By NANCY MARTIN

Kingston Rotary Club  was pleased to participate in the Rotary Summer Exchange Program, welcoming Mavi Di Maio to a six-week stay in Kingston.

Mavi was the guest of Kingston Rotary’s past president, Meisha Rouser. She was welcomed by Meisha’s family, Jeff, Garrett and Cammy Rouser.

Meisha interviewed Mavi and passed on the following insights about Mavi’s visit:

Mavi learned about the Rotary Exchange through her uncle, a Rotarian in Castellammare Di Stabia, Italy. He suggested she might like to do an exchange through Rotary, as he knew Mavi would like to participate in a foreign exchange program.

Mavi came to Kingston early in order to experience American schools. She was able to attend Kingston and Bainbridge High schools for one day each. Mavi said the schools here are much larger than the schools in Italy.

One big difference Mavi found was that in her country the students stay in one classroom and the teachers rotate in to teach their subjects, whereas, in our high schools the children move from classroom to classroom. Another difference between our schools and Italian schools is that we have music and art in our schools, and more sports.

Some expectations that differed for Mavi when she came here: the exchange family she lived with was nicer than she hoped for, and Kingston was more beautiful than she thought it would be.

But some of Mavi’s favorite memories while visiting the United States were her visit to San Francisco, Canada, and Seattle.

asked to share one specific memory, it was having to run for the Bainbridge ferry in Seattle after standing in line longer than expected at the original Starbucks.

Cammy Rouser will return with Mavi to Italy for a six-week stay. What Mavi is most looking forward to sharing with Cammy, when Cammy visits Italy, is what Mavi feels are the most beautiful places in Italy: Capri, Stromboli, Rome and Florence.

If you are interested in learning more about Kingston Rotary and its Summer Exchange Programs, join us at noon for one of our meetings. We meet at the North Kitsap Fire and Rescue Station on Miller Bay Road in Kingston.