Kristina Gembarskaya

Kristina is from Tyumen, Siberia, Russia. She lived with Eric and Lela Marcus and attended Beavercreek High School as a Rotary exchange student in 2007. She has now returned to Russia to attend a university of foreign languages, aspiring to become a translator.

When I came to the United States, I was kind of scared and my English wasn't good. Everything was so new and strange. The Marcuses helped me a lot with learning American culture, communicating with different people, etc. They helped me to make my own opinion and own view of America.

We did a lot of interesting things together, and we had a lot of fun. My favorite memories are going to football, basketball, and baseball games; spending weekends at the lake house; fishing; painting with Lela Marcus. I painted with her two big pictures, and we sent it to my mom to Russia! It was so exciting! I never knew that I can paint. It was new for me. I also loved spending time with their whole family, when everybody came to family holidays and we were all together. I felt myself like a part of family, and it was amazing.

Javier Alfaro

Javier is from Grecia in the Alajuela province of Costa Rica. He was a Rotary exchange student who stayed with the Marcus family in 1999. Now 25, he works as an industrial engineer for Procter & Gamble and is pursuing a master's degree in finance and economics.

One of the best moments that I remember … I was playing soccer late at night all by myself in the back yard. My mom, Lela, came to me and said: "Son, it is getting late, and I think is better for you to come inside." I came inside and she notices that I was feeling kind of sad, so she talked to me. I was homesick.

The most beautiful thing happened the very next day … something I will never forget. Lela made lunch for the whole family and served the table for all of us. All plates were white, and she put a red plate in front of me. I did not know what was the deal, and she said, "You are special today," the same words written on the plate. I felt like crying and hug her and kiss her and I said thank you. From that moment on, our relationship became really tight, so I call her Mom and she calls me Son.

Hulda Liliana Villalobos Gilbert (Lili)

Lili is from Irapuato, Guanajuato, Mexico, and spent a year as a Rotary exchange student in 2003-2004. Now she is a 21-year-old college student studying international business.

I can tell you that this year was the most wonderful of my life. I got to meet a lot of people from different countries, new cultures, different points of view, many lifestyles, etc. I grow up as a person amazingly; I matured a lot.

When I was finally informed that I would go to the United States, I was really excited, because it has always been my greatest wish to spend a year as an exchange student. I really wanted to go to the United States because of the country and the language. You know, English is the "business and universal" language.

I was very happy, but on the other hand, I was very anxious about what I was going to face. I was worried about the people, if they would be nice, the state, the town, what it would be like … you know, all that kind of questions.

When you are there at the beginning, it's very, very difficult. I had hard time over there during the first two or three months because everything was new for me. I had to adapt to a new life, new place, new people, food, schedules, etc. But then I got used to. I did it, and I made it as my normal and usual life.

My third family was the Marcus family; they were such nice people. I think happy people. They really enjoyed being host parents, because I also think they learned a lot from the different students living with them.

Lela and Eric are great. … I could talk with them whenever I need it. They knew that I was an exchange student from other country so sometimes you think in a different way. The Marcuses really understood me and always respected us. Not everybody could understand this. We are going to keep our national and individual identity as exchange students, always. This is really confusing for some host parents, but Lela and Eric always understood that.

About "Little Eric," I think he was just 13 years old when I was over there, and he was a great kid; I had a lot of fun with him. Sometimes we ate or played together, and I never forgot that. I had wonderful time with him. I still am in touch with him sometimes by the Internet.

My favorite thing that I did during my year abroad was going on the trips with the other exchange students. I made great relationships with them, and I still keep in touch with many of them. I always remember them as really good friends, and my goal is still to keep in touch with them forever.

I have grown as an individual. Being separated from my family was a big challenge and an enormous step toward independence. Making friends from different countries let me grow into more global person, and now I can see the world through wider eyes. I feel myself as a different person, a more mature person with different points of view, and that year really helped me a lot and I will always remember it as one of the best.

I remember that we made up a phrase that year to explain everything we were living at that moment: "The world is as big as you make it."

Julieta Mezzano

Juli, 20, is from Cordoba, Argentina. She participated in the Rotary youth exchange program in 2005 and is now studying nutrition and food technology.

I stayed almost for a year in Ohio, but in four different families because Rotary club makes you switch families every three or four months.

Living in each house was fantastic because, believe it or not, they were each like small exchanges. Every family was so different, you felt like you were in different sites!

I got to stay at the Marcuses the whole summer. I had a great time there! They are a fun family, they make you feel like home. The first day, they said to me: "Mi casa es su casa" [my house is your house], and that is how it was the rest of the stay. They let you use the computer whenever you wanted, eat whatever you felt like, sleep until noon! Haha (but it was summer, otherwise they would have wake me up at sunrise to go to school!!).

My host brother, "Little Eric," he always helped me with my English and was my little buddy.

On weekends we always used to go to Indian Lake, and there with "Little and Big Eric" we used to watch a lot of movies, play table games, cards, go to the swimming pool, go to McDonalds by boat!

During the weeks, I used to spend most of my time with Lela, Mom. She was a great listener and adviser. She is very creative and skillful, so together we painted paintings, made necklaces, earrings, and that kind of stuff that I still have and makes me remember her. She was most of the time making jokes, and she never left me alone.

Being an exchange student is a great, great experience. I think everybody should be one. It opens up your mind to other cultures, to other ways of thinking that just because they are different, it doesn´t mean that they are wrong.

I will never forget those moments, those places that I've visited, those persons that I've met. Being a year away from your family can be a long time, but I'm telling you for sure that it goes by so fast.

The opinions expressed in these commentaries do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. government.