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Back from exchange experience
Tammara Green/Post-Register
Jenna Lerma is back from the Czech Republic.
Jenna Lerma has just arrived from what could only be described as the trip of a lifetime. The young lady spent almost a year in the Czech Republic as a Rotary Exchange student.
“I didn’t ask my parent’s permission. I just sat down one day and started filling out the application,” said Lerma.
After much scrutiny from officials and many conferences and meetings, Lerma was chosen to be a student ambassador for the United States. “First, you have to fill out the application. Then you have a local Rotary Club interview, followed by a district Rotary Club interview. There are 23 countries represented there,” said Lerma.
After she was accepted into the program, Lerma had to pick from 23 countries and give her top three. She was thinking of going to Italy, the Netherlands, or Switzerland. Then something funny happened. Pavel, a new friend she made at the last interview, who was Czech, convinced her to choose the Czech Republic. It was at least three weeks before Lerma learned if she would go to her chosen country. She was required to attend a conference in Revelstoke, B.C., to prepare herself for her trip to the Czech Republic.
“They concentrate on four big rules of Rotary. 1) No drinking; 2) No driving; 3) No drugs and 4) No dating,” she said.
Lerma was finally flown out of SeaTac airport on Lufthansa Airlines, for a 14-hour jaunt to her first stop over in Frankfurt, Germany. Not knowing the language, Lerma found some challenges as she went through the airport. A stranger she met on the airplane helped guide her through, until they were separated at security.
“I didn’t know what to do. I lost my helper!” said Lerma. Finally, after sitting at a gate for some time and realizing that the group ready to board the plane looked more Italian than Czech, Lerma took it upon herself to ask if she was at the right gate. She found out she wasn’t, and ended up getting on the right flight in spite of everything.
She was excited to see her new host family, and when she got off of the plane, no one was waiting for her. Finally, her host brothers and sisters came to pick her up. The biggest challenge was fitting her luggage into the car. “I thought it would fit, but it took 10 minutes to figure it out since the car was so small,” recalled Lerma. She was then shuttled off to Olomous City, which is the fourth largest city in the Czech Republic. During her stay, Lerma had some fun times, such as a week-long mini exchange with a Dutch family, and she took ballroom dancing classes every Friday last fall for about three months. “I learned the waltz, tango, polka and jive. Jive dance was my favorite,” said Lerma.
She went to Rotary Club events, where she sported her blue Rotary jacket and American pins for exchange. Lerma came back with a jacket covered with pins from other countries, such as Mexico, Brazil, Australia, the Netherlands and many more. She also went with her Rotary group on a European tour of Monaco, Spain and Italy. During the Italy tour, Lerma found herself sitting near the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican City. She was enjoying the beauty of the area, when cameras around started flashing, and Pope Benedict arrived to give Mass. She also traveled with her group to Poland to see the memorial at the former site of the Auschwitz prison camp. “It was an emotional experience,” said Lerma. She also went to a famous soccer field in Barcelona with her Brazilian friends.
With all the fun she had on the trip, Lerma would still like to go back and see her Czech friends, and eat some more Czech bread. Her favorite thing was Mattoni bottled water, which comes from the Czech Republic. Lerma is still looking for it here in the states. She also enjoyed the soups. Although Lerma came across some cultural challenges, her counselor was there to help her when she needed a listening ear and some guidance.
Lerma left the Czech Republic on June 22. She arrived in Quincy at 3 o’clock in the afternoon, and her father was the only one who knew she was home.
“I called my friend, Claudia, and I said, ‘Come over to my house!’ Claudia was puzzled, because she thought I was still in the Czech Republic,” said Lerma. Finally, the friends united. Of all the things Lerma missed the most from Quincy, she missed her friends and family, and the familiarity of her small town back home.
