a world view

I met some nice young people today

     I almost called them kids, but they are not kids.
     I hung around with Rotary exchange students and Rotary Interact kids from RTHS for a couple of hours.
     The exchange students were from the northern part of Illinois, but represented the world.  There were students from Lithuania, Germany, Taiwan,  Italy, Brazil, and I think one of the Scandinavian countries, and maybe the Philippines, and possibly Thailand....but my memory is a little unsure about the last three.
     The Rochelle Rotary Club hosted the event, and local youths spent some time with our guests ice skating by Teen Town, and playing games, eating pizza, and swimming at The Holiday Inn Express.
At least they were able to go swimming, but I left just before then......seemed like a good time to go.  Sorry, Bobbi.
     I talked to the young boy from Lithuania, who was a freshman in high school back home.  He seemed a little reluctant to join the group in games, and was out in the lobby area texting.  He has gone thousands of miles away from family and friends, immersing himself in a new culture with a new language.  I just think its a really daring and brave thing to do.
     He did say the cold didn't bother him...it was just like home.  It occur ed to me I had no idea where Lithuania was, but I knew it was a former Soviet state.  Bobbi found it ..... on the phone.  Amazing, the technology and the help it can be!
     It was funny in that almost everyone at one point was on their phone....probably sharing videos or texting about the old man who just showed up and was asking a lot of questions.
     As a parent I would be a little nervous sending my youngster overseas with no "safety net" to catch them if they stumble.  Yes, the host families do provide that net, but those first days have to be unsettling to a foreign visitor.
     Make no mistake, people overseas hear about the shootings in Chicago and the gun violence that too often occurs in our country.  To many of them, Illinois is Chicago.
     Digression....one year we had a foreign exchange student.  She was here for three weeks.  The Mississippi River had a major flood and her parents called to be sure she was all right.  Sometimes people in Europe have no concept as to the size of the United States.
     The group was splitting into a  boy - girl thing to spend the night in different houses.
     I hope they had a good time today and they have a great year experiencing our country.
     Makes me wish I was a kid again......and knew about programs like this.