Lorsque je suis arrivée à Jouvence, ma première impression était de surprise, car cette place est magnifique! Je me suis dit qu’on allait surement beaucoup s’amuser!
Les couleurs de ma chambre sont le jaune, le blanc, le vert et le turquoise foncé. C’est une très belle chambre qui est grande. Il y a des lits à deux étages et je dors sur celui du haut. Dans ma chambre, il y a mes bonnes amies. C’est un bon début! – Sonia Yip ’20 (Classe de français accéléré)
I finally arrived in Thailand at midnight on August 23 after a 24-hour flight. I knew Thailand would be hot but I never realized how hot it actually was; the heat struck me as soon as I disembarked the plane. I had never been in a country that had such a sweltering climate.
As I spotted The Regent’s School Pattaya sign ahead, where I would board for the next six weeks, I somehow knew that this exchange would be an adventure. I was half way across the globe in a country that I didn’t know and with people I didn’t know.
As I left the airport with the exchange coordinator, I finally entered Thailand. We drove for about one hour from the airport to the school, the entire time I looked out the window realizing how different Thailand was. The streets were filled with motor bikes not carrying only one or two people but rather many, the infrastructure was so different from what I was use too; everything was different. It was as if I had just entered a different world.
After being wonderfully hosted by the exchange coordinator and her two children for two days, I finally entered Elizabeth’s Girls Boarding House. The boarding house was quite spacious. There were two sides, one for primary and the other for secondary. The boarding staff was very nice and showed much hospitality. They did everything to make me feel at home. The girls were also very nice; many showed me around campus and introduced me to the other boarders.
Regent’s is an international school with a huge campus! It is composed of many buildings, each a different size and form. Boarders and students came from all over the world from Russia, Korea, Australia, England, Japan, Taiwan and many more! The first two days were rather quiet, boarders were arriving from different countries and everyone including me were just settling in. The night before school I was quite nervous and excited, I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t know anyone from school and I hardly knew where I was going.
Altogether theses first few days of my exchange have been fantastic, I am so glad to have chosen Regents School Pattaya and can’t wait for the weeks ahead. – Kamy Roberge-Carrington ’16
Claxton 10 had an eye-opening experience today at the Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal. We started our day learning a little bit about the women staying at the shelter, the history of the organization and the Aboriginal people. We then went outside to paint the back patio and fences, while a few members of the advisory did some gardening. Once everything was done, we went back inside to conclude our experience.
It is most definitely a worthwhile organization to volunteer at, especially considering they are always in need of some help as well as donations such as sports equipment, toiletries, toys, etc. – Lydia Safi and Sabrina Chan, Claxton 10
Although it is summer, I am still in school! Even so, I am really happy that I chose to come to St Philip’s College in Alice Springs, Australia. We started off the exchange at a school camp called Mittagundi and I had a great time there. The camp was eight hours out of Melbourne by bus. That part of the trip was horrible because no one wants to be on a bus on a windy road for eight hours straight. Once we arrived at the camp they took all of our electronics and then we were told that the following day we would be going to the snow. The next day we hiked up three hills to finally arrive at snow level very late at night. We had to set up our tents and cook ourselves dinner. We spent two days there and then we hiked back down to the camp. We spent the rest of the week working on the farm. We fed the animals and cooked meals in the kitchen. We had to cook using absolutely no electricity! After a week we returned to Melbourne for the night.
The next morning we flew back to Alice Springs where I met the host family at the airport. We went on a bit of a driving tour and the first thing they showed me was the Todd River. The Todd River is not really a river because most of the year there is no water in it. The only time that there is water is when it rains and it only rains around four times a year! People say that if you see the river flood three times then you can be called a local.
When we arrived at the house we watched a movie and ate Tim Tams. We spent a couple of days off from school but we returned to school on Monday. I met everyone and had a tour of the school. I already knew most people because of the camp except for a few kids who did not attend the camp. I also met the other exchange students. We spent the rest of the week getting used to everything and making sure we liked all of our classes.
Anina, my exchange partner has a job like most of the kids here and had to go to a meeting on Saturday. So I went out with my friend Georgia instead. We walked around the shopping center until Anina was finished. After that we watched friends play netball. When all of our friends were done playing a bunch of them were going to go bowling and so they invited us but Anina had to work so I went alone. At bowling I met another exchange student named Tamsin from South Africa. The next day Anina and her family took me on a day trip to Simpsons Gap and Stanley Chasm so we decided to invite Tamsin to come with us. We traveled to Simpsons Gap, which took about 20 minutes. We then drove 20 more minutes to Stanley Chasm, where we hiked to the center of the Chasm. Then we returned to the cafe where Tamsin and I had our first Australian meat pies! The next day we went back to school and planned our trip to Ares rock. — Emily Bekins ’15
J’ai toujours voulu aller dans un camp où on dort. Maintenant, j’ai une idée de comment ça se passe dans un de ces camps. J’adore mon chalet! J’aime avoir toutes mes amies avec moi et j’aime comment tout est organisé. J’aime être dans la même chambre que mes amies les plus proches parce qu’elles m’aident avec mon journal et parce que j’ai beaucoup de plaisir avec elles. J’aime comment ma chambre est organisée car j’aime les lits superposés et les étagères.
En conclusion, j’aime mon chalet et je n’en demanderais jamais un autre! MERCI LES PROFS!!! – Alexandra Bromberg ’18