My name is Kellen Flint. I am a senior at Clarkston High School and someone who loves to travel the world.
Last year, I was given the amazing opportunity to work with the Rotary Club here in Clarkston to go on an exchange. I had never done one of these before or much less traveled far alone. However, the process was actually quite easy and I never had any issues throughout my trip.
I was paired with another 17-year-old student named Iacopo whose family I stayed with for a total of 3-4 weeks. His family was located in a small town called Gemona Del Friuli situated near the Alps in northern Italy. Despite the language barrier with his parents and Iacopo knowing little English, we became great friends, almost brothers even. In my first week there, I tried traditional Italian food with my family, visited Lignano, a popular beach town on the eastern coast of Italy, which seemed to me like the “Miami of Italy” and even picked up quite a bit of Italian. I also met all of his friends and learned what it was like to be a teenager living in Italy, going out to eat gelato, going to parties and riding a scooter everywhere.
It was all so different from how we do things in Michigan.
But if anything, it was the things that were the same but from a different point of view that were the most interesting. For example, going to an Italian concert or playing sports with my newfound friends was just so incredibly neat to see. Unfortunately, I cannot fit everything I did into one article because I saw so many great things during my stay, but I can say that my host family did an amazing job of showing me something new every day in Italy, from going to Venice, or taking a boat on Lake Como, I was able to see the beauty of the country every day whilst also having a great time with my new brother along the way.
The second half of the program was just as great because I was now tasked with showing Iacopo the United States and all the things we do here in the summer. Iacopo was very excited to see the USA and I was just as excited to take him around and give him the experience that I had gotten while in Italy.
I showed him American football as well, which he was surprisingly good at for his first time. My family took him to Chicago and this was the first time he had seen a large city.
It felt great to be able to give someone else these experiences and watch them have a great time.
In the end, it was the best summer of my life and I owe a thank you to everyone who helped me to make it possible. Being able to bond with someone while making new memories and friends along the way is one of the coolest things I’ve done which I would do again and recommend to anyone who wants to see more of the world and experience different cultures.
Although I was sad seeing Iacopo leave and fly home at the end of the program, I was happy that I had made a connection with him that will last a lifetime, his family treated my just like one of their own, and it’s great knowing that it won’t be the last time we see each other because we are now brothers for life.
For more information about Rotary Youth Exchange, contact Jeff Lichty at jlichty11@earthlink.net.

PHOTO: Kellen Flint (right) poses with his host brother Iacopo Patat when they visited the Dolomites National Park in northern Italy. Photo provided