ILWACO – Paulo Rodrigues, an exchange student from Brazil, has been in the United States about three weeks and has already gone to a concert at the Gorge Amphitheater, seen the Pacific Ocean for the first time and chopped wood. Rodrigues went to class as a senior at Ilwaco High School last week and says, “The school work is hard, but I plan on graduating from here.”

He is staying with Lesley Ferguson as part of the Rotary Club’s International Exchange Student program. “I grew up in South Africa and when I was younger my family had an exchange student. I believe this is the best way for someone to learn about another country and culture,” Ferguson states. Rodrigues is the first foreign exchange student sponsored by the Pacific County Peninsula Rotary Club.

Rodrigues became interested in the exchange program through the Rotary because a cousin of his also came to the United States through the program. His father is a fish farmer and his mother owns a fitness wear store in Uberlandia, a city of over 600,000. “I would like to see an ice hockey game before I leave the U.S.,” he says. He enjoys music, reading and watching movies and keeps in touch with his family in Brazil through a webcam and the Brazilian version of MySpace.com.

The Peninsula Rotary is actively seeking two more host homes for Rodrigues during his nine-month stay. “Ideally exchange students will stay with three families for three months at a time,” Ferguson says. “That way they get the most out of their experience.”

Host families do not need to be Rotarians and they do not need to have children in school, but they are required to pass a background check according to Ferguson. “They should be open to sharing their way of life and willing to learn about another culture. Host families are to provide a safe, non-threatening, respectful and appropriate environment in which trust and friendship can develop,” she relates. For information on becoming a host family, call Lesley Ferguson at 642-1271.

There are more than 31,000 rotary clubs in 165 countries and membership numbers over 1.3 million. Rotary members are committed to providing humanitarian service and helping build goodwill and peace throughout the world. For information on joining the Pacific County Peninsula Rotary Club call President David George at 642-3400 or 642-8589 or email (nlifeag@reachone.com). The club’s Web site is (www.beachrotary.org) and meetings are Tuesday mornings at 7:30 a.m. at 42nd Street Café in Seaview.