Victoria Herdegen -- Australia (Home Club: Delmar)

January 29, 2016

After officially booking a return date on July 15, this past month has marked my exchange halfway. It is very sad. These past 6 months have gone by so fast. They were filled with so many fantastic moments and hard moments and I have learned so much! The most depressing part is that I reckon these last 6 months will go by even faster.

This past month was great as my host sister and I found so many great things to do with each other to fill these summer days. We have become super close friends and I don't want to leave her. It has been so hot but its oddly been a rainy summer as well. Bush fires have started up in so many places mainly along the Great Ocean Road because of all the dry heat and wind. 

This month was also exciting as I got to travel down to Melbourne and watch some of the tennis matches at the Australian Open live from 5 rows back. The Australian Open is a major tennis competition that people from all over the world compete in. Its been going on for ten days now and we are almost down to the final 2 competitors. 

January 26th I got to celebrate this beautiful country as it was Australia Day!! Australians aren't really prideful, or at least not as prideful as America. No one really focuses on the day. There are no parties or fireworks. Australia Day is actually a controversy here because a lot of people think celebrating Australia day is disrespectful to the aboriginals who first inhabited the land. The Rotary club of Sale held a BBQ in the park where the mayor was able to pledge 22 people who became Australian citizens. 

Just yesterday was the first day back to school and it was a great day. Rollover at the end of the year last year is actually the smartest thing because it takes away all the build up, suspense and nerves you get before the first day of school. It just makes it feel like another break and then your back to school. It made everyone settle right in and comfortably get back into routine. I like it. There is so much to look forward to in my 6 months of year 11. 

Thank you so much for the opportunity to go on exchange to Australia. I have loved every hard and amazing part of it!! 

Regards,

Torri 

                                 Me celebrating Australia Day!

                           Walking to school with my host sister, Chloe, on my first day on year 11 !!

Shay Benedetto -- Brazil (Home Club: Glens Falls)

January 28, 2016

Sorry for the late update, my phone was stolen here and my family and I were in another city where I was unable to access internet. I'm very well settled in here and I couldn't have asked for a better host family to have for the first half of my exchange.

The school year ended in December so I just finished summer break here and I had the opportunity to get to know some other cities and states in Brazil, including an amazing trip to visit Felipe in Sao Paulo, the exchange student that lived in my house last year. Felipe showed me lots of cool places and it was amazing to see the difference between the South, where he is, and the Northeast, where I am living. The state of Sao Paulo is much more modernized, organized, and and has a much wetter climate. Coming back to my region I almost feel as if I had stepped into a time machine at least 10 years backwards and rain is a very rare occurance. Every rotary meetting I go to is a two hour discussion on the water problem in my city because it is becoming a real problem in my city and many others in the region. Our apartment water gets shut off every day between 1-5pm and sometimes there will be no water to shower in the morning.

After seeing many different parts of Brazil, there is one thing I noticed is the same in every place, you have to be careful. I found out that Campina Grande is ranked 25th in most dangerous cities in the world based on murder rate and I'm always receiving warnings to be careful with cell phones and to not walk in the streets. That has been the real culture shock for me. The safety and comfort of the United States is the thing I miss most. I even learned the hard way that you can't bring a cell phone to shows because it will get ripped right out of your pocket. Besides being frustrated with part of my situation I am having an amazing time and my Portuguese is coming along very well.

Adam Boese -- Brazil (Home Club: Schenectady)

January 18, 2016

December has been a great month. At the beginning of the month I started to learn how to surf
which is amazing. It has a lot of the appeal of skating, but the moving ground makes it a lot more intense
and enjoyable for me. I also visit the beaches a lot with my friends, which is awesome as well.
December is also, strangely enough, filled with a ridiculous amount of birthdays. It felt like I had
a birthday party to attend at least every week, if not more. Not that I am complaining. Brazillian parties
are very enjoyable.

The end of the month was probably the best part of the month because of my very first warm
Christmas and new years. For Christmas, my first host family had me and a bunch of family over which
was very nice and a lot of fun. Fun is definitely a common theme in Brazil. New years was even more
amazing. Two of my host families got together with a few friends for a small party. Around 11:30 we
went down to the beach where it seemed like most of the city was. At midnight fireworks went off in
every direction, including right above, which was one of the most memorable moments yet. It was very
beautiful. After that me and a few friends went down town another beach where there were tons of
people dancing and celebrating until well into the morning. I didn’t go to sleep until 6:30.

It’s been a very good start to my summer break.

Julia Lapper -- France (Home Club: Glens Falls)

January 20, 2016

Since my last report I have had a lot of firsts. At the end of November I celebrated my first birthday without my family. That was, without a doubt, one of the hardest days of my exchange so far. Being someone who always loved traditions, I knew this year would be different, but I could not even imagine a birthday without any. When the day came and went just as any other, without so much as a candle, I was feeling pretty down in the dumps, but that weekend some of my friends surprised me with cake and we had a little party. In the end it was a birthday I’ll never forget, all thanks to the great friends I have made here.

