Mallory Richey - I am here!!!!

Hello everyone!
I made it to France! It has been great so far. It has been a whirlwind couple of days!
When I first arrived, my host family had some chocolate croissants waiting...mmmmmmm tasty.
Right out of the airport I got a quick tour of Paris with stops at Chanel, Dior, Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, The Arc de Triomphe, the Champs Elysees! It was insane...the whole time I was like...I am in Paris...I am in Paris...I AM IN PARISSS! On the way home, (which was about an hour and a half drive with traffic) I slept because I just could not keep my eyes open. That night, I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. I have a room at the top of the house, with a big window that looks over the village, it is très magnifique. The next day we did a little tour of the town. It is about the size of Boulder but seems bigger because there are two other towns right next to it. That day I went to the Rotary meeting as well and gave a little speech, I was so nervous and practiced the majority of the afternoon pacing the entire house. Once I got there all the nerves went away though because all the Rotarians are so nice. It is a pretty small rotary compared to the size of the town. Another difference is that the meetings are a lot shorter and you only have some snacks instead of a big meal  (which were très bon by the way) because the meeting is at about 8 at night. I start school on monday, and I am a little nervous because it is HUGE, but I do have a meeting with the headmaster tomorrow so I feel like that will help ease the nerves a bit. Today, we went to the coast and I could see England! It was exactly what you would picture France to look like. After we went and saw the England-France ferries in the town of Calais. Calais is really cool because it is an old coast city with tons of beautiful old buildings and restaurants. My french is coming along ok. Today was the day I felt the most comfortable, probably because I am not as tired, but I am improving quicker than I thought I would, especially with the patience and help of my host family. I will keep you all updated...have a good weekend:)
a bientôt

Mallory

Kestral Johnston - Two weeks!

Hey Everyone!
So I have now been here about two weeks, and wow, time goes by fast! I've experienced many things, such as my first week of school, futebol (soccer), and a waterfall. My first week of school was very different than what I am used to. Here, I have all of the subjects, and you can't choose your classes. The teachers are the ones that move rooms, while the students have their own classroom. I have 12 meninos (boys) and 4 meninas (girls) in my class including me. And let me say, it does get very, very loud! The teachers here seem fine with the noise at times, and it's very laid back here. They have also been very patient with me and my slowly progressing Portuguese. Whenever I need help, I can ask the teacher or another classmate to explain to me, which is very nice. I have about 14 classes, but some classes are the same subject, just divided.  For example, Portuguese language is divided up into literature, grammar, and writing. School only goes until 1 PM here, so after it ends I go home and eat lunch. Lunch is the big meal of the day here, similar to dinner in the USA.

On Sunday, I went to a waterfall about three hours from where I live. The river that creates the falls is called Rio Piracicaba. It flows through the state of Sao Paulo into the Tiete River. This is the river that flows through both Campinas and Sao Paulo, both are cities of over a million people.

I started soccer this week with my school, and I hope to be able to attend many practices. I tend to be very busy, especially because my host sister, Livia, is leaving soon for her exchange in Turkey. We are going to Belo Horizonte on Thursday. It is located in another state to the east of Sao Paulo called Minas Gerais.

The language is getting easier as I am being completely surrounded by it everyday. I'm trying to learn just something small or basic each day, and I believe that is helping a lot. It's much easier to focus on one small task than a million at once.

I have also gone to two Rotary meetings. The city here has two clubs much like Steamboat, one on Tuesday and the other Wednesday. In true South American fashion, the meetings start at about 9 PM and go until 11:30 PM! All the people have been very friendly, and I even met an exchange-student-to-be and a rebound (one that just came back. That's all for now! Tchau

Mallory Richey - Hey There!

Hi everyone,
 First of all,  if you happen to be a Rotarian reading this post, thank you so much for this amazing experience, I cannot express my appreciation enough! I am the third student to be traveling abroad this year with the Rotary Youth Exchange Program. I am 18 years old and this will be a gap year for me as I graduated high school this spring. Like Hope, I will be living in France but in a northern city called Bruay la Buissière. It is a little more than an hour north of Paris and is located in the Pas De Calais region. I have been doing some research and the town looks fabulous with a population of about 25,000! I have talked to all three of my host families and have skyped the first a few times, and already can tell that we are going to get along just fine. My french was a little rusty at first but talking to them beforehand has helped a lot. I am looking forward to finally meeting them in person! The current students have also been great with helping me out too, so thanks guys!
Through this exchange I hope to enhance my sense of the French culture by improving in the language and taking the time to immerse myself completely (and maybe do a little eating along the way). I feel that through this I will not only find a degree of self discovery but also improve my perception of the world outside of the United States. In the grand scheme of things, I think that everyone should take advantage of opportunities such as these to improve a sense of communication and understanding with the other cultures of the world. Having said that, I hope that through this program I can do my part to contribute to this idea. As they say travel is the only thing you can buy that will make you richer.
I will face challenges, but also I think a lot of joy...and through this blog I hope to share with you all a little piece of my experience.
Bisous et à bientôt
Mallory
PS I leave the 27th so plan to get my arrival post soon:)

Kestral Johnston - Arriving in Atibaia, Sao Paulo

 A Igreja Matriz de Atibaia in the town square of Atibaia.

