Giulia Caccialupi and her French flag have been to many places around the world including the Caribbean, Venezuela and now Merritt, B.C.

The 16-year-old brought the flag from her parents’ boat with her on a journey some 8,000 kilometres away from her homeland as she visits Canada for the first time thanks to the Rotary Youth Exchange Program.

Caccialupi comes from Saint Raphael, located in southern France. She came to Canada to gain better English speaking skills and because she loves to travel.

Caccialupi said it’s important to her to see the world outside her own country.

“This, here, all is different. The nature, the people, the school,” she said of Merritt.

One difference Caccialupi noticed was the large pickup trucks — an uncommon site in France, she said.

She also said forests of pine trees are significantly different than the vegetation in southern France.

Secondary school in France is different as well, she said.

“You don’t choose your classes. You choose a way,” she said, noting French student choose an area of study such as sciences or economics from age 16 to 18.

She said she thinks the French system is harder than Canada’s because school days can also run longer, leaving less time for homework or sports.

In the month or so she’s been here, Caccialupi has already joined the MSS volleyball team and plans to try rugby in the spring.

Caccialupi has also seen her first hockey game, visiting Kamloops to take in a Blazers game. The fighting was one of her favourite parts of Canada’s national sport, she said.

While in Merritt, Caccialupi will bunk with four different billet families before heading back to France next July.

As a Rotary exchange student, Caccialupi picked Canada as one of her countries of choice, and she had no preference as to a big city or a little one.

She said she wanted to come to Canada rather than the United States because she feels this country is more homogeneous than its southern neighbour.

“In U.S.A., the state of Washington or Texas is very, very different,” she said as an example of differing lifestyles within that country.

She said the people in Merritt have been friendly and open to her, and she’s made friends since arriving last month. Caccialupi said that while she’s here, she hopes to discover more of British Columbia.

And so far, Caccialupi said she hasn’t missed home yet.

“Maybe at Christmas, yes,” she said with a laugh.