Student Exchange: The Treasures of Indore, India

Posted on July 17, 2017 by admin

StudExchange_2016_2017_Robeck_DalyCollege_05 One message of Hinduism is that you should stay calm in the face of adversity and not let fear overpower your peace. This is represented by the Hindu god Vishnu, when he remains still, while floating on the cosmic waters of the universe, surrounded by many headed snakes.

When I first arrived in India, I saw many people driving their scooters on the busy streets that had no stop lights. It was surprising!

As time progressed, I began to experience the hidden treasures of Indore: the temples, the festivals, the food, the call to prayer. One temple was called the Kanch Mandir, and it was a mosaic Jain temple. Its interior was decorated using millions of handcrafted shards of glass and the inside glittered when the sunlight bounced off the walls. Another temple featured statues of the gods, with large murals that told the story of how they came to be, and at the front stood two large elephants.

When I walked in our neighbourhood temple, I could smell the incense burning, as women dressed in saris brought their offerings to the god, Shiva. Outside these temples was the city, which, is the home to many venders trying to sell their goods to the general public. I found many fruit stands, selling mangoes and bananas, as well as stalls selling jewelry and other handmade goods. I even attended an Indian engagement ceremony, and saw the mix of both traditional and modern attire, as happy people danced to Indian pop music on the dance floor. I opened my eyes, and cherished the feelings of celebration, and joy. I was starting to feel more and more at ease, especially given the warm welcome ceremony of my host family.

Finally, Daly College reminds me of the lost city of Atlantis, with its dome shaped roof tops and its spread out campus. I saw the beauty of the lost city, and focused on all the adventures I would have in the near future! – Jane Robeck ’19 (Student Exchange @ Daly College)

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Student Exchange: A Taste of Everything in Buenos Aires

Posted on July 10, 2017 by admin

Avinash_Lal On June 21, I took a 13-hour flight to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Argentina is such a great place with a lot of amazing people. So far I am having a great time and learning more about Argentine culture. I am very happy here in Argentina and I’m sure this feeling will last for the entire trip.

I’ve made many new friends at Belgrano Day School. Most are in my classes, but there are also some people I met during lunch and other activities. Everyone at BDS is very nice and welcoming. Whenever I enter a new class, the students give me a place to sit, the teacher introduces them to me and then lets me introduce myself to the class. There are six other exchanges currently at the school with me, all from different places in the United States: Colorado, North Carolina and New York. I am the only Canadian and the only one from my school.

The Belgrano Day School campus is much like LCC. They are both day schools and have a similar sized campus (though LCC is bigger), but instead of having fields on campus, when we have gym class we take a 30-minute drive to the fields that the school owns.

I have done a lot of different things, such as a walking tour of the city, visiting different neighbourhoods, and watching the school play, which was utterly amazing. Over 100 students joined the musical play, The Wedding Singer, and it was extremely well done.

The food is also very good in Argentina with a lot of meat products, such as steaks, milanesas and asado, Argentine dishes. Their desserts are also very good. They have medialunas which look like croissants but taste a bit different, and also alfajores, a cookie filled with dulce de leche, their version of maple syrup.

The main differences between Canada and Argentina are that there is no snow in the winter, the class setup, and the driving.

In Buenos Aires, even during the coldest time of year, July (yeah, that’s surprising), you will not find a trace of snow anywhere. This is not how I imagine winter, since in Canada temperatures can go down to -40º Celsius.

The class setup is different in that students stay in the same class and teachers change classes. There are some classes that they have to move for, such as art, music and lab, but they mostly keep the same classroom. The school day starts at 8:15 am but ends at 4:05 pm. Eight hour school days instead of seven! There are many classes that are in Spanish, but I didn’t choose them as there was enough Spanish being spoken in the English classes and my Spanish is not quite up to par with theirs. Each period is 40 minutes and are in groups of two, so if you don’t have lunch during that group of two, you have the same class for 80 minutes instead.

