Student Exchange Australia: Discovering my Passion

Posted on August 15, 2016 by admin

Urimbirra_Wildlife_Park

Since I’ve arrived in Australia, all my days on this wonderful journey have been filled with joy. This trip has not only been the best time of my life so far but it has also been a time where I learnt about myself as an individual and my passion for animals has deepened.

The day after I arrived I started to explore this beautiful country. On July 19, my exchange student, Abigail, Angela (her mom) and Alana (a close friend of Abigail’s), and I, explored downtown Adelaide and the amazing sites that awaited us. We first started off our day by visiting the central markets where we wandered around for a while, and then headed off to the North Terrace where we saw the university of Adelaide, an art gallery and a library. We also had an opportunity to visit Adelaide’s war memorial; it was beautifully detailed and filled with representations of soldiers that fought for Australia during World War II. We then visited the Alpine festival, which is an annual festival to celebrate winter with a lot of different fun activities available to the public. We ended the day at the Torrens River, where we relaxed for a little while.

On July 20, I had a very memorable experience. I learnt something about myself that I am very happy with as it made me aware of my deep passion for animals. It was during our visit to the Urimbirra Wild Life Park where I got to see so many different animals from those I have seen in Canada. Yes, everyone loves animals but something in my heart told me that day that I definitely want to work with animals in the future. This day was also filled with numerous activities, such as a visit to Victor Harbour where we ate fish and chips and indulged in some candy I had never seen or eaten before. We also walked around Granite Island where we found some spectacular views overlooking the bay. However, this will be the day where my happiness was greatest as it touched my passion for animals.

The next day, we went to Mount Lofty Botanic Gardens. Although there weren’t many leaves on the trees to see—it is winter in July, which feels like a warm Canadian fall—it was an amazing experience to see the Australian nature that surrounded us. After this, we went to Melba’s chocolate factory. Who can get enough junk food? Here, I tried many different chocolates that Australia is known for in this part of the world. We then walked through Hahndorf, a charming German town with lots of pretty sites and then wound down our day with a little bowling and dinner with some of Abigail’s friends.

July 22 was somewhat rainy so we had a laid back day as we walked around the Westfield Marion Mall where I had an opportunity to see stores that are unique to Australia. We also caught a movie—Central Intelligence—that was actually pretty funny. It was too rainy to do anything else so we headed home and had a relaxing night watching movies and eating junk food. The next day the weather had cleared up, and we spent some time in the Kuipto Forest where we made a bonfire and…went Pokémon hunting! We also explored the forest and roasted yummy marshmallows.

On July 24, we walked down to Jetty Road in Glenelg where we strolled along the coast of their beach, which was very windy. This being their winter, it was too cold to swim in the water as the temperature hovers around 15 degrees Celsius.

Although my trip has only begun, I have had an awesome time so far. I am very excited to go to Westminster School—even though it is my school summer break!!— and I am really happy that I am having this opportunity to travel the world. – Sophia Auclair ’18, Exchange Student at Westminster School, Adelaide, Australia

Student Exchange – Adelaide Australia: How Sweet It Is!

Posted on July 25, 2016 by admin

2016_2017_StudentExchange_SophiaAuclair_01 This trip has not only been the best time of my life so far, but it has also been a time where I have learned about myself as an individual and my passion for animals has deepened.

The day after I arrived I went straight to exploring this beautiful country. On July 19^th, Abigail, Angela (her mom) and Alana (a close friend of Abigail’s), and I, explored downtown Adelaide and the amazing sites that awaited us. We started off our day by visiting the central markets where we wandered around for a while, and then headed off to the North Terrace where we saw the University of Adelaide, an art gallery and a library. We also had an opportunity to visit Adelaide’s war memorial; it was beautifully detailed and filled with representations of soldiers that fought for Australia during World War II. We then visited the Alpine festival, which is an annual festival to celebrate winter. In this festival they had a lot of different fun activities available to the public. We ended the day at the Torrens River where we relaxed for a little while.

On July 20^th, I had a very memorable experience. I learned something about myself that I am very happy with as it made me aware of how deep my passion for animals is. It was during our visit to the Urimbirra Wild Life Experience where I got to see so many different animals from those I have seen in Canada. Yes, everyone loves animals but something in my heart told me that day that I definitely want to work with animals in the future. This day was also filled with numerous activities, such as a visit to Victor Harbour where we ate fish and chips and indulged in some candy I had never seen or eaten before. We also walked around Granite Island where we found some spectacular views overlooking the bay. However, this will be the day where my happiness was greatest as it touched my passion for animals.

