Matthew Smith hasn’t even left for Croatia yet, but already he has made friends from all over the world as an outbound Rotary Exchange Student.
This week he would ordinarily be in classes and playing in the band at Glenvar High School – but instead, he’s getting ready to study for a year in Zagreb. Matthew is the first GHS student to be a Rotary Exchange Student, and the second sponsored by the Glenvar Rotary Club. The club’s first, Salem High School student Kara Palmer, recently returned from her year in Germany. The 16-year-old son of the Rev. Cameron and veterinarian Dr. Shannon Smith will fly out Aug. 25 from the Roanoke Airport and eventually be met by his host family, the Zulfikarpasics, in Zagreb. “I’m very excited,” he said.
Right now, he only knows how to introduce himself in Croatian, ask what another person’s name is, and count to 10. He is starting a language class and will be required to take language this year in Croatia. When asked why he chose Croatia out of the countries available for a Rotary Exchange this year, he explained, “I wanted to go to Eastern Europe, after traveling to Asia and Haiti with my family.” Before now he traveled with his parents and sisters Noelle, 8, and Rachel, 14. This will be his first flight by himself. His host family has two sons and an older daughter. Matthew won’t get to meet them in person, though, because the older son is in England for the year and the youngest is a Rotary Exchange student in Wisconsin. They have “talked” electronically.
Most likely he will stay with more than one family in Zagreb, arranged by the Rotary Club there. He knows right off experience living in the city will be different from here in Glenvar, where his family lives in a rural, wooded area near Greenhill Park with horses, dogs, 20 chickens, ducks and a turkey. He’s not sure what classes he will take at the Fourth Gymnasium of Zagreb, as the high school there is known. Whatever there is, he’s ready.
The reason he already knows something about what to expect as an exchange student is that Matthew has met other Rotary Exchange students from this district, which stretches from Eastern Tennessee to Front Royal. He has made friends from Ecuador to Pakistan. “I’ve been talking to other exchange students to learn what would be helpful to take and know while abroad,” he said. “They all told me to be very open to trying something outside your comfort zone.” He is looking forward to eating the foods Croatians like: “Mediterranean style foods, like lamb, grilled chicken, hummus, greens,” he said. “Foods I will probably miss are American cheeseburgers and Dr. Pepper – and my mom’s homemade bread,” he added. He also knows he will miss his dog, 130-pound English Mastiff “Dexter.”
His little sister, Noelle, will especially miss him, his mom said. Rachel, who is a freshman at Glenvar High School, is looking forward to when she is old enough to apply to be a Rotary Exchange Student. Matthew and his family learned of the opportunity when then-Glenvar Rotary President Will Powers sent out an email to Glenvar Guidance Coordinator Gwyn Noell in February, explaining that the Rotary Exchange Program was looking for applicants. “His family responded within hours,” Powers said.
Matthew and his folks were interviewed by Powers and other Rotary District representatives, and he was accepted soon afterward. Families are responsible for providing the travel expenses for their students. Host families and Rotary clubs there provide meals, lodging and some money while the students are abroad. Matthew will not receive any credit for courses he takes in Croatia, but after an online Advanced Placement English 11 course and history, he will be ready to start his senior year at Glenvar when he returns next summer. “It’s better not to concentrate on getting good grades while an exchange student, but just focus on the experience,” he said.
