Australia Exhange: Loving Melbourne!

Posted on August 12, 2014 by admin

So far, everything has gone smoothly in Melbourne. I have settled in very nicely and everyone here is very welcoming. I have been having a little trouble getting out of summer mode; however, I am on task and have caught up to the level that everyone is at in school. Carey Grammar School is very similar to LCC. They use computers and seem to have the same learning environment, but LCC does incorporate more technology into the curriculum.

My exchange family is very nice and I have met almost all of their family. They have taken me driving around the city to get a little glimpse of Melbourne. They have also taken me to Healseville Sanctuary where I saw koalas and petted a wallaby. I have been to the local beach (St-Kilda), the local amusement park (Luna Park) and city shopping. They have also organized a trip see a game of Aussie Rules and Wicked, a trip to Phillips Island and as well as a trip to Sydney for a week!

I am so excited to do all that they have planned and so far I love Melbourne. The views are extraordinary! Morgan Folkerson ’16

To High School Graduates Everywhere: Never Give Up On Your Dreams

Posted on June 9, 2014 by admin

High school graduation is an exciting event for most teenagers in North America. It is the first major step into adulthood.

While graduation is a normal achievement in Western countries, I know that in other parts of the world, high school graduation is NOT a realizable goal.

High school in Iran was dangerous for me in the 1980’s. I was deprived of what I thought was my ‘right’ to continue my studies and my life was threatened just because I wanted to be able to express myself freely. I was only 15 years old when I was forced to follow the rules of the Ayatollah on what I was allowed to learn, which books I could read, what music I was allowed to listen to, and how to dress. The penalty of non-compliance ranged from arrest to execution. There were spies everywhere, even at school. Sadly, one of those spies turned out to be my best friend.

As a result, going to school was no longer an option, and living at home wasn’t safe. For over a year, I drifted between the houses of friends and relatives in other cities until I had no other place to go but home, where I lived in hiding for many more months. All of this at 17 years of age! I resolved never to give up hope. It was then that my parents had to decide if a lifetime of hiding and repression was the only way for us, or if smuggling us out of Iran, despite all kinds of dangers and possible death, would be a viable alternative.

I lived as a homeless refugee in Pakistan for eight long months, yearning to go to school without any hope of achieving this goal until I finally arrived in Montreal, Canada in 1983. I could barely speak any English and not a word of French. Despite the fact that I had no family in Canada to support me, and I had only myself to depend on to earn a living, I felt so rich because my dream of freedom was realized! I had crossed mountains, the desert and an ocean to be free to express myself. I wanted so desperately to go to school and to make a contribution to society that any obstacle I encountered was simply a reminder to try a little harder.

And I did it!

I am now a successful professional and a perpetual student. And, thirty four years later, my son is preparing to graduate from high school. It is such an exhilarating feeling to know that the class of 2014 has all the freedom to choose their future. This inspired me to document my life experiences, a task which has occupied the last five years of my life. To remind others not to take their freedom and education for granted, I wrote “Fleeing The Hijab, A Jewish Woman’s Escape From Iran”, in which I describe, in detail, the circumstances that forced me to flee and eventually led me to Canada.

Each graduating class should be aware that throughout history, even up to this very day, there are people like myself, who have put their lives in jeopardy in order to be able to express themselves freely and to obtain an education. Be proud of what you have achieved; acknowledge the people who faced adversity to make this possible for you.

Here is my message for new graduates: Follow your heart! Meet challenges head on! Remember how privileged you are to have the freedom to realize and fulfill your dreams. And don’t forget to carry the torch for those not as fortunate as you in other parts of the world, by working harder, by challenging yourself and by raising your standards to a higher level.

Hopefully, every child will someday soon be allowed to go to school, to continue his or her education, and fully realize his or her potential, as you students do today.

Never give up on your dreams. The sky is the limit.

—

Dr. Sima Goel is the author of Fleeing the Hijab, A Jewish Woman’s Escape from Iran, the true story of Sima’s life under oppression and her harrowing journey to freedom. (ISBN 9781771230506), published by General Store Publishing House, Renfrew ON.

La jolie France – Semaine 6: Nice, Èze Village, Menton, et Monaco !

Posted on April 29, 2014 by admin

Pour ma dernière semaine en France, Marie et sa mère m’ont amenée à Nice, comme c’était les vacances de Pâques. On est arrivées à l’aéroport de Nice très tard, vendredi soir. Nous sommes restées à Èze pendant cinq jours. Pendant notre première journée de vacances, la sœur d’Emmanuelle et son fils sont venus à l’appartement pour que nous puissions visiter tous ensemble la petite ville de Menton, qui est juste à côté de la frontière d’Italie. On a marché autour des petits magasins pendant quelques heures, et à la fin de notre journée, on est allé manger des crêpes devant l’océan.

