Student Exchange: Unforgettable Life Experience

Posted on December 3, 2013 by admin

On October 10, I flew out from the Sydney International Airport, excited for the journey to Montreal, Canada. After a 22 hour flight I arrived in a warmer climate than expected for Montreal, with temperatures around 20 celsius. I was given the rest of the afternoon to settle in and to adjust. The next day I was taken on a tour of the city, as well as meeting my host Charlie’s friends. On Saturday, I was taken to Ottawa, the capital of Canada. I was given a tour of the city, where there were many amazing buildings, such as the parliament buildings. Sunday was Canadian Thanksgiving and we went to family friends for Thanksgiving dinner, where we had a roast turkey and pumpkin pie for dessert. It was a different experience, as I had never had pumpkin pie before but after trying it I could see why it was so popular!

Tuesday came quickly and it was finally my first day at Lower Canada College! I was excited but also nervous at the same time. Everyone was so welcoming and helped me settle into school. I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to play with the school’s football team, training with them Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night before the final game of the regular season that Friday. I was not able to get placed on the field as the team battled hard to keep their chances of making the playoffs alive. In the end however, they went down by 21 points. This meant the team missed out on playing in the post-season. Although I did not play any game time, being given the opportunity to train with the boys and learn more about how to play the game was a great opportunity.

Three weeks into my exchange Halloween had arrived, with the school having various activities set up – the favourite being pumpkin smashing! The school was full of students wearing different costumes, some being more inventive than others.

That weekend Charlie and his family took me to Toronto. We arrived on the Friday night and I could tell it was a huge city, with many high-rise buildings everywhere. On Saturday we walked around the city, seeing the newly opened aquatic centre, however the line was way too long, so we did not actually visit. We also went shopping at the Eaton Centre, which is near Yonge and Dundas Square, the Time Square of Toronto on a smaller scale. On Sunday before leaving for home, Charlie and I went up the CN Tower, the world’s tallest free standing structure at 553m. The viewing deck is 350 meters above the ground and gives you a great view of the size of the city.

A week later and we were off again, this time to New York for the weekend. Saturday morning we went to Hoboken, New Jersey to Carlo’s Bakery, made famous by the show ‘Cake Boss’ as per my request. Little did I know that the line to get into the bakery would be two hours long! We then headed for New York City to visit the World Trade Centre Memorial. Before going to Time Square, we went to Battery Park and saw a magnificent view of the sun setting behind the Statue of Liberty. We then arrived at Time Square. Everything about it was intimidating. It felt as though you were boxed in by all the surrounding buildings and you couldn’t move because of the amount of people that were there.

The next place we went to was the Rockefeller Centre, where the Christmas tree was in the process of being set up. We also went to the Apple store on Fifth Avenue which is just a glass cube with stairs leading down to the store. The next day we went to the Bronx Zoo where I enjoyed seeing all the different animals although many were not out as it was too cold.

The highlight of my exchange was going to watch an NHL ice hockey game at the Bell Centre. Charlie’s dad taught me all the different rules of the game. The Montreal Canadiens won the game 6-2 against the Minnesota Wild. The atmosphere at the game was electric with employees dancing in the aisles to entertain the crowd as the music blasted around the arena.

My exchange was quickly coming to an end as I said goodbye to all my Canadian friends before flying home on November 29. I soon touched back down in Adelaide after an amazing life experience that I will never forget.

I believe if anyone is lucky enough to have the opportunity to participate in an exchange they shouldn’t think twice about accepting because you will not regret it! – Brandon Blacksell, Grade 11 Exchange Student – Adelaide, Australia

Student Exchange Australia: Different Accents and New Experiences!

Posted on November 19, 2013 by admin

Well, where do I begin? The Armidale School has the 2^nd oldest cadets program in Australia, much like our school used to have. Last week the school went on a two-day cadets trip called… well I’m actually not sure what it is called because I can’t really understand what anyone says it because of their accents, but I presume it is something like “bivouac.”

Bivouac is a two-day long program where we trekked 18 kilometres, went abseiling (repelling) and did a river crossing. This was probably the hardest and most physically challenging activity that I have ever done in my life! I am told that what I have experienced is nothing compared to “annual camp” which is six days long, includes a 50-kilometre trek, canyoning (which is abseiling off a canyon), and it’s done three times. I am told the smallest abseil is 50 meters tall!!! Other than that we canoe for about 20 kilometres and do three to four river crossings (in total). I am in for quite the experience!

