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Eight students and their chaperone soaked in a great concluding day of hiking and guided tour of Charles M Schulz Museum and Research Center. These students are the latest carrying on the Santa Rosa Kagoshima Student Exchange Program, aka SRKSEP. 
Student Chris pondered the redwood root. 
SRKSEP brings Japan and the United States closer. Led by Schulz Museum Volunteer Director Rosemary Giacomini, students learned inside stories on the exhibits and characters Charles Schulz brought to life in the weekly strips. Rosemary has insight into the student experience: her son Rob was an outbound student himself and helped reciprocate the hospitality he received in 2019. 
Of course a souvenir brings tangible memories! 
Lunch at the Warm Puppy Cafe refilled hiking calories. Penny Millar kept tab on tabs. 
Everyone appreciated a short rest. Drivers Ken Petro, Merle Haye, Penny Millar and Lyle Hatten soon continued and added a mile to their soles.Lunch followed at the Warm Puppy Cafe then Museum tour. But wait . . . 
What better way to cool off on a hot afternoon tha a stop at ColdStone for a scoop ~ or two! Five Flavors? Coffee and vanilla, and a wee bit of chocolate, just enough to hold over until the Sayonara Party at Lorenzen's. 
Warren Smith caught this calm reflection just before the youthful students arrived and began to enjoy the inviting pool. 
Sunrise members views the students celebration, soaking in their enthusiasm, and fantastic chicken paella Sahuuna and Dave served. President Cindy's xpression spoke for all of us 
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About 1,500 drowning deaths occur each year in Thailand, one of the highest rates per capita in the world. While the Thai government is working to prevent fatalities, drowning remains the leading cause of death for those 15 and younger in the country, which has thousands of miles of coastline. On the island of Samui, a popular tourist destination, there are no public swimming pools, says Adam Preston, immediate past president of the Rotary Club of Samui-Phangan. Club members received training from the Rotary Club of Global Water Safety and Drowning Prevention and in 2019 started Swim4Life, a series of lessons for children ages 10 to 12 at an international school’s pool. Three Samui-Phangan club members offer basic instruction alongside 15 community members who serve as assistant teachers. Nearly 100 children had completed the course as of April. The children, from public schools, “have gone from being scared of the water to being able to swim 25 meters,” Preston says.