Rotary Exchange student Lucia de Vito spoke at the Rotary luncheon yesterday in Portage la Prairie. She shares her presentation.

"I did my last presentation for the Rotary Club. I'm an exchange student with the Rotary Club, so I got to spend one year here as an exchange student. So, I did a presentation about what my year has been like so far, all the things that I've done, and what happened to me during this year of exchange."

She recounts some of her experiences.

"I have experienced so many things that I have never done before. One of the best things that I've done was playing hockey. I went to a basketball game, a baseball game; I got to travel around Canada with all the exchange students. We went to Churchill. We saw the polar bears and the northern lights. And we went on the western trip for ten days; just exchange students traveling. We stayed at different hotels, and we were hosted by in-house families. It was amazing. We go to see Clear Lake; we canoed and kayaked Lake Louise; we saw the Edmonton Mall. We went to the water park; we went on the roller coaster. It was fantastic."

She adds one of the most memorable events she'll never forget.

"In Italy, people in Europe as well, we don't have prom or graduation. It's so cool that I got to live it. It's what I've always seen in the movies, just like my friends back home. So, they're very jealous that I got to live this experience. It was just like a movie. Me and my date, Conner, we got to rent a slingshot (side-by-side vehicle), it was so cool. It was amazing. Getting a diploma, wearing a cap and gown just like in the movies was awesome. And dressing up -- amazing."

She says she saw how French fries were made, and rode a horse.

She says the one word she would use to describe Canada is "Love."

"I got a lot of love. And people are so friendly; everybody is a sweetheart. They're just so friendly with me. They help me a lot. They always asked what I wanted to do. And the Rotary Club did the best to realize all my expectations that I wanted to do. I got to experience far more than my expectations."

De Vito is leaving Canada this Sunday. She adds her family was able to come to Canada For ten days and met her host families. While here, her family also rode horses, saw how French fries are made, and visited the zoo to see polar bears, seeing as they're not in Italy.

She notes Italy doesn't have frozen bodies of water where people can skate, race cars on the ice, and ice fish.

Lucia closed her presentation with tears, saying if she ever comes back she'll be sure to see everyone she came to know. Rotary Club members gave her a standing ovation.