Zane Elston - Hello From Thailand

As of now, I have been here for five and a half months, and it is all going far too quickly. I have been enjoying every part of life here, from the food to the natural features of southeast Asia to the massive cultural difference. Everything here is nearly completely opposite what i am used to in America, and that alone has made my time here extraordinary. This has allowed me to learn so much about myself and life in general; it has renewed my outlook on the world.

School here is, well, different. But its an easy transition, and I have made amazing friends in school that I believe I will keep for my entire life, as well as the other exchange student friends that will be scattered around the world next year. And as different all of us are, I seem to be able to connect to Thai kids just as I did my American friends.

I just finished spending an amazing week in Bangkok, and at the beach of Hua Hin. I absolutely love Bangkok and all of its great attractions. In Hua Hin I had the opportunity to go Kite Surfing and I had what I consider to be the best day of my entire life.

Being in a country that receives absolutely no snow is a huge difference, and I am ecstatic to go skiing next year :D

I am now back in Chiang Mai. My two month summer vacation from school is set to start in a little bit over a month, and I really hope to do much more traveling around the country at that point.

I spent new years in Myanmar with my host family, and the gigantic poverty really made me value my life that much more. The economic condition of Myanmar is beyond dismal, and it's pretty saddening to see living conditions like that.

I have also gone elephant riding a few time into the jungle, along with a few bamboo raft trips. The bamboo rafts are nothing more than 10 pieces of bamboo lashed together by leather, and that was an amazing experience. I also have had the chance to visit many buddhist temples. The temples here are nothing short of amazing, and there are soooo many.

And with that I'm not sure what else to say, if you have any questions feel free to ask!

Anna Poirot - Agua Prieta, Mexico

Hi All,
My name is Anne Poirot and I am an outbound student for next year. I will be spending my year in Norway, although I don't know when I'm leaving or where exactly I'm going yet. Anyway, I was going to post a few words about the Interact's trip to Agua Prieta, Mexico that we take each year and just returned from. As an outbound student I am required to, but also willingly participate in, all these wonderful opportunities Rotary provides for us.

This past four-day weekend we had off of school, we used three days to travel down to Agua Prieta, Mexico with bundles and bundles of gifts sent down to their Interact Club. We delivered these gifts, with the Agua Prieta Rotary and Interact clubs, to three different orphanages. Handing out the gifts to the kids was, needless to say, a very rewarding experience, and a great opportunity, for those of us who knew some Spanish, to speak a little, and play some new Spanish games with the older kids. After all the kids had gifts from all three orphanages, we drove through some of the poorer areas in Agua Prieta, and handed out gifts to passing children. It was truly life-changing to see living environments like these, and although it was sad, I think we were all warmed by the excitement of the children when they recieved gifts out of the blue. We also got the opportunity to see some of the things Steamboat's Rotary has given to Agua Prieta, such as a water tower to filter water at a school, and heating for a physical therapy center.

This was a large part of our trip, but we also had the opportunity to "interact" with the other Interact kids down in Mexico by such activities as bowling and the fiesta that the Rotary down there put on for us. We ate and danced, learned cultural customs and games, and truly enjoyed our stay, not leaving a second unappreciated. On our way to Mexico, we stopped in the town of Tombstone, Arizona and saw a "Shoot-Out," more or less a comedic interactment of the wild west. On the way back, we stopped in the town of Bisbee, Arizona, a quaint town built on a hillside, which required some really intense power walking up the hills. It was here that we discovered many antique shops, and even met a salesman who grew up in Craig, Colorado! Go figure!

Over all, we all became closer as a group, and made friendships that we will probably never forget. The experience was rewarding, exciting, and extremely fun for all involved, and I hope we continue to have the resources to annually take this trip!

Alli Major - 6 months down,,, six to go!

G'day Readers!

coooooo-eeeeee! 6 months in Australia! It is sooo great! i really couldn't ask for a better exchange! I have been up to a lot since my last blog! and lemme tell ya i have loved every millisecond!

Christmas was absolutely amazing and about 90 degrees! a bit different from a white Christmas. My family and i made sushi for Christmas lunch then an amazing roast Christmas dinner! my mum here is a very very very good cook.

Boxing day (December 26th) my family went to Beachport, South Australia.

Now i have lived my whole life thinking that i was a snow kinda girl. But i reckon that week at the beach changed me. I absolutely fell in love with Beachport. It is a gorgeous little town, the population is only 400. We got to ride the horses along the beach and it was SOOOO FUNNN!!!!



The Rotarians here are excellent. A Rotarian couple took one of me mates and I to Canberra, Australia's very own capital and it was grand! we were able to do all the touristy things like looking at the Parliament buildings and different museums and the embassies! (: and we got a day of shopping and that was especially good ;)



Well if yous have all been keeping up with world news, I'm sure you would of heard of the Queensland floods. :O they were so destructive! Many dead and many missing :( Thankfully i am in Victoria and not Queensland but my heart goes out to all them there.

Not nearly as bad as Queensland floods, Victoria has been affected by floods and my town was hit the worst i reckon. :( Now we got flooded back in September but the 2011 floods were WAYYYY worse. And with such a small community, i know so many people that lost so much, whether it be animals or things when the floods went straight through houses. Part of Charlton was safe, the part where i live because it's on a hill so I'm grateful for my move. My first host family got hit pretty bad :( Power was out anywhere from a bit less than 24 to about 48 hours depending on where ya lived. The river went straight through the main street and a few businesses had their windows caved in. Blessedly, no lives were lost and no one is missing in Charlton. Everyone is safe. :) The flood waters have receded and now it's clean up time!!! :)


it was definitely a good year to come to Australia, I've got to witness all these once in a lifetime happenings! and i have fallen in love with Australia. I really like being here.

Catch Ya Later Mate! ;)