In Switzerland - Kelly Ernst

Hello Rotary and fellow Viewers of this blog-

Whats crackin?!

I have officially been in Switzerland for……. whoa- 3 months…. and I am just realizing that as I am typing it-
Its very strange- three months is a long time, and it has gone by so quickly!
The school year is now well in gear and my family and I have gotten into the daily routine of… school.
Its funny- As incredibly different everything is here in Switzerland, the attitudes toward school, from my new friends and host sibling are still. exactly. the same. = DEvery hour of sleep is precious and clocks seem to mysteriously stop working during that all so interesting class of geography (And its funny, becuase they told me that they make clocks the best here in Switzerland…)

But luckily- the system gives us a two (yes TWO!) week long break at the end of october to flee the country and locate some sun and sea.
And that is exactly what my host family and I did.

While all my new friends here in Switzerland were freezing their tails in the snow (yes, snow in october)
I was tanning aboard the Red Sea in Dahab Egypt (Google It! it's INCREDIBLY BEAUTIFUL!)

My family and I left Switzerland at 9 O'clock Saturday night and took the 12:00 Am plane to Sharmel Shak Egypt- we got in about 4:30 int he morning, slept in a little, and a full week of wind-surfing, snorkeling and enjoying the most incredible fruit cocktails in the whole entire world (non-alcholic, don't worry Rotary :D ) started first thing in the morning.

The fish and the coral were something that I have only ever seen in books, and oh was it incredible! My host mom is practically a mermaid because she knows the different types of fishes SO WELL!
We saw Firefish, and Picasso fish,  and so much more which names she told me but- it was all in German, so alas, I am not able to recall.

Next weekend, the other 2 American exchange students and myself are planning on cooking a grand ol' thanksgiving dinner for our three familys. American Style
It has proven very difficult to find a date that works for all twelve people but, i think it is set for the Saturday before Turkey Day!

Other than that, Swiss life is going incredibly well-
Im eating lots of bread and cheese, and coffee maybe 3 times a day-!

Alright, Ill keep you posted,

Ciao For Now,
KELLY

Here is a quick photo of me at Lac Noir. It is a little different climate than Egypt. Lac Noir is a small ski station (perhaps a bit larger that Howelson)  about a 30 minute drive from my house. I would like you to take note as well, this photo is probably a bit blurry, and my face is slighlty contorted- That was because of my violent shaking due to the cold-
But it was beautiful none the less.

And P.S. ALLI: My Mountains are Coooolllerrr than your Kangaroooss! = p

Alli Major - 4 months now O.O

It is CRAZY! i have been in Australia for almost 4 months now. The time has flown by soooooo fast. Too fast really.

I am certainly enjoying my stay tho. I have switched houses and am loving me new host family just as much as my first one.

I have travelled a fair bit, i went to shopping in Albury with my host sister and her friend.
I went hiking at Hall's Gap which was SOOO beautiful and it was really nice to get out of flat lands and into mountains just like home :D
I also went to Bendigo and saw a lot of Kangaroos (: Hope you enjoy the pictures (:

Halloween was yesterday and did i miss steamboat then
I hope it was great. walking down Lincoln and getting bucket loads of candy.
yummmmie!!

But i am certainly willing to give up my Halloween to stay here :)

As you are all starting to get snow, it's spring here and it will be getting hotter and hotter, Although it has been rainy lately it's said to get up to 38 degrees next week, not Fahrenheit tho, i'm talking celsius. OVER 100 DEGREES IN SPRING!!!

now i know all you Steamboat-ers will certainly feel my pain when thinking of how hot that is compared to Steamboat weather. haha

I can asure you tho, i will be at the pool everyday. :D

I will catch up with the exchange students this month i reckon and it'll be nice to see them again.

Anyways! Best be going!
Catchya Later Mate!!
Alli




A joey and mama :)






A whole lotta roos (:





a joey sleeping upside down in patch (:

Bérénice Rioux - Almost two months.

The only thing to say is: the time goes by too fast.

I have been here for two months so far and I don't want to leave this town.
I have been to Lake Powell, Boulder, Denver, etc..
I have made so many friends, and have discovered so many wonderful things. Some people think I'm becoming a real American girl. But I'm loving it. This is probably the only opportunity i will have in my life to do that. So, yes I am a cheerleader, my date for homecoming was a football player, i went on a cattle drive and i am eating all the time. But I am really living in a dream.

But I haven't only made friends in Steamboat.
After the students week end in Wyoming, I think I have friends all over the district. I'm not gonna lie, this week end was perfect. Those two days spent all together created real friendships. Rope course, hiking and different games permitted us to know each other well. And now, we can't wait to meet up again!

And then, the homecoming week end! For some kids, it was just another homecoming. For me, it was the first one and the last one. This week end was awesome. Parade, football game, dance, etc.. Everything was perfect. And I'm sure I will remember this for a while !

Cornelia, me and Claire Parsons for the homecoming.

Life in Steamboat is filled with certain unforgettable events. The beginning of october was Homecoming. Now, everybody is looking for his or her Halloween costume ! It's really exciting, and never boring! I'm not really sure yet of what I want to be for Halloween, but I will figure out, and will surely tell you everything in my next post!

