My host families and I have a running joke. Every weekend I return back to Rome they ask me how my weekend was. My answer? “BEST. WEEKEND. EVER”. It’s a mathematical anomaly how each and every one of the weekends I’ve spent since arriving in Georgia could be the best-weekend-ever - but they are.

Since arriving in Rome, Georgia I have been fortunate enough to do some amazing things. I have spent a Saturday in Atlanta with 23 other GRSP students watching some of the best bands at Music Midtown festival (Coldplay, The Black Keys, Cage the Elephant etc). I have been to cities (Thomasville, Athens, Young Harris, Savannah, Kennesaw, Ellijay) all over Georgia just about each and every weekend only to spend them with GRSPs and passionate Rotarians.

I have learned to tailgate (like a pro!) and support Georgia and to yell “GO DAWGS” in huge packed stadiums. I am convinced that I bring the DAWGS good luck having been in the stadium when they won against Florida and Georgia Tech. I might just have to come back next year! I have been fortunate enough to land the lottery with my host families. I've been to Florida 3 times, Lake Mentone, the PGA golf tour in Atlanta and very many more things are sure to come! I got to celebrate my very first halloween, dressing up as a mime for halloween and being the oldest Trick-or-Treater in the neighbourhood? I also ate so much at Thanksgiving that the I passed out on the couch by 7.30pm!

One of the highlights of my year so far has been speaking at the United Nations in New York at the Rotary UN Day, which is a one-day conference that aims to showcase how Rotary International and the UN work together to solve major world issues. Andrea Tirone (a former Ambassadorial scholar in Durban) and I spoke about Rotary Youth Exchange, the Ambassadorial Scholarship and Rotaract, highlighting the projects Rotaract Durban Berea has done. Our speech went really well and it was truly a dream come true for me.

As for New York. I LOVE IT! The cabs, the street vendors, the fire escapes, Central Park,  the atmosphere. I was lucky enough to be in NY for the UN Day, and lucky enough to go there before Christmas. 3 GRSP girls (from Sweden, Denmark and Wales) and I got in a car nicknamed ‘Mia the Kia’ and drove for 22 hours north up to Boston where another dream of mine came true. Harvard! We spent 2 days in Boston where we met up with the GRSP boys from New Zealand, Brazil, Denmark and Nigeria and had the most insane amount of fun. We carried on traveling with the boys when we got to NY where we spent a week making movie-style memories; ice-skating in Central Park, going to stand up comedy, up the Empire State Building, tracing Bob Dylan’s steps in Greenwich Village, karaoking in Chinatown, being amazed by Times Square and living the New York dream. On our road trip down we spent 2 nights in Washington and saw all the sites, Library of Congress, the White House, Capitol Hill, the Lincoln Memorial, JFK’s grave. It was the BEST. ROAD TRIP. EVER. :)

I honestly cannot believe that it has been 5 months already and I only have 4 and a half left! This has truly been the most incredible experience and I can't wait to see what the next 4 months bring. I have to say a big thank you to each and every rotarian who has made this possible for me. Thank you!

Micaela