On a célébré les fêtes de Pâques le dimanche avec sa tante, et on a mangé de l’agneau et beaucoup de chocolat. Après le repas, on est allé à Monaco. À Monaco, on a pris un petit train pour visiter plusieurs lieux intéressants comme Le Port de Monaco, le Circuit F1, le Casino de Monte-Carlo, L’Hôtel de Paris, le Palais Princier, et le Musée Océanographique. Après notre magnifique tour à Monaco, nous avons marché jusqu’au Palais Princier pour voir la relève de la garde. Monaco est une principauté, avec beaucoup d’élégance.

Pendant la troisième journée de vacances, nous sommes restées à Èze pour visiter le village, et l’usine de la parfumerie Fragonard. On a appris comment se fabrique les parfums, les savons, et les cosmétiques de cette marque qui n’est pas commercialisée ailleurs. Après notre visite et notre magasinage dans leur boutique, on est allé voir le jardin exotique qui se trouve tout en haut d’Èze Village. La vue était extraordinaire.

Les deux dernières journées des vacances étaient très relaxantes et je suis très contente que j’aie l’opportunité d’y aller avec eux à la côte d’Azur. On a retourné chez eux à la fin de mon séjour. Cette expérience en France était géniale et inoubliable. J’ai profité de tout en France et j’ai appris beaucoup des choses qui vont me suivre pendant des années. J’encourage tout le monde d’aller en échange, car cette expérience a changé ma vie et ma perspective sur le monde entier. – Ilana Singer ’16

Eight Wonderful Weeks in Australia

Posted on April 22, 2014 by admin

My time in Australia has flown by. After spending eight wonderful weeks here it is finally time for me to return home. I would like to thank Georgia and my exchange family for making my time here so amazing.

While I was over, I had the chance to go on the Outward Bound camp, a ten-day trek across the Australian outback. Over the course of our trip, my camp group travelled over 70 km on foot while each carrying over 50 pounds on our backs. We slept under a tarp strung between two trees, known as a bivvy, and cooked all our own meals. Hiking was very tough because most of the time there were no paths, so we had to make our own and this was called “bush-bashing” because the people in the front were literally breaking branches and bushes so that we could all get through.

We spent a lot of time on our hikes taking long detours to avoid gullies because supposedly a bunch of bulls had escaped from a farm nearby and now they were wild and liked to stay in the gullies where it was cooler. No one laughed when our instructor told us on the last night of camp how there were actually no bulls in the gully and it was all just a joke like gully-bull, gullible. Another time we spent about an hour making stick pyramid traps for the elusive hoop snake, an Australian snake that rolls like a wheel instead of slithering (it didn’t exist either). Throughout the trip, our camp group really bonded. We would sing songs together while we were hiking to pass the time and play fun games like Camouflage (extreme hide-and-seek) after lunch.

The purpose of the trip was to challenge us, take us out of our comfort zones, and also to make us better leaders. The instructors encouraged us to do everything by ourselves. They helped us out on the first few days, but by Day 4, we were on our own. They only intervened if we were in danger, like if we were heading too close to a blister bush. They didn’t even tell us if we were walking in the wrong direction, which we were, because at one point we navigated to the edge of a cliff instead of our campsite. Oops.

One of the days we went to these beautiful rocky cliffs overlooking the ocean. Our instructors took away our watches and split us up for solo time. We each got a different spot to sit overlooking the ocean and spent approximately three hours sitting there in silence. They didn’t give us our watches back until the following night so for the whole next day we had the opportunity to experience life without time. Though Outward Bound was very challenging, it was definitely worth it. This experience made me so much more confident in my abilities and I also feel that I am a much stronger leader because of it. It also made me appreciate the little things more like running water, clean clothes, non-powdered milk, and showers.

As for going on exchange, it is without a doubt one of the best choices I have made. I really encourage other students to give it a try next year. I’ve learned so much and had so many new experiences. I’ve made some great friends who I hope to see again sometime. I’m certain that the memories I’ve made here will stay with me forever.-Alexandra Gardilcic ’16

Eye-Opening Australia

Posted on April 21, 2014 by admin

The entire exchange experience is incredible, but I think that I may have had the best experience of all: I was able to take part in a 10-day camping trip with Outward Bound. I was able to see Australian bushland, and live in it. The trip was incredible as well, since I was able to bond with the group of 17 kids that I was with, some of which I didn’t know at all beforehand! Although the trip may have been tough, with lots of hiking, the experience was worthwhile without a doubt, and I will take home experiences and memories that will last a lifetime.

As my time in Western Australia comes to an end, the Hales family brought me one last place, before I head home this Saturday: Perth, the capital of WA. The first afternoon was spent in Fremantle, with a visit to the markets, followed by a picnic in King’s Park, and watching the sunset. The next day, we visited Adventureworld, an amusement park, where I first went upside-down on a roller coaster. The following day, we went to the Perth Zoo. The Perth Zoo had an entire section called “Australian Bushwalk”, where the animals weren’t entirely in cages, and could run across the path if they so chose to. That afternoon, we did an “Eye to Eye Encounter” with Tasmanian Devils, where we got to feed and learn about the species (they don’t really run around in circles creating tornadoes, unlike Looney Toons led me to believe!). Once that was done, we returned to Margaret River, where I will spend my last days Down Under! — Michael Hamilton ’16