I am Anastasia, I am French and I chose to spend a year in the United States. I am hosted by the Rotary Club of Corning, California. And the president is Kyle Lauderdale, my second host family. In my Rotary Club, there is also a member, Dario Sartori. Even if he is not one of my host families, he takes care of me with his wife, Daniela. When I have a free weekend, they take me somewhere and I have great time with them. And I am not in Kyle’s family yet but they took me to Lassen and do things with me. That is what I like in my host Rotary Club, they take care of me. I like going to school, I have a lot of very nice friends. And it’s true, the high school here is very different than in France. In France, it’s very hard. Our schedule is very different. We don’t attend school on Wednesday afternoon but on Saturday morning. We can’t choose our subjects, and here there are some differences than in France. For example, we don’t have art, music, media and design, architecture, health, how to take care of children, and other electives. If we want art, theater or music, it’s on Wednesday afternoon, and it’s an option. And, the football or basketball teams with the name, the cheerleaders, the mascot, and all this stuff, we don’t have. I am very happy with my host family, they are very nice and generous. They take me to visit places and do everything I need. Thanks to them, I am not homesick, and I don’t miss my parents, family, friends or anything.

My first surprise when I arrived, is how they welcomed me. I didn’t expect a welcome so nice. And I am still surprised how lucky I am to be in this state, district, town and family. I didn’t have a perception of America or prejudices. I think you have to make your own opinion of somewhere by going there, and I am not disappointed. And during this year, by travels or meeting people, I can learn more about this country. Before it is the time to go back home, I hope to become bilingual, have new friends from all over the world. I will keep them during all my life and of course learn the most I can about this new culture for me.

I don’t know yet what I will do in my future life, but I am sure, it is not a waste of time. Being bilingual is a big advantage to find a job today. And also in my future personal life, I don’t know if I will get married to a French or American or someone else. So this year will open for me some new doors on the future. This opportunity with the Rotary Club is not only about the language, I also gain in maturity. Alone we can’t change the world but if everybody does something, it will change everything and the Rotary Club does everything they can all over the world and they do very good things. I don’t really know how this might happen through me, but if I manage to convince people to do the same, it will change their view on the world, because even if I am not in several countries this year, I share it with people from several countries.