a Letter from Lodi: the world gets personal for teens
Twenty-five countries.
Five different continents.
One hundred and eighty-five Interactors. A world of possibilities.
This was, by far, the most exciting and diverse project that Lodi Interact Club has ever been a part of as far as I’m concerned. It all began with a few out-of-the-blue Instagram messages from an Interact club in Metapec, Mexico, and turned into a six-week virtual exchange and an invitation to represent the United States in a worldwide event to promote unity and togetherness.
In our weekly virtual exchange, members from each club channeled their creative energy and took it upon themselves to create videos or presentations showcasing the ‘topic of the week’, which ranged from weather to cuisine, music, and many other subjects that we could contrast and connect with. While the purpose of these meetings was to meet for an hour and discuss the topic of the week with one another, we enjoyed each other’s company so much that we would often stay on the Zoom meeting for an extra hour or two to just talk with each other, laugh, and have fun.
Just before our virtual exchange was completed, Interact Metapec sent us an invitation to be part of a global project called ‘We Are One’. This was to be a couple of hours on a Zoom meeting where we would be mixed up with Interact members from other nations and play games to learn more about each other’s nationalities and unique countries. There are absolutely no words to explain how magical, amazing, interesting, and heartwarming this event was. Getting to meet and become friends with people from the Philippines, Italy, France, Romania, Egypt, Australia, Hungary, and more countries has been life-changing for me. Everyone was so kind and genuinely amazing. We still talk to each other almost daily and hold fun follow-up meetings every two weeks or so to play games and enjoy being with each other.
These are opportunities that I will never forget. I created so many new friendships and connections, learned about different cultures, and felt a purpose in what I was doing. The global event was created to expose our youth to the unique ways of life that surround them, and to put emphasis on world unity. This was definitely accomplished, and in the end, we all recognized that, “We Are One”.
Amelia Heider, Vice President
Lodi Interact Club #208602
September 23, 2021