Rotary Youth Exchange
Since 1927, students and host families all over the world have had their horizons broadened and their lives enriched by the generosity of Rotary's Youth Exchange program. Administered by Rotary clubs, districts and multi district groups, the program today involves more than 82 countries and over 8,000 students each year.
Meet Exchange Student Marco Simmino
Marco is staying with Michael and Janet Conos and their family in Kew, and attends school at Carey where he studies in year 11. His recent report was very encouraging. Psychology and maths are his favourite subjects. Being a keen sportsman he enjoys all sport especially soccer, and has even developed an interest in the AFL having attended three AFL games to support Geelong. Already he has been taken skiing and bush walking.
Australia is a ‘big adventure’ as everything is ‘fantastic’ and ‘couldn’t be better’.
Marco has made ‘lots of friends’ in Melbourne and looks forward to his safari trip around Australia with other Exchange Students next year.
As for the future he is not sure, but he will tackle a business course when he returns home in July next year.
More news about Marco as at December 9, 2010
Marco is pleased to have finished school for 2010 with a good report which included an excellent 82% for German. He has moved from the Conos family to the Green family and now on to the Stillwell family to be with Michael and Jillian. Marco is still thoroughly enjoying his exchange year in Australia and being a gregarious lad he can't wait to make the most of the school holidays especially at the beach with his Australian friends. He is very much looking forward to the big adventure of a safari around Australia in March 2011 with all the other Rotary Exchange Students who are 'exchanging' in Australia at this time.
Marco enjoyed our Christmas celebrations at Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club.
Exchange Student Shelby McKeown writes this about herself
In 2011, I’ll be heading off to Denmark to live for a year on a Rotary Youth Exchange. I’m so very, very excited. It never leaves my mind. My family and friends have been very supportive and understanding, helping me with the big decision of applying for one of the best opputunites offered in a lifetime.
Since I received the wonderful news, that I was accepted, I spend my spare time learning Danish. Denmark is a country I know little about, which is one of the reasons I wanted to go there, to experience what it has to offer, food, school, the people, environment, everything.
I’m sure this chance of a lifetime will have some lows along the way and I understand what I have to do to overcome them; but there will also be many many highs making it all worthwhile.
Thank you Rotary and the Club of Kew for giving me this amazing opputunity, I cannot wait until I leave.
Additional information
At our Rotary Club Meeting on December 2, the Club had the pleasure of listening to Shelby speak about the hopes she has for her Exchange Year next year. Her audience included 25 interested Rotarians as well as her father and grandfather who were just as interested or even more. There was no doubting the excitement in her voice.
Shelby, who finished year 10 at Frankston High School this year, expects to complete her VCE there when she returns from Denmark at the end on 2011.
She has a desire to follow a career in the medical science.
On January 21, Shelby will begin her long trip to Saeby in Denmark, where she will be hosted by members of the Rotary Club of Saeby and in particular by four Rotary families.
We all wish her well.
According to Wikipedia, Sæby is a Danish town, with a population of 8,898 (1 January 2010)[1], in Frederikshavn municipality, Region Nordjylland on the Northeast coast of Vendsyssel-Thy, a part of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark.
Cafe - Smeden, Saeby 
Farja - till - Denmark, SaebyShelby is having a great time in Denmark March, 2011
Hello from the land of the Danes,
Well it‟s been a bit longer than a month, time is flying so quickly! My Host family the “Jeppesen‟ family is fabulous and we live in a small home in Saeby. Saeby is so beautiful with so much history, very different from where I come from. My family has taken me to famous places around the town like the Saeby Manor, hospital and church. I have had so many things happening this month that it is so hard to remember everything but I will begin with school.
School has been great. My first day at the school was scary, everyone seemed to stare at me and they were quite scared to talk to me, I have realised later on that it‟s because they were worried their English wasn‟t too good. Since then I have become friends with all of my classmates and I have had some outings with them already. The school work is hard for me to do, it being in Danish, so I have been a bit confused about what I should be doing in classes where I cannot learn. However, today I borrowed some Danish children‟s books from the local library, so I will now be practising my Danish in those classes.
