Brisa Caroline Sa Braganca has a lot going for her: The Brazilian teenager does well in school, participates actively with a church group, and likes music, art, and theater. But, right now, she lacks something important: a place to stay in the tri-town area—actually, three places to stay.

Brisa is a Rotary Exchange student who Rotary’s International Committee, composed of members from several local clubs, would like to bring to this area for nine months during the 2016-2017 school year. To make that happen, Rotary needs to find three host families, each of which Brisa would stay with for three months. Families do not have to have children at Valley Regional High School; in fact, they do not necessarily have to have children at all.

According to her exchange application, Brisa is eager to spend a year as an American high school student.

“I believe the exchange will be a big step in my life,” she wrote. “When I return I will be a more mature person with more life experience and a great knowledge of the world.”

Brisa likes surprise and meeting people, and adds that she is not a picky eater. There is only one food on which she draws the line.

“I do not eat broccoli,” she confessed.

So far, Jeff Mehler, head of Rotary’s International Committee, said he has found support and enthusiasm for the exchange project, but no host families.

“Everyone thinks it is great to have an exchange student, but just not at their home,” he said.

Brisa’s exchange application includes a picture of a young girl with wavy brown hair, soft brown eyes, and a welcoming smile.

“I thought people would see that picture and the rest would be easy,” Mehler admitted.

Christina Mitchel, expected to be the valedictorian of this year’s Valley Regional graduating class, is the outbound part of the local Rotary’s exchange program. She will be spending next year in Hungary, putting off her college entrance a year.

“I didn’t want to go to college right away. I wanted to learn about different people, meet more people than I had in the tri-town area,” she said.

Mitchel, as she is known, said the question she is asked most often is why she selected Hungary. Her mother is Colombian, so she felt she already had a feeling for Latin America, but Eastern Europe would be a challenge. She is interested in what the end of the Cold War has meant for the former Soviet satellites and how they are coping with issues that likely would have been buried under Communist regimes, among them sexuality, gender, and LGBT issues.

At the moment, Mitchel is learning Hungarian on her own, with the help of audiotapes and grammar books. Hungarian is particularly complex, not related to either Romance or Germanic languages. Mitchel has no choice but to study.

“I am going to be going to high school in Hungarian,” she pointed out.

She said that the experience of host families in this area would be similar in many respects to the experience she will have in Hungary. Through an exchange student, host families, too, will get to experience all the aspects of another culture from language to a new cuisine.

“From my perspective, hosting is just like going on an exchange, but rather than traveling to Brazil, you are learning about new people and their culture in you own home,” she said. “It’s a chance to learn about the world we live in. It’s an opportunity.”

If no host families come forward for Brisa, Mitchel will still be able to go to Hungary.

“But I don’t think we’d be able to send another student,” Mehler added.

Rotary provides an allowance for the exchange student as well as medical and personal liability insurance. Rotary exchange rules provide that the student’s family in their native country underwrites major expenses.

To learn more about hosting Brisa Braganca, contact Jeff Mehler at 860-767-9700 or by email at jeff@jmehler.com.