With Rotary Club youth exchanges in full swing locally, Pender Harbour and the Sunshine Coast are the latest Rotary clubs to host international students, starting next week.
Liu Po Ya is a 15-year-old student recently arrived from Taiwan to spend a year on the Coast through the Rotary exchange program.
Betty, as she prefers to be called, described herself as a girl who is "extroverted and curious," in a two-page letter she sent to her host family.
Betty will be attending Pender Harbour Secondary School this fall, after settling in with her host parents, Alan and Paola Stewart, and their kids. The Pender Harbour family has hosted international students before and is looking forward to having Betty under their roof.
"We are very excited to have Betty in our home," said Alan Stewart. "And so are our kids. They are very excited to have a new big sister in the house."
Stewart said the exchange is a positive experience for the community and has a real impact on the kids in high school.
"Typically the kids going out on these exchanges are relatively outgoing. That isn't always the case, but they bring something new to the table that our local kids don't get to experience otherwise, so they are really well received," he said.
Fernanda Mazzei Portugal is another student having recently landed on the Coast.
From Brazil, 17-year-old Fernanda is currently staying with Gibsons resident Janice Webb. Webb, a former exchange student herself, sees Fernanda's visit as a great opportunity for both Fernanda and the community.
"They can experience Canadian life while we can learn how a Brazilian person experiences Canadian life while appreciating what we have," said Webb.
Although Fernanda has only been on the Coast for a short time, she is enjoying it and looking forward to starting at Chatelech Secondary.
"It's very beautiful here and the people are very outgoing. It's very different from my city [Rio de Janeiro] in Brazil, but I like it a lot," Fernanda said.
The Rotary Youth Exchange sees more than 80 countries and 8,000 students participate in the program, administered at the regional level by Rotary districts and at the local level by Rotary clubs.
Jon Paine, president of the Pender Harbour Rotary Club, said he feels the exchanges help promote world peace and understanding around different cultures as well as tolerance. He also feels the exchanges build confidence and character in the students.
"You can tell they're going to be the future leaders. Not just in Rotary, but in everything. They'll be the ones in a room who people look up to and expect them to be. These kids really show you by the end of the year, they make you feel proud of them because you can tell they're going to do things and go places," Paine said.
