Round Square International Conference: Inspirational Encounter

2014_15_RS_Founder_1st_Girls_School_AfghanistanOn the first day of our Round Square International Conference at King’s Academy in Jordan, we were fortunate enough to hear the story of Shabana Basij-Rasikh. At the young age of 23, she has already founded both an organization called HELA, as well as a boarding school for Afghani girls, SOLA: School of Leadership Afghanistan.

Born in Afghanistan, the Taliban regime took over when she was only six years old. Coming from a family who valued education, she was dressed as a boy in order to be an escort for her older sister as they attended a secret school for girls. Her family knew the consequences of attending school and hiding her identity would be punishable by death. Luckily, she and her sister survived the Taliban reign and she attended her first public school in 2002.

Shabana was extremely angered that she was denied a proper education and was inspired to give the girls of Afghanistan the opportunity to go to school. During her time at Middlebury College, while studying international development and women’s studies, she co-founded the first tuition free all girls’ boarding school for young Afghani students. The first year they opened the school, there were four attendees and now there’s a total of 42. Their goal is to have at least one student from each of the 34 Afghani provinces.

The school is also involved in many initiatives such as a mentorship program. The students are paired with a mentor from a foreign country with whom they Skype and look up to as role models and consider friends. The school also takes part in a virtual classroom program in which the classes at SOLA Skype with a classroom of a foreign school.

The work that Shabana has done has inspired all of us, her selflessness and motivation to give Afghanistan girls an education is incredible. We plan to continue her efforts to raise awareness and funds for SOLA and motivate the LCC students to get involved.

Jessica Lackstein ’15 and Sabrina Chan ’15 – Round Square International Conference, King’s Academy, Jordan

Duke of Ed Gold Trip 2014: Camaraderie, Collaboration and Cooperation

2013_14_DukeEdGold_CostaRica_092I can honestly say that the Duke of Ed Gold trip to Costa Rica was one of the best experiences of my life. I got to push my limits, I learned how much I was capable of leaving my comfort zone, I made some awesome new friends and participated in so many incredible activities that I never dreamed I could really do.

 

After a very early start, I mean a 4:00 am start; we arrived in San Jose in the early afternoon, I was quite tired. I perked up though that evening, when I discovered a scorpion in my hotel room, an unnerving intro to Costa Rica!

 

Our adventure began in earnest the next day with a five day hike. This was grueling and intense. We hiked for a couple of hours a day in various degrees of difficulty. We climbed over massive rocks, hiked up monster hills all in the unbearable heat. While the hike was difficult, we got to enjoy the fantastic and beautiful landscape and scenery. There were waterfalls; the sky was as blue as can be, and we were surrounded by incredible and unspoiled nature. During the duration of the hike, we stayed in tents, which was an interesting experience. We really got to embrace nature.

 

Once the hike was over, I felt relief but I was also proud that I persevered and endured the trek. After the hike, it was time for adventurous activities. We stayed at a lodge for a few days where I learned that life could be simple, uncomplicated but happy. The lodge didn’t have any doors or windows, and any insect and animal was free to come in, and they did! We learned to make chocolate out of coco beans and we got to live among turkeys and roosters that would wake us up at 5 am every morning.

 

I even mustered the courage to rappel down an 85-foot cliff. As well, during our time at the lodge, we helped to build a special garden shelter. We cut bamboo from the forest, and we had to transport it down a hill and across a river back to the lodge. That in itself was an adventure. But I think what made this trip extraordinarily special was the camaraderie, collaboration and cooperation within our group and the great support with and encouragement from the teachers who accompanied us.

 

 

It was an amazing journey, where I got to discover a lot about myself. I shelved my comfort zone and I took risks, and I ended up having experiences that I will never, ever forget. – Jennifer Ben-Menashe ’14

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Student Exchange Australia: Passionate About Rowing!

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The past few weeks have gone by so quickly! It felt as if I was just starting to settle in when I realized I would be leaving on Sunday, March 16. I was having so much fun I decided to ask my parents if I could stay longer. So I am now in my official second last week here in Ballarat, Australia. It has been such a wonderful experience not only meeting new people and seeing a different culture but also being able to live in a completely different place.

 

Last weekend, Clare brought me to her farm, which is about an hour and half drive from her house. The farm is in the middle of nowhere, the closest house is 5 km away and it’s Clare’s grandparents’ house! They have so much land, which is really cool because you can do anything. When we got there, we went horseback riding on their own horses. Later that day, we went motor biking which was extremely fun. I had never ridden a motorbike before but it was very cool to have complete control of where I was going. The next day, we went to Melbourne to go shopping and in the evening went to the musical Grease, which I thought was a great show. Overall, it was an exhilarating and busy weekend.

