Olivia Cooper -- Italy

October 2, 2018

So sorry, this got quite long, but I think that is because right now, EVERYTHING is new, hopefully for you guys next months report will not need to be quite as lengthy, but who knows because I do so much here. I am very happy here, and am rounding this first month off very happily.

Family-

My first family is so nice. They do such a great job making sure to include me, and double and triple check that everything is ok with me. They are super accommodating, making sure I can do as much as possible, with them, with the other exchange students, with my friends and go to gymnastics practice.

My host mother is so kind. She makes great meals and we always talk about our day in the car ride back from school/gymnastics. She speaks english very well, and while we do use it sometimes, I am at a point now where I can communicate all things with her at a certain level. I sit with her at the breakfast bar while she makes breakfast or dinner, she is an amazing cook. We always eat very fresh food.

My host sister, Sara, is 19, and studys at the University of Milano. She also speak english wonderfully, and it is good because of course when I use Italian I make mistakes and she can explain it to me well. We are very similar, both interested in fashion, and art. She is studying communications and that is what I think I might like to study.

My host father speaks english well enough that we could talk when I was swimming in a pool of italian I did not understand, but now it is just as easy for me to use Italian. I watch every Juventus(the #1 soccer team of Italy) game with him. I really enjoy this, it is a regular things and connects us. I like doing this because it is not something I usually do, watch a sport regularly. He is a very passionate watcher. My host mom told me he said that he is very happy to have someone to watch the games with. He drives me and my host brother to school everyday.

My host brother, Andrea, is 12. He speaks only Italian, but thinking about this month, I don’t feel like this has been a barrier for us at all. The first time he had heard me speak Italian was 2 or 3 days after I arrived(because he was at practice or a friends house during these days), Sara told me he was very happy, because he didn’t think I spoke any Italian. I usually watch tv with him, it is helpful to watch shows because I really do learn a lot from tv. Even if he is just playing a game on the tv, I sit with him and watch, I try to read any instruction on the screen. Also I can always ask him the meaning of words and he acts them out for me. Sometimes he even trys out his English on me.

I very much enjoy having siblings. I feel like we all fit together very well. This family and I get along perfectly. Every night we eat dinner together. They are very active there is always somewhere to go with them, and I always tag along.

Daily routine-

6:55 wakeup

7:30 leave for Lecco, where Andrea and I go to school

8:00 school starts

1:00 or 2:00 school ends

(on Mon., Tue., Thurs., Fri.) I go to gymnastics after school, just around the corner from my school. I can eat lunch with my teammates. Practice starts at 2:30 and ends at 5:30, this is very nice for me, since I get home early enough that I still have the rest of the night to rest, or spend with my family.

6:30-7:30 I sit in the living room with whoever is around

8:30 we all eat dinner

Then we watch TV, a movie or a show(in Italian of course) until 9:30 or 10:00 and we go to bed

Everyday I am very tired, I have full days, and constantly processing Italian or working to prepare my next statement is difficult, but slowly getting quicker.

Language- When I think about my first week, and how little I knew, to what I know now, in just a month, I am very very proud. Italian is becoming more automatic now, which feels good considering how slow it felt in the beginning. I think now it is so much faster because now I have enough words to make sentences, where before I knew many words but only on their own, so it was difficult to form a sentence. The first week, and first week of school, Italian felt like molasses, now not so much. But of course I know it is not the most correct, but people usually understand me, I am happy it has gotten easier to communicate. My classmates speak limited english. I feel very lucky for this, since I think it is one of the main reasons I can process and learn at the rate I am. I think about language all the time, trying to understand Italian has made me think about English in a different way to. I think about things I have never noticed before, it is very interesting. I think this month’s monument in speaking, is that now when I say things to myself like “oh here” or “aww come on” I say them in italian, just the little things but they are instinctive.

School- Our class stays together for every class, so I will know them very well, they are quite chatty and fun. Maybe for the first week, I tried to just listen and process because I would only catch every 10th word, and a classmate that I ride the bus with(who speaks the best english) asked me if I was quite or just shy. At first I was a little hurt because my class is very open and I knew I was being quiet but it was too difficult for me to speak. I am very glad I talked with her that day though, she told me that I should be more open, as to not seem rude. The next day I tried very hard and always smiled and greeted every one. I am so thankful she talked to me so openly, because she was right, as soon as I did that, everything was easier. Of course they understood I couldn’t understand them very well, but since they saw I was trying, they worked with me and spoke slower and I already feel apart of the class. Now I am to the point where although it is not word for word, I keep up with everything going on in the class, and we can all joke around and chit chat, it makes me very happy. Already they include me in everything. One day when school started late, we all went to get breakfast together. This week after school I will get pizza with them. I can ask them questions about Italian grammar or what a word means and they always help and explain it.

