Gabi Curi, 18, is back in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, after graduating from Sedona Red Rock High School while being hosted by several Sedona families during the past year as part of a Rotary Club exchange program.

“The people that I met here, all the families that I stayed with, and all friends are the hardest things to leave behind,” Curi said. “I’d like to thank Rotary and all the families I’ve stayed with because they made it a great year and they made it easier for me to adapt.”

Curi added that she may return to the United States to study to become a veterinarian.

“I’m going to do college in Brazil, but I’ve really thought of coming to the United States. That was one of my interests. But I still wasn’t able to accomplish that. Hopefully soon or, in a few years, I’ll come back to finish college … because that was really something I wanted to do.”

Curi was inspired to join the exchange program after her older brother and sister make the trek to the United States, which ignited her own wanderlust. Next, she would like to visit Spain or Germany.

“The biggest challenge for me over the last year of the exchange is to be in a different place [where] I don’t know anyone and to adapt to this country, and the new culture,” Curi said. “My grandma made me do English classes, so I could learn more. So I’ve been having English classes since I was nine. [Which] was really helpful when I came here.”

Students in the program pay for their airfare and have to make a security deposit with the school district. The Rotary Club of Sedona Village provides them with a monthly stipend and the host families provide everything else.

“It’s part of their experiences to live with three families because we all have different ways of doing things, and different customs and different activities,” Rotary Club  of Sedona Village Youth Exchange Officer Jennette Bill said. “It gives them a more robust picture of living in America. If we can’t find three families, that’s okay if they’re with two or even one, but we prefer that they have three families. Also it’s not as much of a burden on any one family if it’s divided up.”

During her time in Sedona Curi stayed with Angela and Edward Emerson; Dave and Anne Biermann; and Sabra Sanzotta, Jerome Huez and their daughter Ariane, according to a Rotary Club of Sedona Village press release.

She went on trips with the 17 other exchange students of the north central Arizona Rotary District No. 5495, including to the Grand Canyon, an Arizona Diamondbacks baseball game, a RYLA leadership camp in Prescott, Las Vegas and Mexico for the Rotary District Conference. When the 18 exchange students spent a weekend in Sedona, they picked apples in Oak Creek Canyon for the Sedona Community Food Bank, played at Slide Rock State Park and hiked,” the press release stated. “Gabi also had adventures with her host families including visiting Disneyland, Sea World and Washington, D.C., and snowboarding at the Snowbowl.”

While Curi has been in Sedona, SRRHS junior Kaori Emerson was an exchange student in France and recently returned. In order to accept an inbound exchange student, the school requires an outbound exchange student to volunteer, but no one has so far volunteered for the coming year.

“We hope to have someone the year after,” Bill said. “Having international exchange students opens kids’ eyes to the fact that there’s a world of other people out there. Rotary feels that’s how you can promote peace around the world by getting to know people from other cultures and countries. We feel like this is part of our peace program in Rotary.”

Bill is also looking into possible student exchanges with the Rotary Club in Canmore, Alberta, Canada, as part of the “Friendship Cities” agreement that Canmore and the city of Sedona signed last month as part of the process to become official international Sister Cities. Curi was actively involved in the Interact Club, which is Rotary’s equivalent group for high schoolers, as well as varsity sports at SRRHS.

“I started doing soccer, but they canceled because we didn’t have enough players,” Curi said. “So I switched to volleyball, which was very fun … and then there was track, which was my favorite sport here that I’ve never done in Brazil, and I really loved doing the different sports.”

Curi competed in the 100- and 200-meter dash and the triple and long jump. She was part of the girls’ 4×100-meter relay squad that competed in the Arizona Interscholastic Association’s Division V Championships at Red Mountain High School in Mesa on May 3 and 4.

“Gabi is a very hard worker, everyone in the school really enjoyed her, just friendly, overall fun person to be around, putting in a lot of effort to what she did here at the school,” Head Coach Sean Eicher said.

Curi said that spending time along Oak Creek with music in the background would be her favorite memories of her time in Sedona.

“She got along wonderfully with my daughter [Ariane] who is 13 years old, my daughter had the best experience because of Gabi being who she is,” said her host mother Sabra Sanzotta. “We had a little party for her here with Rotary people and her previous [host] family members, we all got together. Then she individually had get-togethers with her friends … She’s really built a community of people that care about her and really love her because she’s just very genuine, authentic, down to earth. Confident girl.”

“Don’t be afraid to meet new people and just say yes to all the good opportunities and all the good traveling and just don’t be afraid and be yourself, and you won’t be disappointed,” Curi offered as advice to potential future exchange students.

Those interested in volunteering for Rotary’s exchange student program or hosting an exchange student can contact Bill at (928) 301-1363 or JLBill@outlook.com.