Tag Archives: high school

Abby’s Idayari: the Adventures of a Canadian-Zulu Girl in South Africa – Week One

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School at St. Stithians (My New Friends)

School at St. Stithians (My New Friends)

Let’s begin with the obvious question: what is an Idayari? It is the Zulu translation for“diary”. My name is Abby Shine and I am a grade 9 student currently on exchange at St. Stithians Girls’ College in Johannesburg.  Over the course of the next six weeks, I will share my diary entries detailing my adventures while living in South Africa.

Off to Joburg!

Saturday morning, January 10, 2015: I am at the salon getting my nails painted at precisely 11:00 am. I am happy with my decision to have gone with the pale pink Essie color. I close my eyes and lean back on the massage chair; I am entirely relaxed as my plane only leaves at midnight and therefore have all day to pack. That is, until my mom comes running into the salon with eyes as big Kanye West’s ego. My connecting flight in Amsterdam has been cancelled and I have been re-routed to Atlanta. I need to be at the airport in one hour! I run out of the salon, pack my bags and say my goodbyes. From that point on, I then embark on a painstaking 21 hours of travel to South Africa. After all the stress (I am terrified of flying) and stomach-turning airport food, I am exhausted. Yet, I would do it all over again. This experience is well worth it!

Meeting the Ayayas

In Johannesburg, my host family, the Ayayas, greeted me with open arms. I was thrilled to meet Rodina with whom I have been corresponding for months. The next day, I was woken up with the Joburg’s signature sunrise and called into the kitchen. There, I was as surprised as Tom will be the day he catches Jerry as fifteen strangers emerged from their selective hiding spots and all wished me a happy birthday. I was glad that this was set up since I got to meet some of Rodina’s friends ahead of school.

On Tuesday, I visited Sandton City with Camilla, another exchange, where we shopped in the most spectacular stores. It was a little hard to shop at first, given the money currency. For example, a good price for a pair of pants is 200 rands, which seems a lot but is only around 20 dollars. Several rands later, we went to the Nelson Mandela Square where we stood, along many others, with the iconic statue.

School at St. Stithians

My first day at school! Although I should have been nervous, I wasn’t; I had met close to thirty of Rodina’s friends before school due to our outings and was therefore already considered a “Saints Girl.” (Even though these girls are seven feet taller than I am, I blended right in with them since our uniforms are extremely similar.)

I spent the week trying different classes such as music, history and my new favorite language: Zulu! I also became accustomed to their college. Class start at 7:30 and the students have two breaks where they are allowed to roam around their impressive campus. Alert to LCC! They are allowed to have their phones out in class!

Zulu word of the week

Ukwenza: Adventure!

Weekend Ukwenza

I visited the Cradle of Humankind where I learned about the evolution of the world and took an underground boat ride that featured the four elements of the world. The spectacular architecture of the building is nothing compared to what is inside! After that, I found myself 60 feet under the ground, crawling and climbing nearly 220 steps in a cave called Sterkfontein. With each step I took, I learned more and more about this world heritage site, known for its limestone and discovery of “Little Foot.”

What a week! Next up, sports and food! – Abby Shine ’17

Échange en Afrique du Sud: Safari!

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Le 9 janvier, j’ai quitté Joburg pour aller en safari au parc national Kruger dans l’est du pays sud-africain.

Après cinq heures de conduite, on est arrivé à l’entrée du parc nommée Phabeni Gate. Là, on a commencé notre voyage lent à travers le parc avec nos jumelles dans une main et nos caméras dans l’autre. Pas un kilomètre de la porte était-on arrêté par un troupeau de vaches qui traversaient la rue! Quelques minutes plus tard, on a repéré des centaines d’impalas, une troupe de minuscules singes, un oiseau à plumes de couleurs vives, appelée un rollier à longs brins, et un seul waterbuck. On était très chanceux!

Le soir, on est arrivé à notre premier camping, à Skukuza. Après le coucher du soleil, on est embarqué dans un camion pour une conduite dans la nuit. Tout était sombre et c’était très difficile d’apercevoir des animaux sans une lampe de poche puissante. Un membre de notre groupe a détecté un mouvement près de la lisière du maquis. C’était une hyène! On la suivit pendant quelques minutes et il nous a apporté à sa famille!

Vers 4 h le lendemain matin, on s’est levé pour aller en randonnée dans le parc. On n’a pas vu grand-chose, mais en retournant de celle-ci, on a aperçu des éléphants et des girafes traversant la rue ! C’était comme aller au zoo … mais sans les enclos!

Dans l’après-midi, on est retourné en route pour notre destination finale, Crocodile Bridge. On a repéré beaucoup plus de mêmes animaux, mais en ajoutant aussi deux rhinocéros blancs et de jolis pique-bœufs à bec rouge.

À chaque jour qui suivait, on quittait notre condo avec le but de repérer un léopard, l’animal le plus difficile d’apercevoir parmi le Big 5 (les animaux africains qui était les plus difficiles de chasser il était une fois, composé léopard, du lion, de l’éléphant, du rhinocéros et du buffle). Cependant, on n’était jamais capable d’en retrouver. On a quand même vu des zèbres, des sangliers, des babouins, des buffles, des gnous, des hippopotames, des lions et un guépard, ce qui  est loin d’être pire!

Je suis super chanceux d’avoir eu la chance de rencontrer des animaux sauvages dans un magnifique parc national comme Kruger. J’ai été très impressionné avec la beauté de la nature qu’on peut y trouver. C’était une expérience fantastique!

Adam Vandenbussche ’17, Exchange Student at St Stithians College

Community Service-Mackay Center: Learning From Each Other

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2014_15_Gr10_Comm_Serv_Mackay_Centre_015On Monday, November 17, I along with six other students and Ms. Leiter, had the privilege of going to Camp Massawippi with several students and teachers from the Mackay Centre for three days. Most, if not all the students who go on the trip from year to year, have cerebral palsy and are in wheel chairs. However, this year along with these students, we were accompanied by deaf teens as well.

After two visits to the Mackay Centre prior to the trip (to get to know the students a little bit better), the seven of us from LCC were anxious to get up to the camp. Since I had already gone on the trip last year, it didn’t take long for me to become comfortable at the camp with the kids. Despite the very snowy weather, we took the kids on long walks and adventures during the day. We also did arts and crafts, played board games, and even got into a pretty intense competition of air hockey. Although you could see on everyone’s faces that we were having a blast doing all of these activities, all of the Mackay students and LCC students would probably say that their favorite times were when we all just sat around, talked, and laughed a lot.

Because there was a group of deaf students who came on the trip this year, several Royal Vale High school students and teachers came up to the camp with us as well. Royal Vale has an integration program for teens that are deaf, which allows them to be in certain regular streamed classes. Because of this, the students that came knew how to communicate with the students who are deaf through sign language.

I can’t even put a number on the amount of highs experienced on this trip, however I can say that one specific moment was definitely learning sign language. We learned simple things like how to sign the alphabet and how to say yes, no, please and thank you. On top of that we learned how to sign words like ”swag”, and even a new sign that had just been created for “Ebola.” – Zoe Young ‘15

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Community Service-Mackay Center: Creating Unforgettable Memories

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2014_15_Gr10_Comm_Serv_Mackay_Centre_012Being given the opportunity to participate in a once in a lifetime eye-opening experience has really changed the way I perceive the world.  Before this experience, I had never worked with children who suffer from cerebral palsy let alone any major disability. The fact that I was able to witness and learn what these children could do on their own really made me rethink my ability to do things I didn’t think I able to do. In reality I am capable of achieving anything on my own unlike the majority of these children.

Despite the challenges that they face, they were always smiling and happy. It was incredible to see that even though these kids struggle daily with so many different things, they still manage to be constantly happy. It really made me reflect and realize how fortunate I really am for the life I have been given. I now realize that the small things in life shouldn’t be taken for granted like being able to walk, dress and feed myself. It is truly unbelievable how much these kids are able to do on their own even though to an average person it may not seem that impressive.

These students have the ability to communicate and express how they are feeling in ways that help them function and survive. As well, the staff at the Mackay Centre were incredible and treated the children as if they were their own, which is certainly an amazing quality. The students are so fortunate to have a team of people who are always looking out for their best interest, making sure that they are on the right path to success.

Overall, this experience was amazing and I am so glad that I got to hang out with these amazing children for three days at camp where we all created unforgettable memories. – Alexandra Meltzer ‘16

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Procès simulé: Palais de justice de Montréal

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IMG_2554Lundi 1 décembre 2014, la classe de droit de 10 année est allée au Palais de justice de Montréal afin de faire un procès criminel simulé. Nous avons eu la chance d’être accueillis par le Juge André Perreault et son adjointe, madame Masson.

Nous remercions aussi Me. Marin Cojocaru (au centre de la photo) qui a travaillé avec les élèves lors de la préparation du procès en leur offrant de précieux conseils.

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Aujourd’hui était très intéressant. J’ai vraiment aimé l’expérience, particulièrement quand on m’a donné l’occasion de parler et d’être mis en doute, c’était tout à fait stressant, mais cela m’a enseigné beaucoup et je suis heureux de l’avoir fait. J’ai aussi aimé la visite à la Cour d’appel, car l’édifice était spectaculairement beau. J’aimerais certainement travailler là-bas dans le futur. – Ryan Hawa ’16

Pendant la classe de droit nous avons pratiqué un procès simulé. J’ai beaucoup aimé mon expérience aujourd’hui à la Cour d’appel et aussi au Palais de justice. J’ai appris qu’après et pendant le témoignage, le juge a le droit de poser quelques questions. C’était une très bonne expérience et je pense que ma partie préférée était la visite de la Cour d’appel. – Rebecca Ross ’16

J’ai aimé plusieurs éléments de cette expérience comme le procès simulé et la visite de la Cour d’appel. J’ai appris que le juge a le droit de demander des questions à l’avocat et au témoin. Le procès de LuKa Magnotta se déroulait en face de la salle où nous étions. Je remercie toutes les personnes qui on aidé à réaliser cette journée possible et mon professeur M. Maurice. C’était une expérience dont je me souviendrai.– Joshua Mindel ’16

Au cours de ce procès, j’ai appris plusieurs choses. J’ai appris à écouter l’information qui m’est offerte. J’ai aussi beaucoup appris sur le déroulement d’un procès et sur la Cour d’appel grâce à notre visite. Le fait que le procès de Luka Magnotta était juste en face de notre salle m’a fait prendre conscience de la réalité dans laquelle nous étions. – Matthew Tabet ’16

La classe de droit de M. Maurice a passé la journée au Palais de Justice et à la Cour d’appel. Cette journée unique était magnifique comme expérience pour nous. Nous nous sommes préparés pendant le mois de novembre pour le procès simulé au Palais de Justice. Ma partie préférée était les remarques faites par le juge Perreault à la fin de notre procès. Aussi, le procès de Luka Magnotta se déroulait juste en face de notre procès! Quelle bonne journée! – Christina Papageorgakopoulos ’16

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