Rachel Hoffmann -- Bolivia

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

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

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

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)

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

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)

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)