Rotarians host grad scholars

TIGER’S POSSE:
From left, Zhenxing Zhang, 28, of Hanchuan, China, Tansu Acik, 46, of Ankara, Turkey, Redding Rotary International host Tiger Michiels of Redding and Vinicius Vieira, 24, of Santos, Brazil, enjoy a short break from Western line dancing.

Graduate students from Turkey, China, South Korea, France, Italy, Thailand, Japan, Guatemala, Brazil and Iran recently visited northern California for several days as part of a local Rotary International program to host foreign students.

During their five-day visit, the students and their host families took houseboat trips on Shasta Lake, went cross-country skiing at Lassen Volcanic National Park, visited a working cattle ranch in Cottonwood and toured Sierra Pacific Industries' sawmill and lumber yard in Anderson.

They also enjoyed an all-American barbecue and an evening of line dancing instruction courtesy of the Anderson Rotary Club.

Among those who enjoyed their stays in Redding and Anderson was Vinicius Vieira, 24, of Santos, Brazil, a seaport city of 500,000 people located about an hour's drive from Sao Paulo. Vieira is attending the University of California at Berkeley where he is working towards a master's degree in Latin American studies. He started the two-year program in August 2008.

"For me, the greatest experience was the ski trip we took to Mt. Lassen," explained Vieira, who is unaccustomed to seeing and being so close to snow.

What surprised Vieira most about his quick tour of northern California is how even the countryside is developed in the United States.

"There isn't so much poverty as we have in our country. The wealth distribution seems more equal here. You don't seem to have peasantry here," he noted.

Tansu Acik, 46, is an associate professor in ancient classics back home in Ankara, Turkey. The country's capital city has a population of 3 million. He is teaching classes at U.C. Berkeley in literature and philosophy as part of a Fulbright research grant.

"Northern California is so diverse and enriching. I think the countryside here is so beautiful," said Acik, who thoroughly enjoyed the day spent on the cattle ranch in Cottonwood where the foreign exchange students saw traditional ranch and cowboy skills such as riding, roping, branding and herding prior to sampling some of the local beef steaks.

"I am most impressed with America's openness. In America, people easily gather to make something happen," Acik said.

"I took a coffee break with a guy who works at your city hall in Redding. We talked for quite a bit," he explained.

"These associations make life more vibrant here," said Acik, who also noted that gasoline in his country sells for four times what his host family paid for it in Redding.

A typically good wage in Turkey would be the equivalent of about $1,000 in U.S. currency, he further explained.

Acik and Vieira both stayed in the Redding home of Susie and Tiger Michiels, a member of Redding Rotary Club.

Also staying with the Michiels was Zhenxing Zhang, 28, of Hanchuan, China, which is close to the southern Chinese city of Wuhan. Zhang is a first-year graduate student studying electrical engineering, although back home he also has a master's degree in heavy metals physics.

"It was very funny to see the cowboys," Zhang noted of his visit to Cottonwood.

"At Berkeley, we do experiments in 3-D integrated circuitry day and night, so I don't have much time to explore the city. We are learning how to move the energy and make the devices more effective," said Zhang, whose parents are farmers.