Finally, the driving is very different as well. In Canada, most people are respectful of pedestrians, but in Argentina you better watch out because they will not stop for you. The bus drivers are crazy as they rarely obey street signs and don’t look out for people walking.

I am having a lot of fun and I am glad I have much longer to stay. I have enjoyed going everywhere whether it is to the top of a lighthouse in the middle of the city with the other exchanges, or to a different neighborhood where the walls have graffiti art on them. I am truly having an amazing time in Argentina. – Avinash Lal ’19, Exchange Student at Belgrano Day School

Student Exchange: Beach Hopping And Waterparks

Posted on March 29, 2017 by admin

Ella_Waxman3 After three weeks of almost nonstop rain, the weather finally got better. We were able to go outside a lot this week, which allowed me to see so many more things. On Friday, we had FRESH, the church youth group, and we went to Darling Harbour to get gelato. While we were there, we went into a mini water park that’s set up in a green space at the Harbour. It was a lot of fun and, after the religious part of the group, we went to get gelato.

This past weekend, I didn’t get to sleep in, but that allowed us to do more during the day. On Saturday, we took a ferry to Manly Beach and got a great view of the Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House. Once at Manly Beach, we walked around the water and then to another beach nearby. The water was so clear that I could see little fish swimming around just a foot away from me. Because of the heat, we decided to get something to drink so I got a whole coconut from a cafe nearby and Sarah got an iced chocolate drink. We drank them while sitting on a mini rock cliff looking over the ocean. The view was amazing. We then went to a small market and had burgers before heading back towards the ferry.

The weather was even better the next day. Sarah and I spent most of the day at Wet ‘n’ Wild, a water park, and had a great time. When we got into the park, we were given bracelets that allowed us to do something called Tap ‘n’ Play, where we got to reserve our spots on a ride with a long line, while we did something else. After we spent the day tanning, going on water rides and swimming, we went to Featherdale Wildlife Park to see some marsupials. The park was filled with different types of animals, like koalas, dingos, wombats, Tasmanian devils, quokkas, and I got to pet and feed wallabies and kangaroos. The wallabies and kangaroos were very friendly and super soft. I got to see some animals that I’ve never heard of before, and it was a great experience.

On Monday, we had school, and since the forecast for Tuesday looked very good we planned to go to Bondi Beach. Although it was overcast, we still went down to the coast and had a great time. Sarah and I did the Coogee to Bondi beach walk along the coast and got to see some amazing views and really nice beaches. Since it was a weekday, we had the beaches to ourselves and even though it wasn’t super hot, I went in the water. Along the coast walk, we stopped to have a snack on a few cliffs looking over the ocean. We recorded our day, took lots of pictures and then got a giant thing of chips. Sarah brought bread with her to the beach and made me something called a chip butty, which is a piece of white bread with butter and fries. I did not like it, but apparently it’s an Australian delicacy. I tried eating some more chips, but as a North American I was missing ketchup. I asked Sarah where I could get some ketchup, which is actually called tomato sauce here and it’s sweeter. It turns out that in Australia there are no free ketchup packets anywhere. I had to pay a dollar for three mini packages of tomato sauce and I was shocked. Besides the super sweet dollar ketchup, I had an amazing time. We ended the day by getting some gelato from Gelatomessina, which was amazing, and then headed back to Sarah’s house.

Australia is an amazing place and I highly recommend it to anyone. Just bring your own ketchup. I only have a week and a half left here, and I already know that I’m going to miss the country and all of the friends I have made. I have seen and done so much and can’t wait to experience new things in the next week. – Ella Waxman ’19, Student Exchange at Methodist Ladies’ College

Student Exchange: Discovery in Johannesburg

Posted on March 22, 2017 by admin

Constitution Hill 2 I have been in Johannesburg for a little over a month and this exchange is going by so fast! I wish I could stay longer but sadly I only have two weeks left. I have experienced so many new things and discovered the history of their beautiful country.

