Youth Exchange is Going Downhill Fast... And Loving It!
It happened again. The Great Barrington Rotary has hosted its 21st annual ski weekend. Unless, that is, we're counting the club’s first, unofficial outing!
As the story goes, one frigid winter a Great Barrington Rotarian was hosting a female Youth Exchange student from Brazil. The Rotarian wanted to hit the slopes for the weekend. The girl, who had never been on skis before, had zero interest in swapping the sands of Ipanema beach for a 30-degree slab of frozen New England!
The car ride over was pretty quiet. But once they arrived and the student was introduced to a handsome young ski instructor, her attitude underwent a surprising transformation. She gave the old planks a try. And pretty soon she was having the time of her life.
After that great weekend, someone in the club suggested offering an annual ski weekend to other exchange students. Rotarians Ray Murray and Vito Vitrano were there from the start, and they’ve continued the tradition ever since.
Today, the Great Barrington Ski Weekend gathers Youth Exchange students from throughout our District for a full two days of skiing and fellowship. The students arrive in Great Barrington on Friday for a pizza party, hosted this year by The Railroad Street Youth Project. Over hot pies, students start getting to know each other and their hosts families, and learn in detail what to expect for the weekend.
After that, it’s all fun, food and bonding on the chairlifts. Once the students are placed with their weekend host families, the only thing they need to do is relax, enjoy, and maybe figure out how to catch an edge on those ice patches! We’re talking two full days of skiing with all the trimmings. The kids are supplied with lift tickets, rental equipment, lessons, food, transportation – in short, all the key ingredients for a memorable weekend.
One highlight is always the Saturday night dinner, this year hosted by the First Congregational Church. Rotarians enjoy getting together to cook up some tasty comfort food, knowing the kids will have worked up a big appetite after a full day out on the snow. Host families, Rotarians and the students all enjoy themselves tremendously. It’s après ski, Berkshire style!
On Sunday, everyone enjoys an extra hour of sleep, but then it’s back to Butternut by 9:30 for another day of action and adventure.
By the end of the weekend, it’s always amazing to see the bonds that the students have formed. For many of them it was their first time out on skis. For all of them it was a weekend they’ll never forget.