Anything to add? Yes.

Thank you.

Thank you to the Rotary Club of Steamboat, thank you to Deb, John and Coleman Holloway, thank you to all the Rotarians who give me opportunities to discover wonderful new things, and thank you to everybody I have met, and I will meet and who contribute to the success of my exchange!

Bérénice.

Ane Cornelia Pade - I'm the exchange student from Denmark

Hey, I'm Cornelia the exchange student from Denmark.
I come from the third largest city in Denmark, but since Denmark is a small country with only 6 million people, my city's population is only 150.000.
I live with my parents and my two younger sisters, my sisters names are Marie Louise (15) and Eva Helene (13). I play the piano and sing in a couple of rock bands, music is my big passion.
I also love fashion, and help my sister run her quite successful fashion blog.
I have wanted to become an exchange student in America since i was a little girl.
My father was a counselor in Rotary for many years, so I have had exchange students around the house for as long as i can remember. That inspired me to become an exchange student, and America has always been the place I want'ed to go.

I am thrilled to be here in Steamboat, i have experienced so much already, and can't wait to see what the rest of my exchange year will bring.

Thank you Steamboat Springs Rotary for giving me this opportunity, and thank you too all the lovely people i have meet so fare.

I hope, that many of you will come to here my presentation about Denmark in november.

- Cornelia.

Alli Major - Aussie Aussie Aussie! Oi Oi Oi!

Hellooo Boaters!!!
I have recently switched homes!
I now live with the Curry's and have two Host Siblings!!
The family is relly nice (:
I have acquired a new nickname since being here,,,, the American. Now everyone knows who i am. haha ;)
I'm starting to play basketball here in the little town of Charlton
I'm very excited to start a sport finally (:
I recently travelled to Mildura and Melbourne!
It was great to see the city of melbourne and get Starbucks!!!!! :9
The grand final for aussie rules football just ended. I baracked for the Saints but sadly they lost to Collingwood. :(
Hopefully soon i'll meet up with the other exchange students in Victoria. There's about 16 in my district I reckon.
I Hope All Is Well!!!!!
----Alli-----

Kelly Ernst - Hey- Wait one second- Im in…. Switzerland?!

Hello Steamboat Springs Rotary!
HOW IS STEAMBOAT?! I'm sure you are all curious as to whats been going on in the land of cows, cheese, and chocolate. And I would Love to inform you!

I've been living the good life these past two months in Switzerland, that is for sure. The country  is just INCREDIBLE! The Rotary here has given all the exchange students in Switzerland and Abonnment General, and that is basically a card that lets you ride any train, bus, or ferry in all of Switzerland for free. So I have been exploring the lakes and small villages of Switzerland with some other exchange students, and that has been incredible.

School has started and it is going very well. I find it difficult because, even though my french is improving dramatically, and causal conversational skills are well up to par- I have a VERY difficult time understanding my classes and teachers. So most of the day, I end up either copying down mindlessly what the teacher writes on the board, or just sitting there trying to be as least lost as possible. Another thing that is difficult, is that despite the fact that I have talked to the majority of my teachers, I still don't know exactly what is to be expected of me in school. By this I mean, should I try to understand and eventually get "it" or should I be rigourusly studying to keep up with the rest of the students in my class. I try to ask around- but I have yet to pose my questions in just the right way as to where I recieve the right answer.

But other than that, everything else in school is great. My class (And here, they have one single class in which they rotate toghether to the differant teachers, similar to elementary school in the states) is incredibly kind and encouraging of my …slightly imperfect french skills. Im taking a lot of classes here. 13 to be exact! My favorite is photography! It has inspired me to take a lot of really cool pictures!
Here is the link to them :

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5244706&id=604374606&ref=fbx_album

But Switzerland is going great! And I'll be sure to keep you updated!

BÉRÉNICE RIOUX - First days in Steamboat Springs.

Hello,
I'm Bérénice, your new exchange student from France! I've probably never even met some of you during Rotary events or meetings, but I'm sure all of you want to know more about myself.

Firstly I come from France and more exactly from Bordeaux, a famous city for its wine. But I don't like red Bordeaux wine.. Sorry! I'm not going to tell you everything about my city because I will do that in my presentation in November. And I want you to come!

I am 17 and I have graduated high school in France. That's why I decided leaving for a year as an exchange student before starting college would be a good idea.
What more?
Morevoer I like horses. In France I used to practice horse riding once a week. I also like dancing. Actually I danced for 11 years. That's why I'll be happy if I could take part in the dance showcase at the high school.
What more? Shopping and fashion are ones of my hobbies as well as travels.

But you may wonder: Why the USA? I think there are two main reasons.
When I will come back in France, I will get in a business school to work in the domain of the international business. That's why it's very important for me to improve my English.
The second reason is that I want to learn more about the American culture which is, by many aspects, the origin of the new European culture.

I hope I replied here to the majority of your questions about me! And even if I don't, i will be glad to answer you during the next Rotary meetings.
Bérénice.