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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Building goodwill


Karen Cook is a volunteer coordinator for the Rotary Youth Exchange for Sunrise Rotary Club of Coeur d'Alene.
 (Kathy Plonka / The Spokesman-Review)
Laura Umthun Correspondent

A South African exchange student masters chopsticks at his Japanese hosts’ home. A Brazilian student participates in the Polar Bear Plunge in Lake Coeur d’Alene and snow skis for the first time at Lookout Pass, east of Wallace. “New experiences, new families, new friends and adventures await Rotary Youth Exchange students,” says Karen Cook, the area’s Rotary Youth Exchange coordinator.

Cook joined Rotary in 1988. Rotary is a worldwide service organization of business and professional leaders that provides “humanitarian service, encourages high ethical standards, in all vocations, and helps build goodwill and peace in the world,” according to the Rotary mission statement.

After receiving a call from a fellow Rotarian asking if she would like to be an exchange student host mom, she thought, why not?

“I was an empty nester and I enjoyed being around teenagers,” says Cook.

She has been involved ever since, hosting 10 students from nine countries over the years.

Cook also voluntarily coordinates exchange activities, makes presentations and recruits host families.

Her passion for the Rotary Youth Exchange program is obvious.

“It seems to fit me—I just love it,” Cook says. “The experience is extraordinary.”

With each student, Cook awaits the magic morning when she knows her guest is starting to feel at home.

“Each and every exchange student I have hosted is always amazed the first time they dream in English,” Karen Cook says. “They wake up surprised and can’t wait to announce, ‘I dreamed in English!’ It’s sure sign that they are adapting, and it usually happens around the third month they are here.”

Each year, Rotary districts and clubs worldwide arrange more than 8,000 international student exchanges for high school-aged students. The primary goal of the program is to foster world understanding by intercultural exchange. More than 163 countries participate in the program.

Eighteen-year-old exchange student Gabriel Barretto, arrived in Coeur d’Alene Sept. 6, and returns to Brazil July 24. This is his first visit to the United States. He has been living with the Troy and Jan Tymesen family.

Barretto’s father works for the government and his mother is a teacher at the university. Both are involved in Rotary in Brazil, and had contacted a Coeur d’Alene Rotary chapter president at a Rotary convention.

Barretto was excited to spend one year away from his family but has missed them terribly around birthdays and holidays. That’s one trade-off for venturing into another hemisphere for new experiences.

For instance, Brazil lacks ski resorts, so Barretto downhill skied for the first time at Lookout Pass last winter.

“I liked snow skiing and I jumped into Lake Coeur d’Alene for the Polar Bear Plunge,” Barretto says.

“It has been kind of scary—I had to learn English very fast—but I tell others to just go and you will love it,” Barretto says. “You will learn the views of other people, their culture and their language. It has been life changing for me.”

Troy Tymesen said his three children have all benefited from Barretto’s presence in the home. “This opportunity can enhance your relationship with your natural children, as well as expand your families’ horizons,” he says.

“Gabriel is very athletic and an intelligent young man who is a sponge—he soaks up everything,” Tymesen says. “His favorite food is chocolate brownies, which he has learned to bake for himself. Gabriel does his own laundry, makes his own bed, and helps with other chores, which he is not accustomed to doing at home in Brazil because his family has maids.”

The first exchanges date back to 1927, when the Rotary Club of Nice, France, initiated exchanges with European students. Exchanges between clubs in California, the United States and Latin American countries began in 1939, and exchange activities spread to the eastern United States in 1958.

In 1972, Rotary clubs worldwide adopted the program as a worthwhile international activity that promotes global peace and understanding.

There are two types of exchanges.

Long-term exchanges last an academic year in the host country, during which the student lives with more than one host family and attends school.

Short-term exchanges vary from a few weeks to three months. They take place when school is not in session and do not include an academic program. They involve a home-stay experience with a family in the host country, but can be organized as international youth camps and tours that bring together students from many countries.

To ensure the safety of the students, and the success of the exchange, host families are carefully screened. Potential host families are required to fill out an application, which is reviewed by a committee of Rotarians, who also schedule an in-home interview.

Families do not need to be affiliated with Rotary to host an exchange student. Rotary differs from many international exchange programs in that students generally live with three or more families during their exchange year.

The host family’s primary responsibility is to provide room and board, exercise general parental supervision, and involve the student in daily household chores and activities.

“The exchange student shares the same aspects of family life that the average teenager experiences,” Cook says.

But most host families’ involvement does not stop at room and board. They share their native culture while learning about their visitor’s culture at the same time. In many cases, lifelong friendships are established.

Exchange students are required to follow the Youth Exchange program rules, be open to new experiences, and strive to learn the language of the host country. Hosts are encouraged to help the student meet Rotary obligations which include attending Rotary functions.

“Fulfilling these obligations contributes to a student’s ambassadorial role,” Cook says.

Austin Winters, son of Bruce and Adrienne Winters of Coeur d’Alene, was an exchange student to Sweden in 1996, and returned home in 1997. Since then he has graduated from college and pursued a professional career.

“The Rotary exchange program has proven itself to be one of the most valuable experiences of my high school period. The international perspective and outlook gained through the program have been major factors in the success of both my personal and professional lives,” Winters says.

According to Cook, hosting a Youth Exchange student from another country is a challenge and an opportunity.

“Involvement with an exchange student challenges a host family to become familiar with another culture, while providing the opportunity to share a student’s hopes and ambitions. These challenges and opportunities enrich the lives of the host family,” Cook says.