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JULY 7, 2017, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A5 KeizerCommunity KEIZERTIMES.COM Rotary exchange student will miss Keizer By DEREK WILEY Of the Keizertimes Walking in McNary’s 2017 graduation was bittersweet for Rotary exchange student Kanta Ohyama. He was happy to participate in a ceremony like he would never experience in Japan but also sad that it meant his nine- month stay in the United States was coming to an end. “There were so many emo- tions,” said Ohyama in English that has greatly improved since he arrived in Oregon on Au- gust 27. Sharing his emotions and opinions was something Ohya- ma had to get used to as people aren’t as expressive in Japan. “I learned how to explain myself to people and how to make friendship,” Ohyama said. “I think that’s so good for me.” The friends Ohyama made is what makes it so hard to leave. “I made so many friends at school,” he said. “They are so funny.” Ohyama stayed with three host families, each for three months, in Keizer while he at- tended classes at McNary and the Career and Technical Edu- cation Center. Since two of the families were Mormons, Ohyama went to seminary ev- eryday before school and then to church on Sundays for sixth months. FEEL GOOD STORY Saluting the people that make us proud of our community capitolauto.com KEIZERTIMES/Derek Wiley Keizer Rotary exchange student Kanta Ohyama, of Japan, spent the last three months of his stay in America with Chuck Fisher. “I don’t have any religion so that was good to experience,” Ohyama said. Ohyama took a wide range of classes—German, Animal Behavior, Weights, Construc- tion Math and American Gov- ernment. “I didn’t have any knowl- edge about American Govern- ment,” Ohyama said. “I studied with a group and my friends helped me. That makes the sub- ject easier for me. That was still hard. I like American school better than Japan. Japanese school is too strict. We study so much.” Ohyama also got involved in extracurricular activities af- ter school, working his way up from junior varsity to the var- sity soccer team. In fi ve games, he scored four goals. “Everything is different between American style soc- cer and Japanese style soccer so I was so confused when I got here and started playing,” Ohyama said. “I just tried to be a member of the team and do something for teammates.” Ohyama gave golf a try as well. “I just want to have experi- ence to play golf because when I get older,” Ohyama said. “In Japan, old people play golf. It’s expensive to play golf in Japan because land is small.” With his host families, Ohyama went camping, kayak- ing and hiking. Even though his grandparents own a fi sh com- pany, Ohyama had never been fi shing. “There’s no sea around my city (Gunma),” Ohyama said. “My parents are busy and I’m busy. I asked them in Rotary and they helped me.” Ohyama was surprised how quickly he caught his fi rst fi sh—a rainbow trout on a camping trip. Ohyama was one of 42 in- ternational students from Ro- tary District 2840 to come to the Pacifi c Northwest. They, along with 42 Ameri- can students from Rotary Dis- trict 5100, met for a two-week orientation in California and the district conference in Sea- side. Ohyama also enjoyed go- ing to the Keizer Rotary meet- ings each Thursday. “I love making connections with people,” Ohyama said. “I think that’s important for me and will be so useful in my fu- ture, if I can go to college in America.” The trip, which concludes on July 19, was Ohyama’s sec- ond to America. His older sister is a student at Missouri State University. Ohyama has two more years of high school to complete in Japan. After college, he would like to get a job with the Unit- ed Nations. “I just want to change the environment and help people,” Ohyama said. “That would be good for me.” Keizer Rotary seeks host families Each year, over 8,000 stu- dents from over 80 countries participate in the Rotary Youth Exchange program. The pro- gram promotes international goodwill and provides a trans- formative experience for the youth and their host families. Host families and students often build friendships that last a lifetime, including visiting each other years after the ex- change has ended. Exchange students become members, not guests, of the host families and attend McNary High School. Three host fami- lies are needed for each student, each year. The student changes host families in conjunction with school quarters. Host families are unpaid vol- unteers and provide room and board for the student. Keizer Rotary provides a monthly al- lowance to cover phone service, school lunches and miscella- neous expenses. The host fam- ily is not responsible for trans- portation to Rotary events. Two host families (win- ter and spring terms) are still needed to host the Austrian inbound student for the 2017- 18 school year. Contact Chuck Fisher chuckfi sher@comcast. net 503.361.8730 or Pam Vo- rachek pvorachek@msn.com to fi nd out more information. 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