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Rotary students exchange worldly travel adventures

NANAIMO: Exchange program provides opportunity for world travel.
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Solenn Vogell describes some of her adventures travelling through Ecuador to members of the Rotary Club of Nanaimo. Vogell spent a year abroad through Rotary’s exchange program.

The Rotary Club of Nanaimo heard some amazing stories recently when Melissa Verhoeks and Solenn Vogell talked to the club about their year abroad.

Verhoeks spent a year in Denmark where she lived with three different families while attending school, learning the language and the culture.

One of her most memorable experiences was a five-day trip aboard a tall ship learning the aspects of sailing and teamwork.

Vogell spent a year in Ecuador, is now proficient in Spanish, and has seen spectacular flora, fauna and animals in the Amazon and the Galapagos Islands.

With visiting doctors from the U.S., Vogell helped with cleft palate surgeries and then assisted with speech therapy after the surgeries. She also was a translator for the doctors and families.

A year abroad is not only an exciting adventure but is a chance to  become immersed  in a different culture.

Anyone interested in one-month or year-long exchange programs can attend a Rotary Club information meeting at Nanaimo District Secondary School on Wednesday (Sept. 19) at 7 p.m.