In other news I went to my exchange partners farm last weekend and I met some of his friends from outside of school. His farm was so much fun. All of the older kids went for three-hour horseback ride, which included me. I was terrified! –Jared Blatt ’16 (LCC exchange student at the Armidale School in Armidale, Australia)

Student Exchange: The Aussie Way

Posted on November 14, 2013 by admin

I reckon that I don’t ever want to leave Australia, it’s heaps of fun (I’ve even picked some Aussie expressions!)!

Last weekend, I went surfing with Mikayla and her friends. It was awesome; I even managed to stand up (before promptly tipping over in surprise).The ocean and beaches in Australia are really beautiful, even though the water is a bit cold. I got to wear a full-body wetsuit for surfing, which was so cool and feels a bit like a very tight snowsuit.

We also celebrated Halloween here, which was really bizarre because it was about 30 degrees and sunny. I enjoyed eating all the different Aussie candies (which they call “lollies”.)

My birthday was really nice and I had some cake, milkshakes, chocolate and presents. My English class sang “Happy Birthday” to me and I was extremely pleased to no longer be the “youngest triplet”. To celebrate, Mikayla and I went to Build-A-Bear where I made a koala and then we went out to dinner.

This weekend, we went Aussie strawberry picking and went to the mall. There’s tons of different stores and food, like Timtams, Milo and Sportsgirl.

This had been amazing so far, and I can’t believe it’s already half gone!

–Kat Gardilcic ’16

Australia Exchange Student: Au Revoir LCC!

Posted on October 30, 2013 by admin

My name is Anina and two months ago I arrived at Lower Canada College from Alice Springs, located in the middle of Australia.

LCC is extremely different to St Philip’s College, my school back home, but I am so glad that this is where I got to spend my exchange.

Alice Springs is located in a desert with a population of 27,000 and an average temperature of 35 degrees celsius. Coming to a big city like Montreal was exciting because there is always somewhere new to go and see.

I would like to thank Madame Bradley, Mr. Mckay and all the girls on the midget volleyball team. I really enjoyed playing on a school team because in Alice Springs we play all of our sports at clubs around the town. While I’ve been at LCC I also played tennis. At home I play a lot of tennis but this was my first time playing on clay because we only have hardcourts.

I loved going to watch a Habs and the Montreal Impact soccer team. It was the first time I saw an ice hockey game so it was really exciting. I almost got hit in the face by a puck that flew over the nets but luckily the guy sitting next to me caught it!

One of the biggest differences between my school and LCC was having lunch in a big dining hall everyday. At St Philip’s we bring our own food and sit outside for lunch and recess. All of our classes and locker rooms are in different buildings and the school is very spread out, so to get from class to class we go outside.

I’d like to thank all of my teachers, especially Ms. Shadley, Mr. Neal and Mr. Shannon, for making this exchange possible and helping me to feel welcome at LCC. I’m also really grateful to Emily and Jamie for being the best host family possible, and taking me to so many different places and introducing me to so many new things. I have many special memories that I’ll never forget.

I’d like to thank to Mr. Sigouin for teaching me French. Before I arrived I only knew how to say hello. Now I can say goodbye as well. Au revoir, bonne journée! – Anina Conradie, St. Philip’s College, Alice Springs, Australia

Student Exchange: Having the Time of My Life in Armidale, Australia!

Posted on October 21, 2013 by admin

HOW YOU GOING MATES!!!!!!!!! It’s been about two weeks that I’ve been here in wonderful Armidale Australia and it is really awesome. I’m going to give you guys the whole rundown of my trip.

When I learned that I was going Armidale the first thing I wanted to do was find a little bit about where I was going and what it was like. I discovered that it was a VERY small town. I emphasize very because the population is approximately 23,000. I was intrigued when I learned this because it gave me an opportunity to live in a small town and to learn a little bit more about how different they are from larger cities.

The first time I spoke to Jack, my exchange partner, I learned that he lived on an operational farm even though his mother is an anesthesiologist and his father is a pilot for Qantas.

Now for the travel. That flight, that terrible, dreadful flight to Sydney was actually not so terrible, and that was a plus! When I arrived at The Armidale School I was welcomed by everyone with open arms and huge smiles. Making friends was a breeze. Once I was settled in the questions started. Some a little strange such as: “Oy mate, do you think we ride kangaroos to school”, “do you have a pet polar bear” and “ha ha ha your cops are called Mounties”.

So far this experience has been the time of my life. – Jared Blatt ’16