Meet Daniela Romero, this year’s Rotary exchange student. In early September this plucky 17-year old left home and family in Santa Cruz, Bolivia; four plane rides and 30 long hours later she landed in Kamloops. Here she was met by Wes and Denise Bieber and driven to Clearwater, living in their home until the beginning of January. Now she is with Hans and Crystal Wadlegger and family where helping with chores on the farm is part of daily life. Christy and Dave Dobi are looking forward to having Daniela at their home for her final three months.
“Everything was new!” she told me, dark eyes sparkling, but then added that much is the same. “Some people have asked me if I know what television is,” she commented, “but we have all of those kinds of things that you have here.”
Using her iPad and Skype she talks to her parents and two brothers once a week. Their time zone is four hours ahead of here, and the seasons are reversed because South America is in the Southern Hemisphere.
Daniela’s English is easy to understand and her wide vocabulary had me asking how many languages she spoke.
“We speak Spanish in my country,” she told me, “but we also learn English in school. Another way is watching movies: the sound is in English while sub-titles are Spanish.”
“What else is different?” I asked.
“Everyone is wearing coats.” She grinned before going on more seriously, “Santa Cruz has a population of 2.6 million people. I am used to city noise and seeing people everywhere, so I experienced culture shock when I first arrived. But I love being here, free to do as I like, and living in a quiet place surrounded by nature – the mountains and wild animals like deer. Home is flat with no big mountains. It is not common to hike or camp in a tent. I had my first experience of camping in a tent at Adams Lake. When I had camped before, we were in a cabin with all the conveniences, including inside toilet.”
“What did you think of the outside toilet when you first used one?” I couldn’t help asking.
With a wide smile and a shrug of the shoulders, she said, “Not bad, but different – and funny!”
“I hiked almost to the top of Raft Peak,” she went on, “but that was October and snow stopped us from going all the way up.”
Daniela had never seen snow before, but she loves it. “I’ve been downhill and cross-country skiing, sledding and tubing. My favourite is downhill and I’ve had lessons at both Sun Peaks and Silver Star. Twice now I have been on a snowmobile and at the Ice Man Fishing Derby I stepped onto a frozen lake for the first time.”
“I like the cold,” she stressed. “It’s nice to have a real winter season.”
“At home we might have a week of chilly weather in May or June,” Daniela explained, “but it doesn’t get colder than 10° C. However, the rain forest makes it very humid, and that makes it feel cold, even if you are wearing a coat – something that isn’t common. It’s summer there now so it might be 33 – 37° C; schools are closed for the holidays and pool parties will be happening.”
Another new and pretty scene for her was watching the leaves change colour during fall.
“School is school,” Daniela first stated, but when I pressed for details, she explained that she had to have special tutoring at her private school in order to finish Grade 11 by August while her classmates had until October to cover the same curriculum. When back home this coming July, she will have to catch up in a hurry to complete Grade 12 by year end.
Instead of having a choice of subjects as she does at Clearwater Secondary School, at her school (which includes students from Kindergarten to Grade 12) she has been taking 13 subjects since Grade 9.
“It works on a weekly timetable,” Daniela continued, “so each day is different during that week. Classes run from 7:30 a.m. until 3:15 in the afternoon, although most schools stop at 12:30. Lunch is the main meal of the day, while the evening one (cena) is a sandwich, like lunch is here in BC.”
She is once again taking Grade 11 courses.“They are easy for me!”
“Is there siesta time?”
“Some people have one,” she said, “but shops don’t close; many are open until 7 p.m.”
“Tell me about Christmas,” I requested.
“We celebrate on Christmas Eve,” Daniela told me. “At midnight we have our feast and open presents. Lots of fireworks are exploding outside while we do this.”
“How did this whole experience begin?” this Rotarian interviewer couldn’t help asking.
“I applied to be an exchange student with Rotary in January [2013] and it usually takes a year, so it was like a miracle when an email came from Rotary District 5060 in June offering me the chance to come to Clearwater. I accepted immediately,” added this adventurous young lady. “I am really thankful to Rotary [International] for this opportunity and especially to Clearwater Rotary, which pays me a monthly allowance and makes it possible for me to attend gatherings in different places with other exchange students in this District.”
Daniela had no trouble coming up with things she likes about being here. She fondly refers to the people in whose homes she spends several months as ‘my family’. When I asked, “What don’t you like?” she thought long and hard before answering.
“The town is separated,” she finally said. “There is no downtown to visit and you need a car to get around.”
Daniela’s hobbies include tennis, hanging out with her friends, baking, taking photos and sending them home. She knows how lucky she is to have Skype for free phone calls.
“What do your parents think about what you are doing?”
“They are very happy and proud of me because they know that not many people get this opportunity and can do this. They are impressed by the photos I have sent – and the amount of clothes people have to wear.” She chuckled and added, “They cannot believe I am not frozen! I miss my family,” she concluded, “but I’m not sad and that’s because I am having fun here. I’m trying new things and having adventures – nothing to be sad about.”
I too was impressed – by this happy, courageous, flexible teenager from Bolivia who is making the most of this incredible experience. Like other Rotary exchange students who have come here, she is a worthy representative of her home country.