Our district has 10 inbound students here for the 2025/26 school year and here they are!
Pedro - Argentina (joined Band with trombone, although he has never played an instrument)
Magnus - Germany (played American football with his high school team)
Aerith - Philippines (loves cheering on her high school sport teams)
Kei - Japan (visited the Rocky Mountains on a school trip)
Giorgia - Italy (joined dance team)
Zandra - Greenland (surprised how early people go to bed here)
Silvan - Switzerland (went deer hunting with host family for the first time)
Cloe - Belgium (taking AP calculus for fun)
Katie - Thailand (first airplane trip)
Rafa - Brazil (her brother was an exchange student in MN, but she still wasn’t prepared for winter)
La Crosse recently hosted the group for Winter Weekend #1. By this time the students have processed the overwhelming stimulation of arrival, and many are in the process of moving to new host families. Whereas their last get together in early September focused on orientation, this weekend focused on bonding with leisure time and group activities. The students found comradery as they made lasting friendships with exchange students from diverse countries going through a similar cultural experience in Wisconsin.
Pedro’s host family generously offered to host all 10 students on Friday night. The highlight of this snowy night was the sauna and plunge pool. Many had never experienced a sauna, and they were all in, with extreme heat and subsequent snow angles.
Saturday started with group bowling, followed by the Ugly Sweater 5k later in the afternoon. The race was hosted by Rotary After Hours of La Crosse and began at Myrick Park with the finish at Rotary Lights in Riverside Park. Over 700 participants joined the competition complete with ugly sweater, swag, lights, music and goodies. The students reveled in the local festive atmosphere, community engagement and holiday lights.
Then the party moved on to an overnight at the local Boys & Girls club. There was lots of room to move, shoot some hoops and socialize. When I arrived the next morning with breakfast, there may not have been much sleep, but there were lots of smiles and looking forward to Winter Weekend #2 in Fort Atkinson in January. It was a very satisfying feeling, and I was reminded why it is so worthwhile to work alongside fellow Rotarians and help make these opportunities a reality for exchange students and their host families. Each year there are 8,000 plus exchange students worldwide creating international relationships and good will during their exchange year. The connections are wide and long lasting as we strive to unite for good and build peace one exchange student at a time.
Rotary Youth Exchange (RYE) also has opportunities for local students to go abroad for a short term, reciprocal experience, or to spend a school year in another country. This year our district had 10 short term and 6 long term students participating in outbound programs. You are encouraged to share these opportunities and help spread the word. If you enjoy working with youth, consider joining your club’s RYE team. More information can be found on our district RYE website https://rotary6250.org/50254/Page/Show?ClassCode=Page&Slug=rotary-youth-exchange-rye-new