The Waunakee Rotary Club learned more about the Rotary Exchange students attending Waunakee High School at the Dec. 12 meeting. 

Carmela Delgado and Francisco Alvarez, who are both 17 years old, spoke to the club about their lives at home. 

For Carmela, that’s Merida, Spain, close to Portugal, where she and her siblings – two brothers and a younger sister – live with their parents. One of her brothers is also an exchange student in the Philippines this year. Friends and family are an important part of Carmela’s life, she said.

Carmela talked a bit about Spanish cultural events. Merida is sometimes referred to as “little Rome” because of monuments left from the Roman Empire. El Teatro Romano de Merida, one of the sites, is also an outdoor theater for musical acts and other events. 

Spain has a few festivals, as well, such as Tomatina in Buñel, where people throw tomatoes, and the running of the bulls in Pamplona.  

Carmela also showed pictures of the traditional foods, like paella, tapas and cocido, all of which looked pretty tasty. 

Carmela has wanted to come to the United States for a long time, she said. 

Fran is from Argentina, located in South America. He lives with his family in La Plata, the capitol of Buenos Aires, known for its many private colleges and universities. Argentina has two different climates in the north and south. One is warm year round and the other has winters with snow, so Fran enjoys going to the southern part to ski.

Argentina is known for having good beef and wine, and some of the traditional foods include empanadas.

Fran also showed slides of some of Argentina’s beautiful places with national parks, glaciers, rivers and Iguazu Falls. 

La Plata is also home to a natural history museum with dinosaurs, the Cathedral of La Plata and a soccer stadium. A soccer player who played on the Waunakee varsity team, Fran said he enjoys going to the stadium at home. 

Along with skiing and soccer, he also enjoys fly fishing, which he does in the southern part of Argentina. 

Both Carmela and Fran say the school day is different in their home countries than in Waunakee because there, students stay in the same room all day while the teachers go from class to class. Carmela said she has sat with the same group of students at school for many years. 

******

Other News: 

-The Rotarians cast their ballots in an uncontested race for the club’s next president and a few board members. The candidates handily won. 

Guests: Jack Heinemann, guest of Jennifer Tasker; Taylor Seep, guest of Kylie West; Ann Naylor, guest of Mark McFarland. 

Birthdays: Dec. 21, Howard Teeter; Dec. 21, Max Ujdak; Dec. 25, David Weishoff.

Anniversaries: None. 

Greeters: Dec 19, Joe Baer and John Cullen; Jan. 2, Carol Bleifield and Jeff Smith; Jan. 9, Tom Kennedy and Jim Elvekrog; Jan. 16, Roberta Baumann and Shelley Moffatt.

To sign up to greet or to find out if you are greeting, visit: 

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/805054CAAAA2CA7F85-44320149-2023#/