A Letter From Jessica

The original letter has been scanned and saved under club documents and can be read there. Or, we have included the full text below as exactly as we could decifer Jessica's handwriting!

To my Rotary Club,

I want to tell you all that this year 2006 and 2007 were the best years of my whole life.  I still remember the day that I decided to become an exchange student, I was only 14 years old and all the people that were competing against me thought that I was too young and I bet that they thought that I wouldn't pass in the Rotary interviews and exams.  In Brazil is really hard to get in the exchange program because all kids want to go abroad.  So I chose Canada as my first option and here I am.  I took first place in my city and 6th in the whole state of Bahia.  I turned 15 and on August 31st I came to Canada.  People in Brazil always asked what canadians are like, and I told them that canadians are the same as us, some are: happy, hyper, shy, good, bad, weird.  I always found one of my firends personalities in someone that I met here.  I discovered that it doesn't matter where you came from, people are the same all over the world, the only thing that changes is their idioms and culture.  I'm glad because I had three awesome host families and people that cared so much about me even though we are not connected by blood I found here: mothers, fathers and siblings.  I thought Canada was different and I missed Brazilian food, but I got along pretty well and I didn't have cutural shock.  I missed home but not at the point of being homesickness.  I even had the best Christmas of my life with the Murph's, my 2nd host family.  I enjoyed Christmas better here, I felt more like North Pole and here is more exciting and I loved the fact of having a real Christmas tree, socks near to the fire place and of course, getting a lots of presents! =).  The time just went by so fast and there's february and I remembered of "The Polar Bear Swimming".  I never thought that I would be brave enough to do such a thing.  Walking bare footed in the snow (my feet was frozen and I couldn't feel it for the whole day!) and jumping in the cold Saint Mary's River.  Even though I didn't like the cold weather that much, I had so much fun in the snow: skating, skiing, tubbing, snow machine, snow man.  It was a fun winter.  Now it is summer and it is time to go back home.  I'm sad about leaving Canada, I really love this country and it is now my second country and home.  I will bring back home all the good memories that I had here.  Thank you so much Rotary Club North for taking me as your exchange student this year of 2006 and 2007.  I was 15 years old when I came here I turned 16 but I grow up a lot in terms of maturity, responsability, limits and respect.  Even though I never been in all continents I can say that I know the world.  I learned a lot from the north americans, africans, asians and people from oceania.  It was really good to be with all this people with different cultures and beliefs and it really makes me want to change the world making a difference in it.  I eliminated a lot of stereotypes about brazilians and other countries.  I just knew what I heard from news and saw in magazines, and I find out that you just know what is right if you find out the truth.  I learned a lot of my own culture with others.  Now I accept even more different opinions and I know that I am not always right about everything.  I think that it was the most amazing part in my exchange year, living with the world.  I have so many friends in Canada and everywhere now.  I'm really glad because I am an exhange student.  And now I can say with my own words that this year was the best of my life!  Well I will get back to Brazil on August 14th, back to school unfortunatelly.  I will finish grade 11 and next year, november of 2008 I will graduate from high school, after that I want to go to university for oceanography and diplomacy.  I also intend to be a writer besides an oceanographer, maybe I will be famous and you will hear my name one day, maybe not... we never know, eh?

I don't have an accent!  I'm canadian.  My favorite word in Canada is "EH!"

That's what make us even more special and different from americans"heh?" =P

I love Canada and I already miss you all   XOXO

Adios amigos!

With love from you best brazilian exchange student,

Jessical Ribeiro-Querino

Rua Ruy Barbosa - 195 - Landar - Centro Itabuna - Bahia - Brasil 45600-221    (5573)36133947