notorious and there will even be an American band there. I'm excited to hear some live music and do something outside because the weather is finally nice enough.

There are so many things I realize I need to accomplish before I leave here and I just hope I can do it all. It's going to be a miracle to fit all my things in my two suitcases and bring them back to the States. I know the sun is finally coming out in NY as well, so enjoy it! I will be returning on june 24 and seeing you all soon! Take care!

Jessica Wilke -- Poland

2008-05-31T17:01:00.001-04:00

May 26, 2008

I cant believe how long it has been since I have written! (I'm sorry!)

Ive been living with my 5th host family (counting the family i lived with for the 1st 2 weeks i lived in poland) for about 2 months now. Id say they are defiently my favorite family, and having 3 daughters there's always something going on! With them I've also gotten to go to many musical shows; philharmonica, an opera, a saxophone concert, and seen different parts of poland as well, which was great because the other families were also too busy for that.

In the begining of May as well as visiting family with my host family, was the 3rd exchange conference in Cracow (for sure one of my favorite cities in Poland!). It of course was tons of fun being with everyone again but also a very important time because we attended the March of the Living in Auszwitz (one of the largest concentration camps) where thousands of Jews gathered from all over the world to march through and around the camp. Going there was one of the most important things to me, to go and do while I was here in Poland. Although, as great as it was to be a part of something like that, it also took away from the solemness in this place, because of the joy that was there as this march is about conquering this horrible time and the fact that there still are millons of jews today. So i would really have liked to go a different time as well, that i could just really have the time and quietness to be in this place.

On a different note, the reality of this year coming to an end seems to be ever present in these last few weeks. It seems to be the most popular subject with just about everyone I talk to, in Poland and back home :( Last week I spent the week in Torun visitng my 1st host family and the other exchange students living there and most of the time we just sat by the river in the sun and talked about the year, and how we've changed and what we have experienced (mostly practicing answering the obvious questions we will be asked a million times when we get home haha). I didn't think I would feel so sad but the fact that this place, which has has been my home for the last year(through the best and worst times of my life) and the fact that most likely i will never see the majority of the people ive met here, ever again!
At this point im just planning my last few days here, trying to make the most of it and making sure to say goodbye to everyone that i can! And also, today is the last rotary meeting I will be attending and i will say a short speech in polish, saying goodbye and thanking them for allowing me to be here.

This Thursday is the last exchance student conference, its near the Baltic sea and should be the best meeting but also the sadest!!!! On sunday starts our 3 week Euro trip for those who are going (and for those who arent ill be saying goodbye to that day.) I am so excited to be going to; Germany, Holland, Belgium. France, Monaco, Italy and Hungary!! It's for sure the best way to end my year here and 2 days after i get back from this trip i will be going back to the USA.

Thank you so much for this opportunity, it really has been the best year of my life. Being an exchange student is something that can't really be understood unless you have experienced it. My friend has this saying "Americans don't get it, poles dont get it, only americans in poland get it". Of course its not just americans or just going to poland, but the point is the same. This year will forever be the hearts of all the exchange students all over the world this year, and now i can really understand why, when i talk to past exchangers, their year away still sticks out so much to them, as being one of the best!
-Jessica (poland)

Kristen Kilpeck -- Mexico

2008-05-31T16:58:00.001-04:00

May 20, 2008

Hi Everyone from Rotary!

Ive been super busy this past month with our Gran Viaje, or big trip, around all of southern Mexico. I had the best time of my life living and traveling with all of the other exchange students and getting to know all of southern Mexico. I came back to Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca (where I live) the 11th and then headed out the 15th to Puebla to stay with my older sister, and then to Mexico City to pick up my other sister who spent a year in Belgium from the airport. In Puebla my family and I went to AfricaM Safari (who knows why its spelled with an m), we went shopping, to the movie theatre, to the Puebla Fair, and we went out to an italian restaurant to celebrate my birthday,which was in January, because I never got a chance to celebrate it with this family. I just got back to Puerto Escondido last night, and this morning I went to my school with my host sister who stayed in Belgium to visit all of our friends that we havent seen in a while. This Friday is Students Day in Mexico and we only have a few hours of class and then a music competition. Im planning on doing my presentation on NY this Friday as well, and then Saturday Ill be heading out with my first host mother to Mexico City to catch my flight back to New York the 28th of May.

Everythings going very well, we actually are discussing the Welcome Back party for my sister today and my presentation for Friday as I type so I have to get going. But I just wanted to keep everyone in touch, I hope everythings going well up in New York, and Ill see you all within a week!!

TAKE CARE!!!

Kristen

Rachel Hoffmann -- Bolivia

2008-05-31T16:54:00.002-04:00

Friday, May 30, 2008

Saludos para todos!!!

Hello Everyone, I know it has been a long time since Ive written, but I figured I should still let you all know what is going on. I only have 17 more days until I am back in the big USA, and have really mixed feelings about it. Of course I am so excited to see my family, but I really really really dont want to leave this place. It has been such an amazzzzzzzzing year and its hard when things come to an end. I´ll be back June 16th.

Lets see....to catch up on what I have been up to... well, I am in love with my family. I switched in February and honestly I am so incredibly happy I did. It was a choice I wasnt really sure I wanted to make, but I am so happy now. I was happy before and I had a really great family also, but I am just feeling so comfortable with this one. They really have taken me in as another daughter and I just have the best time with them. I am not supposed to know, but my mom apparently is making plans to come visit the USA already. I will miss them so much. I have kind of finished the University. It has been going so great. They call me ¨La Reina de la U¨which is the queen of the university. I have such a fun time there, I get to see all of my friends and I have actually learned quite a bit in my geopolitica class. The semester ends on Monday so I think thats probably it for me. I was lucky to take a trip with my class about a monthago. We had such a fun time together.

Last weekend I went to a place called Samaipata with my family. We rented a cabaña and even though the weather wasnt perfect, we had a really nice time. The most dangerous road in the world is supposedly on the way to Las Yungas in La Paz, where theres pretty much one lane, you, and a huge cliff. I have never been there, but I joked that the road to Samaipata is the second most dangerous road. There are rockslides and probably enough room comfortably for one and a half cars. Then the cliff. But it was hard to be too scared because the view was just so amazingly beautiful. There were mountains rolling everywhere covered in trees, it was georgous. On the side of the road there were country people selling manderinas. Samaipata is in the valley of Santa Cruz, and its famous because well one, its beautiful, two, that is where Che Guevara spent the last days of his life and was killed in a town close by, by our very own CIA, and three,many years before the Incans built and lived in this really amazing ruins up on this mountain. So we went up to see the ruins in the afternoon, they call it the ¨fuerte¨or fort. It was just really amazing to have a 360 degree view of beautiful mountains, and I just thought that it was pretty obvious why they chose that place to live. It was so peaceful. We were up there for the sunset, it was really great.

It was one of my favorite places Ive been too, but then again, it seems like every place I go is my favorite, only that they are so distinto and I dont like one more than the other. I just love everything here!!

Its finally getting cold here. I mean its probably not cold for you guys, but when it was 95 one day and the next it is like 50, theres a huge change. And I dont know, the cold is different here. They are just starting their winter. I even have this big jacket that I have to wear because Im so cold. I feel like Im just not used to it though. At first I thought it was refreshing, but now Im really looking forward to hot weather again.

We are starting to do all of our ¨despedidas¨here. Which are the going away parties. I have had a few friends go home already, and Im starting to hate the airport. Everytime I go there it is a little reminder that my turn isnt too far off. But we are enjoying everything we can these last couple of weeks. Tonight I am going out with all of my friends and we are having a party at the place where I dance salsa. All of my salsa friends are coming, along with the exchange students, and friends from the U. So it should be really fun.

Well, I wish everyone the best, I know that you are all starting your summers and enjoying being together. I will try to write one last email before I go home, but if not, then you all know Im a litlte closer than I am now. Just in Minnesota. I miss you all so much!

See some of you in DC in about three months!!!!

Love,
Rach (Raquelita)

Alice Kelly -- Spain

2008-05-18T17:52:00.002-04:00

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Hola! Well the year is really winding down. I can´t believe it. It feels like just yesterday that I was on the phone with the Spanish Consulate,crying, because my visa had been denied, and now I´m on the phone with my parents arranging my return date. I leave in 4 weeks and I´m pretty sad.

This past month has been great. I went to Madrid the 1st through the 4th for the holiday weekend with some of the other exchange students, It was the best! I will miss the other students a lot! We have become really close. If any of you will be in Madrid at some point watch out for your stuff, cell phones books and entire backpacks were taken from us... Not fun!

This month I have my graduation from my highschool here. I´m excited to see what we´re going to be doing, so far it sounds quite close to the graduation I had last year at home, with a slide show and music.

I hope everyone is doing well!

Alice Kelly
Torrevieja Spain

Lauren Bardin -- Czech Republic

2008-05-03T09:03:00.001-04:00

April 28, 2008

Ahoj! How is everyone?

I can't believe that I'm down to only two months left here. I will fly home June 24th and it just doesn't seem real that it is actually a few days short of two months. I don't know how it'll feel to not hear Czech, see Czech, and enjoy the Czechness of everything around me. I'm going to miss almost everything about this place...even the not-so-subtle hints of remaining Communism. (Mom, Dad, and Kev could explain that for you, they saw it!)