I also attend a weekly Italian lesson with the other exchange students. I almost feel I am a week ahead of whatever we learn, I will have already picked up the concept we talk about, but I think they are helpful because yes I picked it up, but on my own, so the classes clarify and cover the specifics of it for me, validating what I had believed was correct.

The actually lessons are difficult, mostly because I do not understand the teachers. Spanish is especially difficult because she uses Italian and Spanish and to me they blend together, and when I learn Spanish I translate back to English. I enjoy physics, math and chemistry because the words are similar enough, and I understand it, more of less.

Friends- Lecco is a great place for me, there are 8 exchange student here and they get together often. Mostly I can’t make it because I have practice or am doing something with my family, but it is good to know that if I every have a day I want to do something we can spontaneously get together. The host moms have a group chat, just as us students have a group chat. So they make sure we can do group things too. Last week we went on a wonderful sunset hike, and the week before that we all did a local 11k, where we learned about a very famous local author, who is from our town. One of the students is a very good photographer, so I will have amazing photos to remember everything we do. 4 Americans(California, Ny, Texas, and Arkansas), a french girl, a german girl, an australian girl and a Taiwanese boy. At our multi-district meeting I met so many great students, I cannot wait to meet up with them again. We will all make trips to each others hometowns here, as well as meeting in Milan. Our district trips will be lively.

Gymnastics- I do gymnastics 4 days a week, for 3 hours each day, but my coaches said 3 days is still ok, which is good since there are often Rotary or school activities I don't want to miss. It is more work than at home, but I love it. I’d rather have gymnastics all the time and just miss practice when I need/want to , than to sit at home during the week with nothing to do. It is much harder, not that the coaches are any less nice, but our practices are harder here. There is a lot of focus on flexibility and form. Although practice is challenging, I feel placed well, with my teammates and skill wise. It is just challenging enough. I am with a group of 6 or 7 girls 13-15, but I do not feel old, we all get along perfectly. Luckily it was easy to pick up gymnastics here, I think it is good for me to have another group of friends outside of school friends. It is a sport of its own to learn the names of gymnastics skills in Italian. I think I may try to compete this season… but we will see.

Places-

One of the first days I went on a boat excursion with my host grandmother(80) and her friend(93), both only Italian speakers. It was strange, especially since I had virtually no level to communicate with. But It was a sunny day and I got to see a lot of the local cities along the lake very early after arriving. We stopped in Bellaggio, a very famous city.

The first weekend I visited Lovere since Andrea had a sailing competition at the lake there. I listened to all the sailing moms speak Italian, I didn’t understand but it got me ear ready for Italian. We walked around that town, visited the local church and bell tower, of course all was stunning.

Lecco is the city closest to my house, this is where I go to school, gymnastics, meet with friends, and can shop or walk around. The lake here is beautiful, and everywhere I go I see mountains. I live on the top of a mountain, I have a beautiful view everyday and when the weather was warmer we would eat outside for lunch and dinner. They sky is always clear. I love how often things are done outdoors, or with the windows open, everywhere I go. I also appreciate how everything is colorful, every building, every house, even the schools and apartments.

Varese is where our Multi District orientation was held. We stayed at a gorgeous grand hotel, got pizza, and took great photos in our matching shirts and with all of our different flags.

This last weekend I went to Santa Caterina, where my family has a house. It is close to Switzerland, since it is in the Alps. We did a hike maybe 2 hours each way, it was so beautiful. It was sunny and the grass was still green, the water running down, and we saw many cows. The next day we did another hike 1hr 15min each way, again beautiful views, glaciers. It was sunny enough I got sunburnt.

