Felicity Dye introduced the exchange student program and highlighted the challenges faced by African students in participating due to a lack of reciprocal exchange opportunities. She explained the Rotary Youth Exchange's Africa One program, which allows students from Africa to participate without requiring a reciprocal exchange.

 

Haset McKuria from Ethiopia offer her presentation via Zoom. She leaves Bellingham on July 01. Once the electronic Zoom problems were solved by Mark, the delightful Haset made an excellent presentation. She started her presentation with some interesting photos of her home life in Ethiopia. Haset acknowledged the difficulties of exchange students in Africa. The host family was a subject of major interest for both Haset and Keisuke. It is obvious that both felt great affection for their Bellingham hosts. Haset mentioned a triad of new things experienced in the U.S. that would never be experienced at home “Each experience helped me grow more confident as I stepped out of my comfort zone.” When she first arrived the U.S. she was very picky about food but now enjoy all American food. She especially enjoyed the Rotary Youth Exchange Party on September 19, 2024. She left the party feeling fully connected.

 

While attending school in Bellingham Haset soon got involved in clubs and sports. She extended thanks to supportive staff and kind teachers. School felt like a second home with so many good memories.  “These experiences changed me in the best way.” She wants other students to have this experience.

 

“Thank you for your support. I love you.”

 

Keisuke Yamegishi from Nonoichi, Ishikawa, Japan made his presentation in person. Keisuke departs Bellingham for Japan on July 07. He started his presentation by admitting he was so nervous. He described his time in Bellingham as an amazing time.  I had so much fun here. The first host family was President Steve Ban and his wife. Language was so difficult at first. Sign language was the norm. Gradually Keisuke adapted to language and food. He was grateful to both host families for their excellent food.

 

Keisuke offered us a visual photo report on his favorite activities. Soccer obviously rates high with this young lad. He delighted in snow boarding at Mt. Baker. Keisuke’s home residence is not far from popular ski areas in Japan. “What did I learn?” He did not anticipate the multiple languages he encountered in Whatcom County. He greatly expanded his English vocabulary, and his speaking has much improved. Now he better knows what he can accomplish. He is grateful for the experience. Keisuke loves the people who live here and will return in the future, perhaps university. “Thank You.”

 

Dawnlynn Chadwick, our own exchange student, felt her time in Monterey, Mexico was a great experience. She resided with three different families. The first was a large loud family. The second family attended lots of concerts and leaned toward European Spanish dialects. It was a small family with a big house, well educated. She joined the family in attending Catholic mass a few times, the host family father was Roman Catholic. The third host family were Rotarians.

 

Dawnlynn really enjoyed swimming with dolphins, horseback riding, however there were also times when the exchange was hard. She offered special thanks for the computer the club provided.

Closing:

President Steve graciously thanked our guest speaker and called the meeting to closure.