Members gathered with family and friends to celebrate the Holiday Season. We were greeted by the beautiful sounds of the Eden Prairie High School Concert Chamber Choir including 23 students under the direction of Julie Cantoch who has been directing the group for 29 years.

 

Exchange students Clementine and Ricky shared Christmas traditions in their home countries. Jane McGinty presented EP hoodies to Ricky and Clementine for Christmas. Jay Simpson then read There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bell while being accompanied by bells rung by the children in attendance. Elves in training, Jon and Roger assisted.

 

The meeting concluded with the Choir singing a few more songs and introducing themselves and sharing their post-secondary plans.

Introduced by Kevin Kraemer, the club had the opportunity to learn more about this outgoing, dynamic young man who is spending the school year with the Eden Prairie community. Ricky fulfilled a dream of playing football (the American kind) as the kicker for the J.V. Eden Prairie Football team. He made 20 of 23 extra point attempts and got to play in one varsity game, earning his varsity letter. Way to go, Ricky!

 

Brazil is Ricky’s home country and he prepared a slide show to convince Rotarians that Brazil is the best country in the world. The 5th largest country, Ricky hails from a northeastern coastal area, Recife, known as the Brazilian “Venice.” Brazil is one of the most bio-diverse countries in the world with many unusual species of animals. It is filled with natural beauty from the Amazon River to waterfalls, beaches to rain forests. The temperature is hot–in winter the average low is 60 degrees Fahrenheit, and the summer is very, very hot.