I have met my Rotary club councillor, Lars Laursen and he‟s a great guy and has helped me with every one of my worries and queries. I have been seeing him quite regularly, at least once a week. The Rotary club of Saeby is wonderful, I visited them around my 3rd week of my exchange and met all the Rotarians. At that meeting I also met my two other host fathers for my next two families, they seem really nice as well. I will be going to my next Rotary meeting soon.
This month I also went on a language camp with all other Rotary Exchange students coming into Denmark, through winter 2011, from all around the world (mainly Australia). It was great to meet all of them and again amazing having that special connection with them all. It was also a relief because you can talk to them about your amazing adventures and dilemmas that have come your way throughout your time in Denmark. The language part of the camp was very funny and I learnt a fair bit.
So what else? Oh right, I have just arrived back in Denmark from a week‟s holiday in Norway! It was the best holiday I have ever been on. My family and I caught the ferry and we lived in this little cottage in a town called Hovden. The whole week I spent with my host brother Henrik and host sister Maria, learning how to ski, Alpine ski, up on the mountains. Alpine skiing is so much fun and I was amazed how quickly I learnt, me being a person that is very uncoordinated. So I am back in Denmark now and have school again soon. In a few weeks I will be off with my school class for a week in Rome. My class mates and I are so very excited.
I am just so happy here and I‟m already worried how fast the days are going. I love it here in Denmark.
Love Shelby
Shelby's April in Denmark. Shelby is living a dream
Goddag fra Danmark,
So it is now halfway through the month of May and April has been filled with many exciting things. I have moved host families to the Kjeldgaard family. They are so wonderful. I am living in a tiny country town called Hørby, where my Host Dad’s business is. He is the local Gardener and so our house holds many Greenhouses filled with beautiful plants. My host mum Hanne, also works, as a vet at the pig slaughtering house. I too have a host sister called Anna who is rarely at home because she goes to a boarding school; however we get along extremely well. She is also going on Exchange through Rotary to Brisbane, Australia.
Though before moving families I have travelled and visited the Northern part of Denmark in a town called Skagne. There in Skagne my first family, The Jeppesen’s, and I parked our caravan in a caravan park. It was great to experience living at a caravan park because I had never done that before. Whilst in Skagne my family showed me around the town. There were many famous things to see such as the ‘Sand covered church’, ‘Skagne’s Desert’ (with the moving sand), ‘old lighthouse’, the old red fishing buildings, and my favourite. Which was ‘Where two oceans meet’ situated right at the tip of Denmark and where the two oceans ‘Kattegat’ and ‘Skagerrak’ collide.
I have also had my school’s Gala Fest. This Gala Fest was where the student’s get all dressed up and celebrate the 3rd year students finishing of school. They also had to do a special, traditional dance called the ‘Lance’ in front of us all. It was very beautiful. I have experienced a Danish Easter too. It is quite similar to an Australian Easter, the Easter Bunny did happen to visit me in Denmark which was quite fantastic. I received some delicious chocolate eggs.
Last week I did my Rotary Presentation to the Rotary club of Sæby. They all found Australia very interesting and found the Vegemite to smell very disgusting. No one dared to have a taste. I also presented a similar presentation to my school class here in Denmark. They also loved to hear about Australia and my life there. They tried our famous ‘Tim Tams’ too and I am glad to say they are now addicted and it’s their favourite chocolate biscuit. In a couple of days I will be travelling around Europe for about 3 weeks. I will be visiting some beautiful countries such as Austria, Italy, France, Germany and a few more. I am so busy now getting prepared and I am just so happy. I always get these thoughts whilst living here that if I didn’t make that step of going on Exchange I may never have had this chance and experience to visit all these places and meet these people. The thought quite upsets me so I tried to avoid it as much as possible. I have had no troubles whatsoever I'm just living a dream.
Love to you all,
Shelby McKeown