Food-

Sorbeto- a lemonade milkshake

Gelato- my favorite flavors are banana, melon, and raspberry. I have also tried egg cream, fig and vanilla, also great, of course

Amazing seasoned olives

Risotto

Ravioli

Lasagna(homemade)

Pesto(homemade)

Tiramisu(Andrea made, since it is the World Cup of tiramisu today)

Margherita pizza

Miakawa- a fruit that is a mix of a clementine and a lemon

Fig- fresh, I have never had one before

Pizzoccheri- local to S Caterina, a pasta with vegetable base with lots of cheese

Sciat- also local to S Caterina, fried balls of local cheese

Polenta- it is better than the polenta I’ve had before, but it is the ONLY thing I would not choose to eat again

Bresaola- a dry aged deli style meat

Fish- Salmon and Swordfish, I thought I didn’t like fish, turns out I do

With every meal we have fresh bread, and the best olive oil and cheeses

Overall reflection- I am extremely happy and proud with how far I’ve come with the language already. It has only been a month and I think that the level I am at is functional for most intents and purposes. My family has been more than welcoming, and I feel close with them. I love looking outside every morning and seeing the mountains, and every single night, the sky looks picturesque. I am a little sad it’s already been a month, it went so so fast. But looking back there has not been a single day I have come home straight from school without doing something first, or a weekend that I didn’t packed with plans. Sometimes I wish I had this time because I’ll feel I need to just rest, but in the end it is better to be so busy because I know I have not wasted a single day. There have been a handful of moments where I was too tired and too lost in the language that I felt a little sad, but never for more than one activity(one practice, one school day, one night). And even when I was sad I thought, “yes I am a little sad right now, but I do not want to go home, it is not that sadness, just a little overtired sadness”. Just an overtired, overwhelmed feeling, but it was not true homesickness and I know this, and I am thankful that, at least for this month being my first, I didn’t have to fight with homesickness. And I am always with people so it always passes. Luckily I do not feel, when I look back on this month, that language has created a barrier between me and any classmates, or coaches, or family, and that makes me feel very sound here. I also feel sound here since I have my host family, my teammates and coaches, my classmates, and my exchange friends, so for different problems, I know I have many people I can talk to.

Jane Lebowitz -- Estonia (Home Club: Turning Point)

January 4, 2018

 

Sponsor Club: Turning Point 7190

Host Club: Tartu Estonia 1420

Current Host Family: Andres and Piret Metspalu

Health: No problems

Family: Everything is going well host family wise. We do a lot of activities together. Plus, the host cat and I are friends now, which is a bonus.

School: Yes, I am attending school. I recently asked the school if they would put me in the art classes again, and my request was approved this time (they wanted to put me in art for the spring quarter instead of the winter one) Art class is definitely more engaging than regular classes, which is better for me.

Rotary: I still attend the lunchtime meetings once or twice a month, whenever my host father can manage to take me along with him. My allowance is still 100 Euros, and I still see my councilor on a regular basis. 

Activities: I'm still attending my weekly lectures about astrophysics, which has been fun. One of my favorite new things to do is to go to the planetarium, so I go there on the Wednesdays I don't have any lectures. Also later this month I will be going on a mini ski trip to Otepaa with Rotary

Jane Lebowitz -- Estonia (Home Club: Turning Point)

December 4, 2017

 

Sponsor Club: Turning Point 7190

Host Club: Tartu Estonia 1420

Current Host Family: Andres and Piret Metspalu

Health: No problems

Family: I just recently changed host family this weekend, I have 3 host brothers who don't live at home anymore, and a host cat named Avery. I miss my old host family a lot, they're awesome.

School: Yes, I am attending school. The situation is the same, after Christmas break we start art class, which will hopefully feel more engaging. 

Rotary: I still attend the lunchtime meetings once or twice a month, whenever my host father can manage to take me along with him. My allowance is still 100 Euros, and I still see my councilor on a regular basis. 

Activities: I'm still attending my weekly lectures about astrophysics, which has been fun. It is snowing on a regular basis now, so the scenery is very beautiful, especially walking to school in the morning. My host brother goes to school in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, so I recently took a trip with my new host mother to see him play cello at a concert.

Jane Lebowitz -- Estonia (Home Club: Turning Point)

November 7, 2017

 

Sponsor Club: Turning Point 7190

Host Club: Tartu Estonia 1420

Current Host Family: Mait and Epp Klaassen

Health: No problems

Family: Everything is great family wise, we all get along, there haven't been any conflicts. I change host families later this month.

School: Yes, I am attending school. I don't speak a lot of Estonian, but I understand it pretty well. I've been attending lectures about Astrophysics in Estonian outside of school, which has been a lot of fun. I'm not close with any of my classmates still, so I'm trying to reach out to the other people at my Astronomy and Physics lecture, since we already have something in common. 