    The following weekend I participated in my first volunteer action with my club, collecting canned goods for the food bank, and then joined all of the exchange students in the district for what we called a Forum des Pays. Students from each country set up a table to display our unique cultures in hopes of helping future exchange students decide which country they would like to pass a year in. Speaking to all of the students and their parents, full of questions and concerns for the year ahead, was such a great experience. I remember so clearly being in their shoes, the difficulty of choosing which countries to apply to, and I feel that the Forum des Pays was a great way to help ease their minds.

    Later that week, on the 100th day of my exchange, I moved in with my second host family. It’s a great decision on Rotary’s part to have students move between families throughout the year because we are given the opportunity to see how different families live in the culture. Where as my first family was comprised of a single mother and her 19 year old daughter, my second family is a young couple with 3 sons ages 8 years, 6 years and, at the time of my arrival, just shy of 4 months. Living with my new family, the Fenzars, has been a great experience for me. For the first time in my life I have younger siblings, which is insanely cool. I’ve had the chance to witness so many big events and life lessons over such a short period of time. On my second day with the Fenzars I got to be there when the baby, Liyam, ate his first solid food, and everyday since then has been a new adventure. The greatest thing I’ve gotten out of living with this family is tons of help improving my French speaking. Since the kids are so young that they are still learning the basics of grammar, I have been able to sit and learn alongside them.

    After a couple of weeks adjusting to life with my new family in a new town, Christmas vacation began. Christmas without my family was another big, traditionless first, but the Fenzars fully immersed me in their traditions, making me feel welcome, and even indulged me in a few of my own. My two weeks vacation passed in the blink of an eye, jam packed with day trips to Paris for ice skating and sight seeing with other exchange students, and even one overnight trip with my friend Emily who’s grandparents were visiting from Australia and were kind enough to let me stay with them.

    At the end of vacation I was so tired I didn’t even mind going back to school, just for the sake of getting back some sort of routine. Unfortunately after being crazy busy the past 2 months, and a sudden change to cold weather, I inevitably got sick. Of course, even then I continued to burn the candle at both ends, making plans every free minute, which led me to come down with a horrible case of bronchitis. Luckily now, after my first trip to the French doctor, and a few days bed rest, I am finally on the mend, and looking forward to another busy weekend because nothing slows me down. Exchange is short and I plan to live every minute.

Sutthikan Sakulrungsap (Prom) -- Thailand (Host Club: Corinth)

Rotary Exchanges Monthly Report

Name: Sutthikan Sakulrungsap (Prom)  Date: December/10/2015

Host Rotary Club: Corinth Rotary Club

Sponsor Rotary Club: Rotary Club of Suphanburi

Current Host Family: Gregglory Jenkins/ Meredith Jenkins

Counselor Name: Alysse Kasowski

Health and Home

              Now, I’m doing fine. I’m very healthy this day. I spent more time with my host family than last month. We watch movies together on christmas and new year's. I start my first basketball game. it was fun and my friends are very energetic and cheerful.  

School

             And about the school, I attend class properly. I study well and my grade is better. I have more friend since I join the basketball team, then hang out a lot. They came to my house and spent time watching football and play games together.

Rotary

         I usually attend my rotary meeting. It was very interesting subject when we talk like the activities I have to attend or what experience that I like.

Activities

      I and my family went to Buffalo for college visit and interview by my host brother. After that they bring me to Niagara Falls. It was very beautiful. but most of it, it in renovation. So, i can't see all of it but it the most fantastic moment in my life

Emma Graves -- Belgium (home club: Wilton)

January 7, 2016

Emma posted to her blog recently, here is the link:

 http://emmagraveswiltonrotary.blogspot.com/

 

Victoria Herdegen -- Australia (Delmar)

Thursday, January 07, 2016 10:23 PM 

A Kiwi Kristmas & A Harbours New Year

First off I have to apologize for the Decembers update being late. It got a bit crazy with the Holidays. 

This month started off with a normal countdown before the start of holidays or Christmas Break. What made this month different is that i wasn't counting down for a 2 week break, i wasn't walking to school in the snow and i wasn't getting ready to visit family. This year my countdown was to a 6 week summer holiday and I was tanning in the backyard and at the beach.

 To celebrate my host mums 50th birthday on the 31st, my host family decided to go to New Zealand where we spent the Christmas holidays partying amongst the Kiwi's. We flew into Christchurch and drove down to Queensland where we did a series of exciting and fun things. After driving back to Christchurch  from Queensland and 10 days of amazing fun we found ourselves back in Australia. We spent the new year watching the Sydney Harbour firework show from our hotel window and clinging our chamaign glasses filled with sparkling apple juice. Well at least mine was filled with apple juice. 

