Round Square Regional Conference: Immersed in Argentinian Culture

Posted on April 19, 2017 by admin

RS_Argentina Today in Argentina we spent the day at a farm called Don Silvano. At the farm we had many exciting things to do! First, we got to ride horses! We rode them on a track around the farm and had beautiful views of the surrounding green fields. Then we went to go see all the other animals. We saw pigs, chickens, bunnies, flamingos, peacocks and many more. Next, we tried a local drink called mate. It tastes like bitter tea and is a very prominent part of the culture here in Argentina. It’s a social drink and it is customary for people to share it with the same straw. If you add a lot of sugar, it’s actually really good!

Lunch at the farm was a lot of fun. There was a singer, singing Argentinian music, and dancers who danced for us. We even joined in on the dancing! After lunch there was a horse show. It was really entertaining to see men on horses complete a number of races and competitions. Finally, we got in the van to head back to our hotel. We stopped off at a pedestrian street called Avenida Florida and walked around and shopped. We walked into many cute local stores and got a good sense of the Argentinian way of life.

Overall, today was an amazing day. From being on the farm to just walking around, we really got to experience it all. -Danielle Cutler ’18

Student Exchange: Saying Goodbye to Australia

Posted on April 4, 2017 by admin

Ella_Waxman13 Coming into my last week, I feel a bunch of different emotions. I’m excited to get home, see my friends and family, and sleep in my own bed; but I am also sad to leave the place I’ve been fortunate enough to call home for the past five weeks.

On Friday, I had my last youth group at Sarah’s church and said goodbye to a lot of friends. Although the chances of seeing everybody again are very slim, I’ll always remember the great friendships I made here. I was told by a number of people that I’m welcome back any time and, next month, a group of my friends and I are going to try to video chat and play a game of cards together.

The weather on Saturday was great, and even though my exchange had a birthday party to go to, I got to go into the city and walk around with her mom. We went to the New South Wales Art Gallery, where I got to see and learn more about Aboriginal art. After almost two hours at the Gallery, we went across the street to the Botanical Gardens. There, I saw a flying fox hanging from a tree, unique plant species and eels in the pond! For dinner, Sarah and I met up with a group of her camp friends and we went to Darling Harbour. We ate right next to the water and then walked around afterwards.

Sadly, the weather was bad again on Sunday and we weren’t able to go to the beach like we had originally planned. I was able to finish up my Australian shopping by going to one real and multiple fake UGG stores. Sarah and I took the train into the city and went shopping right next to the Sydney Tower. I also got Tim Tams and other Australian treats to bring back.

This trip has really been a once in a lifetime experience. Even if I come back to Sydney, it will not be the same. Because of this Round Square exchange, I have had the opportunity to fly across the world and make memories and friendships that will last forever. I’m sad to leave all of my friends here, but I know that we’ll keep in touch and that I’ll remember this trip for the rest of my life. – Ella Waxman ’19, Student Exchange at Methodist Ladies’ College

Student Exchange: Beach Hopping And Waterparks

Posted on March 29, 2017 by admin

Ella_Waxman3 After three weeks of almost nonstop rain, the weather finally got better. We were able to go outside a lot this week, which allowed me to see so many more things. On Friday, we had FRESH, the church youth group, and we went to Darling Harbour to get gelato. While we were there, we went into a mini water park that’s set up in a green space at the Harbour. It was a lot of fun and, after the religious part of the group, we went to get gelato.

This past weekend, I didn’t get to sleep in, but that allowed us to do more during the day. On Saturday, we took a ferry to Manly Beach and got a great view of the Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House. Once at Manly Beach, we walked around the water and then to another beach nearby. The water was so clear that I could see little fish swimming around just a foot away from me. Because of the heat, we decided to get something to drink so I got a whole coconut from a cafe nearby and Sarah got an iced chocolate drink. We drank them while sitting on a mini rock cliff looking over the ocean. The view was amazing. We then went to a small market and had burgers before heading back towards the ferry.

The weather was even better the next day. Sarah and I spent most of the day at Wet ‘n’ Wild, a water park, and had a great time. When we got into the park, we were given bracelets that allowed us to do something called Tap ‘n’ Play, where we got to reserve our spots on a ride with a long line, while we did something else. After we spent the day tanning, going on water rides and swimming, we went to Featherdale Wildlife Park to see some marsupials. The park was filled with different types of animals, like koalas, dingos, wombats, Tasmanian devils, quokkas, and I got to pet and feed wallabies and kangaroos. The wallabies and kangaroos were very friendly and super soft. I got to see some animals that I’ve never heard of before, and it was a great experience.

On Monday, we had school, and since the forecast for Tuesday looked very good we planned to go to Bondi Beach. Although it was overcast, we still went down to the coast and had a great time. Sarah and I did the Coogee to Bondi beach walk along the coast and got to see some amazing views and really nice beaches. Since it was a weekday, we had the beaches to ourselves and even though it wasn’t super hot, I went in the water. Along the coast walk, we stopped to have a snack on a few cliffs looking over the ocean. We recorded our day, took lots of pictures and then got a giant thing of chips. Sarah brought bread with her to the beach and made me something called a chip butty, which is a piece of white bread with butter and fries. I did not like it, but apparently it’s an Australian delicacy. I tried eating some more chips, but as a North American I was missing ketchup. I asked Sarah where I could get some ketchup, which is actually called tomato sauce here and it’s sweeter. It turns out that in Australia there are no free ketchup packets anywhere. I had to pay a dollar for three mini packages of tomato sauce and I was shocked. Besides the super sweet dollar ketchup, I had an amazing time. We ended the day by getting some gelato from Gelatomessina, which was amazing, and then headed back to Sarah’s house.

