Nico's Report

March 13, 2008

Hello dear friends.

I’m so sorry because I didn’t send my reports. The reason was because I have been so busy with school, choir and swimming. I apologize.

This year has been a complete success. I have learned a lot from my experiences and mistakes. I think that I have matured quite a lot. This has been possible thanks to my last host family, and of course my friend John Aquino who is my Rotary counselor.

During the four days trip (December 6-9) to Disney in Orlando. I met the exchange students from all over the word. It was just amazing. Disney is really fun place to go. It’s the place where the dreams become true. I spend a lot of time with my best friends: Max, Enrico, Mameow and John Aquino. They all are very fun friends. We never stopped laughing. John is a great human being and he joked all the time. Everybody had a wonderful time, meeting people from all over the world and having fun with the rides of the parks.

American Christmas was very nice time as well. I had the great chance with the Kirk Singers of the First Presbyterian Church to give a little speech and sing a solo for my Host Club "Downtown Fort Lauderdale." We all sang really nice. The Rotarians liked a lot. I was so excited. My host parents Mike and Kathleen Casey were so generous with me. I am so grateful with them. We had some relatives for dinner. Everybody was celebrating Birth of our Lord Jesus. Christmas was time to forgive, time to share and give ourselves to others.

In New Years Eve I visited Gainesville for 3 days. That was also a beautiful experience because I had the opportunity to meet some relatives of my host dad.

In the beginning of January I was so amazed because I was able to understand and participate during classes at school. I felt so happy because my teachers were really satisfied and I received congratulations from them. Sea Camp was one of the best experiences of this year. I spent four days in Big Pine Key with all of the Rotary Exchange Students (from the North and South Rotary Districts), some students from Michigan and some students form Russia. We experienced the marine life and also we learned a lot about it. It was a terrific time. Everybody became like brothers and sister. Sea camp was a complete success thanks to our chaperones Roy, Bob and Billie. That’s why I want to thank them so much because of their great effort and dedication. Roy gave us a wonderful speech about the goals of the Rotary Youth Exchange Program at the end of this trip. He expressed with great eloquence that RYE is helping us to become better human beings and we will be the future leaders of our World. The future of our planet is in our hands.

Finally, I want to give thanks to Rotary for this unique opportunity, because it will provide to our society leaders that have to be men and women of honor by practicing moral and ethic values, who shows in their every day life, public and private, honesty at all cost, solidarity to all those in need, and who proclaim social justice and equal rights to all. These leaders are human beings who practice honesty in order to face corruption and bring hope to everybody.

Thank you so much.

Long live Rotary International!

Nicolas Bustillos