Phiona Arinaitwe (first row, furthest right) poses with her first host family, the Wassenbergs, upon arriving to the United States from Uganda. Photo credit: David Kray
Sixteen-year-old Phiona Arinaitwe confronted the Minnesota cold during her year as a Rotary Youth Exchange Program student
By Cathy Kray — President-elect, Rotary Club of Roseville
Phiona Arinaitwe, a 16-year-old student from Uganda, spent the past school year attending Roseville Area High School as part of the Youth Exchange Program run by Rotary International and the Rotary Club of Roseville.
Around 35 teenagers from all around the world traveled to Minnesota and Wisconsin as part of the 2025-26 youth exchange program in Rotary District 5960. About that same number of local students traveled abroad and spent the year in various countries.
As a member of a Rotary club in Uganda, Phiona’s guardian felt the Rotary Exchange Program was a natural choice for her. Her guardian told Phiona she would like her to participate in an exchange year and Phiona agreed. Out of seven girls who come from a variety of different backgrounds that all live together, she is the first to be an exchange student.
“The Rotary Youth Exchange Program is a good program,” Phiona said. “Doing it as a teenager changes you and it helps you to grow mentally; you see life differently.”
Can you ever prepare for a Minnesota winter?
Prior to arriving in August, Phiona researched Minnesota and knew about the 10,000 lakes, the Mall of America and the cold. However, she said she was not prepared for how cold it actually got.
English is the official language of Uganda, although they learn British English which tends to be a little more formal. She said some of her friends in Uganda try to speak like Americans.
In Uganda, Phiona attends a boarding school about six hours from her home. The school year consists of three trimesters with three weeks off in between and a three-month-long break between December and February. She wears a uniform and the students are required to perform chores around the school, including housework and taking care of the grounds. There are no computers used except in computer classes.
Phiona said she was surprised to see laboratories in the actual classrooms at RAHS as they do not have that in her school back home. She said her favorite classes at RAHS were Anatomy & Physiology, Biology and Math.
Phiona also participated in the Key Club and Choir and was on the tennis and track teams. She said she wished she had done more sports as she found it was a great way to meet other students. However, she opted not to try skiing as it was just too cold for her.
Although she struggled to adapt to the cold weather, Phiona embraced winter and ended up really enjoying it. She said she was so excited to see snow for the first time on a host family trip to St. Louis. She tried just about every winter activity here in Minnesota— sledding, downhill skiing, ice skating, ice fishing, snow tubing, snowmobiling, building a snowman and participating in a snowball fight.
Phiona would also attend the weekly Rotary meetings held Mondays at the Cedarholm Community Center. Every week as it got colder, she would have on another layer or a thicker jacket and wouldn’t take them off even inside. However, on the first 40 degree day in March, she showed up to the meeting in just a hoodie— a true Minnesotan!
Be open to every opportunity
The Rotary Exchange Program differs from other programs in that the students stay with three different host families for about three months each. This allows the students to learn how family lives differ and to gain a broader perspective of the local culture.
Phiona’s first family had two girls, a college student and a middle schooler. Her second host family had adult sons and are originally from Uganda, while her third family had two boys in grade school. Thus, the dynamics in each household were very different.
Phiona’s advice to exchange students is to be open to every opportunity, try new things and to not limit yourself. She followed her own advice and tried a plethora of new activities. She attended the State Fair, sang the national anthem at a Minnesota Twins game with her school choir and prepared a Ugandan themed lunch for her host families and other Rotarians.
On a visit to Duluth on one of her last days, she squealed when she stepped into Lake Superior, not expecting it to be frigid.
Prior to arriving in Minnesota, Phiona said she liked water but was very nervous around it due to nearly drowning at age 5. Her first host family offered to take her to swimming lessons, where she found the instructors very patient and the water very warm. She progressed enough that she can now enjoy it and is good enough to survive and swim through the deep end. Her third host family has a swimming pool in their backyard where she is able to use her new skills.
Her advice to those who may be thinking of travelling abroad or participating in an exchange program: “The experience is about you and what you learn about the country and the people. Some things you just have to experience for yourself.”
The world truly becomes smaller and friendlier when you meet people from other countries and learn about their cultures.
If you are interested in learning about the Rotary Exchange Program, please contact David Kray, Youth Exchange Officer, at david.kray@msn.com or (612) 747-7385.
The Roseville club is still looking for host families for a high school girl from Brazil for the 2026-27 school year. It will change your life!