Rotary: I still attend the lunchtime meetings once or twice a month, whenever my host father can manage to take me along with him. My allowance is still 100 Euros, and I still see my councilor on a regular basis. 

Activities: Starting in late October I've been attending a lecture series about Astrophysics in Estonian, which has been one of my favorite things to do in my free time. When I'm not in high school, or at the lecture series, I like to take advantage of the lack of snow to go for a run, or get some exercise outside, before it gets too cold. Tartu is a city, but there are still some nice sized parks to go for a walk in, and I've been going to plenty of museums after school when the weather is bad. Also recently I took a train to Tallinn, to meet up with the other exchange student in Estonia, Kylan, for a day. The city is almost as beautiful as Tartu, but Kylan gets on my nerves, overall it was a good trip, and I saw lots of sights. I'm glad that I love Estonia so much, I went to district conference in Helsinki, Finland a few weeks ago, and actually missed Estonia. I feel like I'm acclimating to the culture and language very well, no home sickness yet.

Jane Lebowitz -- Estonia (Home club: Turning Point)

October 26, 2017

Sponsor Club: Turning Point 7190

Host Club: Tartu Estonia 1420

Current Host Family: Mait and Epp Klaassen

Health: No problems

Family: Everything is great family wise, we all get along, there haven't been any conflicts.

School: Yes, I am attending school. I don't enjoy it still, but as the Estonians say. "On nagu on" (it is what it is) I think the 3 year age difference between myself and some of my classmates makes it a bit hard to connect with people, my host father and I talked about signing up for a university class, just to meet some people closer to my age, whom I may have more things in common with. 

Rotary: I recently attended our 1420 district conference in Helsinki last weekend, and have been going to my Rotary club's monthly lunch time meetings. My allowance is still 100 Euros. I last saw my councilor at one of these meetings, less than a month ago. 

Activities: The weather in Estonia has been really beautiful lately, so I've been doing a lot of outside activities. My favorite places in Tartu include the astronomy observatory and the planetarium, so there's never a dull moment. My host family and I also recently went to the movies, and saw a film in Estonian, which was very interesting.

Siddhant Chaturvedi -- Hungary (Home Club: Shenendehowa)

October 12, 2017

Host Rotary: Club Rotary Club of Szeged, Tisza

Sponsor Rotary Club:Shenendehowa Rotary Club

Current Host Family:Gabriella and Luigi Szegi

I feel really happy and excited that I’m here in Hungary and I’m enjoying it thus far.

Since I’ve arrived in Hungary i’ve only gotten sick once and that was because our language camp was quite rainy and I didn’t pack proper clothing which resulted in me not being exactly the warmest and dryest. Since I’ve gotten in my host home it took me a little bit to acclimate to the differences but once I did it’s never felt better. My host family is honestly the nicest family and people I’ve ever met they care for me as if I’m their own son (which for the next couple months I am) and I feel right at home. School for me started on the first of September and it’s been quite good so far. The classes aren’t that hard and my classmates are great. I’ve made a bunch of friends here and everyone is very nice to me and I’m being taught Hungarian by almost all my friends which will help me learn the language a little faster. I don’t really have any activities outside of school that I participate in but I do hang out with my classmates and I did go to a festival the first couple of days in Hungary.Thus far I’ve attended every Rotary meeting possible and I’ve even made some friends in my Rotary club. We all go out for dinner every night after our Rotary meetings and we talk about things since one of them is a Lawyer and ones a photographer and another is a professor. I even met the past district governor of District 6990(I think) from florida since he's a traveling professor and gives lectures on law. I’ve been to the other kid’s host family's house who lives in my town and they are Rotarians but I’ve never stayed the night only just hung out there. I receive from my Rotary Club 15,000 forint each month which averages around $60-70 here and it’s way more than enough for me. My Host Club is amazing and it’s great hearing what they have to say and trying to understand bits and pieces of what they say as their meetings are conducted in Hungarian. When I got here I got to go to a festival and I experienced that but otherwise I haven’t done anything truly extraordinary. I did go to Vienna Austria though which was insanely cool and it still feels unreal. Other than that nothing really bad or super interesting has happened to me.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xo7q0PxnDiY&authuser=0

Abigail Toomey -- Argentina (Home Club: Salem)

October 3, 2017

Salem Rotary Club to Formosa Rotary Club. Host Family:
Maria and Carlos Caballero. Counselor: Dirse Alvarenga.
 

