The Delmar Rotary Club is sponsoring the exchange of culture, education and ideas by supporting local foreign exchange students.
Erika Kristiana, a student from Indonesia, spoke to the Delmar Rotary Club at the group’s breakfast meeting at the Normanside Country Club on Wednesday, June 18. She discussed her year in the Capital District and presented a slideshow.
She has been in the area 11 months and will now be returning home.
She said she learned a lot about being more independent. In Indonesia she had a servant and, while in America, has adapted to doing things herself, such as cooking.
Kristiana said she lived with three host families while in Bethlehem and attended Bethlehem Central High School.
The weather was a big change for her. She experienced her first snow here and even tried her hand at skiing.
She said she loves urban areas and that New York City was her favorite place, but she also commented that she never spent time in nature or thought much about it and has since grown to appreciate it.
Kristiana said that being involved in the exchange program has given her a better view of the world and that she felt she was sheltered in her own country.
When she returns to Indonesia, she plans to attend college and study public relations and expects to continue in some English-speaking programs so that she will continue using the language.
Local exchange students sponsored by the Delmar Rotary include Madison Lang, who will spend a year in Hadsel, Norway, and Daniel Gally, who will spend a year in Marbella, Spain.
They are both leaving in late summer and have both finished high school in three years in order to participate in the program. Lang and Gally will attend high school in their respective countries.`
