Youth Exchange Students Excel!

Just days after Berenice Rioux and Ane Cornelia Pade arrived in Steamboat Springs from Europe, they found themselves in work clothes clearing brush on Rotary’s new multi-purpose trail west of town. Natapat Kitsiripat , nicknamed “Pun,” landed from Chang Mai, Thailand several days later and also immediately went to work on Rotary projects. “I didn’t know we would be this busy,” Berenice said. “I haven’t had a free weekend since I left my home in Talence, France.”

Cornelia flies a Cessna over Dinosaur Canyon

Her class schedule at Steamboat Springs High School is no pushover either. Her subjects include mathematics, biology, history, Spanish, psychology and desk top publishing. She is also on the cheerleader’s squad and practicing for the school’s annual dance showcase. Debbie and John Holloway are the first family hosts for Berenice. (Typically exchange students spend about three months with each host family during their stay.) Berenice has traveled to Lake Powell with the Holloways and attended her first college football game watching the Colorado “Buffs” defeat the University of Hawaii Warriors. “I still want to see a Colorado Nuggets game,” she said.

Cornelia, from Odense, Denmark, was delighted to find a wide variety of choices available to her in classes. Unlike Denmark where the curriculum is pre-determined, Cornelia chose subjects here which include advanced studio art, mathematics, American history, film photography and fashion design. “Traveling in the West is just like going from country to country in Europe, but it is also very safe here,” she said. She has been surprised at the size of the country. So far she has ridden a horse in a Wyoming cattle drive, toured the Utah canyon country, and taken the controls of a small airplane in a flight over Dinosaur National Monument. “I’ve already felt that I’m growing as an individual in my exchange so far,” she said.

Berenice Rides "Mesa"

Berenice and Cornelia are fluent in English which has helped them to settle into their American environment quite easily. “Pun” is still struggling a bit with his English but manages to get by quite nicely with his ready smile and friendly manner. “He’s building his English vocabulary quite quickly,” according to Sarah Fox, a staffer at the Boys and Girls Club where Pun is volunteering after school.

“He’s working with the younger kids and they really have enjoyed getting to know him,” Fox said. Pun also has a heavy class load including engineering, Spanish, business and American history. He is also taking English as a Second Language (ESL) at Colorado Mountain College. “I’m not homesick because I’ve been pretty busy,” he said. “I want to learn to skateboard while I’m here.”

Pun’s biggest moment so far was a surprise party for his 17th birthday on October 17th. “We had Mexican food because there were too many people to cook Thai dishes,” he said. His family hosts Ray and Sheila Wright made sure to serve Pun’s favorite dessert – blueberry cheesecake. “That was a big hit,” Sheila Wright said.

"Pun" works at Boys and Girls Club

The three exchange students here are among 23 students from 19 countries spending the school year in Rotary District 5440. Sixteen students from the district are now studying for the next school year outside the United States. Three Steamboat Springs students left the states for their school year exchanges. They include Zane Elston who is in Thailand, Alli Major in Australia and Kelly Ernst in Switzerland.