A record may have been set last week for the number of guests at a meeting! Not sure I got all the names, but I counted 24. There were Rotarians from the Morning Club, international exchange students, lots of Newberg Kiwanis joining us for the holiday week, and Shannon Buckmaster‘s family members. As President Todd Engle exclaimed, there was “a plethora of visitors.”
The main topic of the meeting was an update from two of the international Newberg Rotary exchange students.
Exchange students, left to right: Anna Hinkle, Nevres Eryigit, Kathryn Lawson, Eric Myers, Ian Kirschner, Danielle Bosse, and Clara Perez Rossi.
Kari Fahrenkopf, from the Morning Club and one of the administrators of the exchange program, introduced the students: Clara Perez Rossi, a long-term from Argentina; Nevres (“Just call me John”) Eryigit, a long-term from Turkey; Kathryn Lawson, a short-term who went to Germany last summer; Danielle Bosse, a long-term who went to Argentina last year; and three new recruits: Ian Kirschner, planning a long-term to Japan; Eric Myers, planning a long-term to Germany and Anna Hinkle, planning a short-term to Italy.
Danielle in her special jacket and pants.
We heard first from Danielle, decked out in a jacket with the pins the exchange students traditionally collect, and some unique pants she got at a flea market in Argentina. She lived there for almost 10 months last year. She stayed with two different families, and went to a small private school. She said the school experience was different from Newberg because the students stayed in the classroom and the teachers moved around.
She lived in the town of Reconquista, located on a river with “tons of palm trees.” Early on, a tropical storm surprised and scared her….until she found out it stormed every single day without fail. She took “thousands of pictures,” and made lots of new friends.
Danielle said food is one of her greatest loves. “Here I am a vegetarian, but there I wasn’t,” she giggled. “If you have an opportunity to eat beef from Argentina, definitely take it.” She also liked a special type of ice cream similar to dulce de leche and mate, “like a tea you drink out of a gourd. It’s a very traditional Argentina drink, and people sit down for hours to talk over mate,” she said.
She traveled quite a bit–visited Clara’s home town and went to Patagonia and the southernmost city in the world. “Then we got in a boat and it was freezing,” she said. “But the highlight was that we reached a point where half the boat was in the Pacific Ocean and half in the Atlantic Ocean!”
She is planning to go to college and hopes to study abroad again. She closed by thanking Rotary for the experience she was able to have.
Kathryn Lawson
Kari Fahrenkopf introduces Kathryn.
Kathryn was acknowledged for raising $2000 for her trip by recycling bottles and cans. Amazing!
“I lived 45 minutes outside of Munich, Germany and was there for 45 days” she said. “It was flat farmland, and a small town.”
Kathryn was also able to travel around with her host family. Regensburg and Berlin were among her favorite places. She enjoyed the East Side Gallery, seeing a piece of the Berlin Wall and reflecting on the ” freedom once they broke down the wall.”
“My biggest dream was to visit a castle,” she said. So her host family took her to 4! “My favorite was Neuschwanstein in Bavaria because of the history there.” They also crossed the border into Austria “for about 5 minutes” so she could say she went there.
She showed lot of photos– of the castle, the many churches she visited, even city mascots.
Food was important to her, too. She was able to visit the Rittersport candy factory, and her favorite food turned out to be Doner, a pita with lamb and garlic sauce. In fact, she had it as her “last meal” before leaving Germany.
Kathryn also plans to go to college and is interested in a career in government. She likes history and would like to go back to Germany.
GUESTS
Visiting Rotarians from the Morning Club:
Club President Gary Stewart, Kari Fahrenkopf, and Susan Utterback
Exchange Students:
Danielle Bosse, Kathryn Lawson, Eric Myers, Anna Hinkle, Clara Perez Rossi, Nevres Eryigit, Ian Kirschner– plus Kathryn’s dad, Jonathan Lawson
Kiwanis
President Larry Hampton, Jim Jackson, Jack Maxwell, Kat Ricker, Heather Lewis, Dennis Lewis, Rick Lee, Lionel Muthiah, Marion Muthiah, Zach Mode, Kayla McElligott
Shannon Buckmaster’s family members: Paul and Bennet Buckmaster (Note: Anna Hinkle is Shannon’s daughter!)
AN UPDATE ON JACK
Club member Jack Czarnecki is recuperating from brain cancer surgery at Marquis Newberg on Werth Rd. He reports he is “feeling a lot better now.” He has undergone chemo, and is getting “intense physical and occupational therapy.” Jack said he believes he still has quite a bit of rehab time ahead, so he said to say “hi” to everyone. He appreciates the visits he has had from club members, and would welcome more. Looking forward to the time we can welcome you back and wishing you a full recovery, Jack.
UPCOMING EVENTS
This year’s tree awaiting the official lighting ceremony.
Ralph Koozer and Kari Fahrenkopf were among the volunteers staying after the meeting.
It’s finally here! The Holiday tree lighting event is this Saturday, Dec. 2. A number of volunteers stayed late after the meeting to help put stickers on 714 candles to be used at the event. “The candles were a hit last year. The kids like them and they add an element of magic,” said Past President Leah Griffith. Festivities start at 3pm.
Denise Bacon, left, Becky Ankeny and Auggie Gonzales look up from sticker-ing candles.
Kari Fahrenkopf invited us to attend the holiday auction at the Dec. 7 meeting of the Morning Club. Join them from 6:30 to 8:30am at the Cultural Center for this event to raise money for the student exchange program.
Providence Newberg Health Foundation is sponsoring “An Evening of Hope” on Dec. 13, from 5:30 to 8:30pm at the Chehalem Cultural Center. Well-known violinist Aaron Meyer will be performing. The event is to fund new technology which will help increase breast cancer detection and save more lives. Tickets are $25, and are available at http://pnhf.ejoinme.org/benefit or by calling 503-537-1671.
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday event will be January 15 at the Cultural Center. Doors will open at 5:30pm, with the program from 6 to 7pm. The theme this year is “Be the Dream.” A reception and “invitation to action” will follow. Guest Kiwanian Lionel Muthiah was acknowledged for being one of the founders of this event.
MISCELLANEOUS
Paul Jellum announced he is going to be a grandpa again…..for the 17th time!
Paula Radich said she made the jello, while her mom, who is turning 99, chopped and prepped the Thanksgiving dinner dressing. Seems like there might be something wrong with that picture!