In the past month, I was lucky enough to go on two community service days. We visited two different schools and they were both amazing experiences. The first school we visited was one for refugee children. These children have gone through so much in their lifetimes but they are all happy and so interested. The second school was for children with learning disabilities. This school surprised me because there are only three classes. It was so nice to meet all the kids.

I visited Constitution Hill and the Apartheid Museum and learned about the history of the Apartheid government and their oppression of coloured people that ended only in 1994.

We went to Cape Town for the weekend and I got to visit so many different places such as Robben Island (where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years), Two Oceans Aquarium, the Cape Wheel, V&A Waterfront, Table Mountain, Camps Bay Beach and a market with local vendors. I met a man who was put in Robben Island Prison as a political prisoner for standing up to the Apartheid government. I heard his story of the horrible treatment of prisoners and the way that they were forced to live. I was surprised to learn that many former political prisoners still live on the island! Cape Town is a beautiful and historic city and I would love to go back someday.

Saints is very different from LCC in many ways. With their extra-curricular activities, people often finish school around 10 pm even though classes end at 2:40 pm. Their sports are also different. I have tried new sports such as netball and diving. They are both fun and popular here. Also, some sports that are popular in Montreal, such as ice hockey and basketball, are not popular here. Lastly, their campus is huge compared to LCC, with a labyrinth of boarding houses, a chapel, two field hockey turf fields, a dam, three pools, tennis courts, netball courts, seven separate schools, as well as countless sports fields.

I have gotten used to the girls-only school but it is very different from LCC. Even though the boys and girls are on the same campus, they are very separate and boys and girls rarely see each other. I think that coed is a nicer way to go to school.

My host family has been so nice and welcoming and has worked hard to make sure that I enjoy my time here. I will be sad to leave all my new friends who have made me feel like South Africa is my home. I will miss South Africa and I hope that I can come back one day.– Natasha Ryan ’19, Exchange Student at St Stithians Girls’ College

Student Exchange: A Canadian’s Survival Guide to Life in Australia

Posted on March 22, 2017 by admin

As my time in Adelaide, Australia comes to an end, I reflect back on everything this trip has taught me. It taught me to be independent, how to step further out of my comfort zone than I could ever imagine and, most importantly, it taught me how to be a better version of myself. I learnt about new people, cultures and traditions. Over these past six weeks, I became immersed in Australian culture, although Bronwyn’s (my exchange) parents are American.

Let’s make a few things clear. First of all, you will NOT see kangaroos and koalas roaming the streets (unfortunately). Secondly, not all Aussies surf. Some do, but unless they tell you about it, don’t assume! The word “thongs” will most likely be used often and it doesn’t mean what you think it means… It means flip-flops! (Kind of confusing, I know.) There is, apparently, a HUGE difference between chips and hot chips (I’m still not quite sure what the difference is but I know it’s there.) Australians do not spend every minute of every day idolizing Steve Irwin, the crocodile hunter, and lastly, not once did I hear anyone say anything about putting shrimps on the barbie!

During my time here, I experienced a lot of different things. I had the opportunity to visit Sydney and see famous sites like the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. I had heard so much about both those places and it was amazing to see them in person. School in Adelaide is very different from LCC. Not only is it completely foreign territory but everything’s outside! You catch some sun just walking from one class to another. I was lucky enough to participate in Westminster’s swimming carnival. They have houses like we do at LCC and students in each house swam different races and did relays. It was nice and interesting to see a somewhat familiar activity where houses were competing against each other all the way across the world.

It took awhile for me to adjust to all the changes but that’s okay. As hard as it was to adjust to things like the 15-hour time change and making new friends, going on an international exchange has been a worthwhile experience and has changed me for the better. I was able to form bonds that will hopefully last a lifetime and I hope I’ll be able to visit my Aussie friends soon! – Sophie Levy ’19, Student Exchange at Westminster School