My name is Kristina and I come from Slovakia or Slovak republic which is the official name. My host rotary club is Benicia Rotary Club. It is located about an hour from San Francisco. The Rotary Club of Benicia was chartered on December 9, 1966. The Rotary Club of Benicia has been, and continues to be, involved in numerous community and international projects, such as: Annual street cleanup, Benches on First Street, City of Benicia 9th Street Park, Dictionaries for all third graders each year, Flag holders and flags for First Street, Garbage truck for Tula, Mexico, Little Flock Orphanage in India, PolioPlus, Projects at Benicia schools, Scholarships for high school seniors, Tree City USA, Wheelchairs for those in need,…I feel I got into nice community where people like me. The Rotarians here are witty and kind.

I haven’t moved to my first host family so far. Don’t worry I am not homeless, but I live with great people now: with Amy, who is my counselor and Ian, Amy’s husband. I also have to mention they have three dogs which are part of the family. I can say that my Rotarian counselor is one of my friends.

I attend Benicia High School. The size of the school is huge for me. Approximately 1500 students go there. I start at eight o’clock and end at 3.05 pm. It is a long time for me because I wouldn’t be at school so long in Slovakia. I also woudn’t have just six different subjects, but I would take 11 different, og course not in one day. They would be scattered throught the week. One thing I do not like about school here is that we get a lot of homework to do.

The day I came here was amazing. I was just staring at everything. The first thing I noticed when we were driving the freeway was the great amount of cars you have here. Everything was completely new, but after almost two months, I got used to that.

I would have never imagined that Americans are were so friendly people. They always ask you how are you, they are really nice. I did not know this until I came here. They behave in a totally differnet way than Slovak people do. Still, my opinion is developing every day.

I have not decided yet what I would like to accomplish this year or there are so many things I would like to do that I cannot choose? Definetely, I want to experience the school activities like Homecoming, Prom, Spirit week, Rally days, Football games, any sport games…I also would like to go to San Francisco, to NHL game, big baseball game, professional football game, museums, everything that is possible.

I am sure that after this year I will know what I want to do in my life. I was thinking of becoming a translator, but then I realize I can study international relationships. Now I am thinking to do something with art as I take AP Art History here. There are too many things I am interested in, but certainly after my exchange I will know what best suits me.