My arrival in Atibaia was extremley exciting and very tiring. After about a 4 hour plane ride from Denver to New York, I had a 9 hour plan ride from New York and an hour and a half delay. I was definitely ready to sleep, but it was only about noon here on Thursday. The first thing I noticed here was how all the people are so friendly. Everyone greets everyone with a hug and a kiss on your right cheek. They also have told me that "minha casa é sua casa" which loosely translated is "my house is your house". The weather is super nice here, about 23.5 C during the day, which is about 74 F. It isn't too hot, or too cold, and the best part is that this is winter here! Of course the biggest difference here is the language. At the beginning I was only understanding like a couple of words, one of which was my name, but now I'm starting to get what everyone is saying. The hardest part is being able to answer people. Spanish is only slightly helpful. My host sister speak a little English which helps, and I have a private tutor which I will start on Monday. I also start school on segunda-feira, Monday. I'll probably start playing soccer, futebol, here with my school too. My first Rotary meeting is on Wednesday night, and that should be fun.

My host sister Lívia and I in a town square in Atibaia.

The first thing I ate here was Brigadeiro, which is a sweet dessert type thing that is slightly like pudding.

That's all for now. Beijos!
Kestral

Kestral Johnston - Hello!

Hi everyone, my name is Kestral Johnston, and I am currently a rising junior at Steamboat Springs High School. This fall I leave for Atibaia, Sao Paulo, Brazil for almost a year!  Atibaia is a city of about 120,000 people and located about one hour north of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo and an hour east of Campinas. So far, I have begun to learn Portuguese, which is thankfully similar to Spanish. I’m hoping this will help me through Portuguese. I have also gotten my first host family and my school, and I am currently emailing my host mom to learn more about what my life is going to be like.

I’m very excited to be spending my next year in Brazil because of the amazing culture I have encountered through the current Brazilian exchange students here in Rotary District 5440. They have been so helpful with any questions I have, and overall, they are some of the warmest most welcoming people I have met. When I decided to go to Brazil after my first country didn’t work out, all of the Brazilian exchange students immediately swarmed me and began talking about Brazil all at once. It was great to see their interest in my exchange, as well as the pride of their own country.

My overall impression of the orientation weekend was that it was a very helpful and insightful experience. All of the Youth Exchange Committee members were very upfront with any concerns we had and didn’t sugar-coat anything, especially the homesickness all the Outbound students (kids leaving the country) will feel. I learned how homesickness is a step in the cultural emersion process, and how most kids who have really bad homesickness in the beginning are the ones who thrive the most in the end. Personally, it made my exchange all that more real, and all that more exciting. We also learned about the 6B’s of an exchange, which are Be First, Be Curious, Be on Purpose, Be Grateful, Be of Service, and Be Here Now. It made me realize how I have to be proactive in my exchange, and in general, anything I want to do in life. As a group of 19 students leaving for countries all around the world, we all had common concerns, fears, anxiety, and excitement. It was great to find a community and a support group through the orientation weekend as well.

I hope that my exchange year brings me a new perspective on the world and connections that will last a lifetime. The people, both Inbound students and Outbound students, I have met so far on this journey have been amazing, and I can’t wait to make more connections with people in Brazil. I also hope to become at least conversational in Portuguese and closer to fluent than I am in any language.

My exchange year, I know, will not be the easiest thing in my life. It may even be the hardest thing I ever do. In the end though, I will know that I can get through anything life throws at me. I’ve begun my first steps on my journey to see the world, and now I’m so excited to take off running!

Anna Poirot - Påskeferie!

This month's entry is about Easter break or Påskeferie where I went to a cabin for nine days with my host family and lived without power (we just had a little solar power and a gas line), and without running water. Outhouses and crazy Norwegian mountainside in consideration--it was a very fun trip. We went hiking every day, ate lots of delicious food, found out chocolate sauce goes good on everything, played board games, and went to church on the night of the last supper. We had some exciting times "in town" in the small town of Veggli with mini golf when we needed to grocery shop, and drove through a place called "Lampeland" which translates to Lamp land. There were a lot of red lamps there. I also drank from the stream on the mountainside because the water there is so pure it is fine to just drink right from there--that was pretty cool! I went running and bathed like a viking in the river, and had pretty much an amazing time! In Norwegian Easter, you get a big egg that holds all your candy and you are supposed to eat it throughout Easter, which is like a week long for Norwegians, so that was pretty different! Not to mention that my host family is quite religious, so I really learned quite a lot that i didn't know before about the Easter holidays. I also got a lot of homework, knitting, and reading done, so that was good! Coming up, we have our Europe trip in a week, and then my family is coming to visit for almost three weeks, then it is summer, and then I am home July 13th, so time is just flying by!! We also have the 17th of May to look forward to, and unfortunately quite a lot of news about Anders Breidvik, the guy who was responsible for the Utøya tradgedy last summer. He is now in the process of going through Norwegian trial, so I am learned quite a lot about the justice system as well. Follow with the news going on in Norway--it is important stuff, seriously! Anyway, I hope everything is great in Steamboat and that the Rotary exchange student there is having as amazing time as I am!!!

Anna Poirot - Oops! Time

Alright so I missed February, and now I know why! Everyone always says that the second half of the exchange goes by SO much faster, and maybe that is because Rotary has planned like 10x
more activities for us for the second half, but I think it also h
as to do with the fact that I officially LOVE it here and don't want to leave!! And therefore time has decided to play its evil trick and make time fly. Here is a list of a few of the things I have
been up to since my last post:

• Ski trips with friends!
• Winter ski camp with the exchange students!
• Winter Break trip to Sweden!
• Hollmenkollen sightseeing!
• Sightseeing with friends!
• Seeing the Sun! (WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!)

To shorten what could be a very loooooong and tedious description of each of these activities, I

am going to make it fun and try to put up a very descriptive picture of each.

Ski trip with friends:

Winter camp with the exchange students:

Winter break trip to Sweden:

Hollmenkollen sightseeing:

Did a mention a Steamboatian won the Nordic Combined competition that day?? Couldn't be more proud :)

Sightseeing with friends:

Seeing the sun: