About five weeks ago a 16-year-old South African stepped onto a tarmac in Alaska wearing flip-flops, ready to spend 11 months in Petersburg.

It was the first time Clarisa Boshoff had experienced snow, and she was hooked.

"I literally arrived and I'm like 'I'm not going back,'" said Boshoff, whose home city is populated with about eight million people. "I'm staying here."

Boshoff, now equipped with Xtratuf boots, will stay in Petersburg through Christmas as part of the Petersburg Rotary Club Youth Exchange Program.

Since traveling 36 hours to Petersburg, Boshoff has joined choir and pep...