Hello from Formosa, Argentina! I have been here for about a month and a half. I am
doing really well. At first, I had a bit of culture shock, but I am well now. My host family is
SO amazing. They are very loving. They make me feel comfortable. When they pick me
up from being anywhere I find myself getting excited to see them. I have a host sister that
is very sweet. We watch tv and eat sweets together. I have been eating a lot here, and
I've started doing yoga daily and going for runs. I feel that exercise, especially yoga,
helps me in many ways. Not only does it keep me physically healthy, but it is something
that makes me mentally and emotionally ready for the day.
 

I thought making friends at my school was going to be a challenge, but it hasn't been at
all. The students here were so eager to meet me. They make me feel so welcomed. I
have been hanging out with them outside of school and enjoying myself. There is no
clubs or sports affiliated with the school here, so I don't really have any options. It is
weird for me not to be doing sports or clubs but I have been dancing with my class for an
upcoming gala. This is something so out of my comfort zone but I enjoy learning how to
dance. Though they are all amazing dancers, they include me as if I am one of them. I
also am a part of my interact club in Formosa. I never knew that there was such a thing,
but I am amazed at how much I love it. I wish that there was an Interact club in Salem.
We have meetings every Friday and activities weekly. I am very busy between interact,
school, dance, friends, etc.
 

My Rotary Counselor is the head of the interact club so I see her a couple times a week.
She is very sweet. I haven't met with her in a formal setting but I am close to her. I have
been to one Rotary meeting, and I had to speak at it. They were impressed by my
language skills. I also presented to my Interact club. I did receive the monthly allowance
for my first month, I haven't yet received my allowance for the second month. It is in
pesos but it is equivalent to 60 USD. While I love my counselor, the Rotary club here is
very disorganized.
 

I have traveled to two other Provences here in Argentina- Chaco and Corrientes. We
went for an interact meeting Chaco and after I traveled to my family to Corrientes to
spend the weekend. It was raining so we didn't get to go to the beach, but it was a really
great experience. We might go again this month. I went to my first camp in Paraguay. I
really enjoyed being around the other exchange students. It was an amazing experience.
There is a total of two camps for the year. The first one was in Paraguay and the second
one is in Misiones, Argentina. I had to pay 300 USD for these camps. At the first one we
were explained the trip opportunities. They are very expensive but the two I would like to
make are the Patagonia trip and the Brazil trip. For Brazil I need to get a visa and it is
quite complicated, so I'm not sure.
I'm sorry this is not very detailed, it is difficult for me to sum up a whole month here. I am
learning new things every day and I am growing so much. Thank you to Rotary for
making this opportunity happen for me. I am so amazed that I am actually here! Thank
you thank you thank you!
I have more detailed writings of my experience thus far on my personal blog.https://abbytoomey223.wixsite.com/adventure

Emma Dillon -- Bolivia (Home Club: Ballston Spa)

September 30, 2017

Santa Cruz, Bolivia (Host Club)

          I am currently staying with Alejandra and Jose Aguilera. I am planning on staying with this family for my entire stay. My host counselor is Patricia Arnez Gianella.

Health and Home

          I have now been here for 6 weeks as of yesterday. Time seems to be flying by already. My health has been good but there were a few weeks where I had a really bad cough and extreme exhaustion. My host mom took me to the doctor’s office for some medicine and I have been doing better ever since. I am extremely comfortable in my home and with my family. However, I wish I had more siblings. As of right now, I only have one sister who lives in our house and she is only two years old. I am looking forward to developing my relationship with my family throughout the next year.

School

          At first, I had trouble adjusting to waking up early, as I leave my house at 6:30am for school, but I am beginning to grow accustomed to it. In addition to this, due to being sick for so long, I was not originally attending school every day as I should have been. However, now I attend on a regular basis. I do not participate in any activities in school but out of class, as there are not many offered here.

          Originally, I did not feel accepted by the students or fit in very well as I was put into a course level equivalent to 10^th grade. Yet now, they moved me up to 11^th grade. I am much happier and I love my new classmates. They are kind and look out for me. Next year, my host club will be sending me to the local university after I finish out this semester in high school.

Rotary

          Every Friday I attend a dinner/meeting with the Rotarians and other exchange students. I also am in the process of joining the Roteract group here as a way to spend my time in an underdeveloped country usefully. My counselor brings me to each meeting and we discuss my life here before and after the meetings each Friday. I am beginning to develop a very good relationship with her. Each month I do receive an allowance of what is equivalent to 60 American Dollars. I have a very good relationship with my host club, including my Youth Exchange Officer.