My time spent with Mom, Dad, and Kevin was amazing! It felt so great to laugh and travel with them and we saw so many beautiful places. I met them in Malaga, Spain and we spent six days on the coast of southern Spain. We traveled to Rhonda, Granda, and Morocco and it was all gorgeous. It was so great to see the culture and people of Morocco (Africa!), that's something I definitely didn't expect to experience for my year here. Spain was wonderful; the weather was perfect, although Mom and I didn't get a chance for a real tan. But, as my dad said, you can't go all the way to Europe just to lay in the same sun. Next, we traveled Czech Republic and they got to see Prague, Cesky Krumlov, and Trebic. They actually got to meet all three of my host families and taste the delicious home cooking of each one. That is definitely a priceless experience I think. I know they really loved my host families and Trebic and especially the countryside of Czech. I'm glad they saw it now with its green fields and blooming cherry trees, because they definitely missed the long, gray, months of winter. It is so beautiful here though and I think it takes driving through the countryside, in and out of countless little villages, to really understand why.

Saying goodbye was difficult, as expected, but I just kept thinking I only had two months left as a Czech, so that thought actually overcame the others. I will see everyone and home again in less than two SHORT months and then this life is over, so I'll have to embrace every day as much as possible.

My family left on Wednesday and I was back in Trebic for only two nights then off for another trip with Rotary. Early Friday I woke up and traveled to another city in CR where all the exchange students met up and we filed onto a bus to begin our journey to Venice, Italy! We spent 3 days together.....with no showering. Yikes! Scary thought? Yessss. But it didn't matter because it was an amazing trip and it was the last thing on our minds. (Kind of last). We stopped in Salzburg, Austria and walked around the city at night and got to see it's famous sites as well. Then we drove all night until we arrived outside of Venice at about 6:30AM. We walked into the city and spent the entire day there. I went into one of the museums in the main square, San Marco Square, and got to see some artwork of Bellini!! You might know his very famous painting, Madonna Enthrowned with Child, which I got to see. Also, his famous brother, Giovanni Bellini. We got to walk the streets of Venice, which by the way are extremely small and crowded. After about 30 minutes walking and getting lost, I needed to escape to the seaside and lay in the sun without being shoulder to shoulder with strangers. The weather was brilliant and it couldn't have been better, I need to go back!! I also got a taste of some real Italian cuisine! Oh, and I actually heard a true Italian man say, "Mamma Mia!" That was a highlight for sure.

So, now I'm back to boring old Trebic. No, just kidding, Trebic is far from boring. I'll be back to school and the norm until the next big adventure. We have our Rotary district conference is about a month and that's the real last meeting for all the exchange students.

This is more than just the "last stretch" now, it's really the end. But, I never say goodbye, just, "See you again." I hope everyone is doing just fine and I can't wait to see you all when I return! Enjoy the Spring weather!!

Laurinka

Milind Rupchandani -- India

2008-04-13T21:37:00.002-04:00

April 10, 2008

So finally I gone over winter season. I am so happy i made it through winter. There is so much to tell and show you all about March Madness.

I went to Hartford, Conneticut for our school robotics competetion. I really had a wonderful time there. I had never been to such robotics competetion before. I was so impressed with craziness of people in first robotics. It's like a sport here.

After that trip we had one week of school then we had Easter. I celebrated my first Easter with my host family. We colored eggs and made eggs for every family member. I also got a lot of candies on Easter. I got 2 Easter Baskets!!

And then since we are robotics people..haha...we were invited by RPI college for the screening of film '2 Million Minutes'. That was good time too.

School is going excellent as usual. My third quarter grades are in 90s. After the Conneticut trip I got sick for a couple of days but now I am absolutely fine and ready for Spring.

This spring break my host family is planning to take me to Washington D.C. and also I m being trained by RPI to fly a blimp for the big robotics competetion in Atlanta so after D.C trip I am gonna go to Atlanta for competetion and fly the blimp there.

I will never ever forget this in my entire life.

I also have sent you some of pictures of March Madness.

Alice Kelly -- Spain

2008-04-13T21:33:00.002-04:00

April 11, 2008

Hola, todo el mundo! I hope everyone is doing well in their exchanges and having a good time! I cannot believe that it is already April! The time here is going by really fast. March was a good month, I had 2 weeks off from school for Semana Santa, which is a really big deal in Spain. There were processions every night. They were really beautiful, and we got a lot of candy :). On Easter we ate a big dinner and had mona, a special easter dessert. Also another exchange student from the United States living in Denia came and visited me for a few days. I hope everyone is okay! :) Adios!

Alice Kelly, Torrevieja España

Whitney Brown -- Belgium

2008-04-09T21:50:00.002-04:00

April 7, 2008

Happy Spring Everyone!!

I hope you all had a nice Easter holiday and that the weather is getting warmer for you in the states! its raining here in Belgium - as usual. Life is going so great in Belgium lately! I am so happy. A lot has happened since my last email, but ill try to make it brief.

In the beginning of March my Mom came to visit me in Belgium. I got to show her all around my new little country and we had so much fun together. She was here in Belgium for 5 days and we also made an excursion to Dublin for 3 days. We had a great time exploring the city, visiting the guiness storehouse and trinity college, and taking a tour of the beautiful Wicklow mountains and national park.

2 days after my mom went back to NY, I moved into the house of my 3rd host family. They are sooo great! And am so lucky - it is such a better feeling with them than with my 2nd host family. My new family has welcomed me with open arms and treat me like one of their own children! They live right in the center of the city which is also a really nice change!

2 days after moving into my new host family I left for a 12 day trip to Italy with my Belgian school. It was an amazing experience. We traveled all over - visiting Pisa, Florence, Rome, Assissi, the beautiful tuscan hillside, pompeii, Venice, Siena. I made sooo many great new friends within my school - it was the school's senior trip, so there were 100 of us. So now school is a lot more fun for me with all of my new friends! It rained almost every day in Italy but it was still beautiful and unforgettable. We were in Rome on Easter so we got to hear the pope! and I also got to celebrate my birthday in Rome ... and since i made so many new friends we had a blast celebrating!

When we returned to Belgium we still had one week of vacation before we had to go back to school, so I was still busy busy. I went to visit the American WWII Cemetery and Memorial in the south of Belgium with my friend Faith. My host mom and sister took me to the Belgian coast for the day - it was very cold but really beautiful. My host parents also threw me a birthday party and invited some other american exchange students over for the night. We made tacosss, went to the movies to see Step Up 2 and just had a great time laughing all night. Yesterday I went to the Royal Museum of Central Africa in Brussels - interesting to see because Belgium had a Colony in the Congo.

Today we went back to school... but i'm still very busy. Tonight I go a classical orchestra with my host family and friday they are also taking me to a ballet in Brussels. Now I am trying to see and do as much as I can before June 25th and i head back to the US. It is right around the corner!! I miss you all so much and hope you are doing well! Talk to you soon!

Love,Whitney

Lauren Bardin -- Czech Republic

2008-04-06T09:59:00.002-04:00

April 2, 2008

Ahoj, Ahoj, The first thing I have to say is, what I meant in the last email when I said I have a "jungle in my bathroom and staircase," I meant that there are humongous plants EVERYWHERE. When Doug was here he told me that comment was really confusing, until he actually saw all the plants, then he knew.

So, the adventure with Doug was fantastic, we had so much fun together. We had so many great brother/sister experiences in so many beautiful places. Doug's plane came in a little late so we didn't have time to catch our train to Krakow, Poland. Instead, we took a train to Otrava, Czech Republic, which is a city right on the border of Slovakia. I have some friends living there so we met up with them and they showed us a few fun places. Then we caught a 2:30AM train to Bratislava. This was quite complicated and I don't think either of us really remember how we did it or where we went because it was the middle of the night, Doug was jetlagged, I was trying to wake up at each stop to read the station signs so we'd know when to get off and find our transfer, and.....I ended waking a little late, just to see the "Bratislava Hlavni Nadrazi" sign as we pulled away. But, this train was ending in Budapest, which was one of our future destinations, so we decided we'd just switch our timetable around a bit. Once we arrived in Budapest, we realized we needed a map and a hostel ASAP so we could get some real sleep. After walking with our hiker backpacks in the pouring rain for about an hour, we finally reached a nice hostel and climbed in bed. Our two nights in Budapest were amazing! We met people from Ireland, Scotland, Norway, Israel, and Iran and had a blast with the 39 year old man from Ireland. He was the typical little Irishman, he had a lot to say and was a great deal of entertainment too. Next, we made our way to Bratislava for two nights. This is a beautiful city but it is smaller than most so there's not as much to see. Although it was very nice for me because the Slovakian language is very close to Czech so I could understand and get us around much easier than while we were in Austria or Hungary. Next we headed to Vienna, which was gorgeous! It is so easy to see the immense change from Eastern to Western Europe. Vienna had all the "new" (newer) government and museum buildings and many many clothing shops and western styles. Oh, and he Euro prices, yuck. We also met some cool people here at our hostel; some people from the states,from Romania, Ireland again, Japan, and Australia. The next two nights we spent in Trebic and, as I expected, Doug did really like my town! He got to meet my host family, former and present, my exchange friends, and my Czech friends. I think he had a good time, I know I had fun showing him beautiful Trebic. We spent the next two nights in Prague, where we saw only a small fraction of what there really is to see there. We met up with a friend of mine who lives there and he tried to be our tour guide but despite the fact that he'd been living there for 3 years, I had more of a sense of direction there than he did! It was fun though, we got to get a little lost and see the backstreets people don't normally travel by choice. We had one night in Dresden, Germany, which was....gross, actually. Whenever I think of that night it kind of makes me cringe, haha. Well, Doug and I were staying in a nice hostel but this hostel was pretty empty, except for maybe 7 other people...who all happened to be over the age of 40. There's nothing wrong with that, it's just different than what we were used to. And the two of these people who were in our room were lacking either manners, hygiene, or social skills. Or all 3. They were nice people to talk with, but Doug and I could not sleep all night because the 50 year old man from Kosovo kept waking up, walking around the room, opening the window, spitting, smoking out the window, riffling through his bag...there was no end to it. I was actually praising my 5AM alarm when it went off. The next days without Doug were so strange! We'd spent all the time together for about 12 days and then I was back in Trebic doing my normal routine. No Budapest, no crazy accents, no trains, no playing chess with crazy old Kosovonians. It was quite a trip; a SPECTACULAR one!

