Student Exchange: Farewell to Australia

Posted on March 21, 2016 by admin

Anthony_Fata2 It is my last week here in Australia and I have created many long-lasting memories that I will cherish forever.

For my last weekend, my exchange family and I went camping at Mount Gambier, an area with amazing natural sites located halfway between Adelaide and Melbourne. We were also going to see an amateur motorcycle race taking place there. We camped out, and in the morning we watched the race. It was really exciting to see how fast the motorcycles raced. We then made our way to Blue Mountain Lake, a crater lake which is known for its amazing colours. That day, it was a beautiful clear blue colour but, apparently, it changes colours during the year depending on the temperature. We then visited the Tantanoola caves, with incredible stalagmites and stalactites. I have never seen a cave like this and it was fascinating. I had a lot of fun this weekend and it was a great way to end my exchange. I really enjoyed spending time with Phoenix and his family!

My stay in Australia has been one of the best experiences of my life and I can’t believe that five weeks have gone by so fast. I truly had a lot of fun with my exchange, Phoenix, and his family, and I learned many new things. I have made many new friends and hope to see some of them later on in my life. I have also experienced some new things like playing cricket and volleyball, which I really enjoyed. I have seen many incredible Australian animals like koalas and kangaroos and had a chance to see these animals up close. I attended a great school and was very lucky to be here. On my last day, I received a big Australian flag signed by all my new Australian friends.

At first, I was a little nervous about this exchange and being so far away from home for such a long period of time. However, thanks to my exchange, his family, and the great people at Westminster School, my experience was amazing. I also learned a lot about myself and how I am able to adapt to a totally different environment.

– Anthony Fata ‘18, Exchange Student at Westminster School

Colombian Graffiti Tour

Posted on March 2, 2016 by admin

DSC_0806_350_250 To be fully honest, I expected the graffiti tour to be a waste of time. We were all exhausted from the long flight and were anxious to get to bed. Fortunately, the graffiti tour was a huge surprise! I found myself completely invested in this two-hour tour. We explored the streets of Bogotá and got a good feel of the city we were staying in. The streets were packed with people staring at us and giving weird looks. We didn’t pay attention to this though, as the street art we were seeing was incredible.

We saw many gorgeous pieces of art painted on the deteriorating walls of Bogotá. One specific painting of a lion really struck me. This was the kind of art you would see in a museum. We saw a huge variety of street art, but the ones that really struck me were smaller, more political pieces. One artist drew many small, metaphorical images all over Bogotá. A soldier being used as a puppet and an assault rifle with a rose emerging from it were some of the many drawings that this artist brilliantly created. I was blown away by the entire tour. The things I learned and the art I witnessed really surprised me in nearly every way. I, as well as the rest of the group, could proudly say that we have a newfound appreciation for graffiti. Our trip to Columbia is already off to a spectacular start!

– Evan Luxenberg ’16

Building Houses in Colombia

Posted on March 2, 2016 by admin

2015_2016_DoE_GoldTrip_Colombia_009 Today we got the awesome opportunity to build houses for two homeless families. We met up with five students from a local English school and travelled a few hours out into the mountains to meet with people from a foundation called Catalina Muñoz. This foundation’s goal is to build houses for impoverished homeless families.

One of the most striking things about the whole experience was the drive from our hostel out into the mountains. First of all, the urban sprawl of Bogotá is incredible. The city seemingly goes on forever! And if we thought we knew what bad traffic was in Montreal, we had no idea what we had in store for us here. The streets are extremely narrow and no one really respects stop signs or pedestrians. The drivers seemingly have a code they follow that, to an outsider, seems like complete chaos, with barely a foot between each car and random turns coming from everywhere, no turn signals, and only a few near death experiences. However, the most incredible aspect of the drive was the transition from the most wealthy area in all of Colombia to one of the poorest. We started by driving through an area with beautiful apartment buildings, marked by nice cars and residents who include Shakira and many politicians. As time went on, the buildings started to become more and more rundown and the population became more and more dense. After an hour or so, the once prominent apartment buildings became simple shanties. There is nothing like it in Montreal. To see the contrast between the people who live in poverty and the extreme upper class was something I will never forget.

