Rotary Club of Indianola has been involved with Rotary Youth Exchange since the 1960's. When travel restrictions and other issues created reluctance by host families to participate the Club was unable to host inbound students. Club officials are working diligently to restart the inbound program for the 2024/2025 School year.
This year the Club approved an application for outbound studies for a local student. Norah requested and was approved to study in France for the 2023/2024 School year. Nora left home the last week in August, arriving at her destination with two other out bound students, one from Japan and one from New York City. Norah is really looking forward to learning about new cultures, perfecting her language skills and studying in France.
November Update
Norah has settled in and is very much enjoying her family in France. They have taken her hiking quite a bit as they live in a beautiful mountainous area. She’s trying many new foods and loving the fresh breads, seafood, sweets, and cheeses. They visited Château du Haut-Koenigsbourg (a castle), went to a fancy restaurant in Nancy, one of the larger cities in her region, and went to a local festival with some friends from school.
She is going on a week-long class trip to Amsterdam next month. She has joined a local community singing group and is performing some Christmas concerts. She is doing well in school, becoming more fluent in French. Definitely being challenged taking philosophy, history, and Spanish courses in French. She enjoys her English classes giving presentations sharing about Rotary and America. She is so thankful for Indianola Rotary sponsoring her for this amazing experience. Rotary Remiremont is the name of her club in France if anyone is interested in learning about them or following them on Facebook.