District 5000 - Youth Programs

DISTRICT 5000’s OUTBOUND STUDENTS 2009-10

"So I'm just waiting. I'm an out-bound exchange student to Icheon, South Korea, although, I have yet to leave, and I haven't any clue of when I'll be leaving. I wanted to go on a youth exchange , mainly because I friend of mine previously embarked on youth exchange through the Rotary Club, and still has strong and evident connections with friends he made while on his exchange. Identifying the experiences he had was just one inspiration to become an exchange student Also, taking into consideration that a youth exchange is a really excellent preparation for college, where you are away from home and family, going to a new school, but the hardest part is, the language barrier. If you can break down the language barrier and still manage to further your education, don't you think college should be, well, a breeze? Anyway, since I don't know when I'll be leaving, I really haven't done anything to prepare. All my friends have already left for college, so I'm just waiting. My attempts to learn the Korean language have been moderately successful, where I have learned most of the written characters. Hooray :). So anyway, even though I haven't left for my new country, I've still had experiences, where I met inbound students, from Japan, France, Spain, Germany, Argentina, Belgium, and Chile. Well, next time I write, hopefully I'll be in Korea."

Kerry Yamauchi

DISTRICT 5000's INBOUND STUDENTS 2008/09

Rotary youth exchange student, Anna Pifferi from Italy, spent her senior year at Kauai High School (2007/2008). "It was amazing. I made so many new friends and now have a new family in Hawaii," said Anna. While attending KHS Anna headed up the largest blood drive in the school history. "I've never done anything like this. It was so much work and I'm very proud of my accomplishment. I would never have this opportunity in Italy," states Pifferi.

Rotary exchange students Monica Orti-Lopez (Spain) and Claire Alix (France) participate in the Bon Dance. "Learning about the culture is an important part of why I chose to be an exchange student," states Claire. "I want to learn as much as possible about Hawaii."

Rotary youth exchange students, Nooknic Buabansri (Thailand) and Michael "Myko" Diez (Philippines) help Rotarians educate children about bicycle safety. Nooknic and Myko were very active in their club's Rotary activities during their exchange in 2006/2007. Both students continue to be part of the Rotary Club of Poipu Beach ohana. Club members have visited both students in their respective home countries and are embraced by the students families and friends. "It's like our family has grown exponentially with each student we've hosted. I now have daughters in Brazil, Spain, Chile, and France. All of the students want us to visit and meet their families. I look forward to the day that my family can travel and reunite with our beloved daughters," said ADG Nancy Kanna. "I look forward to having my son Keith go on exchange when he is older," states Kanna.

Rotarian John Black just returned from Thailand where he had the opportunity to visit with Nooknic who is now attending Chalongkorn University in Bangkok. "It was so good to see Nooknic and meet her family, she sends her love to all of the members of our club," states Rotarian Black.

The District youth exchange program is urging clubs to participate in this worthwhile program. For the Rotary year 2010/2011 we will need to find host clubs for 10 inbound students. Please contact Leila Thompson, District Youth Exchange Chair, for more information on how your club can become involved in "Making a world of difference."
leila.fuller@hawaiiantel.net

DISTRICT 5000’s OUTBOUND STUDENTS 2008-09

Stephanie Vancil from the island of Hawaii, is on exchange in Italy and she writes…

Stephanie Vancil

So far my new home in Sassari Sardegena Italia has been amazing! I have gotten to see and do so many new things. This island is quite a bit bigger than the Big Island of Hawaii. The population of the city where I am living (Sassari) is bigger than the population of the entire Big Island. There are a lot of very beautiful beaches here. The water is so clear that you can see fish swimming around without a snorkel mask.

On the first day I was in Sardegena we went to a beautiful beach called Stintino. Within the first week that I was here I went to a Religious festival in a really small town called Thiese. The festival was for Madonna of Selenus. At this festival the people were dressed up in Traditional Sardo costumes and some were even doing tricks on horses while they were running. I have met a lot of new friends here in Italy who are helping me to learn Italian.

When I first came to Italy I could hardly understand a word and now I can understand most people when they speak to me slowly. Also, here in Sardegena they have their own traditional language called Sardo, so I am learning a bit of that as well (but this is much more difficult than Italian).

I have just started school here, which is very exciting. Everyone at school is very nice. Today some kids were trying to help me understand the lesson of Physics in Italian, but that was too far beyond my Italian language level. I found out that with our class in school we will be going on a trip to another place in Europe, probably to Prauge, I am very excited. The food here is wonderful, but here they eat so much more than what I am used to. I really love the pizza here because they have so many different varities.

My host family is really nice. My host mother is a math teacher and my host father is a doctor, who travels a lot for work. They have twin daughters, one is doing an exchange in Washington State and the other is doing an exchange in Florida. I am having a wonderful time here in Italy and I am very grateful to be here.

Colete Masunaga from Kona on the island of Hawaii, is on exchange in Thailand and she writes…

Colete with Thai Dancers

Before I came to Thailand it had never crossed my mind to even visit this country. But as a look around my home and see the phuean bhan(neighborhood) around me I can't seem to see my exchange experience any other way. Kun Maeh (mother) does not speak English and neither does Kun Phaw (father) but they treat me as their own daughter and they have helped me so much since I have been here. My family is a very traditional Thai family and they have taught me so much about the culture here. One of the first outings that I went on was with my host family to Nong Khai, a city about an hour away from Udon Thani near the border of Laos. On our way to Nong Khai we stopped at a small Wat (temple), the first I had ever been to. There my brother Toomtam and I were blessed by the monk with good luck and health. My brother Toomtam left for America the first week I was here.

I have been busy learning about the Thai culture here and I have traveled to many different cities in the short time that I have been here. A big part of the culture here in the northeast of Thailand is Isan. Isan is the name of the culture that has been shared from Laos and has spread throughout northeast Thailand. At school my friends teach me Isan words and phrases as well as Thai. I recently went to Ban Chiang for an Isan festival where there was traditional Isan weaving and dancing.

At school I am learning how to read and write the Thai language which helps me a lot more with improving my Thai overall. I can study the language for free at school instead of hiring a tutor to teach me. I am able to understand what people say to me after two months but I am still working on building my vocabulary.

One of my favorite times here was when I went to the local department store for a fashion show. The other exchange student from Germany was in the fashion show because her mother was recognized as an outstanding mother (the mothers and their daughters' modeled evening gowns). At the fashion show there were four Thai movie stars who were going to escort each person on to the stage and perform a short waltz. I got to meet one Thai actor and talked to him about Hawaii. He had traveled to Hawaii many times and he told me that his favorite place to go was Waikiki Beach!

Its' hard to believe that only just a year ago I was thinking about applying to be a Rotary exchange student and now I actually am one! It is only the beginning but I already have met people from all over the world and experienced a number of activities. I know that after this year, Thailand will always be close to my heart and I will never forget my khrawp khrua (family), phuean (friends), rohngrian(school), Udon Thani, and kon thai jai dii (the kind people of Thailand).

Read more stories from 2007-08 outbound Youth Exchange students

DISTRICT 5000’s IN-BOUND STUDENTS 2007-08

NIshikawa_YE0708

Aloha! I'm Nana Ishikawa, from Hiroshima Japan. I had a wonderful time in Hawaii. I was shy and wasn't good English speaker. My friends and host families were taught me how to speak English. So I improved my weak points. I owe my success from them. After my exchange life, I felt like living in Hawaii. I love Hawaii. Thank you for these experiences.