New Zealand is the most beautiful place in the world. Pictures could not even capture the real beauty and serenity that NZ's vibrant green grass and huge misty mountains created. Or the super clear, super blue and super cold water that ran down between the rocks creating gorgeous waterfalls. My host family and I had loads of fun on our vacation. My host sister, Chloe, who is an only child, was so happy that i could come with her so it wasn't just her and her parents. Chloe and i get along so well and i don't ever want to leave the Davies. The weather in NZ was a bit cooler. It was rare weather for NZ as it reached between 20-30 degrees Celsius (70-90 degrees Fahrenheit). It seemed to get warmer the longer we were there. 

The firework show in Sydney was the best firework show i have ever seen. It was amazing!! The next day Chloe and i got to climb to the top of the Harbour Bridge which was just a breathe taking sight. The city, the water, the opera house, its all just so beautiful! The weather consisted of blue skies and heat that reached up to 35 degrees Celsius (about 90-100 degrees Fahrenheit). One day it even reached 45 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit). I had to remind myself so many times that it was December and almost Christmas. 

 December was definitely a great month and i am so lucky to be with the Davies family who want me with them just as much as i want to be with them. 

This has been the strangest but most amazing Christmas and new year that i have ever celebrated. It is definitely one that i will never forget. 

Thank you so much to the rotary clubs who not only sponsor me but who host me. It is such a privilege to be apart of these districts and i am so extremely grateful for this opportunity and i do not know how to stress that enough. THANK YOU!!

Looking forward to what the new year brings. 

Happy Holidays to all,

Torri

Adam Boese -- Brazil (Home Club: Schenectady)

December 16, 2015

                November has been a very nice month if not a little slow at times. However I have had a few very memorable moments that I think are worth sharing. I had my first jiu-jitsu tournament. I came in third place, which is a result I am happy with. It was a very interesting experience. I was more or less thrown into my first match, which I won. I had trained a lot on my jiu-jitsu skills, but I wasn’t very clear on the rules or strategy of a real jiu-jitsu match so it was a nerve wracking experience.

                The English teacher at my school has his own English course which is a separate program from our school. He has invited me a couple times so his students could speak English with a native English speaker. However, this past month he also organized a little thanksgiving at a nearby restaurant. I was very grateful for this as I felt quite a bit of homesickness when the Thanksgiving season rolled around and this Thanksgiving meal helped relieve this feeling.

                I also finished my school year which I learned, is a bit different than an American end of a school year. The last day of school included quite a bit of cross dressing, food fighting, and water balloon fighting. Then after the school day ended, we went to the streets to ask for money for the Brazilian equivalent to prom. Of course, with the end of the school year starts, my summer vacation which includes a lot of sleeping in, dancing, and going to the beach. So no complaints here.

Maeve McKeeby -- Belgium (Home Club: Schenectady)

January 3, 2016

The past month or so has been full of holiday celebrations, good food, and travelling. I finished up November by celebrating Thanksgiving with my first and second host families. Even though Thanksgiving isn’t something they usually celebrate in Belgium I still had the full meal including turkey and pumpkin pie. My host families really loved all the different specialties but didn’t understand the concept of putting pumpkin into a pie.

                December was a very busy month of travelling for me. I had the entire month off of school so I travelled to pretty much a different city every day. I am still so amazed with the public transportation here. It’s so nice to be able to get on a train and head to the other side of the country for the day. It’s been really fun to be in Europe for the holidays. Every city is decorated and has a Christmas Market. There’s been Christmas music playing everywhere and it’s made being away from home a little easier. Belgians also celebrate St. Nicolas in the beginning of December. St. Nicolas is similar to the Easter Bunny, everyone gets a large amount of chocolate and little gifts. Not all of Europe celebrates St. Nicolas, only Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Northern France.

Christmas in Belgium was really nice even though it was hard to be away from home. My host family had a little tree we all decorated together and we celebrated with all the family. My host family is Italian so Christmas Eve we made homemade Raviolis to eat on Christmas Day which were really good. My host family and family in the US had very similar Christmas Day traditions of opening presents and eating a lot and it was nice to meet all of my host cousins and extended family. I celebrated the New Year in Antwerp with all the other exchange students which was really fun to see everyone and watch the fireworks! Today is the last day of Christmas vacation so after a month off from school I go back again tomorrow!

After Christmas I changed host families which has been a weird transition. I just learned where all the dishes were in my first house and now I have to start all over again which is odd. My first and second host families are good friends so I will still get to see my first host family which is really nice! I really liked my first host family so it was hard to leave but I’m sure my new host family will be just as good!