March was a crazy month; there was a lot of traveling and holiay from school. We had a week off for Spring holiday and then 3 more days off for Easter the following week. Oh! The Easter tradition here is the greatest! Well, I was away for Easter so I didn't get to witness it first hand, but I love the stories. Easter morning before noon, boys are supposed to go from door to door, each with some sort of soft branch from a tree. The girls in the house have to come down and the boys must say a rhyme while they whip the girls with the braches. It's supposed to symbolize health each time the girls are hit. Then, if the boys do a good job with the rhyme, they either get candy (for the little boys) or a shot of homemade slivovice (for the older boys).

Another exchange student, Kristen, from Texas, had her family here in Trebic so I got to meet them. That was fun, a little Texas flavor in Trebic! They were hilarious and a lot of fun.

This Saturday I am moving to my last host family. I don't know them at all, but the President of my rotary chose them for me and he's a cool guy, so I'm hoping they are welcoming me! I know they have 2 or 3 older kids; older and in university in Brno or Prague. So, maybe I'll have my own bathroom again! That'd be just fine with me. :D I'm a bit sad to be leaving this house though. Wow, can't believe I'm saying that after all the worrying when I first found out I was moving here. It's been great here and I've really come to enjoy the family; their humor, kindness, cooking, and care. I hope I can be as lucky in the next home.

In two weeks I will be in Malaga, Spain with Mom, Dad, and Kevin and I am BEYOND excited about that!! I can't stop thinking of how it'll feel to see them at the airport. And this time I'll be the one walking through the arrival gate with my suitcase instead of waiting endlessly for my own visitors in Prague's airport. After 6 nights in Spain, we'll fly back to Prague and spend two nights in Trebic, one night in the beautiful town of Cesky Krumlov, and three nights in Prague. !!!!

I've got to actually start packing for my move this weekend. I can't believe how much STUFF I've accumulated, what will I do with all of it when I have to fly overseas in a few months?!

So, I hope you're all doing well. The weather here is starting to get more and more pleasant so I imagine it's similar in Upstate NY. Yeah? I hope so, the Spring air is beautiful!

I miss you all!!!! Take care!!! Laurinka

Ashley Carey -- Finland

2008-04-06T09:51:00.002-04:00

March 31, 2008

Hey, sorry I haven't updated in such a long time!

In December, all the exchange students embarked on a Rotary-sponsored trip to Lapland, in the Arctic Circle. We had the opportunity to make many reindeer friends, learn about Lappish culture, dine in a Lappish restaurant, and go for a real sled ride driven by 20 huskies!

I must admit that I've been doing most of my record-keeping via photo albums on Facebook, complete with explanatory comments. I have also written a few blogs where are entirely abstract and irrelevant to being an exchange student, but which were inspired by the new things that I am learning here.

Here are the public links to a few of my albums, which will hopefully be an adequate substitute for a long, written update.

Lapland Part 1:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2000313&l=e23ab&id=1350060023

Lapland Part 2:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2000314&l=aeacb&id=1350060023

Bringing the Tradition of Thanksgiving to Finland:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2000311&l=db13a&id=1350060023

Brussels, Belgium; the most beautiful place I have ever visited: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2000349&l=5d82a&id=1350060023

More Belgium:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2000352&l=57b9e&id=1350060023

January, including preparation for the Wanhat dance:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2000368&l=a3f6b&id=1350060023

The Wanhat Dance!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2000389&l=2860f&id=1350060023

and finally, Febrary/March, my most recent photos:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2000413&l=b46f3&id=1350060023

In December, right after the Lapland Tour, I moved into a new host family, my second and final. The mother is from London, and since Finland is a country where English is a second language to nearly everyone, the entire family speaks English together. One thing I noticed in this household that I didn't notice in the last, is that the children sometimes call their parents by their first names.

I have unknowingly picked up many cultural traditions, and have attended the Wanhat Dance in my school, which is like a prom, but it's much more old fashioned, and the students take rigorous dance classes for three months. I preferred it very much over the dance styles of typical American high school students. However, I immediately and impulsively asked a boy I didn't know at all, out of fear that I would end up dateless, so we didn't talk much. It was fun anyway.

It's hard to believe that I come home in just three months. And I only have two months left in Finland, as the month of June is the Eurotour! I am very excited, and even excited to come home to glamorous old Amsterdam, but I am going to miss this quiet little country a lot more than I thought I would.

Rachel Hoffman -- Bolivia

2008-04-06T09:38:00.002-04:00

April 4, 2008

Happy April Everyone!

It´s almost my 8 month anniversary here. Only 2 and a half months left, which is really scary and sad because I feel like I want more time here. I dont know, maybe I will be ready to come home by then, but I know I will miss it so much. I will try to fill you all in on the stuff Ive been doing for the past month or so....it has been an interesting one.

I guess you could look at March as the worst month on my exchange so far because all of the bad stuff kind of happened at once. I got sick for the first time here, and I was robbed. But honestly, I am having the best time ever inspite of the past couple of weeks. First of all, my easter was great. I travelled to a town called Concepcion with my family and my sister´s friends and their families. We all got to hang out and it was very relaxing. But on the way back I must have eaten something bad because it turns out I wassick all week. But now Im better and everything is fine. I lost 2 kilos which was a plus, but it could have been because I was living off of soup and crackers.

Last Sunday I was invited to a churrasco with my friends from my salsa class. I dont think I have had that much fun in a really long time. It was so great. I am usually always having fun here, but there are times when I am in a group of Bolivians where its not as easy to be myself or to find conversation, so it can be a little more awkward, but this past weekend wasnt like that at all. We went to a camp of one of my friends, there was a pool and a volleyball court and a futbol field, and ostriches walking around freely. We layed in hammocks and swam, and ate. It was so fun. We stayed the whole day there, joking around. We might have danced a little too, afterall I was with my salsa classmates. Well then I got a call that someone broke into our house that day around lunchtime, when (luckily) my family was out to eat. It could have been bad if they were home. My ipod and camera were stolen out of my room, but nothing else, so I am lucky. But unfortunately other things were stolen from the house, like jewelry and other valubles of my parents. Everything is fine now though, and I honestly wasnt too upset because I had such a great day with all of my friends. I live on a very safe street with a guard and I still feel safe, it just stinks that sometimes stuff like this happens here.

On Wednesday there was a huge march for Autonomia here in Santa Cruz. I went with my classmates from the University. I wore my tshirt to represent Santa Cruz, and carried a flag that translates to pretty much, support autonomy! I wasnt sure how I would feel being a part of this because I am not cruceño, but I talked with my compañeros a little and got their opinions. They all said that, I am living here and even though it doesntaffect me much, it is nice to have the support. It was one of the coolest things Ive done. We marched over 3 miles, about one million people, all with their green and white flags(from Santa Cruz) to support this.

The next day at school we had a festival of traditions. I had to use a dress called a tipoy(Im not sure how to spell it), but its traditional for Santa Cruz. I helped bring food and brought special hot chocolate. There were 4 tv stations there, and I didnt have a choice and was pulled into a traditional dance that happened to be on tv. Me in my little cambita dress. I think the whole university was staring at me, but it was really cool to be a part of it. The girls in my class did a braid in my hair for me too.

Today I took my final exam and I think I did alright. Although I realize now that my teacher thinks Im german. The other day he asked where my family was from, and I was like, well my name isfrom Germany. And so he thought that meant that my dad was German. I didnt feel like taking a bunch of time to describe how many years ago the descendents of my dad came from there, but hes in no way German. Today when I handed him my test he says ¨danke schun¨ so I said yourwelcome in german. It was pretty funny. I guess he hasnt noticed all of the kids trying to speak English with me. ¨I am speaking English¨ they all say. Or in the case of the guys, ¨hello baby¨.

This afternoon Im going to a party with my classmates to celebrate finishing off the month. Monday starts a new material. Im taking Bolivian social orginization. Then later I am going cosmic bowling with the people from my salsa class. And Sunday there is a classico (the biggest futbol game in Santa Cruz, because its against both of the two SC teams, Oriente and Blooming). I havent gone yet, so it should be really fun.

The only otherinteresting news I have is that the other day on the news a baby was born with one eye here in Bolivia. It was a very strange site to see.

I hope everyone is doing great and hopefully warming up a bit. Its just starting to get cold here. I think it was 75 today! I got on the bus to go to school and I almost thought I was in La Paz(cold city in Bolivia) because everyone was wearing their coats and sweaters. It was like 70 degrees.

I love you all and miss you tons!!!!!!