 

My exchange partner Clare coxes the Senior 1st Crew for the rowing team at Ballarat Grammar. I have been going to many of her practices including the early ones at 6 am! I usually go on a motorboat with their coach Bill to watch them and of course he coaches them. This has been such an incredible experience. Bill is one of the most inspiring people I have ever met. The way he talks about the sport just shows you that he is so keen and passionate about it. He has taught me a lot about rowing over the past few weeks. Last week, he even let me try to row with the other girls! I am lucky enough to be able to go to the Australian Nationals next week in Sydney. All the best schools will show up to compete against each other. I will be there to support the Ballarat Grammar team! Unfortunately, I will miss the final since I am leaving on the Saturday of that week.

I am very excited to see my family and friends again but at the same time I don’t want to leave! Hopefully the next two weeks don’t pass by too quickly. – Clara MacIntosh ’14 (LCC Exchange Student @ Ballarat Grammar in Melbourne, Australia)

Student Exchange: Aussie Wildlife

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Over the weekend, Brandon took me to his farm near Pinnaroo, a small town right on the South Australia/Victoria Border. On the first night, we ate at a nice little pub. The following day, we drove to a town called Loxton, which was about an hour away, where we met up with some of the Blacksell’s family friends on the Murray River. We spent the entire day wake boarding, waterskiing, tubing, and just relaxing by the water. Overall, it was a perfect day! After devouring a few Australian style pizzas, we headed back to the farm.

 

On the way home, before even being able to finish my sentence about how I was disappointed that I still haven’t seen any traditional Aussie wildlife, we saw a young kangaroo bounding across the road! I found this really impressive, but even more so when about ten seconds later I saw the rare Malleefowl, a ground-dwelling bird about the size of a chicken. It all happened so fast, but I realized that I had just experienced traditional Aussie wildlife within the span of 15 seconds!

 

That night, I stayed up watching with pride as Canada beat Sweden in the men’s hockey finals. The next day, we headed back for Adelaide, but took a detour in order for Mr. Blacksell to show me a dairy farm. It was interesting but challenging to be at a place where you’re knee deep in cow manure while being attacked by thousands of flies who make it their life-long mission to find a way to get up your nostrils.

 

I was happy to have had that experience, as I know I will never be a dairy farmer. I guess I’m just too much of a “city boy”! – Charlie Joy ’14

Student Exchange Australia: Challenging Experiences

The first two weeks in Australia have been amazing and I am already enjoying myself. After a long 20-hour flight via Vancouver, I was really excited to finally arrive in Australia. The weather has been amazing; it has been sunny every single day. Everyone was very welcoming when I got here and they all tried to make me feel included. I have made some new friends that are very nice and caring.

 

The family I am staying with is one of the nicest and funniest families I have ever met. Dinner is something I look forward to during the day because I know it will be filled with laughter and enjoyment. My exchange partner Clare, has a little brother Angus, who is 11 years old and is very energetic and has a passion for the Olympics, so he has been keeping me updated on how Canada is doing and I even watch some of it with him. Clare also has an older brother named Jack who is very kind and intelligent. Both parents are extremely nice and welcoming.

 

My exchange family lives in Ballarat, Victoria that is a small town about an hour and half from Melbourne. Every day we pack our own lunch and either bike to school or Clare’s mom drives us. It’s about a 3-minute drive and an 8-minute bike ride. Right in front of Clare’s house, across the street, is a beautiful lake. There is a nice pathway that goes all around the lake that is about six-kilometres long. I sometimes take this route to get to school.

 

My first weekend in Victoria, we drove down to Clare’s beach house in Anglesea. The beach was beautiful and different from any other beach I have been to. Her house was a street away from Great Ocean Road, a famous road along the coast of Southern Australia, which has a beautiful view of all the different beaches. We spent the first day at the beach relaxing, tanning, swimming and boogie boarding. On Sunday, we had a surfing lesson in the morning, which was a blast. Even though I was probably the worst in the group I still had tons of fun. It was a tough and challenging experience especially since everyone was better than me and it was sometimes embarrassing but you will never succeed if you don’t try new things and I can’t wait to go surfing next weekend!

 

This past weekend we went to the Ballarat Wildlife Park. I saw so many different animals I such as kangaroos, koalas, Tasmanian devils, wombats, echidnas and emus. It was so cool to see all these different animals. On Sunday, we went to Sovereign Hill, which is an open-air museum and a historical park. We travelled in a small train underground into a mine and learned how the miners back in the day worked. There is a street with many small stores, which makes you feel as if you have just stepped into the 1850s. It was very interesting and fun to learn about Australian history.

 

My first few weeks here have been great and I am looking forward to spending the next couple of weeks in this wonderful place. – Clara MacIntosh ’14 (LCC Exchange Student @ Ballarat Grammar in Melbourne, Australia)