The day after, we went to Mount Lofty Botanic Gardens. Although there weren’t many leaves on the trees to see—it is winter in July, which feels like a warm Canadian fall—it was an amazing experience to see the Australian nature that surrounded us. After this, we went to Melba’s chocolate factory. Who can get enough junk food? Here, I tried many different chocolates that Australia is known for in this part of the world. We then walked through Hahndorf, a charming German town with lots of pretty sites and then wound down our day with a little bowling and dinner with some of Abigail’s friends.

July 22^ndwas somewhat rainy so we had a laid back day as we walked around the Westfield Marion Mall where I had an opportunity to see many different stores that are unique to Australia. We also caught a movie—Central Intelligence—that was actually pretty funny. It was too rainy to do anything else so we headed home and had a relaxing night watching movies and eating junk food.

The day after, the weather had cleared up, and we spent the day in the Kuipto Forest where we made a bonfire and…went Pokémon hunting. We also explored the forest and roasted yummy marshmallows.

Today, July 24^th, we walked down to Jetty Road in Glenelg where we strolled along the coast of their beach, which was very windy. This being their winter, it was too cold to swim in the water as the temperature hovers around 15 degrees Celsius.

Although my trip has only begun, I have had an awesome time so far. I am very excited to go to their school—even though it is my summer holiday time out of school!!— and I am really happy I am having this opportunity to travel the world.— Sophia Auclair ’18

Student Exchange Australia: Coastal Discoveries

Posted on March 9, 2016 by admin

2015_2016_TXiao_StudExchange_AUS_01 I can’t believe that it’s already my fourth week in Australia. This has been an amazing journey that I will never forget. I have already been to many different places along the coast of Victoria and it has been quite eventful. Last weekend, Tom’s family and I went to Inverloch, a small town on the beach. Since they have a beach house there, we stayed for one night and we spent a lot of time relaxing. The Australian coast is very different from North America. It seems to be a lot more natural with fewer people and more wildlife such as sea grass and marine organisms. Also, there aren’t many buildings on the shore, which is great.

Tom and I spent a lot of time together on the beach and it turns out that he is huge NFL fan just like me, so we threw a football around on the sand. In addition, we visited an area called “Eagles Nest,” which is a very rocky area on the shore. I enjoyed going there and we were able to see some crabs and even a scorpion!

This week, Tomas and I went to The Great Ocean Road, one of the most scenic and historical areas on earth. In fact, it was the Australian WWI veterans who built this highway after they returned home. The drive was just amazing and we saw many beaches, the ocean, and some hills. The water seamed clear and turquoise and I really wanted to stop and jump in. However we weren’t able to because we wanted to leave enough time to see the Twelve Apostles. The Twelve Apostles were beautiful even if there are only eight left. The reason why four are missing is because the apostles are actually limestone stacks in the ocean so they are eroding quickly due to the waves. In fact, if I come back in a few years, some of them might be completely gone.

This trip is going by very quickly and I’m enjoying all of the experiences and adventures so far. We are going to Sydney and the Eureka Tower next! –Terry Xiao ’18

Student Exchange: Memories of Thailand

Posted on April 8, 2015 by admin

Sadly, my time in Thailand has come to an end, after six amazing weeks of being among newly made friends and in an exotic new country. I am writing this on the airplane heading back to Montreal, and as much as I want out (because of boredom), half of me wants to turn the plane around and head back to Thailand. I already miss a lot of the food, fruit, and customs of the country and of my exchange school, Regents International School Pattaya. Of course, life must go on, and I have to come back to Canada and readjust to the time zone and the ways here.

Two weeks ago, my roommate, Osman, left to help look after his grandmother. I can tell you, I was really sad to see him leave, even though I would see him in school the next day. He was the funniest guy I have ever met, and I was never bored with him. But, as I said, he left, and I roomed with another one of my friends, Jeenchai. Though not as funny, he was special and entertaining in his own way.

For two weekends, I was hosted by Osman because he had been staying with his grandmother. In the first week, his parents were visiting from Russia, so we went to see a couple of tourist places. On Friday, we saw a Chinese museum and the Pattaya Buddha Mountain. I also got to eat a coconut and lots of passion fruit. The next day, we went swimming in their pool and just relaxed. On Sunday, we went shopping and then I had to go back to school. The next weekend was a more relaxed weekend. We stayed inside a lot because it was one of the only times it rained while I was there. On Sunday, we went shopping for souvenirs because it was my last week there.

