Can you imagine traveling on your own at age 16 with a large, checked bag, a smaller roller bag, a saxophone in case, and a backpack, leaving at 9:15 am from the airport in Spain, changing planes in both Paris and Atlanta and ending in Tucson at 10:45 pm MST?
Well, Pelayo Novoa Alvarez, our Rotary Youth Exchange student from Vigo, Spain, did just that on July 31 and arrived smiling and a bit tired. He was welcomed at the Tucson Airport by Jennifer, Owen, and Noah Hoffman (his first host family), Jeanne Zetah (Club YEO), and Pat Patton (RYE Committee member). On Tuesday he completed his registration at Ironwood Ridge High School in Oro Valley where he is a junior like his host brother, Noah.
At the Aug. 3 meeting, Jeanne introduced Pelayo who shared that he’s delighted to be here and wants to experience as many things as he can. Pelayo looks forward to getting to know club members and sharing activities with them. Jennifer Hoffman said Pelayo is a great kid and she encouraged others to consider being a host family in the future. She asked people to contact her or Sean when they want to schedule an activity with Pelayo.
The Rotary Youth Exchange Committee met recently to brainstorm a list of fun activities that club members could offer to do with Pelayo. If you would like to join the committee or have ideas of activities that you’d like to share with Pelayo in the future, let Jeanne Zetah or Thomas Robertson (Club counselor) know. Faye Morse and Eric Smith have agreed to be Pelayo’s host family from Jan. to March. If you or someone you know might like to be a host family from April into June, let Jeanne know and she can provide more information.
In Spain, Pelayo liked to play tennis, play his saxophone, pursue art activities, swim, ski, and travel. In school he liked art, physics and chemistry and wondered about a career in architecture. His father is a Rotarian in Vigo and his older brother and sister have both been Rotary exchange students who said it was the “best year of their lives”, which led Pelayo to decide that he wanted to live that unique experience too! Let’s all help Pelayo have HIS best year!
