Transcribed with AI with human review:
Ko’u Hopkins:
Hello and welcome to today's episode on Community Voices. I'm your host, Ko'u Hopkins, and we have a very special guest with us today. And can our guests please introduce themselves?
Siri Engstrom:
Hi, my name is Siri Engstrom. I am currently living in Carlinville, Illinois.
Ko’u Hopkins:
And can you kind of describe what you do in Carlinville?
Siri Engstrom:
In Carlinville, I teach Spanish at Carlinville High School.
Ko’u Hopkins:
And do you enjoy it?
Siri Engstrom:
I love it. It's really fun. It's very challenging, but it's really fun.
Ko’u Hopkins:
And I know that you're part of a special organization, and that's why you're here today as well.
Siri Engstrom:
Yes, I am a member of the Carlinville Rotary Club, and I am also the outbound coordinator for Rotary Youth Exchange in Rotary District 6460, right here in West Central Illinois.
Ko’u Hopkins:
And for those who do not know about the Rotary, can you kind of break it down being like what they do for the community and what an outbound coordinator is?
Siri Engstrom:
Sure, Rotary is the largest service organization in the world. Started right here in Illinois in 1905. And in Carlinville, our Rotary Club does a lot of service projects in the community. We put on a Halloween parade. We have an ice cream social that we do every year. We have a pancake breakfast and we raise funds for a lot of projects throughout the community. We do a literacy project at the elementary school and we sponsor the Carlinville High School Interact Club. And one of the arms of Rotary is the youth service. And within that, there is Rotary Youth Exchange, which sends young students between the ages of 15 and about 15 1/2 and 18 1/2 to another country for about 11 months. And I'm the outbound coordinator for our district, which means that I help the kids that are going out. And there's a kind of a mirror of me within our district who's the inbound coordinator, and she is the one who helps the kids that are coming into our district and going to high schools throughout West Central Illinois from other countries.
Ko’u Hopkins:
And kind of before we dive deeper into this conversation, you said something about Interact. And Interact, what kind of kids are involved with that?
Siri Engstrom:
Yeah, I always call Interact high school rotary. So the Interact Club at our high school is kids who want to get out in the community and do service projects. We've been around for, gosh, we started during COVID. So we've been around for maybe, I think we might be coming up on our 7th year. And we've always had, it's a really big club at Carlinville High School, which is fun because it's not a really big high school. And we do projects, people know about us now, so we do projects in the community and they'll call us and say, do you want to come help at the food bank or the animal shelter? We've helped with all kinds of projects in the community. It's super, super fun. I'm the faculty sponsor and I really love Interact. It's great.
Ko’u Hopkins:
And is Interact open to all kids in the high school or the siblings, the generations before? What are we talking about?
Siri Engstrom:
Yeah, Interact. Anyone can join Interact. I love Interact also because you don't have to be athletic. You don't have to have a particular talent. You just really want to have a heart for, you really need to have a heart for service and want to get out there and help people. We really get a wide spectrum of kids in the club and it doesn't cost anything. You just really have to have a good heart to want to be in the Interact Club.
Ko’u Hopkins:
Are there Interact Clubs in other cities as well? Other high schools?
Siri Engstrom:
Yeah, yes, there are Interact Clubs all over the world, actually. And I know in our district, there are several that are fairly large. I know Havana has a big Interact Club and Galva, and there's a community Interact Club right here in Springfield.
Ko’u Hopkins:
And do you know how to get in contact with people from Interact or other high school students who want to get into it?
Siri Engstrom:
That's a good question. If somebody were interested, I would say talk to teachers or the counselor at your high school. It's something that you can start also as a high school student. We had some kids who actually were the driving force behind starting the Interact Club at our high school. It wasn't me. It was some young people who wanted to start a service club and approached me because they knew I was in the Rotary Club. And so that's how our club got started. And I would say if somebody isn't really sure about how to get it going, Rotary District 6460 has a website and I would say start there. But first see if there is one already at your school. I know we have several in the district here.
Ko’u Hopkins:
They really say that youth change the world. And I know with changing the world, it's also with exchanges. So I kind of want to go back into that kind of conversation and talk about exchange. So I know that you have your sons that went on exchange and they loved it.