Allie Ritz -- Italy

2008-03-24T21:55:00.004-04:00

March 12, 2008

Well things have gotten better here. The weather is warming up so I'm passing more time outside. I've gotten in touch with a couple of the girls that I met at the airport and we are going to try to meet up in the last few months. So im really looking forward to that.

For Rotary here in Pisa, I wrote a short article of my experience, in Italian. I've rewritten it in English:

Dear Friends, My name is Alexandra Ritz. I'm an American exchange student in the Rotary Club of Pisa. I have been in Pisa since Setember 2007. This is a wonderful experience that I'll never forget. I have the oppurtunity to live with an Italian family and to be completely immersed in the traditions and in the italian culture.

There are some differences between the cultures but nothing drammatic. Some examples are that in the american schools the students change classrooms while the teachers remain in the same class. There aren't any oral exams only written exams. Then there are only four years of high school instead of five.

Another difference is that the italian teenagers have more liberty because when the are 14 yrs. old they can drive a moped and then at 18 they can get their drivers license whereas in the United States you can get the license when you turn 16. The italian public transportation is more efficent and used more. In the US public transportation is only common in the big cities because it doesn't exist in the small towns or it's expensive. I am happy to be able to use the bus because it gives me more independence and I don't need to rely on the host family to drive me plasses. Infact often I take the bus to go between home and Pisa.

The italian life style is more traditional. For example they eat lunch all together everyday. This isnt possibile in the US because we are in school until 3 so we eat in school. This aspect was different for me but now I am used to it and I rather enjoy returning home to eat and chat with my host family. The italian culture is more family orientated in respect to the american culture.

The eating habits in Italy are healthier. The diet is more balanced and the food is fresher, especially the bread which is made everyday. The food doesnt vary much from american food because we eat a lot of pasta too. I love the focaccia which is a type of bread and the vegetables because they have a lot of flavor the way that they are cooked. And then the coffee...its to die for!!!! I dont think Ill be able to drink american coffee when I return in the US after having had italian coffee.

Since I've arrived I have been living with the Mazzarosa family. I get along with them really well and they are all really nice. I have a sister, Lucrezia, 17, and a brother, Giuseppe, 13. I am very happy to have their company because I come from a family of five kids so I am used to having other kids around. I appreciate everything that the Mazzarosa's have done for me specially for their generosity and support. I couldn't thank them enough nor be able to express in words my gratitude. This experience wouldn't have been possible without their hospitality. I thank also Rotary for everything that they have made possible.

Allie Ritz

Rachel Hoffmann -- Bolivia

2008-03-24T21:44:00.001-04:00

Monday, March 17, 2008

Hey Everyone!

I guess it is about time for me to write my March letter, I will really try hard to not make it a novel like the last one. It´s just there is always so much going on here.

It´s almost my 7th month anniversary here. Today is Saint Patty´s day which really isnt a holiday here, but there is an Irish Pub in the plaza so all of the exchange students are going there to hang out. I might even wear green. Last night was Palm Sunday and it was really cool to see. My family doesnt go to mass here, but I went to the plaza last night, which is in the center of town, and there were women all lined up along the streets with palm branches making crosses and other figures. There were men with carts loaded with big chocolate eggs. And the plaza was full of families and people that were going to the mass at the cathedral. This coming week is Semana Santa, Holy week, and I might travel with my family.

So I changed families about a month ago, just to see something else, a different way of life and what not, and to get to know more people. I absolutely love them. I live with my mom, Martha, my dad, Fernando, and my sister Marty(also named Martha). I also have two older sisters Claudia and Fabiola, but they married the past fall. I was lucky to go to the wedding of Fabiola. So they dont live here anymore, but I see them often when they visit the house. I love having another sister close to my age. Marty just came back from her exchange from Virginia. We have a great time talking. She talks probably twice as much as me, but we get along great and its fun to have her around. We go shopping and go out, its been so much fun with her. Plus it is nice because she goes to the highschool that I used to go to, so I know all of her friends, and it is nice to get back in touch with them after the summer.

I live a lot closer to the center now, only 7 blocks from the plaza, where we usually meet, so Its nice to be walking everywhere and to get to know the streets better. Before I lived in the 3rd ring around the city, and was always taking taxis, so I am also saving money! I have a maid named Vikki, and I love her so much. She has been with this family for a long time and is more a friend than a maid. Her daughter just got married. Before lunch while I wait for the family to get home from work, I sit in the kitchen and help her make juice or we just talk.

Now I am going to a University called Domingo Savio. I take a micro(bus that drives extremely crazy) to school every morning. I have class from 8 until 11:15. I am loving it so much more than highschool here. I understand everything that the professor is saying. Right now I am taking the class of Bolivian Culture. Before I took political science, and it was really interesting to get a different point of view on politics in the world. I have made a lot of friends in the U, so after class sometimes we just hang out or go to lunch. Today I took my first test, and I think I did pretty well. Wednesday I have to help present with my group about the second Bolivian president. It will be a test of how good my spanish really is.

Nothing new is really happening. I am still having a great time but am realizing that it is coming to a close and that time is flying by faster than I could ever imagine.

My other project is that I am helping with a school thats a few blocks away to make an English CD. I have to record my voice saying really simple phrases like ¨This is a bed¨ its a little boring, but its kind of cool to know that Im going to be the voice that all those cute little Bolivian kids here when they are learning english. I kind of feel bad for them now that I think about it. Its just another cool opportunity that came up.

One of my favorite things here that I started doing again is my salsa class. I absolutely love it. There has not been one time that I have gone and not had a good time. Even if my day is bad and I dont have energy to go, I show up and I always have an amazing time. Ive made a lot of friends in the class, by the way Im in the best level now. I remember when we attempted to learn in Spanish class, and I had to be the man. Well when I come back I will have to give some lessons. Its so great though, the guys are really nice to me and my friend Lucy, from Albany, because sometimes we can be disasters, but they help us learn and they are patient. The only problem is that half of the men are shorter than me so when it comes time for them to dance with me you see them get a look on their face like ¨oh no not the tall gringo girl again¨ because we end up twisting arms and its just kind of awkward. Its still so much fun though.

Well I hope that everyone at home is doing great. I heard that its finally feeling like spring there. Here its feeling like ¨fall¨ I guess you could say. Really hot in the day still, but it cools off a lot at night.

I miss you tons and love you all so much!

Love,
Raquel

Alice Kelly -- Spain

2008-03-24T21:39:00.000-04:00

Monday, March 10, 2008

Hello everyone!

February was a crazy, hectic, and fun month for me. I left the 9th and went on a rotary trip to Italy. It was fantastic. It was the first time I was able to meet the other exchanges in Spain since I missed the orientation. It was a blast. We went to Rome, Florence, Venice, Naples, and Capri. It really was a great trip, if any of you are thinking about doing a rotary trip I fully recommend it, it is a great way to bond with other exchange kids.

After Italy I went to Barcelona to meet up with my parents and my brother who came to visit! It was so exciting to see them after 5 months! We were able to travel all around Spain and go to places I hadn't yet visited, like Toledo and Madrid. It was sad to see them go though. My spanish has gotten a lot better. I am really starting to understand a lot more, and although speaking is a bit dificult it is getting better. I will get 2 weeks of from school for Semana Santa, or Easter. I am not sure what I am going to do for my vacation yet. I hope all of you have a great Easter!

So here is a link to my Semana Santa Pictures. Happy Easter everyone!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=115&l=087a7&id=1370310008

Raffaele Pantaleo -- Venezuela (Schenectady Rotary, host)

2008-03-24T21:35:00.003-04:00

March 15, 2008

I write to you about how it's going so far. Its going good; I change of family few weeks ago and this will be my third family.The school is going good; I don't have any problems at all everything its going all right.

This is my report of this month; I am not sure if the other ones that i sent to you, you had recesive it, i think that i made a mistake in the e-mail adreses. Thank you Raffaele Pantaleo

Milind Rupchandani -- India

2008-03-15T09:26:00.001-04:00

March 10, 2008

Hello,
So finally we are almost near the end of winter and I am so happy about it because when I came here everybody used to scare me about winter in Albany but finally I made it through winter.
This winter break I had a very scary experience in my life. We went mount hiking in Adirondaks and we all had quite an experience there. Also I am going for baseball try outs in my school now on so I am quite tired at the end of the day. I hope I make through the team but since this is my first time playing baseball so I am little nervous and although if I am not selected I will be happy because at least I tried it.

My host family is great. We watch a lot of movies both Hollywood movies as well as Bollywood movies. My health is fine and everything is alright. My school grades are also good.
So I am enjoying a lot here and I think now that it will be so hard to leave in the end.

Allie Ritz -- Italy

2008-03-15T09:22:00.002-04:00

March 06, 2008

Well, its already march!!! It's exciting and saddening to think that theres only 3 months left. I'm sure it'll go by much quicker especially as the weather improves and I can pass the time outside in the sun!!!

Well there's really nothing too exciting to tell so until next month, ciao ciao a presto.

