My Life as a Rotary Youth Exchange Student

From hiking through lush green mountains to exploring century-old castles and ruins, my time here in Slovakia has been quite the thrill. I have seen and experienced so much, yet there is still so much more to see. My bucket list is far from complete, but so is my time here.

Ty Snow GARDNER

Ahoj! I am 18 years old, and from Colorado. I love the outdoors and I also love to play just about any sport. I am also really into learning new languages and making new friends

It was an amazing weekend! Almost a month had passed since my arrival, and I still hadn’t met anyone, except for another exchange student in the same club as me. After all those days of adjusting, attending classes, and gaining new experiences, the moment finally came.

Raissa Sophia RAMIREZ

While most 16-year-old girls spend high school in familiar surroundings, I chose a different path-one that led me to a new country as an exchange student. I chose to become an exchange student for many reasons, but one key reason was to explore the world while I’m still young.

Paloma Simone PUENTE

Hi! Follow me on Facebook at Paloma Puente, to learn more about me. My profile picture is the same as on this account.

The campus life is also very exciting, there are no problems of adaptation, although I don’t understand the language, but I am also studying hard. My classmates were very friendly and would translate into English for me when I didn’t understand to help me understand. They also shared tongue twisters and jokes in their language with me, which was super funny.
My Vvillage (Topolná) which is located inin the Moravian area, participates in this tradition. A lot of the people dress up in the traditional Kroje and prepare pastries, as well as Slivovice and wine. The purpose of the festival in my village is to celebrate the end of the season where all the hard work is done. A group of young adults prepare dances and are the ones that normally dress up in full kroje.

Cai-Yan SU

Rye24’25>>>

Hody refers to the traditional festival or feast that is specific to villages in Moravia. It usually involves people of the village dressing up in traditional costumes called ‘kroje’. The festivals include traditional Folk dancing and music. Hody festivals are a way of preserving regional customs and promoting community spirit. The dates and specific traditions can vary depending on the region.
My Vvillage (Topolná) which is located inin the Moravian area, participates in this tradition. A lot of the people dress up in the traditional Kroje and prepare pastries, as well as Slivovice and wine. The purpose of the festival in my village is to celebrate the end of the season where all the hard work is done. A group of young adults prepare dances and are the ones that normally dress up in full kroje.

Chloe Susan Juliana ZYP

Kloe/Chloe
16
District 7010
24/25

In the heart of the beautiful, snow-covered High Tatras, at the Tatranská Lomnica ski resort, an extraordinary meeting for exchange students took place from February 25th to March 2nd, 2024. This skiing training organized by Rotary District 2240 was supevised by Rotarian Ondrej Kollár, with the assistance of three former exchange students – Rotex members. It was attended by 34 exchange students from various corners of the world, spending their exchange period in our district.

RYE 2240

I recently met a couple milestones in my exchange. Firstly, I have now lived in the Czech Republic for over 5 months, which makes me about halfway through my exchange! While I am a little sad about how quickly it has gone by, I am also quite proud of how far I have come.

Thomas Lahp Gwong ERICKSON

I am from Anchorage Alaska, USA. I like badminton, board games, cross country skiing, hiking, and anything else outside.

On January 26th, 6 exchange students and I left the Ostrava-Svinov train station towards Třebíc, a small city but full of history. We left in the early afternoon and went to Brno, our connection. The trip to Brno was wonderful, it was a peaceful 2 hours and very well spent.

Geovanna ZAGO

I’m Geovanna Zago, but you can call me Gi. I’m 16 and I’m from Brazil. I love traveling, getting to know cultures, having new experiences and going out with my friends! 😁

As a general rule, I haven’t said no to any activities recently (except for time reasons, of course), and this has paid off in several ways. I’ve experienced many wonderful moments that I won’t be forgetting any time soon and found a new hobby.

Yannick Michael NEUMANN

The next weekend I got to do one of my favorite things here: go see the other exchange students! I went to Třebíč with most of the other exchange students (some of them were sick) and we got to tour the city and do lots of fun activities. I practiced my Spanish with the help of my exchange student friends from Spanish-speaking countries (See if you can find me behind the Mexican flag in the group photo 😂), met the new Australian exchange students (they come halfway through the year because their school year is different), participated in a talent show (check out the videos of my favorite performances, plus one of me singing in Czech!), and just enjoyed spending time with my friends.

Shelli Ann SELBY

Hello! My name is Shelli, I’m 16 and I’m from the state of Pennsylvania in the United States! I love music and reading, and I’m so excited to learn another language!