Activities

          Every week all the exchange students get together, including rotex students, and go out to dinner. Often times we go out more than once a week. We have all already gotten so close.

          This past week and a half “La feria exposicion” has been going on. It could almost be compared to a county fair in the states but much larger and much more elaborate. It is where large companies go for this week to sell their new products for cheap before they’re even available. Including companies as large as Honda. The fair includes pop-up restaurants and museums.

Concerns

          As of right now I am very happy with my life in Bolivia and I have no concerns.

Jane Lebowitz -- Estonia (Home Club: Turning Point)

September 25, 2017

Current Host Family: Mait and Epp Klaassen

Health: Health wise, I'm doing fine. My first wisdom tooth came in, luckily I don't need surgery, so that's all okay.

Family: I love my first host family, Mait and Epp are awesome, we all have a good relationship, if there was ever a problem, I wouldn't hesitate to ask them for something. We spend a lot of time together, and have our own personal jokes and things like that. Apparently in Estonia, the sound their washing machine makes when it finishes the cycle is almost the same sound as fire alarms in the US, so that made for an interesting experience my first week in the house...

School: Yes, I am attending school on a regular basis. I have not joined any extra curricular activities, nothing seems interesting to me. Usually after school I go to the library, or read, or go to public events though, to learn something new and get out of the house...

Rotary: I have attended multiple Rotary meetings, events, and luncheons since arriving here. My club gives me €100 a month, to cover school lunches and other activities. It is completely sufficient for everything I need. All of the people in the club are very kind to me, I have not been the guest of any of them yet, but I see them at events such as concerts, theatre, etc. often. I last saw my councilor about a week ago, when he helped my apply for my residence permit. 

Activities: I do lots of Estonian activites all the time. Almost every weekend my host family takes me to Võru, where the country house is. There we go swimming in the lake, use the sauna, pick berries, and go to the farmers market. Before the school year started, we also went on little excursions, to small Estonian towns to go out to eat, visit landmarks, and experience life outside of the city. I see the other student in Estonia once a month, in August we went to the science museum, this month we took the whole day to walk around Tartu, and took tours of old buildings, went out to eat, etc. I think we will see each other again at district conference in October in Finland.

Emily Williams -- Slovakia

May 25, 2017

 

Once again it has been overly long since I reported anything about my exchange.  These past couple months have been some of the most exciting. My mom was able to visit for two weeks in May and with Rotary's blessing we traveled to Prague, Slovakia, Budapest, and Vienna. Shortly after I went on my district's Euro Tour. We spent another two weeks touring Paris, Barcelona, and Italy. I had macaroons on the Eiffel Tower, fell in love with Gaudi and the Sagrada Familia, sunbathed on a boat in the Mediterranean, sat with gelato watching the colors change across the Trevi Fountain as the sun set, got a crash course in Portuguese while waiting in line to enter the Vatican's St. Stephen's Basilica, and ran down the slopes of Mount Vesuvius. I learned so much about European history and cultures by visiting all of these places, but also realized just how much there is I still don't know. It was an unforgettable trip. 

I've been living in my third family for the last few months. They have two daughters, one studying fashion in London and one working in Prague, who both visit regularly. Today however I am moving my things for the last time to spend the end of my exchange living once again with my first host family.  I spent the first five months of my exchange with them, and their apartment is what feels like my truest Slovak home. It seems right to finish this journey there where it began. 

Spring has been here for a few weeks now. The weather is nice enough that I can once again go by bike around town, to school and after school activities and get together with friends. Everyday on my way to school I pass my favorite bakery and cafe in town, so if I have a little extra time I buy myself a pastry and espresso in the morning (I have managed to master the art of biking with a cup of coffee in one hand!).  

There is so much more I could say but I don't want this letter to be too long. My blog is sadly behind right now - there just hasn't been enough time to stop having new experiences for long enough to write about them!  I hope to fill it in sooner or later however. 

As always, I am forever grateful for having had this opportunity. 

Best,

Emily

Zachary Pinto -- Belgium (Home Club: Ballston Spa)

(Up until) Sep. 10th, 2016

Ballston Spa Rotary Club

Braine-El-Château Rotary Club

Ann De Neve (Host mom)

Didier Noriens (Club Counselor)

I have been fine health wise for my first half month in Belgium. I feel fine, and I feel as if I am getting along comfortably with my host family, including both my host mom and host siblings. It’s been great, and I feel as if I’ve been welcomed into the family in a great manner.

