La France : exploration à Paris

esclaveMon séjour est à moitié terminé. C’est maintenant que je réalise que le temps passe trop vite. Hier, nous sommes allés au Louvre, à Paris. On a commencé avec les statues italiennes, incluant L’Ésclave, par Michel-Ange. J’ai particulièrement aimé une statue qui s’appelle « La dame voilée » (je ne connais pas son vrai nom). Le talent artistique est incroyable. Nous avons aussi vu la célèbre Mona Lisa et des portraits par Johannes Vermeer. L’après-midi, nous sommes allés voir des peintures flamandes, telles que celles de l’artiste Georges de La Tour. Son utilisation de la lumière est unique et surprenante pour le Moyen Age.

Ce soir, Capucine et moi retournerons à Paris pour voir la comédie musicale, MamaMia. J’ai hâte de la voir et le fait qu’elle soit en français m’intrigue. Nous allons rester à Paris jusqu’à dimanche, et elle va me montrer ce qu’elle aime à Paris.

Hier, au repas, les Le Tarnec ont constaté que je faisais maintenant partie de leur famille – youpi ! Je suis si heureuse ici que je ne voudrais plus jamais repartir !—Hélène Osterman ’12

India: Beyond Imagination

IndiaExchange2011_blogThis trip so far has been amazing. Alana and I have experienced a whole new world and seen so many things. It’s incredible!

A few weekends ago Alana and I went to an Indian wedding and it was so amazing! It was completely different then what we are used to and so colourful.

India is a whole new world with so many new opportunities to explore yourself and a new environment around you.

Alana and I have become so close with our exchanges Sabiya and Sabrina, we are pretty much sisters! I can’t wait to bring them back to meet everyone; they are amazing! Alana and I have been to many places and seen many sites such as many temples in Mandau and so many sites in Mumbai. This trip has been great so far and I can hardly imagine where the next few weeks will take me.

India has already impacted me so much; I am in love with this country and I don’t know how I will be able to leave it. We have seen so much stuff, from huge temples with acres of land to the small slums of India. Its incredible how the rich is so far from the poor. I have never seen anything like this. You can’t really understand India until you go there yourself.—Elizabeth McInnes ’13

South Africa: Lions, Polo, Afrikaans & Bungees

Drymer_StStithians_Blog1_2011_smI arrived in South Africa on Thursday, January 6, 2011. Upon arrival, my exchange student’s parents, Andrei and Sylinda, greeted me. The two boys, Roald and Jaco, we’re on school trips when I arrived and only returned a few days later. The family is very nice and treats me very kindly.

I spend a lot of time with Roald and Jaco and find them to be very nice. During the first weekend, Andrei and Sylinda took me to see native animals such as lions. I enjoyed playing with the lion cubs.

The next Wednesday school started. I attended some foreign classes such as Afrikaans, a language derived from Dutch, which Roald speaks fluently.

The campus of St. Stithians has really has great sport facilities and is a fabulous school. During my first week I was able to get onto the school’s water polo team. Unluckily my first practice was fitness training and I soon realized that I wasn’t as good a swimmer as I hoped to be! I was definitely not the strongest player on the team, however over time I improved and learned the rules of the game. I even ended up as a starter in one of the games, which was very exciting.

Over the weekends the Roodts took me to various destinations such as “The Cradle of Humankind” and “Kruger National Park.” I even had the experience of going on a 150 m bungee jump in Soweto, which was exhilarating, to say the least.

This exchange to South Africa has been really fun, and a great experience. I am so happy that I had the opportunity to participate in it and give many thanks to Ms. Shadley along with the other LCC staff who allowed me to do so. –Eric Drymer ’12

Mesmerized in India

Humes_Week1India_2011_blogLanding in Delhi, the smell of India entered the plane as we were grabbing our handbags to leave. I was nervous, but also really excited, and the staring started as soon as we entered the airport. We drove around Delhi for a few hours, and started to get the rhythm of this new place.

We got on our next flight to Indore and met our amazing exchanges, and then went to the school. By then, it was about 7 pm. We got settled into our dorm and unpacked a little. The first night, we were woken up by a mouse crawling around in our bags, and all we could think was; “this is only the beginning.” After about a week however, we went to Mumbai to attend a wedding, and it was absolutely amazing. There were so many colours and people. We got to wear Indian dresses and shoes and be witness to an authentic Indian ceremony. It was definitely an experience I will remember my whole life. –Alanna Humes ’13

La France semaine 3 : des visites

Sam_Louvre_BlogWk308Feb2011Ma troisième semaine était aussi amusante que les deux précédentes. Samedi, les Plasmans et moi avons visité Bruges en Belgique. J’ai visité l’église Notre-Dame qui possède une des seules créations que Michel-Ange ait réalisée en dehors de l’Italie. C’était incroyable. Après, nous sommes montés dans le beffroi (une grande tour). Il mesure seulement 366 pieds ! Nous avons aussi fait une promenade en calèche autour de la ville. J’aime beaucoup la culture à Bruges et les diverses couleurs des bâtiments. La ville est vraiment formidable. La vie au lycée St-Vincent est aussi plus amusante, les étudiants sont toujours très gentils. Ma troisième visite à Paris était superbe. Nous avons visité le Louvre. Même si nous étions là pendant des heures, nous avons seulement vu une partie de ce musée géant. Les sculptures et les peintures étaient géniales, mais je n’ai pas trouvé que la Mona Lisa (appelée la Joconde ici) était si formidable. Je trouve sa beauté un peu exagérée. Bref, je ne peux pas croire qu’il reste encore trois autres semaines. Cet échange est une expérience inoubliable et je suis tellement content de le faire.—Samuel Ergina ’12