Last week was no exception when Bomaderry Rotary exchange student Zsolt Hajdu from Hungary accompanied by Karen Trigg a Bomaderry Rotarian and member of the District Rotary Youth Exchange Program Committee addressed Nowra Rotarians and guests.

Zsolt has been in Australia and the Shoalhaven since August last year.

He has been learning English from a young age and spoke very well.

He has also picked up our sense of humour and gave his audience a very entertaining talk and slideshow.

Zsolt was sponsored by the largest of the three Rotary Clubs in his home city of Szeged.

These clubs have also sponsored a Rotaract and Interact Club that Zsolt is involved with.

Following a brief geography and history lesson on Hungary and Szeged, where the temperature was minus 15 degrees a few days ago, Zsolt said that many things we use and see in our daily lives in Australia were invented in Hungary including matches, the ball point pen, the movie camera and the helicopter.

The movie, “The Martian” starring Matt Damon, was made at the Korda Studios near Szeged.  Zsolt proudly talked about and showed his audience photos of his family, school, friends, and some of the activities he is involved in, including Karate and playing the piano.

This latter skill was noted by organisers of the recent District 9710 Rotary conference in Goulburn who asked him to play to a packed auditorium of Rotarians and partners.

Zsolt also talked about his experiences as an exchange student in Australia and the friends he has made including the other Rotary exchange students from around the world that are currently in our region.

Zsolt had been told about and was prepared for the many dangerous snakes and spiders we have in Australia before he left Hungary.

Fortunately, the only wildlife that he has encountered close up and personally are kangaroos and an echidna that he found and wrapped in his jumper after it had wandered onto a road.

His audience reminded Zsolt that the plastic ducks he swam with and herded up at the Sussex Inlet Rotary Duck race don’t count as Australian wildlife.

Zsolt is a wonderful ambassador for Hungary, Szeged, his family, his school and his Rotary Club and he will have plenty of stories to tell them when he returns home including those on the three week Safari bus tour of Central and North Australia that he will be making in March with 30 to 40 other international exchange students.

If any of Rotary’s readers see Zsolt out and about, please show him the wonderful Shoalhaven hospitality.