Julia Prescher may be thousands of miles
from home, but the German exchange student says she is not homesick.
''I'm too busy and having too much fun,''
said the 16-year-old high school junior.
Julia, who comes from a small town in the
Saxony region of Germany, arrived in South Florida in August, hosted
by the Rotary Club of Weston.
She enrolled at Cypress Bay High School and
has been busy taking airboat rides, going to the beach, a Miami
Dolphins football game and hanging out with new friends.
It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and
it's one the Rotary Club is hoping to offer to local students.
In addition to hosting inbound students
like Julia each year, they also send two students to locales around
the world.
The slots are filled for the coming year,
but the group is seeking high school students interested in going
abroad for the 2006-07 school year. It's a chance to experience new
cultures, cuisine, and a different way of life.
A good academic record is important, but
far from the only qualification.
''We're looking for students who are
open-minded, a little adventurous and want to have an experience
they'll never forget,'' said Jeffrey Wertman, Youth Exchange Officer
for the Rotary Club of Weston.
The Rotary operates in nearly 160 countries
worldwide. Each year, their clubs send an estimated 7,000 students
to different countries.
It's not for everyone, Wertman said.
Students have to be willing to live with two or three families
overseas and become part of their lives and community, in addition
to going to a foreign school. The host families care for the
students, supervise them, and introduce them to their country.
''They become like a regular member of the
family,'' Wertman said.
They'll also need to be prepared to break
language barriers. The Rotary prefers to send exchange students to
locations where they don't speak the language.
''One of the goals for them is to take back
not only the culture, but the language, too,'' Wertman said.
This year, the Weston club sent two Cypress
Bay students overseas. Maria Barona is in Italy and Luis Guisasola
is in France. Both students periodically e-mail reports and photos
on their experiences.
Students can request a specific country,
but Rotary officials ultimately decide where they'll go, based on
which clubs worldwide are ready to host a student.
Julia said her parents were initially a
little nervous about sending her overseas. She comes from a small
town named Pulsnitz, in what used to be East Germany. It's a far cry
from South Florida. Residents shop in little stores, not shopping
malls or megastores like Wal-Mart.
She said she always wanted to visit the
United States and was thrilled at the chance to come to South
Florida because of the weather.
The first thing that hit her was how big
everything is, from roads to homes and stores. The size of Cypress
Bay High, which has thousands of students, stunned her at first.
''It's huge,'' she said, laughing. ``My
school at home has maybe a fifth the number of students.''
Currently, Julia lives with the family of
former Weston Rotary President Joe Altschul. She'll live with two
other families before heading home in June.
The Rotary Club of Weston also is looking
for host families for next year. You do not need to be a Rotary
member to host a student.
Students interested in the outbound program
can visit the youth exchange program website at www.rye6990.com.
