Anais was awarded a 'Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholarship' a few years ago.  She graduated from Warwick University, in the UK (MSc of Entrepreneurship and Innovation with Distinction). 

She went on a Rotary Exchange Student Program, in Argentina, where she met Victoria Kolevich That was 13 years ago.  They met after 10 years without seeing each other.  Victoria is now an architect, interested in alternative ways of teaching.  They are travelling together for three weeks in New Zealand.  

Anais started a world tour six months ago to find out more about the Future of Education and "how to teach 21st-century skills".  She interviews teachers, entrepreneurs and corporates on each country and is currently writing a collaborative book out of all her insights. 

One of her sponsors is the Rotary Club of Paris. Contact is as follows:  Erwin Cott, Rotary Club of Paris, +33 6 89 33 76 04. She is also sponsored by the Ministry of Education. 

Pictured below are Anais and Victoria with our own Club Youth leader Lee-Ann Lines. 

It’s really hard to start this off without using a cliché.  Like how time has gone super fast or how unbelievable it all is.  Without a doubt, this past month and a half has been a whirlwind of new experiences.  In my first weeks, I definitely wondered why I had willing chosen to move completely across the world from everyone and everything.  

While the orientation weekends and meetings were very helpful back in New Zealand, there’s no way to actually express the emotions I got and I believe most people feel when starting their exchange year.  However, just as surprising is how quickly I found myself in a routine and at a point where I am having fun everyday.  I celebrated my birthday here around mid-February which is also where I’d say things really took off from.  The people around me have made sure that I feel loved and involved by my new community, something I will always be grateful for.

Now, I have a group of friends at school who have a great sense of humour, super welcoming and generally interested in me.  Throughout the week I have several activities including karate and scouts while Wednesdays are when I catch up with other inbounds here.  Just this last weekend, Rotex organised a day in Brussels where my little group of ‘newies’ basically ate our way through the city.  

There really is too much to write about so I’ll let my pictures speak for themselves.  I also had to be on time with my report this month since I’m off skiing in France in two days!! Where I’m at now, I can say that I’m way too lucky to be here with these amazing opportunities and experiences.  Here’s to another two months of fun!

Click here for Ella's photos

Almost 2 months of my exchange has flown by, as we all know it tends to do this when you are having fun.  Getting off the tiny 28 seater plane in Billund and being welcomed by the harsh cold temperatures feels like only yesterday.  While I was shivering and trying to practice “Hygge” to stay warm, New Zealand had a heatwave.  I am definitely missing the sunshine but Spring is on the way.

Since arriving in Denmark, I have learned more than any class could ever teach me.  For instance, I was taught the rules of soccer and how to dance South American style on Intro Camp.  I can now cook more meals than before I left, including Danish leek and potato soup with flutes (a type of bread) as well as Indian curry.

I also learned the hard way that my clothes shrink in the dryer (in NZ I am used to line drying everything).  Or maybe my clothes aren’t shrinking and I’m just growing my puku.  I now know that I can get supermarket vouchers in exchange for empty bottles and cans, so I collect recyclables from my classmates after lunch to help fund my growing addiction for salty liquorice.  I also baked my first “successful” pavlova for Ungdomkulturhuset (Youth Culture House), I learned that cream and berries can fix a broken cake.  Yesterday I went to a museum in Jelling (where Harald Bluetooth, the king who united Denmark, created a fortress).  I learned a lot about Denmark’s Viking history and the continued influence and significance of Norse mythology in the country.

My host family were awesome enough to take me along on their ski holiday to the Dolomites in Italy, where I very quickly found out that New Zealand ski fields are miniscule.  I also re-learnt skiing (the last time I skied was at the age of 10), when I discovered the mountain had a lot of flat areas that were designed with skiers (as opposed to snowboarders) in mind.  This trip was without a doubt my favourite part of my exchange so far.

Before I left, I thought that apart from my family, the mountains would be what I missed most about Aotearoa.  The other day I looked up at the night sky and saw no Southern cross and very few stars compared to what I am used to back home.  I also discovered that I took the humble feijoa for granted back at home.  Nobody here has even heard about the wonderful fruit.

I am looking forward to continuing on this epic adventure, thank you again to Rotary for making this trip a possibility for me.  Or, as they would say på Dansk, tusind tak (a thousand thanks).

I’m pleased to report that the Rotary Charity Cycle Ride for Hospice Southland was a great success.

The weather was kind for the 43 riders.  The 100 kms from Mossburn to Invercargill had no hill climbs, it was slightly down hill and towards the end we faced a light south-easterly breeze.  We took turns at riding at the front of the peloton.  With two lines rotating it was quite social to be able to talk to different people as we cycled.

There were three stops on the way but our cycling time averaged a speed of 27 km/h.

The fund raising will exceed $30,000.

I’m delighted to say that, with your kind support, the members of the Rotary Club of Queenstown have sponsored me $945.

I will make this amount up to $1000.

There may be some donations that I’m not aware of.

Thank you again for your support.

Kind regards -  Kerry Dunlop