Siri Engstrom:
Yes, I have two. I have three boys and two of them went on a youth exchange year. My oldest graduated high school during COVID, so he unfortunately didn't get to go anywhere. But my middle son, Charlie, went to Brazil for a year. And then my youngest son, Sam, just got back like a couple weeks ago from his exchange year in Patagonia in southern Argentina. And they both had an amazing time. So Charlie now speaks Portuguese and Sam speaks Spanish.
Ko’u Hopkins:
And I know as a Spanish teacher, you're probably very excited about that.
Siri Engstrom:
Yeah, Sam was unfortunate enough to have me for two years as a Spanish teacher. I'm just joking. I think he probably had fun secretly. But yeah, it was really fun to see him come back from Argentina and be pretty fluent in Spanish and with a very, very Argentine accent. That's really fun.
Ko’u Hopkins:
And I know that exchange also really changes you as well. It's A life-changing experience.
Siri Engstrom:
Yes, I agree. I think I volunteer in youth exchange because for me, it's the most life-changing experience I think that somebody can have as a young person. I was a youth exchange student when I graduated from high school. So kids can do this during high school. A lot of kids do it like their junior or senior year, but you can also do it depending on your age. You have to be young enough. You can do a gap year. And so I was a youth exchange student to Spain back in the 90s, and my husband actually was a youth exchange student to Argentina back in the 80s.
And it changed my life. It changed my life for the good, but it just makes you so self-reliant and independent, and you really, really grow up when you're on exchange. You have to make so many decisions on your own. And you go, I love high school exchange because you go live with host families and you have to, you're part of their family and they treat you like one of their kids. And you learn all about another culture and another country kind of from the inside out. So you live with a family, you do chores, you learn about celebrations.
And I remember in Spain, I learned about the tooth mouse that comes and takes kids' teeth when they lose their teeth. And you just learn all kinds of things that I don't think you would be able to learn as a visitor, a tourist, or even as an exchange student in college. I think youth exchange is just the best thing. I love it.
Ko’u Hopkins:
Yeah, I also echo that sentiment because I also was an exchange student, but to Germany, so not as much fun as Spain, but still very much fun in Bavaria. But you were talking about host families. So are you a host family yourself?
Siri Engstrom:
Yes, we have been a host family. My husband and I were a host family two times with Rotary Youth Exchange here in Illinois. We hosted a boy from Italy who's actually coming to visit in about a week. So our Italian son is coming back and then after that we hosted a girl from Hungary. And so as a host family, as a host parent and seeing my kids be host siblings, you also learn all about the world. And it's so much fun. It's kind of like having kids. It's so much fun to see the world through their eyes and to see everything that they're learning and all the firsts that they have and things that they discover when they come to the United States and learn about our culture.
And I love, I actually love our area of Illinois for exchange students because I think it's really quintessentially America. In Carlinville, we have all these festivals and just really cool things. they go to the football games on Fridays, and there was an exchange student at our high school last year from Germany, and she got to be a cheerleader because our high school is kind of small, and so you don't normally get cut from teams. And so you can try all kinds of things that maybe you couldn't try in a bigger community or at a bigger school. So it's really, really rewarding to be a host family.
Ko’u Hopkins:
And I know with the host kids as well, sometimes they make food from their own cultures as well. So they really try and share what their culture is with the host families as well. I know I tried. Did you try?
Siri Engstrom:
I did. My host family, when I was an exchange student, asked me to cook dinner once a week. So I was really reaching in there to find some recipes. I remember, I don't know at 18, that I was a great gifted cook. I like to think I'm a pretty good cook now, but I remember making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches one time for my host family. We went to this international store and I got peanut butter and they were very polite. I don't think they liked them, but I remember they were kind of chewing and chewing and then said, you know, oh gosh, what time of the day would you eat this? That was fun. And then I were exchange students that have lived with us, also cooked a lot of things. Our student from Italy made some really great tiramisu that I'm looking forward to in a couple weeks.
Ko’u Hopkins:
Are there any funny stories of, you know, your host kids coming back from school and being like, I didn't know that was true. Or you're like, I won't believe this, you know?
