Kajsa presenting the host club flag to President Kramer
Last week, we welcomed back Kajsa Johnson our Rotary Youth Exchange student who spent the last year in St. Petersburg, Russia. The presentation started with her greeting us in Russian and beautiful pictures of St. Petersburg, a historic church, her host families, and fellow Rotary Exchange students.
Kajsa became very proficient at speaking Russian. She was able to take classes last summer before leaving but, it was the total immersion into the culture, the private school she attended, her host families, and the friends that she made that helped her with the language.
Her many memorable experiences included the following;
-Learning to skateboard which she greatly enjoyed
-Attending Cinderella and Swan Lake (in Russian) at the theatre
-Learning the history of the Czars and Peter the Great
-Enjoyed the food- Borscht, thin pancakes, and dumplings
-Made Thanksgiving dinner and explained our tradition to her host family
-Explained that New Year’s Eve celebrations were bigger than Christmas
-Visited Moscow
-Went on a Baltic Sea cruise
-Made many friends
In conclusion, we were informed that one of her host sisters will be a Rotary exchange student in Edina this year.
What’s next for Kajsa? On August 21st, she will be starting college in Washington DC at George Washington University majoring in International Affairs and Russian language studies.
Thank you Kajsa for sharing your experiences with us!