The Inter-Mountain photo by Eliana McCutcheon Guest speaker Satsuki Tani tells the Elkins Rotary Club about her exchange year in West Virginia.

The Inter-Mountain photo by Eliana McCutcheon
Guest speaker Satsuki Tani tells the Elkins Rotary Club about her exchange year in West Virginia.

ELKINS — On Monday, 18-year-old Satsuki Tani, this year’s Elkins Rotary Club exchange student, spoke to club members about her experiences in Elkins.

A student from Japan, Tani lives in Mie, which sits in District 2630. Mie is also near the Yokkaichi City, where she loves to spend her free time. Satsuki lives with her mom, dad, younger brother and pet cat.

She attends a Catholic school.

“I go to a Catholic school, ironically, because I am Buddhist!” she said Monday.

Tani spent the past year in Elkins with three different host families. She attended Elkins High School, where she played on the tennis team and participated in the school choir. The school chorus received the opportunity to sing with the West Virginia University Choir.

“When I came to Elkins I thought, ‘Wow… this is a small city!’ It is very peaceful here and people are very nice,” she said.

When she arrived to Elkins, she did not speak a word of English. However, she has developed this skill and has progressed very quickly.

Throughout the year, Tani was able to travel to several different states, including Florida, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.

“I have gotten to travel to different states, too! It was so much fun,” she said.

She enjoyed attending her first school homecoming and prom.

“We don’t really have dance parties in Japan, so I loved it! In Japan, it is always study hard: study, study, study. Here, we get to dance after we study!” she said.

At the end of this week, she will return to her home in Japan with the memories she created with her new friends and some incredible experiences she will never forget.