When Brookfield Rotary Club member Jean McKenzie heard that a couple of Brookfield teens had gone to Spain as part of a Rotary International exchange student program, she was a little surprised, because it had been a decade or more since anyone from Brookfield had participated.
Dakota and Emily Obermiyer said they hope it won’t be another decade before more Brookfield students participate in an exchange program.
“I think everyone should do it, if able to,” said Dakota, a Brookfield High School senior. “I feel like it makes us better students.”
Dakota and Emily – they are siblings – said they plan to talk up the program at the school, which is where they learned about it to begin with. Brookfield High School Spanish teacher April Antonelli had talked about an exchange program to Mexico she had participated in.
“We thought it would be a good opportunity,” Dakota said Aug. 12 at a dinner in their honor sponsored by the Brookfield Rotary Club.
It was a true exchange program in that two Italian students they stayed with came to America to stay with them.
The Obermiyers arrived in Italy July 7 and returned to the states July 29.
Dakota stayed with the family of Luca Pedrini in the city center of Treviso, Italy, while Emily lived with Lavinia Paliani in Treviso’s suburbs.
Luca and Lavinia did not know each other, but their families got together during the Obermiyers’ stay.
Dakota and Emily said they understood very little Italian before landing in Italy.
“The first couple days was definitely hard,” Dakota said. “We’re used to being able to communicate with everyone. Even just sitting at dinner with people and not knowing what they say and not being able to really understand. You felt isolated.”
Lavinia and Luca had both studied English but do not have a lot of confidence in their ability to speak it.
“For the most part, they do really well, understanding and speaking,” Emily said.
The Obermiyers visited Rome, Venice, Vatican City and lesser known cities of Italy, and got to know Treviso, participating in festivals and enjoying the night life.
“It’s like really different at night,” Dakota said. “Everything goes until 2, 3, 4 in the morning there.”
Not exactly Brookfield.
Italy is very unlike the United States in that there are historical sites dating back 1,000 years or more, such as the Domus Aurea, a palace built by Nero in the first century AD, which the Obermiyers visited.
“It was surreal that it’s still preserved,” Dakota said.
The Obermiyers were honored at Rotary dinners, and spent time with German and Mexican teens who also were in town on exchange programs.
Italians questioned the Obermiyers about what it is like living in America.
“I think they were curious about our lifestyle, because a lot of people have seen American movies and so they were asking us if stuff in the movies were real,” Dakota said.
They also wanted to know “What Trump’s up to,” he said.
“I don’t think anyone can explain it, because I don’t think he knows, either,” Dakota said.
Dakota said the favorite part of his trip was Luca’s mother.
“Luca’s mom is awesome,” he said. “She’s like so funny. Luca’s mom definitely made me feel like a part of the family.”
When it came time to leave, Luca’s mom had a hard time letting him go home, he said.
“In that short time, we’d become part of their world,” Emily said.
Upon landing in New York, the Obermiyers, Luca and Lavinia met parents Tracey and Tom Obermiyer for sightseeing.
“Every person that comes to America wants to see New York City,” Dakota said.
They also visited Niagara Falls, Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Tionesta for four-wheeling.
Closer to home, the Obermiyers took Luca and Lavinia to downtown Youngstown and Youngstown State University; the Avenue of 444 Flags in America’s Cemetery, Hermitage; Brookfield schools; Buhl Park in Hermitage; and Linesville, Pa., to feed the fish at the Pymatuning State Park spillway.
“Luca really likes history,” Dakota said. “We tried to find every historical thing around here that we could get to. They’d never seen Amish people, so we took them to Volant, New Wilmington.”
“I’m really glad that we did it,” Dakota said of the exchange program.
“I think we understand the culture a little more now,” Emily said.
Dakota and Emily Obermiyer talk about their trip to Italy at a Brookfield Rotary Club dinner honoring them. NEWS On the Green photo.
Dakota and Emily Obermiyer, center, are greeted upon their arrival in Italy by their hosts, Lavinia Paliani and Luca Pedrini. Contributed photo.
Emily and Dakota Obermiyer in Italy. Contributed photo.
Lavinia Paliani and Luca Pedrini of Treviso, Italy, are shown at a Brookfield Rotary Club dinner honoring their stay in the U.S. NEWS On the Green photo.
Dakota and Emily Obermiyer in Italy. Contributed photo.