I had started attending school at Cardinal Mercier, a school in a my town, and actively went to school every day. At first, school was a little difficult to adapt to, as Belgian students seem much more independent and have their own very small groups of friends. But naturally, I managed to find a small group of Belgians I would hang out with during lunch and other breaks. Overall, I felt very well accepted at school.

I had attended one Rotary meeting by this time, and met the club president, my counselor, and many other members in a nice hotel in a town near Braine-le-Château, where I was introduced as their exchange student for this year. I would describe my relationship with my club and counselor as both great, although I had still be new the club.

For my first week in the country, generously thanks to my Rotary club, I was enrolled in a French language camp where I not only got to learn some french skills for the first part of the day at a college called EPHIC at a university near me, but I got to meet other exchange students and visit some of Belgium’s landmarks and attractions as well. It was an unforgettable experience that taught me many things in just the span of one week

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(Up until) Oct. 10th, 2016

I have been fine health wise, and I still feel well accepted into my family’s home. Unfortunately, as I came back from a concert one night in Belgium, the bike I had used to get to the train station (which is owned by my host brother who’s currently on exchange in Mexico) was stolen, and I felt as though my family had taken some anger out on me in that unnecessarily, though we agreed that I would pay for the bike it it’s entirety by the time my host brother arrived back from Mexico in June.

School had still been good, and although I found it very difficult to learn much information in my very challenging course option, I still managed to keep a good relationship with both my option’s teachers and other students. I had learned how to navigate across the school’s campus and the surrounding area.  I felt confident to talk to any other person in my class by this point.

By this point I had attended still only one Rotary meeting, but I had joined my Rotary in two events that took place outside of the usual meeting spot. The first was to help put on a play in our town, where many people came to watch the play, which took place outdoors. I was in charge of serving drinks, which included learning how to fill beer and serve it. I learned a new skill that day and found myself entirely in a new cultural experience like never before. The second was at a Medieval Festival near our town as well, where I also served drinks, but got to explore much of the surrounding area, which displayed tents of typical European festivities, including food, swords, and other trinkets. I would still consider my relationship with my club and counselor as great. They seemed to really like that I was eager to help during the festivities and improve my french.

By this point, I had met up with other exchange students to sightsee different landmarks and cities in Belgium, some of them including Bruges and Namur. In addition, Rotex had organized an event where all the exchange students kayaked down a river called Ambleve in the goal of having fun and making friends, and it definitely worked. I’ve made friends at a rate like never before in an even small amount of time, and would definitely consider the exchange successful.

(Up until) Nov. 10th, 2016

School has still gone well and although I found it difficult to get adequate results in my academic program, I still managed to learn many new things, both factually and due to experience. By two months at this school, I felt like I had already been going there for ages, and that most of the kids in my option were great friends. I was truly lucky to be able to go here.

I had not been to any Rotary meetings in this time frame, as the one I was planing on going to got cancelled. However, I still expected that the relationship with both my club and counselor were good.

Rotary had organized a mandatory meeting to the Parliament of Walloon in Namur, where we met the governor of that state of the country as well as learned some interesting things about the country. Afterwards, we went on a boat tour down the river in the city of Namur to bond and sightsee more of the country. It was, once again, a cool experience that I’ll never forget.

(Up until) Dec. 10th, 2016

I still felt very healthy by this time, with no outstanding problems. And besides some small issues with my host sister as I talked about previously, there was no serious problem that couldn’t be sorted out in the end, and I still felt very welcomed in the home.

School was still going well, and by this time I managed to hang out with Belgians quite a few times outside of school to go out and explore my city of Waterloo. I had never missed a day or class of my school and wouldn’t even consider it slightly, as I consider myself lucky to have been handed this opportunity to go here and meet everyone inside of it. I particular enjoyed the Religion class, which gave me a new perspective on life, as well as improving my french listening skills, and sport, where I did things I had never done before, such as diving and practicing breathing drills.

I had been the this month’s Rotary club meeting in the same usual spot of the hotel in our town of Braine-le-Château. Like usual, I talked to some pretty interesting people and had some amazing food. At the end, a man presented his fundraiser to fight against brain diseases. And although I couldn’t understand most of what he had said, it felt cool to be in a room with such amazing and intelligent people.