Allie Ritz

Karissa Seeberger -- Argentina

2008-03-06T21:31:00.001-05:00

Monday, March 03, 2008

Señor Dwyer y Rotary:

I´m not sure exactly when was the last time I sent an email, so I suppose it´s better to send too many as opposed to too few. As of now, i recently returned from a trip to Uruguay and Buenos Aires. Two Argentine members of Rotary accompanied myself and 2 other american girls with 2 germans on a day trip to cross the border in order to renew our visas. As much as I am enjoying Argentina, I have to say, it is very much so a hassle to leave the country every three months so that i can stay for another 3. The trip to Uruguay was pleasant. We traveled on a very nice ferry in order to cross one of the widest rivers in the world that segregates argentina from uruguay. We arrived and went to a small historical city called Colonia. Later that evening we returned to Buenos Aires and I stayed there for the weekend with a classmate of mine who is currently studying at the university there.

as of now, i will be starting journalism at the local universities in a week. I recently discovered that it is one of the best universities in all of south america, so i am greatly looking forward to that. I´ve been continuing with my classed for tango and feel as though i have learned very much in the six month time span in which i have been practicing. We should be having a recital soon! so i have chosen a return date after talking it over with my host parents and my real parents. I will be returning on the 21st of June, and will arrive in Albany on the 22nd of June...all is very well here in San Luis, and it will only be better once i am busy studying again!
Okay, thank you for you support!
hope all is well in New York!
un abrazo
Karissa Seeberger, San Luis, Argentina

Whitney Brown -- Belgium

2008-02-29T22:01:00.002-05:00

February 29, 2008

Hi, everyone, Just keeping you up to date on my busy days.

In the begining of the month I went to visit Middelburg in Holland. It is the middlerbugh that the middleburgh in new york was settled by. So that was pretty neat. Its a cute little town with lots of canals and windmills.

My Rotary presentation about the USA went great! they all were so thrilled with my dutch and think it is so great that i am learning the language even though i wont be able to really use it anywhere else in the world besides the north of belgium and holland. Haha, so that was a nice evening.

I went to my third host family's house 2 weeks ago for a lunch date and I CANT WAIT to move there! They made me feel so welcome and I can already tell that I will feel so much at home there than this second host family. They have a really nice 3 floor apartment in the middle of the city, which is sooo much easier than the half an hour bus ride to the city that i have to take from the home of my 2nd host family. They already invited me to go to France with them in May for 5 days... so thats really exciting! I will be moving in with them (the Dierckx family) 2 weeks earlier than planned, on March 16th. My new address is:

Pieter de Nefstraat 8
B-2300 Turnhout Belgium

Yesterday I had a field trip with the school to the European Union headquarters in Brussels. So that was very interesting.

The big highlight of the month was from february 19th to the 27th, when my brother came to visit!! It was such a fun time!! We did a bit of sight seeing in Brussels and Antwerp - we went to the famous Comic Strip Museum in Brussels and to tour a Brewery. I introduced bobby to the wonders of Belgian waffles, fries, mussels, chocolates, and famous beer! We went to Amsterdam for a day - we went to Anne Frank's house and to Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. We also went to Paris for 3 days - visited the top of the eiffel tower, notre dam, and toured the louvre. Anddd we also took a day trip to Bastogne in the South of Belgium to visit some famous WWII museums and american memorials. We were busy busy and just had such a nice time together!

Tomorrow I am going to Antwerp for the day with the rotary club and exchange students in belgium. And I am also getting ready for my next trip --- my mom arrives on wednesday for a visit!!!! lots of excited stuff happening around here. I hope all is well with you all. I cant wait to be back to see you. I will be home in less than 4 months! the time is going to fly by! keep in touch and talk to you soon!

love, Whitney

Lauren Bardin -- Czech Republic

2008-02-29T21:52:00.002-05:00

February 2008

Ahoj everyone!! If you find that in my email I am rambling or making no sense at all, I'm sorry, it's because Doug is going to be here in less than 2 days and I can't make myself calm down, I am so excited and anxious!!! In less than 2 days we will begin our journey over Central Europe! I am meeting him in Prague on Friday afternoon then we're taking a long train ride to Krakow, Poland. We'll stay the night there in a hostel (for $16, pretty nice, eh?) and possibly visit Auschwitz. Then we'll make our way to Výsoke Tatry, which are some mountains in Slovakia. The next night we'll stay in Bratislava and the next two nights we'll be in Budapest. Then one night in Vienna and then back to good old Trebic. I'm really excited to introduce Doug to my host family, old and new, my friends, and my way of life here; I really think he's going to love it. After two nights here we will head to Prague for two nights, and then a last night in Dresden, Germany because Doug has to fly home from there. It's going to be a lot to do, but we're ready for it, we can't wait! I haven't been able to fall asleep at a normal time in a week and I don't feel tired from it yet. I have a feeling I'll be running on excitement and adrenaline until Doug leaves.

Other than planning our trip, I have been doing a lot of other things. I mentioned before that I had recently moved to my new host family and I was very scared about what my future would hold. But, this house has been spectacular! I've seen a completely different side of my YEO and I'm really glad they took me in here. The mother is so caring, funny, loves to joke with her son and husband, and is a fantastic cook. My host dad is also a fantastic cook; he made mexican food one of the first weekends I was here and it was delicous! Definitely not Mexican mexican food, it had a little Czech twist to it, but it was great. He's also helped me a lot with my traveling plans with Doug; he has a lot of insight because he is constantly driving all over the country for his work. (Which I have yet to discover what it is...here they just say "businessman" and leave it at that.) My host brother is also great; he's a lot of fun, usually pretty talkative, always making jokes, and has a lot of silly, entertaining friends. We go to the same school but hardly see each other inside the building, which I think he likes, because he's not big on the whole studying thing and I don't think he wants me to see that first hand. I hadn't, until just recently, when his English teacher asked me to come and help out every Wednesday. So now, I get to help teach that class too, and spy on how well my host brother is doing. hehe. Of course, his english is almost better than mine because he was in Maryland as an exchange student last year and he's a bright kid. I am living about the same distance away from the main square as I was at my last host family, but here I walk everywhere. And...I love it! I think I'll be going home a walk-aholic. Usually I ride to school in the AM with my host mom but sometimes I walk, then I walk home and everywhere in between. It's about a 25-30 minute walk to my house but I'm really enjoying it now and I even have massive hills to conquer. Every time I walk home after school I mean to take pictures because the sun is usually going down behind the buildings and the sky is pink and it's perfect, but I haven't done it yet because there's always people out walking and they might think I was strange (or obviously a tourist) if I took photos of the communist buildings in Trebic. So yeah, I did enjoy the long walks very much....until 2 weeks ago. Not last weekend but the weekend before, I went to a semi-formal for a school in my city. The dance forum was so full of people and tables and chairs and it was impossible not to be squeezing through people when walking from one place to another. So, the dance floor was a million times worse and I was sacrificed in the mix. A man...a big man...crushed me. He crushed my left foot. He stomped on it while doing the polka...and more than once! I'm hoping it was because of drinking too much wine and not because he was such a horrendous polka dancer, otherwise his wife's feet must be permanently obliterated. I didn't think much of it at the time because I didn't want to believe it could have really hurt me, but the next day I looked at it and realized OUCH! I couldn't walk on it at all the first 2 days but I didn't want to say much about it to my host parents because I knew they'd insist I see a doctor and there was no way I was going to the doctor because there are still complications from when I went in October! And I'm sure all the doc would have said was, "Drink tea and stay home from school." Apparently tea solves everything in the Czech Republic; they'd put their own lives in the hands of tea. It is yummy... Well, now my foot is better, I can walk normally yet I'm not ready to go running or play basketball or anything. Ouch. I feel pretty tough though; it's been the closest I've ever come to breaking a bone in my body.

I went to another ples (dance) last weekend and this one was for a school where I didn't really know anyone except 2 other exchange students. Luckily, word of who is from America gets around fast and all of a sudden you have a bunch of friends! Or at least people telling you they want to come visit in NYC and see the Statue of Liberty and eat hamburgers. They always turn out to be a lot of fun and I usually see people at these balls that I don't get to see every day in school, so that's fun too.

A few weekends ago I went with my host parents to meet my host dad's sister and her family. They told me we'd all go and spend one night there because they had to go to a Rotary ball and didn't want to drive home. They said I could hang out with their neice and nephew who are both about 20 and it sounded like fun to me. I guess I assummed that both my host parents and the other set of parents were going to the ball together, because I was very very surprised when at 4PM my host parents said they should probably get going to the ball and they got up and left. Oh, just another extremely awkward night to add to the many I've accumulated since becoming an exchange student, it's all good. No, it wasn't so bad, the kids were super super nice and a lot of fun. We went to a smaller village for a "mask party," supposively celebrating some sort of Christian holiday, although I saw no signs of religion, only old men drinking beer and couples dancing the polka in a tiny volunteer-firemen/community-type-building. I got to know the son and daughter (my host cousins) better and we had a lot of fun, I was even forced to dance polka, the Czech national dance, in the middle of all the crazy dancers.

Oh! I got my haircut! I was really scared about doing it but my friend was dying her hair so I just made the appointment and hoped for the best. Czechs don't have the best style....especially hair style and espeically in my city, so I was more than nervous when the scissors cut of more and more of my hair. When she finished, I was a little heartbroken that so much of it was gone and I thought the style looked very very Czech and I was scared I wasn't goign to know what to do with it, but I'm now used to it. It's definitely got some Czechness to it, but I guess that's cool because well, I am supposed to become Czech.

I hope everyone back home is keeping warm and keeping safe from all the snow and ice, I'm hearing you're getting more and more! I hope you're all doing well, miss you all, take care!! Laurinka

ps-I have a jungle in my bathroom and all the way up my stairs to my room.

Rachel Hoffmann -- Bolivia

2008-02-29T21:49:00.001-05:00

February 26, 2008

Hey Everyone!

It has been a while since I have written. I just finished my 6 months here and I would have to say that January was probably my favorite month so far. It has been extremely busy, but I am enjoying everything!

