A lot has changed in Riverhead since the year Willy Saelan spent here as a Rotary exchange student 27 years ago. And then again, he says, a lot is still very much the same.
“Sound Avenue is exactly as I remembered it,” Saelan said. On the other hand, Route 58 is unrecognizable, he added.
But Saelan, 45, of Jakarta, Indonesia, didn’t return to Riverhead earlier this month to do any sightseeing. He came back to see the people he lived with: his Rotary host parents and their families. As a 17-year-old high school senior in the Rotary International youth exchange program during 1987-1988, Saelan was housed by three different local couples who shared responsibility his care during his stay.
“I regret that it took me so long to come back and visit,” Saelan said.
(Photo: Denise Civiletti)
He arrived in New York in time to run in the NYC marathon Nov. 2. (He completed it in 4:08. “Not too disappointing,” he said, though the wind was brutal.) Two days later, he made his way back to Riverhead for an extended visit with Peter and Susan Danowski, Jack and Alice Van de Wetering, and Neil and Eileen Fenton.
Even nearly three decades later, the love he feels for his Riverhead host families still shows on his face as he speaks about them. And its mutual. Host mom Eileen Fenton still has his picture on her refrigerator. That brought a tear to his eye, Saelan said.
The year he spent as an exchange student in America changed his life forever, he said.
“Living abroad as a youth opens up your mind. It teaches you tolerance. It was a very, very valuable experience,” he said.
Being immersed in another culture, learning a new language, and getting to know people personally dispelled a lot of stereotypes he’d had about Americans, Saelan said.
“People in America are so friendly,” he said, “not like the Hollywood movies.”
His participation in the exchange program also instilled in him a love for international travel, to experience new cultures first-hand. As a human resources director for a global corporation, Unilever, Saelan has many opportunities for travel and has lived in London and Singapore.
He currently lives in his native city of Jakarta, with his wife Amera and their three children, ages 17, 14 and 6.
Saelan said he is encouraging his kids to spend a year abroad as he did, so they, too, can reap the benefits he found in being an exchange student. His father had been an exchange student and always encouraged him to spend a school year abroad too.
“It teaches you to live independently and to blend in with everyone, wherever you are,” the soft-spoken Saelan said. “It just gives you a whole different perspective on the world and on your life.”
He wrote a weekly column about the experience for a local newspaper back home, where his father, a journalist, worked at the time. The column had quite a loyal following, he said. For years afterward, other young people would tell him reading about his experiences inspired them to study abroad, too.
Saelan graduated from Riverhead High School with the Class of 1988 and said he’d love to get in touch with old classmates. He was on the yearbook staff that year.
He went on to study international politics in college and then earned a master’s degree in human resources. He’s worked for 19 years for the Netherlands and U.K.-based Unilever, a manufacturer of more than 400 consumer products — including Dove, Suave, Axe, Lipton, Hellmann’s Mayonnaise, and Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, among many others — which has 174,000 full-time employees and does business in more than 190.
Saelan said he has two regrets about his time spent in Riverhead: he couldn’t afford to buy a class ring or a Blue Waves football jersey.
“Also,” he added, “I’m sorry it took me so long to come back for a visit.”
Being back in Riverhead all these years later was “surreal,” Saelan said, but he thoroughly enjoyed seeing his host parents and their children, who he’s remained close with to this day. “They are family to me,” he said.
The Riverhead Rotary club has at least one outbound exchange student and one inbound exchange student every year, Danowski said. This year, the club is hosting Raimundo Sandoval, of Rancagua, Chile. Raimundo, an 11th-grader, had a chance to meet Saelan at one of the club’s weekly luncheons during Saelan’s visit.
Raimundo said he hopes to be able to stay in touch and come back to visit some time in the future, too. His experience here has been rewarding and one he knows he’ll never forget, he said.
Did you know Willy Saelan in high school? He’d love to hear from you. Send him a message using the form below.
Top photo caption: Willy Saelan and his wife Amera during an interview in Riverhead earlier this month. (Photo: Denise Civiletti)
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