The Rotary Youth Exchange Program builds peace one young person at a time. The program offers young people, 15 to 19 years of age, a chance to learn a new language and culture and make new friends from around the world, all while becoming a global citizen. Host families provide room and board and share their lives with exchange students, involving them in family, community and cultural activities. Many exchange students form close relationships with their host families, bonds that often last a lifetime.
Kalamalka Rotary has been involved in the student exchange program for more than 20 years. When Kalamalka Rotary Club’s current exchange student Louise Marie Lagasse de Locht, LouLou to her friends and family, arrived in Vernon she had no idea what new experiences, from tasting poutine to sampling maple syrup, lay ahead. She bravely left her physiotherapist single mom behind in the small town of Ciney, Belgium, and arrived in Vernon at the end of August, 2106.
The most exciting things so far have been a helicopter ride, ice fishing, skiing at Silver Star and skating outdoors on Kalamalka Lake.
“My current host family dad, Darren Petersen, is a helicopter pilot. He flew his three young daughters and me from Revelstoke into Canadian Mountain Holiday Monashees Lodge for an overnight stay. And I saw a moose from the helicopter,” she said. “He also took us ice fishing. There was a fireplace in the hut but I still wore seven layers of clothes. But, I want to go again.”
Louise, the youngest of three at home in Belgium, has two older brothers. Antoine, aged 23 is a university student and Diego, 25, a lab assistant. She is enjoying being temporary big sister to Molly, Meada and Emmah helping out her current host parents Darren and Rebekah.
“I’ve only skied for a few days in my life, in Geneva, Switzerland when I was 10. Here I’ve already skied four times at Silver Star. I’m on blue runs now,” she says proudly. “My first time at Silver Star was with Rotarian Neil Perry. He and his wife Rose were my first host family. I’m using skis owned by their daughter Kyla who is on exchange in Arlon, Belgium.
“Both of my host families have been amazing. I am very attached to them.”
Soft spoken Louise was a bit shy and intimidated by the size of Kalamalka Rotary, which boasts 95 members.
“But now I love it, the variety of ages, and all these people taking care of me. I’ve been on 10 outings with members already,” she said.
A recent high school graduate, she enrolled at Kalamalka secondary school for the fall term in foods, earth science, social studies and French peer tutoring. This term she is looking forward to classes in acting, women’s fitness, English and Spanish.
“I love meeting new people. Most of my friends are international students. We are all in the same situation, away from home,” said Louise.
So what leads a young high school graduate to apply to be a Rotary Exchange student?
“I wanted to get to know myself better,” said Louise, “ to improve my English and to visit another country. I will go to university in Belgium in the fall but I am not yet sure what I will study.”
But her year in Canada isn’t over yet. There are a few things still on her wish list: sky diving, seeing whales, visiting Vancouver Island, Alaska, Niagara Falls and, of course, Lake Louise.
Missing Belgian chocolate is a small price to pay for such an adventure.
For more information, see www.rotary.org. Kalamalka Rotary Club will be accepting applications in May: go to www.kalrotary.org.