By this point, as the weather started getting colder and people wanted to travel around the country less, I began hanging out more locally or with Belgians, which is always nice as I can practice the language more and see more of my local town and surrounding areas. However, there is one event that comes to mind that Rotex had organized, and that was a chocolate factory tour followed by a visit to the Comic Book museum in Brussels. Although I’d already seen much of Brussels by this point, it was awesome to learn more of the country’s cultural history and see something it takes great pride in. (Which would be the fact that Belgium make’s the world’s greatest chocolate, not Switzerland, and that the largest selling point of chocolate in the world is Brussels Airport. Also, Tin Tin is originally Belgian. AND so are the Smurfs, so who would’ve ever known? Anyways, it was great to see more of Brussels, a city I visit frequently baed off my close proximity to it, and have come to love almost as much as my own back in the U.S.

(Up until) Jan. 10th, 2016

I still feel healthy for the most part, though I did get diagnosed with Bronchitis around mid-february, which did unfortunately impact my ability to take my school exams. OF course, I managed to take the required amount regardless.

Like always, school has been going well. I finished up all my exams lately and enjoyed the Christmas break, which gave me lots of opprotunieis to explore more the Belgium countryside and her cities, including Antwerp, the second-largest city in the country that’s located in the Dutch speaking part of it. Also, I was actually excited to see all of my Belgian friends once the school year resumed after break. By this time, I felt like they not only thought of me as a close friend, but that I had bonded with my class so well that I’d imagine being friends with some of them for quite some time afterwards.

I went to the next Rotary meeting after I had my brief meeting with my counselor a week earlier, and found myself in the same hotel treated in a very nice manner, as usual. I sat next to my club’s president and discussed some of the issues I had had but he assured me it would be fine depending on how it went with the next host family, which had been great so far on my first day. Overall, I would say my relationship with my counselor and president was OK, they didn’t seem to have full trust in me before the talk, but any doubts they had would be shown to be wrong as I would try very hard to not lead myself into any future misunderstandings.

I spent New Years with some friends in Brussels, and let me tell you: It was the coolest thing every. I honestly wouldn’t even know how to begin...whether that would mean explaining the ferris wheel ride at the Christmas market or the huge parade throughout the city’s center. Or perhaps the enormously decorated Grand Place. In my opinion, the best part was the fact that every where we went, thousands upon thousands of people seemed to be having a good time. It was also cool that I spend it with friends I had only known for a little over four months. This night was a clear example of my exchange year. Short, but unforgettable.

(Up until) Feb. 10th, 2016

Anne and Hermann (Host parents)

Didier Noriens (Club Counselor)

Overall, I feel much happier an more comfortable in my new house and home. I have no host siblings, which feels like quite a change. Technically there’s a host brother and sister, but they’re never home as the as the brother is away at college and the sister’s on the exchange in Spain. I feel like I have a good relationship with them. Of course, my other host mom explained her problems with me to them as she knows them a little bit, but they told me that they’d give me a fresh start, which I was very thankful for. Overall, I feel healthy both physically and mentally, and I appreciated getting into a new atmosphere. It would benefit me in multiple ways, including getting yet another perspective on the country’s history. I’ve already learned quite a lot from my host father, who’s from the German speaking part of the country, so it’s yet another learning experience.

School is going well. I have finally grown to not just love it, but think it as my own school. Weird how your brain does tricks like that to you after just five or six months. And now I can talk french comfortably with the Belgians without a problem. (though the pronunciation is still a jiffy) And for the first time, I feel like they look at me not completely as an exchange student, but as a fellow classmate, so that feels awesome too.

I went to another Rotary meeting, where i was again greeted by warm gestures and food. I would say that I have shown my Rotary club, at least to an extent, that any past misunderstands were nothing more than that, and that I was willing to move on from that in any way possible. I also can’t wait to join more service community projects in the country, so I can show them that I am honestly dedicated to doing things that the Rotary stands for and show them that I am a good person. I would say that my relationship with my counselor and club has improved, and in time will hopefully be at a level where I’d like to be at again.

The Rotary organized a meeting for everybody in District 2170 (which runs down the middle column of the country, from the dutch speaking Antwerp, through Brussels (near where I live) and the south. We all spoke in french to each other and discussed mutual problems and ideas of how to fix them. It was great seeing some faces I hadn't seen for quite some time and also having the Rotary display that we are all one family sharing one mutual struggle as exchange students. Plus, it was interesting to see how everyone’s french-speaking skills have improved in the last five months. And for the most part, everyone’s was coming together quite nicely!