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A Rotary Youth Exchange year in Italy changed Annie Nihill’s life.

Her exchange took her to the village of Monza in Lombardia, about 20 minutes from the high-fashion city of Milan.  Monza is known for the Autodromo Nazionale–the 3rd longest auto racetrack in the world–and the Parco di Monza, the largest gated park in Europe.  Because of its proximity to Milan and a good train system, Annie was able to travel frequently into Milan to take Italian language lessons and visit places that became her favorite haunts:  Il Duomo cathedral and the adjacent Vittorio Emanuelle II shopping galleria; the Navigli Canal and dining area; and the beautiful Parco Sempione.

Annie spent her first 3 months with the Montrasio family where she learned Italian from host sister, Izzie.  Next, she spend 7 months with the Cairoli family whose daughter was on exchange to Texas.  She became very close to the Cairolis and travelled with them to Torino, Como, Cervinia in the Alps, Florence, and Verona—her favorite city in Italy.  The family also took her to Dublin for a week, a special treat given the fact that Annie’s family is of Irish decent.

Although school was her least favorite activity while on exchange, she loved her English teacher and made many friends.  Frequent trips with other Rotary Youth Exchange students in her district helped break up school time.  She visited Cremona, Rome, Venice, and Sicily, and took a Euro tour to Geneva, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, Bratislava, Vienna, Budapest, and Slovenia.  Whew!  She visited a concentration camp, a field trip that is required of all German school children.  She got to see Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting:  The Last Supper.  She learned to love gelato, especially pistachio and chocolate.

She also changed her mind about her career path.  After living in the fashion capital of the world she embraced the idea of pursuing a degree in fashion, perhaps from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City.

To others considering a year on exchange she gave this advice:  “It doesn’t matter where you go in the world; you’re gonna love it!”