On my last day, and for the first time, I wore my LCC suit to school – all the other days I only needed to wear a shirt, pants, and shoes, because of the heat – and yes, I was sweating most of the day. I had to wear the uniform because I’d made a promise to someone that I’d wear it on the last day. At the end of the school day, after getting our grades for the term, everyone said goodbye to me. They were all upset that I was leaving, and they also said that I should’ve been there for the school Songkran (the Thai New Year) party the next day. I was told it was really fun, but sadly, I wasn’t going to be there. It was a very sad day. I got back to the boarding house and immediately started to pack, because I had to leave in seven hours and I’d barely packed. I took a break for dinner, and I’m glad I went, because it was the school Songkran dinner. It was a feast, and I can easily say that that was my favorite meal there. There were two appetizers, four main courses, an amazing dessert, and then lots of different fruit. I was challenged to eat a whole chili pepper, and I did. The next five minutes of my life was spent eating tons of fruit and breathing out sharply to get rid of the spice. It was a fun last experience in Thailand.

More quickly than I’d expected, my time to leave the school had come, and sadly, I walked down the same corridors I had walked down 100 times before to get around the school, but this time would be the last. As I got on the bus, I took one last look at the school that had become my home for the last six weeks of my life. I would miss it. I said goodbye to all the boarders and the staff who had welcomed me when I’d arrived, and then I left for the airport. After a total of twenty hours in the air, and three hours sitting in the airport, I am back in Montreal, welcomed by the thing that most of the people in Thailand have never seen, and the thing I haven’t seen in six weeks: snow. – Eli Samuel ’17, Exchange Student at Regents International School Pattaya

Ma quatrième semaine à Paris

Posted on April 8, 2015 by admin

Déjà ma 4ième semaine à Paris terminée! Je me sens finalement comme chez moi ici. Les activités que nous avons faites cette semaine étaient sublimes. Premièrement, mardi soir le 26 mars, ma famille d’accueil a décidé de me faire une petite surprise. En fait, pour moi c’était l’une des plus grandes surprises de ma vie, un évènement qui constituera ma meilleure expérience à Paris.

Ce soir-là, alors que je lisais mon livre d’anglais tranquillement, je reçois un appel de Marc Jablonski, le père. Avec une voix pressée et excitée, il me dit «Ryan! Habille-toi, on va visiter un musée!», sachant que je ne serais pas trop enthousiasmé par une sortie au musée. Marc préparait ainsi la surprise pour que ma réaction soit inoubliable. Et il a eu raison. Lorsque Marc m’a donné mon billet bleu, je suis resté bouche bée devant Le Stade de France remplie d’une foule incroyablement bruyante. J’allais vivre l’expérience d’un match de soccer, France contre Brésil avec 80 000 autres Parisiens. J’étais en manque de mots, ébahi et ne pouvant pas parler pendant 2 minutes. Même si on (je parle de la France bien entendu) a perdu 3-1, cette expérience a été fantastique et le jeu était excitant. J’ai tellement apprécié cette opportunité qui m’a été offerte, une expérience que je ne vais jamais oublier.

La deuxième activité qu’on a faite cette semaine était la visite d’une gallerie d’art au Grand Palais. Comme je l’ai mentionné avant, personnellement, je n’aime pas trop les musées ou les galleries. Mais d’abord, on parle du magnifique Grand Palais sur les Champs-Élysées, construit pour l’expo universelle de Paris en 1900. Ensuite, ce que j’ai vu dans cette gallerie a changé ma perception de l’art et éveillé mon intérêt. C’était une œuvre d’art, créée par Manuel Merida, un vénézuélien, qui s’appelle Cercle Bleu Outremer. Cette œuvre consistait en un grand cercle rempli de poudre de vitre, qui tourne très lentement, de sorte que ces fragments tombent lentement lorsque le cercle tourne graduellement. J’ai immédiatement téléphoné à ma mère pour lui raconter ma découverte et la convaincre d’acheter l’œuvre!

En conclusion, ma quatrième semaine était évidemment un grand succès. Encore une fois, c’est incroyable de penser qu’il me reste seulement 2 semaines. Je suis devenu attaché à la ville de Paris et les gens qui habitent ici et je vais avoir de la difficulté à leur dire aurevoir. – Ryan Garber ’17, Exchange Student at École alsacienne