After about 15 minutes of treacherous driving into the mountains, we reached our destination: a simple concrete slab no bigger than my parents’ bedroom and some supplies. My first reaction was, “How in the world are we going to build a house here in only a matter of hours?” We were then introduced to the families we were building for. They were so nice and the two little boys were incredibly cute. We then set to work. I can’t even describe the amount of teamwork and communication needed to put the house together. Even though there was a clear language barrier, working with the Colombian people was surprisingly easy. It was also really clear how important this was to the native people. At one point towards the end of the day, the leader of the foundation knocked over a bucket of water, which to us seems like no big deal. However, this simple mistake almost brought her to tears. It was a huge sign of how important this project was and how much of a difference we were making.

All in all, day 2 of the trip was so much fun. I got a lot closer with a bunch of people who I was not really friends with beforehand. Working together as a team to make a difference was an experience I will never forget.

– Samuel Freder ’17

A Once in a Lifetime Opportunity

Posted on March 1, 2016 by admin

Danielle_Cutler5 As I sit at the airport in Los Angeles, waiting for my flight to Montreal, I am struggling to find the perfect words to describe the second half of my exchange. This is because during such a short amount of time in Melbourne, so many memories and friendships were created and I am still in shock that it is already over.

Three weekends ago, I went to Sydney with Chloe, her mom and her younger sister. While we were there, I climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge, saw the opera house, went surfing for the first time at Bondi beach, and went to Taronga Zoo. Everything we did was so much fun and I’m so happy I got the opportunity to see Sydney too!

The following weekend, I went up to Mount Buller, which is the mountain my exchange family skis at three hours away from Melbourne (its elevation is 1805 m and it has 22 lifts). We stayed at their house at the top of the mountain for one night. Chloe and I hiked to the summit and the view was amazing! Of course, their winter is in July and August so there was no snow when I was there.

Friday, February 26, was my last night in Melbourne. Chloe and I invited a bunch of her friends from school over to her house to say goodbye. It was the most fun night and I was so sad to be saying goodbye.

This exchange was even better than I expected, not only because I had an amazing experience, but also because I had a once in a lifetime opportunity to travel to a country across the world, learn about a new culture and broaden my horizons. Six weeks ago, I was scared to leave Montreal and step outside of my comfort zone. Now that it is over, I am sad that I had to leave a country I had only known for a small amount of time, yet felt so connected to. ‘Til next time Australia!

P.S. Chloe arrives in Montreal in a couple days and I cannot wait to see her and show her around Montreal!

– Danielle Cutler ’18, Exchange Student at Carey Baptist Grammar School

Trip to the Sunshine Coast

Posted on February 29, 2016 by admin

Anthony_Fata1 Week two! I am learning more about Australia and enjoying it very much. Last weekend, I visited another region of Australia called the Sunshine Coast, which is in Queensland on the east coast of Australia. It is three hours by plane from Adelaide and it is a very different place. It is more of a vacation, resort area with beautiful beaches, lakes and rainforests. The weather is very sunny and more tropical than Adelaide. Things seemed more relaxed here, like we were on vacation.

One of the best attractions here is the Australia Zoo and Wildlife Preservation Facility founded by Steve Irwin, also known as the Crocodile Hunter. We visited the zoo and it was really amazing! Phoenix had a detailed plan of our visit. He included all the animal shows we were going to see and even planned for lunch! Animals that were native to Australia made up the first part of the zoo. There were some koalas, kangaroos, wombats, crocodiles and even tigers. I actually had the chance to pet a koala bear and a kangaroo! The second part of the zoo contained animals mostly from Africa, like giraffes, zebras, and rhinos. It was a great experience to see all these animals up close!

The zoo was also presenting two shows: the Zoo Wildlife Warrior Show, and the Tiger Show. The first show took place in a large, outdoor stadium called “Crocoseum”. I knew we were in for a good show when we all cried out Crikey! All types of amazing and colorful birds were soaring everywhere. They also had a crocodile who was trained to perform tricks for food! I never thought it would be possible to train a crocodile! The Tiger Show was really impressive too. The animal trainer did some really amazing tricks with the tigers. There was only a large, rather thin glass window protecting us from the tiger. These Sumatran and Bengal tigers were beautiful animals but unfortunately are endangered.

The next day, we headed to Aussie World, a big amusement park. Phoenix and I had so much fun going on all the rides. We went on a huge water log ride, the bumper cars and the roller coasters. We even had lunch at the famous Ettamogah Pub, a funny, cartoon-like restaurant. We also had a chance to do water sports on the lake and beach and also rode Segways!

I had so much fun on this trip with my exchange family. This was an unforgettable experience for me. I also think it was great to spend time with Phoenix and his mom and to get to know them better. I will never forget this weekend!

Anthony Fata ‘18, Exchange Student at Westminster School