Well as you probably know I went to Brasil (to the beach!) for the New Year, and then I came back for two weeks, then I set off again on another trip with all of the exchange students. It was so amazing. There were 24 of us, in total, who are living all over Bolivia. But most of us are here in Santa Cruz. So we left from Santa Cruz to Sucre, which is the official capital of Bolivia but the government is located in La Paz. A few months ago there were a lot of issues there and a lot of protests with police and the people. But when we went everything was fine. It is a really beautiful city. Almost all of the houses and buildings are white and have the colonial style because it developed during the time the Spanish were there, so there are a lot of really pretty buildings. We went to a couple of museums there, it was fun to get to know more about the history. If you know Ignacio, ¨Nacho¨, the exchange student at Salem, he is from that town and his host sister, Molly, is my friend. She is staying at his house for the year. It was so refreshing though, we got off the plane in Sucre, and it was about 30 degrees cooler than Santa Cruz and sooooooooo nice to feel some semi colder weather. It was our vacation from the humidity for two weeks.

So we stayed there for a couple of days, and then we took a bus to Potosi, which is the highest city in the world. Well it is tied with a city in the Himilayas. The ride was so beautiful. There were mountains, land slides that took out part of the road, and just a lot to see. We kept going higher and higher and then it just flattened out and around you were all of the mountains, but just flat land. It was really barren, and a lot of poor people live there. They dont have cars in the country, and take everything by foot or by horse or donkey. Or anything thats not a car. So anyway, it was a lot colder in Potosi. It was also extremely hard to breath because of the altitude. It felt like someone was stepping on my chest. And the great thing about it was the city is really hilly so we got to walk a lot up these huge hills, well they seemed huge at the time when I couldnt breathe. Potosi is a mining town, and very depressing. The land was almost reddish, and all of the kids have really rosy cheeks from the cold and the sun. It is what they would call a ¨cuya¨ town, here in Santa Cruz. Where the people are poor and they speak with a different accent. A lot of them are supporters of Evo. Anyway, it was really cool to see though. We got to visit the mines and this was soooooo cool! We dressed up in these hideous looking mining outfits with the head gear and lamp and everything. There were a bunch of gauchos too(Argentinians) that we all had crushes on. So we go up this creepy road to the mines on the top of the mountain. Oh but at the bottom you can buy coca leaves and cigarettes and bomb materials for insanely cheap. Its for the miners, but it was kind of creepy how easily accesable it was. The coca and cigarettes are for the miners because they are in a creepy dark cold mine all day and the coca helps them stay awake and not be hungary, and if you want to take their pictures its nice to give them something. So we entered the mines, which are full of minerals. It was really cool to see. Theres silver, zinc, and a bunch of other ones I dont remember. Its one of the richest mineral mines in the world. They were actually exploading while we were in there, but the guide didnt seem worried, so I tried not to be. They have this special religion in this city where they believe in the devil but it protects the miners, they call it the ¨tio¨and then there is the mother earth, and its all about the protection of the miners. It was kind of scary inside but really interesting to see.

So after a day there we took a bus to the Salar de Uyuni. Which are the biggest and most beautiful salt flats on the world. Apparently you can see it from the moon. It is just miles and miles of flat land which is natural salt. Once it used to be a lake or something like that they think, and it dried up and now it is just salt. So the ride to Uyuni is about 10 hours long, depending on road conditions. It was extremely cold, okay so it was only like 40 but when you are at such a high altitude and can´t breath it is a different, dryer cold. We left at night and drove the whole way there, but the road is just mud and it was horrible. At one point at about 3 in the morning the bus stopped and we all had to get off, run in the wild across this huge flat land, luckily it wasnt a hill, it was bad enough running in the altitude, in the cold. It was so windy. The bus drove off the road and goes flying across to the other side until it made it to the good side of the road again. It was a site to see, a bunch of gringos running at night, and this bus that looked like it was about to fall apart any minute. We were so tired when we got back on. It was something I will never forget though. In all of the cities, no matter how cold they are, they dont have heat. So I slept with a bunch of clothes, my llama hat and mittens, and about 5 blankets. Oh and the showers are freezing, if you are lucky you might get a semi warm one. But the next morning we set off in a group of 5 SUVs to go to the salt flats. It had rained the day before so they were flooded, but only with about 3 inches of water. First we arrived at a train cemetery. It was where they dumped the trains that transported all the minerals. It was kind of eerie, but there were beautiful mountains in the background and the sky was so blue. My friend Lucy fell in a hole in a train and we had to pull her out. It was pretty cool. So we thought that was beautiful, but we keep driving and all of a sudden the horizon disappears. We had to wear sunglasses because it was so bright with the reflection of the sun and the white of the salt. We kept driving until all you could see was white around you, the sky, and the mountains in the distance. The amazing thing was because it was flooded, the water reflected the sky exactly like a mirror, so it felt like we were flying. It was like heaven. The most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life. It wasnt that cold anymore beacause the sun was out. We stopped to get out and took a bunch of pictures, and because it is so flat, you can pose like you are eating someone, or holding them in your hand. It was so much fun. So we drove to this island in the middle of the salt flats, it took about 2 hours, then we ate lunch there. The island was full of cacti(cactuses?) it was really cool.

On the way back we rode on the top of the SUVs and I got to watch the sunset in the distance. To the left there were thunderstorms, and you could watch the lightning strike in the distance. But Straight ahead was the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen. To the right there was a little rain storm that looked really out of place, because it was only one little cloud. We stopped at the Hotel de Sal, its made purely of salt, and I met some Russians and Japenese people there. We stayed until the sun went down all the way. There arent words to describe it, it was just so beautiful. Everyone has to go to the salt flats!

So after Uyuni we went back to Potosi again, and the same thing happened with the bus, we got out and ran. We spent some more time there looking at museums and stuff like that important to the history of Bolivia. It was right before carnaval, one of the most important holidays here(not really, but probably the most famous) anyway everyone would attack us on the street with shaving cream and water balloons. After a while we got the point and bought some to attack the other gringos that we saw on the street. From there we went back to Sucre, then took a plane to La Paz.

In La Paz we met up with a new exchange student who lives here in Santa Cruz now, she is from New Zealand. Her accent is so cute. We went to the witch street where they have llama fetuses, oh by the way I ate llama and it was soooooooo delicious! I bought a bunch of artesenal stuff for gifts. Then we left for Lake Titicaca, which sadly I had to tell my mom doesnt mean ¨lake booby poop¨, it means sacred lake, or puma rock, depending on which language. It was cool because half of the lake belongs to Peru, so I was really close to Peru! We ate lunch in this town called Copacabana, where hippies line the streets selling jewelry and there are tons of places to eat fresh trout from the lake. The water was so blue and the day was perfect. So we took the boat from Copacabana to La Isla del Sol, island of the sun. It was so beautiful. It is inhabited by indigenous people, and once it was inhabited by the incans, and then later another ancient group. they have ruins there. it was cool because they do the terrace farming there and a bunch of natural plants grow there that are used for medicine, I think before they grew them, and now they just grow on their own. Our hotel was really cute, made out of stones, and there were little girls that followed us there to sing for us. One of the girls names was Rosario. At night before dinner there were probably about 6 little kids, from the age of 3 to 6 and a few of my friends and I learned the song ¨la cucaracha¨ and we sang and danced with them in a circle. then we would all fall down. we let them take pictures and they loved it! These are little kids that are pretty poor and may have never seen a camera in their life. It was so cute. By the end of the night they were clinging to us. Then my friend Zane break danced for them, and from the money they gained from singin, they tried to pay him some. It was the cutest thing ever. Once again, we watched one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. It was over the lake looking out from our room window, and everything turned navy blue and orange. Some of us swam in the water, but it was sooooooooooooooo cold, so I stayed out. I dipped my feet in though.

We headed back to La Paz and spent more time there. Our friend Julien took us out to a disco there, and let me tell you high altitude dancing really tires you out! We were such a big group that we kind of took over every place we went, but we met a lot of cool people, and now I think we are the most famous gringos in Bolivia.

After La Paz we headed to Cochabamba and saw the Christo on top of the hill. I think its the biggest in the world. You probably know the one from Rio in Brasil. One of the guys who helped build it did the weddings of everyone in my new host family. I danced with him at my sister Fabiola´s wedding. He was the coolest priest I have ever met. He could go lower than I could when we were dancing and he´s like 75!

So after Cochabamba it was a flight to Tarija. This is more like Santa Cruz, just smaller. It is known for its vinyards and fruits and people. They say that people from Tarija sing instead of talking. My dad from my last family is a Tarijeño and no matter how often Id see him he´d always greet me with ¨Raqueliiiita¨. It was so cute. So we went to this really pretty vinyard called the Casa Viejo. We just passed time in the city and the plaza. We also visited this really beautiful and peaceful waterfall. I fell in, some people went swimming. It was really nice. We ate at these markets and bought some fruit, but I got sick for the first time in Bolivia, and go figure it was 5 months into my trip. The food was still good though, but I was in bed for the last day of the trip. It was still fun though.

After 12 days of traveling, all of us were so close. It was so amazing to bring people from all over the world together, and have us get along so well! In all, there were kids from France, Belgica, Alemania, Canada, The USA, and New Zealand. We are such good friends, and we had a great time so we are going to try to plan another little trip with all of us.

