Youth Exchange students joined Pearl Rotarians Oct. 19 to cook dinner for 75 homeless men at Clark Center.

Wednesday after school, inbound student Elisabeth Gruner (here from Germany) and YEO David Bangsund headed out to shop for the ingredients to cook dinner for the men living at Clark Center in SE Portland.

At the center they were joined by Rebound students Lauren Hall (Finland) and Savannah Webber (Peru) who are back after a successful exchange last year, and Rotarians Lori Beight and Don Smith. After an hour and a half of choing, dicing, stirring and baking, they served a hearty meal of minestrone soup and freshly made cornbread to 75 hungry men at the shelter.

Between cooking and serving, Lauren and Savannah (now seniors at Lincoln H.S.) took the opportunity to tell Elisabeth, attending Grant, about their exchanges and give her a few pointers.

One of our Outbound students, Savannah Webber is going to school in Lima, Peru.  Like all exchange students, she is having to adjust to a new culture.  In Savannah’s case, the culture is more related to her being in a Catholic school than it is to being in Peru.  Here is an excerpt from her blog of August 28, 2010 (http://savannah-webber.blogspot.com)

….(M)y school is a private navy and Catholic school.  Well yesterday there was a true testament to the Catholic aspect!

The Bishop of Peru came to visit our school, which was a big deal. So we all (we being everyone in the school) went out in our tidy lines by gender and class, and stood outside because there is no space in the school for everyone! And there was a lot of ceremonial entrance with some flag marchers, band, mini choir singing the national song of Peru, lifting the flag of Peru, introduction, ect.…

….Then later in the day we had Mass. Catholic mass is incredibly ornate!  There is also a lot of standing, sitting, standing, sitting, and so on. Accompanied with a lot of songs thrown into the mix. There was also… ooh, I can’t remember what it’s called, where those who have recently confessed can accept the wafer and wine as the blood and body of Christ. And I got really scared that I was gonna have to get into the line and do the same, but luckily not everyone went up, so I could just sit and watch (pheew)! It was also very long, it lasted an hour and a half, but there was a lot to see!

Also related to church and school, as I am in fourth year I have to deal with the issue that everyone is going through confirmation, but I can’t take part in everything that they are doing because I’m not catholic- though trying to explain what Unitarian Universalist is is incredibly difficult- and I was never baptized, which kinda rocked the boat. ….

Our Outbound student Lauren Hall is going to school in Finland and seems to be having a ball.  Here are a few comments from her blog.  (http://lauren-finland.blogspot.com/)

So school has been going well. I know where everything is, and everyone knows that I am American. One reason is that last Thursday all the exchange students gave a presentation to the entire school; I am proud to say America got more cheers than Mexico or Canada! And second, I am probably the loudest person in the building; I don’t mean to be, Finns are just really quiet. Also, I am white, but I probably have the most exotic, thickest hair. I actually stand out!

My favorite class is English because I spend my time learning Finnish with a German, and they are learning British English. Whenever they listen to tapes, I have trouble holding back my laughter.

I am still loving the food here. I have found my comfort food- apples. There are so many apple trees here, it’s incredible. Also, last week, I really wanted spaghetti. So, on Friday, with my Canadian friend and a Finn, I went to a restaurant and got spaghetti. It was expensive for one plate, but so worth it. Also, the ice cream here is really good, and really cheap. I have been biking into the village a lot just to get an ice cream cone, great times.

As much as I like the food, I do not eat all day. I have made a lot of new friends. I went to a youth group last Saturday night with great people and great music. Before that I went to a mideavil festival, where I saw jousting!…. On Friday, I played ultimate, and of course, got my spaghetti. Yesterday, there was an opera at the castle. It was incredible, and I have never been to an opera before.

Here is a note we got from one of our short term exchange students, Elise Zeidman. After she graduates from Cleveland High School she is going on another exchange, this time to Argentina.

I think like many things, a short-term exchange is what you make it; it can become a vacation, but can also be a life-changing experience. My experience with STEP has been unusual and amazing. I went to Ecuador last summer to stay with Xime and her family. It was the hardest, most uncomfortable and best experience of my life. In the language and culture as well as my relationship with Xime, I worked as hard as I could every day to make things work out, and it was not always easy. In fact, it was often far from easy. But, when I left last summer, I had a strong relationship with Xime and her family and I had begun to become comfortable in a foreign country.

Xime’s family invited me to come back this summer for Xime’s graduation. I spent about four weeks in Ecuador this summer. It was so wonderful to go back. Nothing feels better than working hard for something and having it turn out so well. When I went back my Spanish was good enough that I understood what was going on and I could be part of the conversations. I knew people already and I met lots more. I felt comfortable there, which couldn’t have been farther from the way I felt upon arriving last summer. I guess you could say this trip was more of a vacation (but then it was meant to be, wasn’t it?), but I also learned a lot more than I had expected.

I want to thank you for making all of this possible. It has been an experience unlike anything I had imagined and has changed my life. I would love to come to the Portland Pearl Club and talk about it. Thanks again,

Elise .

This is me with Xime, her brother, Mario, and their mom, Ximena, last summer when they took me to a bull fight (culture shock!).