Weston Rotary - Newsletter & PR - Archive (Oct 15, 2001)

Last month, Robert Schlafke, 17, left to pursue his dream to study and live in Japan. He was selected to particpate under the auspices of the Rotary Youth Exchange Program. Every year the Rotary sends about 7,000 students, ages 15 to 19, abroad either for the academic year or an extended time period. They live with a host family and have the oppurtunity to learn a new language and a new way of living.

"We are honored and excited to make a difference in the lives of future leaders," said Ken Ruiz, president of the Weston Chapter.

The Weston chapter has sponsored many inbound and outbound students in the past, but this is the fist year they made the connectio in Weston. THey held a special meeting at Western High School last year in search of interested students who are academically above average, articulate, have linguistic ability and demonstrate community leadership skills. The students were asked to fill out a 15-page application.

"We immediately knew that Robert would be a great fit for the program," said Tom Burnaw, past president of teh Weston chapter and District governor elect. "He is an excellent student and his interest in the country and language made him a natural."

Schlafke already has some knowledge of the Japanese language. Two years ago, he discovered that Japanese classes were available, but not offered at Western High School. He spoke to the administration and gathered a list of 14 students that were interedted in learning Japanese. The school agreed to offer the class via teleconference and it has now become very popular.

He had an oppurtunity to test his language skills when his family hosted a Japanese exchange student in May. Although he relied heavily on his dictionary, he believes he knows enough to get by and expects ot be fluent byt the time he returns.

He is very interested in learning as much about the Japanese culture as possible because he believes that it will help him with his career goals. He was always been fascinated by video games and Japanese anime (Japanese animation) and plans to pursue a career in video games as a graphic artist or programmer. He hopes to make some connections during his stay.

Schlafke will spend a year attending high school in Mombetsu, a fishing village located on the northern island of Hokkaido. He did not have much time to assimilate, since he arrived on a Friday and started school on Monday. He may have a difficult time blending since he is tall with red hair.

He will stay with three different host families. He has been in contact with the first family, which has three children, one of whom speaks some broken English. While he is there he must visit several local Rotary clubs in Japan and write monthly letters to the club which will be posted on the Internet site. When he returns, he must visit local Rotary clubs ot discuss his experiences after he returns.

"It is the chance of a lifetime and I am thrilled that I was selected," said Schlafke. "I want to experience everything I can - the culture, people and food."

The host family will provide room and board, however Schlafke must pay for airfare, clothing, health insurance, and incidental expenses. The Rotary will give him a modest monthly allowance.

"I am so proud of him," said Bob Schlafke, Robert's father. "This is a tremendous oppurtunity and he has done everything to make it happen. I would not deny him this if it meant I had to spend my last penny."

The Weston Rotary is hosting a Japanese boy who arrived last month and is attending Western High School. THey are still looking for a family interested in hosting him for three months, beginning in March. THey will also soon begin the application for Weston students interested in attending the program next year.

The Rotary Club of Weston is part of an international service organization consisting of business and professional leaders dedicated to performing humanitarian projects and fostering high ethical standards in virtually every business profession. There are approximately 1.2 million Rotarians, who are members of more than 29,000 Rotary clubs in 163 countries.

The Weston chapter was chartered in 1987 and has more than 65 members who live and work throughout the area. The group is a service organization, not a networking group and only allows one person per profession. Members represent a wide variety of occupations including lawyers, city commissioners, computer consultants, dentists and doctors.

Members meet every week for breakfast where they have an oppurtunity to listen to a broad spectrum of speakers. They work on projects in the community, with a focus on those that beneift children.

For more information, call 434-0020.

-- Written by Debby Teich (teichcom@aol.com).