When we got back we had carnaval, which is more traditional in other cities, but in Santa Cruz it consists of being painted by paint that doesnt come off at all, after 2 weeks I finally got the blue off of me, but not out of my hair, so I had to dye it. There is a lot of singing, dancing, and a lot of drunks in the street for 3 days. The first two days are great, but the last day they start to squirt shoe polish and pee at you in the water guns, so it´s best not to leave the garage or house that day. It was crazy, but we had the best time.

I switched my host families about a week ago, just to get a new experience, and I absolutely love them. I loved my last one too. But it´s nice because I am now living closer in the city and can walk places instead of taking creepy taxis. I also started classes the other day in the University. My career is international relations and right now my class is political science. I have a lot of friends, one who I actually met on my trip to Brasil. We go out to lunch and we are going to get together to watch movies and stuff. The teacher loves me, but only because Im from the USA and he uses me as an example for everything. Its pretty cool though to get a different perspective on things. I he only knows my name though, and Ive only been there for a week. I get embarassed though because he talks so fast and sometimes its just too early to learn, so he calls my name and I dont know what hes talking about. Í guess I have to pay attention now.

Well everything is going great here. My host sister comes home in a week, and I am so excited to meet her. She was staying in Virginia, but she had to come home early to take a test because she wants to study in Brasil.

I hope everyone is doing well and that you arent freezing too much. We are almost starting winter here, if you can call it that, because its still about 85 or 90 every day and so humid! At least I have AC now!

I miss you all tons and hope to hear back from you!

Love,

Rachel (Raquel)

Allie Ritz -- Italy

2008-02-25T19:58:00.002-05:00

Monday, February 25, 2008

Hello. Now its getting warmer here Pisa. The weather is sunny and warm. Before it only rained for weeks it seemed like. But now everything should get better and soon will be beach season!!! I've been studying and concentrating more in school so that pretty much fills up my time. I've started doing pilates which is wonderful. Then with Rotaract I'm taking latin american dance lessons once a week.

Well I can't believe there's less than 4 months left. I'm sad and excited at the same time. I'm really going to miss Italy. This has become my life and home, my friends and family. Well until next month.........Ciao -- Allie

Jessica Wilke -- Poland

2008-02-13T20:44:00.002-05:00

Saturday, February 09, 2008

Hey!,
I'm sorry its been so long since i have written, excuses excuses i know but ok i finally am!
So far i must say this year has been the most emotional, adventureous and worth it, year of my life! I absolutely love trying to communicate in a different language. I must admit im not fluent in polish, ive heard from many that its honestly one of the hardest languages in the world, and for sure i agree, but im learning. When i think about it, all the experiences i have and especially the little things (having to communicate alone in a store, hair salon, the gym, the bus, on the street, etc, alone and in another language, especially because i am or have been such a shy person!), are really causing me to grow and mature.
Other experiences i have had lately are, being caught without a bus ticket (forgetting one time! ahh!) and having to pay 100zl!, getting incredibly lost (that actually happens a lot and im always alone!, but somehow i always find my way :) ) There is just so many things!

I can for sure say i was one of those people who just really wanted to go home for over a month but im actually already really glad that i didnt and realize that most people go through it even if i felt like my circumstances "were different".
The other exchange students are amazing, and just what i needed to feel better because its always great to have people who can relate and who can help you have a good time! I just went skiing in Zakopane (in the south of poland where the mountains are and where basically everyone vacations at during the winter). It was a great time to spend with some exchangers and to share in the experience of the brazilians and mexicans, learning to ski and having their 1st winter!
My sister from the US actually came today, to visit me for 2 weeks! The 1st week we are going back to Zakopane with a polish youth group and the next week we will be exploring more of my city and travelling in poland. I am so excited to see how she reacts to all that was a shock to me!

In the begining of March I am going with a bunch of exchangers to GREECE for 5 days and i am so excited for that! For sure my best times have been and will be with the exchangers because of the great times we have and the travelling we get to do together!

Whitney Brown -- Belgium

2008-02-13T20:37:00.002-05:00

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Hi Everyone! I hope everyone is doing well and is having a happy new year so far. I have been really busy since my last email update.

I celebrated new years eve in brussels, which was amazing! There were thousand of people celebrating in the beautiful Grand Place, it was picture perfect! So much fun!

On New year's day I moved in with my new host family. I was a really hard goodbye to my first host family. This new family has been an.... interesting experience. They live 30 minutes away from town by public bus and the bus only comes once an hour... I miss my car more than ever! The house is chaotic and the father is so so weird. He really gets under my skin... He is obsessed with the US, talks about it non stop, sings allllllllll of the time (good classics like the beatles, but ruins them with his painfullllll voice), and has some of the worst table manners I have ever seen!... but I just smile, be polite, and try really hard to make the best of the situation..... its part of the exchange experience. They have 3 teenage daughters though and they are nice, so I go out with them quite a bit - concerts, movies, shopping in antwerp.... all of which has been really fun. But I really cant wait to move to my next host family.

And I've been keeping myself very busy. My calender is always full. Ive gone on a lot of city trips with friends lately and have visited some museums. I went to the Waterloo battlefields, where Napoleon was defeated by several adjoining nations in 1815. That was a really cool visit. And my city is famous for being one of the world largest playing card producers in the world. The company here, Cartamundi, makes most of the playing cards for Las Vegas. So I visited the National Playing Cards Museum here in Turnhout; it was actually really really interesting.

Rotary had a benefit concert and I helped serve dinner at the after party.

In January, I went on a 3 day trip with my class called Bezinning. We stayed at an old abbey for 3 days with monks. Haha it was an interesting experience. We did a lot of team building activities and had many discussions about life. The other students learned about their college options. College is far less competitive here. They have nothing like the SATs and anyone who want to go to college can. You only need to take a special exam if you want to go into Medicine. Schooling here is so so cheap. Although they do have higher taxes, which is how the government pays for the schooling. And the name of the college doesnt really matter; all of the schools are on the same level. Its been interesting learning about their different system.

We are off from school all this week for carnival. It is a 4 days celebration before the Easter fasting. The Carnival activities are more popular in Holland, so I wento to Holland on Sunday and Monday. There are huge parades with big floats. EVERYONE dresses up all crazy....I'm serious, if you are not wearing something goofy, then you are the weird one that stands out. After the parades everyone gathers in the pubs for the rest of the day and pigs out on fries, fried dough, and beer. Its crazy, people get so into it.

Yesterday I did some more site seeing in Antwerp. My umbrella and I fought the never ending Belgium rain and wind. But it was a great day; Antwerp is a beautiful city, one of my favorites in Belgium.

This Thursday I have to give a presentation to Rotary about where I live in the US and such. It will be all in dutch, so wish me luck! I am getting better at the language, so thats good news.

And the count down continues.... only 13 days until my brother comes to visit in Belgium!! He will be here from February 19-27 and we will also being taking a 3 days excurrsion to Paris together. Then my mom comes March 5 -13. YAYYY!! and we will be taking 3 days to go to Ireland. Thennn, I will be going to Italy with my school from March 19 - 30! So I have a very busy and exciting month ahead of me!

I miss you all like crazy and am always thinking about you! Take care and Keep in touch!!

Lots of love, Whitney

MILIND RUPCHANDANI -- India (Albany Rotary)

2008-02-11T19:44:00.001-05:00

Last weekend we had a great time in Lake Placid. It was nice to meet other exchange and interact students from different districts. I also went to the dance (Mardi Gras) in my school. School is going alright.My health is also alright. I am just waiting for one thing i.e. the end of winter.

I send you some pictures of us in Lake Placid.

Karissa Seeberger -- Argentina

2008-02-04T20:05:00.000-05:00

Monday, February 04, 2008

So, i apologize for not writing in such a long time...I was without your email address, but from here on out, you will receive a monthly email from me.

It has been 5 months for me, here in Argentina. I am currently on summer vacation, which means there are alot of poolside days in the sun. I went to the beaches in the province of Buenos Aires with my host family for two weeks on vacation. It was really beautiful and we only had one day that wasn´t beach-worthy. So now I´m back in San Luis and I am taking tango classes every day, hoping to compete in an upcoming competition. I recently inscribed myself into the national university here of human sciences and will not be returning to the high school, but instead will be studying journalism for my remaining four months, i start in March. They obviously can´t give me a diploma, because i wont be finishing out the academic year, but they can give me an official paper that says i participated in 4 months of the career. This Wednesday, I will be traveling to a city just outside of Cordoba to visit another exchange student from Pennsylvania for just short of a week to celebrate Carnaval. When i return I hope to start painting classes at the culture center in my city, to occupy my spare time.

I am still with the same family from when i arrived and believe I will be staying with them until the end of my exchange, which i have received a return date, June 21. They have truly taken me in as a daughter and I am very comfortable with them.
In the next few weeks I will be traveling to Buenos Aires with my host parents to see Boca and a tango show and just get to see the city a little more.

Well, I hope the other exchange students are as fortunate as i have been and are really having mind-opening experiences and an all around beneficial exhcange...good luck! besos de Argentina

Francesca Rossi -- Italy (in Balston Spa)

2008-01-28T20:50:00.000-05:00

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)

Zach Smyth -- Taiwan

2008-01-28T20:39:00.000-05:00

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

Zoe Fullem -- in Ecuador (from Albany)

2008-01-28T20:30:00.000-05:00

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.

Gabrielle Fortes -- Brazil (in Cobleskill)

2008-01-28T20:26:00.000-05:00

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.