Siri Engstrom:
Oh my gosh, I have to think. I don't know if I can think of any funny stories, but it was so fun to watch them get involved. We have a fun picture of Gianpaolo, who is our kid from Italy, who went to homecoming. And he and my son Charlie were very close, good friends. And there's a fun picture of them all wearing like cowboy hats, standing outside, kind of leaning on somebody's old car that they borrowed that night. And I think that's probably a really fun memory for him. And then our host daughter from Hungary, Laura, she tried out for the wrestling team, which not that many female students at our school are in wrestling. It's growing, but I was really proud of her for trying that. And she really liked it. I think she did, she excelled. So that was fun.
Ko’u Hopkins:
And I know with the World Cup, a lot of the conversations were started as well about cultures and other people from around the world. And I think that's really beautiful. And I think youth exchange helps to elevate that as well. And so for kids who are wanting to kind of get into youth exchange, where do you suggest they go?
Siri Engstrom:
I would say that they should go to the District 6460, Rotary District 6460's website. Within that website, there is a tab for, I believe it's youth services, and then you can get to a preliminary application to participate in the youth exchange program. And that application at the bottom has my e-mail address, and it would get sent to me. And then the next step would be to pair that student up with a sponsor Rotary Club here in the states, in our district. And from there, we start matching the students with host countries and figuring out what country the student would do best in, where they might like to go. Yeah, there's a lot of help on our website.
Ko’u Hopkins:
And that also goes for host parents or parents who are like, oh, I would love to host a kid or anything like that. Where should they go as well? Is it the same process?
Siri Engstrom:
Yes, I would say same process. We always need host families. If you know anyone in Rotary in your community, and you feel like you would be a good host family, we would love to have you. The Rotary Exchange students typically and ideally have three different host families, which might seem like a lot, but that's the best way that we've determined students get a really holistic view of the culture that they're living in by seeing what life is like in three different families. And so that's our ideal. exchange year. And so we really do need host families. And I also think it's nice for the host family. You're not on the hook for 11 months. You have to, you host for about 3 1/2 months, which, you know, maybe seems like a relief. Oh, it's so short, but I promise when the student has to move out, it's really tough. But so, rewarding.
Ko’u Hopkins:
And I know those who are maybe students, they're like, well, I don't want to go for 11 months. Do you guys do short-term exchanges?
Siri Engstrom:
We are working on that. There are short-term exchanges through Rotary Exchange all over the world. A lot of districts, rotary districts throughout the globe do short-term exchange. And that is something that we would like to get started in our district. So if that sounds fun, I think short-term exchange can be anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. I'm not as familiar with short-term exchange, but that would be something we would also be happy to talk to somebody about if they were interested.
Ko’u Hopkins:
And I think with short-term exchanges, you can kind of go to more than one country much quicker as well, because they say the yo-yos, students where they're young enough when they're 15 and go again, right?
Siri Engstrom:
Yeah, yo-yo is a term we use for kids who go on exchange and come back and then go right back out on exchange. So yeah, that would be an option. I know some of the short-term exchanges are through, you go to another country and instead of having the typical time in school in another country, you can go to a camp. I know there's a camp somewhere on the Amazon River in Brazil. There's all kinds of camps. And then some are person to person. Like you go to another country and you live with a family. and they have a child of a similar age, and then you flip-flop, and then that kid comes here and goes to school and lives with your family. So I think that the short-term exchanges are a little bit more flexible in that way.
Ko’u Hopkins:
And I know that our time is kind of winding down, but are there any last thoughts that you would like to share? Any of the greatest joys of being an exchange student or host parents or anything about rotary.
Siri Engstrom:
Oh gosh, it's so hard to to say it succinctly because I just, I have so much love for this program. But somebody said one time that if everybody, if every young person did youth exchange, that there wouldn't be any war in the world. And I think it's true because... You don't want to go to war with your friends. And this really is a way to foster understanding throughout the world. And I've never, I always say I've never met anyone who did this who said that they regretted it, but I've met so many people as older adults who said that they wished they had done this and regretted not doing it. So if it's something that you think sounds fun, I would be happy to talk to you further about it. I think it's the best program. It's phenomenal. It's so cool. And everyone who does Youth Exchange, everyone who works in Youth Exchange is a volunteer, I should point out. So we all love Youth Exchange equally, and all the volunteers are what make this program work.
Ko’u Hopkins:
Thank you so much for coming on today, Siri, and thank you again to all of our loyal listeners, and thank you for listening to today's episode on Community Voices. I'm your host, Ko'u Hopkins.
