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After the national anthems, Jamie L. offered our invocation and Wally C. lead us in song. Our sole guest was Danyelle, Brian T.'s spouse. Brian reminded us to sell Duck Derby Tickets and Jamie L. put in a plug for our upcoming peach sale. They will cost customers $50 a lug. Cody O. told us of a project day with Habitat for Humanity on July 8th. Deb M. said that she and Cody O. are heading to Bolivia from Sept. 13-21, spots are still open to join the group and that the cost will be approximately $1,300; the construction of the school we are supporting is scheduled to be finished in mid-July, and one of the visits will be to the village it is located in to celebrate its completion. There was a Rotary Minute Plus Quiz and two of three questions based on the June Rotary magazine were answered correctly. Tim H. led off brags and fines, doing the latter for missing a couple meetings but also to celebrate the graduations of a granddaughter from UNC, a grandson from high school, another grandson from a fire academy and yet another grandson getting his master's degree in strategic affairs. He also told us wife Desta has been under the weather, and we wish her a speedy recovery. Deb M. rose to tell us of the great show put on by Mary Petit, Ramona Jacobs and the Fergus Falls School of Dance as did Wally C., both with relatives participating in the program. This writer thanked Lisa M. and her husband for hosting last week's social. Brian T. appreciated his wife, the Zierden's and the McFarland's for hosting Cande and for Cande being such a welcome addition to their family. John M. reported that the Habitat for Humanity build was just a flat slab two Monday's prior but by last Friday the building had a roof and tyveck had been added. President Katie presented gifts of appreciation to Brian and Danyelle and Lisa and Shane for hosting Cande and then called on Lisa to share a few remarks about the experience. Lisa's family had hosted before and had such a good experience they were a little hesitant to host again, afraid it would not equal that experience. Now, they are so grateful they took advantage of the opportunity and Lisa said Cande was a wonderful young lady to have in their home. By the second night of her stay, during the course of a very competitive board game, the family and Cande started giving each other a hard time and it broke the ice. There was a trip to Las Vegas that everyone enjoyed (after a scare that Cande had misplaced her backpack which contained her passport). Lisa thanked Cande for coming and for being willing to stay with three different families and encouraged all of us to open our homes to an exchange student.  Cande told us that she would include in her top memories ice fishing and, when she first arrived, starting every conversation with "Hi, my name is Cande. I don't speak any English." She has made great progress in that regard. At the age of five Cande told her mother that she wanted to be an exchange student and was very thankful for her opportunity to be in Fergus Falls for the experience. All of her hosts made her feel like part of the family, and she said she would be an exchange student again 100 times over. In remarking on differences between living in Argentina and the U.S., Cande said her country does not have as many different flavored sodas (one she really wished it had was Dr. Pepper) and that in her school, the students don't move for different subjects, with the teachers on the go. In the future, Cande would like to keep travelling, really wants to come back to the U.S. for college (studying behavioral sciences, an interest spawned by her exchange experience) and intends to continue to improve upon her English. While here, Cande has also been keeping up with her studies at home so she will have another six months of school back home and then plans to go on to a college or university. The club presented a card signed by Rotarians to Cande along with a cash gift. President Katie expressed thanks to the host families, Deb M. and Cande for making the exchange such a great experience. Deb M. commented that since joining Rotary in 2012, she has been involved with many exchange students and amongst them all, Deb saw the most growth in Cande. It was most helpful that Cande was always willing to try new things and say yes to everything suggested to her. By the way, Cande and Deb M. presented to three social science classes, hoping to spur interest in the outbound exchange program. |
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