Eva Bosanac -- Croatia (in Middleburgh)

2008-01-28T20:22:00.000-05:00

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

Lauren Bardin -- Czech Republic

2008-01-27T12:58:00.000-05:00

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

Kristen Kilpeck -- Mexico

2008-01-21T09:26:00.000-05:00

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)

Rachel Hoffmann -- Bolivia

2008-01-15T08:22:00.000-05:00

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.

Milind Rupchandani -- Albany, from India

2008-01-13T20:55:00.000-05:00

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.

Alice Kelly -- Spain

2008-01-13T20:50:00.000-05:00

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

Whitney Brown -- Belgium

2008-01-03T20:58:00.000-05:00

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

Chris McGilpin -- Belgium / Glens Falls Rotary

2007-12-28T16:41:00.000-05:00

Sunday, December 23, 2007
I'm sorry its taken me so long to write this month, but I completely forgot until my friend Priscila told me she had to email her Rotary today!

Everything has been absolutely perfect in Belgium for me though. Lately, I've been visiting other cities in my region with some other exchange students. As of right now, I've seen the following cities: Liége, Verviers, Brussels, Brugge, Stavelot, Spa, and La Panne in Belgium, and Aachen, Germany and Maastricht in the Netherlands!

Last night was also my first experience going to a discotheque with my Belge friends! Today is my friend Melanie's birthday, so we went out last night to celebrate (I didn't come home until 4:00 this morning!)

As for the language, I'm not having any problems at all anymore. I've been getting lots of compliments (including one from my Rotary counselor here) about how good my french has gotten.

Hope you're enjoying all that snow in New York!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Allie Ritz -- Italy / Cobleskill Rotary

2007-12-28T16:36:00.000-05:00

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

CiaoCiao, Its been about 3 months already!! Im improving and able to understand much better now, but I still have a ways to go. Ive made some good friends from my class. Im really not doing to much because I have school 6 a week and then I have italian lessons 4 days a week so that takes up most of my time. Im hoping that when my italian lessons are finished I can do something, like dance lessons or even go to the gym. I am pretty bored since my schedule never changes. For christmas Im going on vacation with my family so Im looking forward to that. Well talk to you soon.

Rachel Hoffman -- Bolivia / Salem Rotary

2007-12-28T16:29:00.000-05:00

December 12, 2007

I just had my 19th birthday here in Bolivia, and it was by far the best birthday I've ever had. I woke up on Saturday when my Mom and Dad here came to my room and sang happy birthday and brought me breakfast in bed. Then midday we had a lunch at my house with my family, my Bolivian friends, and my exchange friend. I got to pick out an amazing chocolate cake called the Rosa Negra, it was so delicious. Bolivians are lucky, here they get to make three wishes before they blow out the candle, only then they push your face in the cake. Later we had tea with my aunts and my grandma. And in the night I went dancing with my exchange friends and friends from school. It was so much fun.

It is hard to believe that I am about to complete my fourth month here. I would say that I'm pretty well adjusted to everything. I call my parents Mami and Papi, and my sister and I get along so well. I am definately a part of the family. All November I took classes in cooking, and learned to make some great foods. I brought them home to my family for lunch and they loved every dish I made. Now they've given me the official cooking job in the house. I've been going to the gym to stay in shape, hanging out in the plaza with friends, and also three days a week I take salsa and marange classes from Cubans. It is probably my favorite thing right now. It's so much fun, I am going to continue that as long as I can.

I think I am probably the luckiest out of the exchange students, so far I have not been sick because of the food. (Knock on wood) This woman told me that I must have a garbage stomach then, so I dont know if thats a good thing.

For the New Year I will be traveling to Brasil with some exchange students and a chaperone from Rotary. I am trying to get my aunt to come with us. We will be going to the beach in Camboriu and then the Foz de Iguazu. But I wanted to let you know I will be out of the country from December 26th to January 9th. I have permission from everyone, and we are going to the consulate this week to get a visa for Brasil. Oh and luckily everything with my Bolivian Visa worked out well. I like to show everyone my carnet, or ID card, it makes me feel more Bolivian I guess.

But everything is going great with my family and friends. I am enjoying the summer vacation, although it will be very strange having a 90 degree Christmas in shorts and a t-shirt.

I hope all is well at home in New York.

Have a great Holiday!

Rachel Hoffmann (they call me Raquel here)

Kristen Kilpeck -- Mexico / Cobleskill Rotary

2007-12-28T16:27:00.000-05:00

Monday, December 10, 2007

This month seemed to fly by, i can´t believe i´ve been here for four months already! i hope everything´s well in the states, and you´re all dealing with the icy cold weather while i´m burning up down here in mexico!! it´s actually gotten a bit cooler, but just at night so we all cover up. school´s over for me until january and has been for a week. i´ve finally found the right group of friends and we go out all the time, to the beach, to the restaurants, to the clubs to dance.. whatever we find to do. i´ve learned so much it´s unbelieveable. with rotary, we´ve recently had a presentation from an exchange student from brasil who´s leaving wednesday, and tonight we´re going to have a party for her. we´re running a drive to collect blankets and sweaters in this supposedly cold season for people in the state of oaxaca with my club, as well. i´ve been getting ready for christmas with my host mother buying decorations, sewing pillows and couch covers (never sewed in my life), and she´s teaching me new recipes and customs. after a few problems with my family situation and town gossip, everything´s finally getting on the right track. little by little every day gets better, i learn more, and become more mexican.

Happy holidays!!¡feliz navidad y prospero año nuevo!

Miland Rupchandani, India (Albany Rotary)

2007-12-28T15:55:00.000-05:00

December 10, 2007

Happy Holidays!!! I am enjoying here a lot. I have send some pictures of mine. I had a UN trip in November and then in December we had NY City Radio City Christmas play trip. It was awesome. I also visited Niagara Falls. I always wanted to see that and now I have crossed that out of my list..I am still living with my first family and I will change within a week.. My school is going excellent and my 1st quarter grade was 95%. I joined the Underground Railroad Workshop also. My state of health is good. I went ice skating first time in my life and it was great. I had so much fun. I also send a picture of my first host family. Rest all is good and Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year. Bye.

Erika Kristiana, Indonesia (Host: Delmar Rotary)

2007-12-04T21:44:00.000-05:00

November 2007

I really enjoy being here. I have gone to many places. A Rotarian brought me to the Festival of Nations, and I really loved it. Also I went to the 'Forces of Nature' movie. It was a great movie. I went to the Albany Museum with my host sister, and I found and learned lots of things there. It was fun!

Lauren Cuyvers, Belgium (Host: Albany Rotary)

2007-12-04T21:35:00.000-05:00

September 2007

I don't remember that much of September, only that we went to the football game and Albany lost!! And we went to Vermont with my host family towards the end of September (Burlington), because my host Mum had a convention there. It was my birthday on September 7th, so we celebrated it: some friends came over and we had a Ben&Jerry's cake. The first day of school was okay... it was a lot of fun, not really felt the homesickness.

I was in good health in September, but at the moment my ankle is very bad and I am forced to take a break from Cross Country.

October 2007

SCHOOL ACTIVITIES: Cross-country meets, meets, meets.. + practice a lot!. Homecoming game + the dance!; party at Carli's, my friend's house; guitar lessons at New Music.

STATE OF MY HEALTH: bad ankle.

Halloween, I'll start with that. It's crazy out here! Everyone's really into it, even the grown-ups. We went trick or treating and afterwards me and my two host sisters traded the candy we didn't like. The homecoming dance was fun, and we went to a sweet sixteen birthday party afterwards. Two weeks after that I went to a Halloween party dressed up as a prisoner. It was a lot of fun. School is going okay, it's not hard, so my grades are fine.

Miland Rupchandani, India (Albany Rotary)

2007-12-04T21:30:00.000-05:00

October 2007
I have joined many clubs after school like chess club, badminton, international club, Chinese club and will also join math club. And you will be glad to know that I am the Secretary of International Club for the whole year. My health is good and getting prepared for the winter season.

November 2007
Recently I went to the UN trip. I have joined many clubs in school like chess club, badminton club, international club and I am the secretary of that; so recently I gave the presentation of India in the club, math club, and now I am planning to take guitar lessons on weekends. It's getting cold here but I will surpass that and my state of health is OK. In between I got a little cold like sneezing and coughing but now I am fine.

Marta Gramza, Poland (Colonie-Guilderland Rotary)

2007-12-04T21:24:00.000-05:00

November/December, 2007

PARTICIPATION IN ROTARY FUNCTIONS:
This month I went to NYC for the Christmas show in the Radio Musical, it was
awesome!! Also I went to the International Festival where I was able to
meeta lot of people -- I really enjoyed it.

October 2007
PARTICIPATION IN ROTARY: I didn't participate a lot in Rotary Club last month, but I went once for a lunch on September 19, 2007 and I sold raffle tickets which I got from my tennis team.

PARTICIPATION IN SCHOOL: This month in school I participated on the women’s tennis team.

November 2007
PARTICIPATION IN ROTARY: This month I went to the UN day to the New York City. I had a great time, I met a lot of people .I am so happy that we are able to keep contact with other exchange students.

PARTICIPATION IN SCHOOL ACTIVITIES: This month in school I did not participate in any extra activities, besides going to school.

STATE OF YOUR HEALTH: My health is excellent!!!

Leonardo Beretta, Brazil (Host: Cobleskill Rotary)

2007-12-04T21:19:00.000-05:00

October 2007

I twisted my ankle playing soccer, so I go to school and come back home, but nothing else! I have been to a Club meeting, and State Fair in September.

I like my family and chocolate...