Australia is an amazing place and I highly recommend it to anyone. Just bring your own ketchup. I only have a week and a half left here, and I already know that I’m going to miss the country and all of the friends I have made. I have seen and done so much and can’t wait to experience new things in the next week. – Ella Waxman ’19, Student Exchange at Methodist Ladies’ College

Lors d’une prise de décision, en cas de surcharge d’informations suivez votre instinct!

Posted on March 24, 2017 by admin

Decisions Aujourd’hui, nous allons vous parler de la confiture.

Et oui! La confiture… Plus spécifiquement, une expérience qui a été conduite par une Américaine nommée Sheena Iyengar. Son expérience s’est déroulée comme suit : elle a installé deux présentoirs différents de confitures dans un supermarché en Californie. Le premier étalage offrait six choix de confiture et l’autre en avait vingt-quatre. Le but de l’expérience était de déterminer si le nombre de confitures offertes aux clients changeait le nombre de confiture vendue.

Comme résultat, Mme Iyengar a constaté que les gens qui sont allés au présentoir contenant les six choix de confiture ont acheté la confiture 30 % du temps, tandis que, seulement 3 % des clients ont acheté la confiture provenant du présentoir qui contenait vingt-quatre saveurs. Ceci s’explique simplement : lorsqu’on est donné trop de choix, notre cerveau devient trop rempli d’information et nous paralyse!

Cette expérience est expliquée en détail dans le livre Blink de Malcolm Gladwell. Dans ce livre, il parle de ce phénomène qu’il nomme « Paralyse d’analyse. »

Gladwell énonce que notre génération croit que la qualité de notre travail sera améliorée si nous prenons notre temps et recevons plus d’informations au sujet d’une certaine situation. Par contre, ceci est totalement FAUX. Plutôt, les jugements instantanés peuvent parfois être beaucoup mieux.

Alors pourquoi est-ce que nous avons choisi de partager ceci avec vous ?

Parce que vous êtes tous concernés par cette théorie de la « paralyse d’analyse ». Que vous soyez en Middle School avec les opportunités variées dans les sports et les clubs offerts, en neuvième année avec l’idée d’un échange scolaire, en dixième en train de remplir les applications pour une position de Grad pride pour l’an prochain ou, même encore, en onzième avec la décision troublante de choisir entre Pre-U vs le Cégep, vous êtes TOUS dans une situation où vous devez faire des choix et prendre une décision. Alors que faire? Prendre son temps, analyser tous les faits, les pours et les contres? Ou écouter ses instincts? Ce qu’on espère avoir prouvé avec l’exemple de la confiture c’est que, quand nous prenons ces décisions, il ne faut pas trop se poser de questions. Au lieu de rechercher infiniment des informations, de vous remettre en question et de vous questionner si vous êtes assez bon ou pas (en obsédant sur votre SAT ou votre moyenne) pourquoi, plutôt, ne pas vous poser simplement une question : qu’est-ce que je souhaite faire ?

Ceci pourrait aussi vous aider dans vos travaux. Quand un professeur vous donne un projet, ne le bombardez pas avec toutes vos questions jusqu’à la taille des lettres et
« calmez-vous ! » Ne limitez pas votre créativité avec des contraintes de style ou de forme. Laissez-vous aller ! En fait, le livre Blink propose même l’extrême et suggère que les médecins ne devraient rien savoir au sujet de leurs patients afin d’avoir un esprit ouvert, des idées nouvelles sans être influencés par des informations inutiles et préjudiciables.

Bon! Un peu extrême… On ne sait pas si cela est un bon choix! Enfin si vous ne voulez pas suivre les conseils de M. Gladwell, nous pouvons vous dire qu’au moins, cela vous aidera beaucoup la prochaine fois que vous achèterez de la confiture… – Abby Shine ’17 and Laurence Troquet ’17

Student Exchange: Discovery in Johannesburg

Posted on March 22, 2017 by admin

Constitution Hill 2 I have been in Johannesburg for a little over a month and this exchange is going by so fast! I wish I could stay longer but sadly I only have two weeks left. I have experienced so many new things and discovered the history of their beautiful country.

In the past month, I was lucky enough to go on two community service days. We visited two different schools and they were both amazing experiences. The first school we visited was one for refugee children. These children have gone through so much in their lifetimes but they are all happy and so interested. The second school was for children with learning disabilities. This school surprised me because there are only three classes. It was so nice to meet all the kids.

I visited Constitution Hill and the Apartheid Museum and learned about the history of the Apartheid government and their oppression of coloured people that ended only in 1994.

We went to Cape Town for the weekend and I got to visit so many different places such as Robben Island (where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years), Two Oceans Aquarium, the Cape Wheel, V&A Waterfront, Table Mountain, Camps Bay Beach and a market with local vendors. I met a man who was put in Robben Island Prison as a political prisoner for standing up to the Apartheid government. I heard his story of the horrible treatment of prisoners and the way that they were forced to live. I was surprised to learn that many former political prisoners still live on the island! Cape Town is a beautiful and historic city and I would love to go back someday.

Saints is very different from LCC in many ways. With their extra-curricular activities, people often finish school around 10 pm even though classes end at 2:40 pm. Their sports are also different. I have tried new sports such as netball and diving. They are both fun and popular here. Also, some sports that are popular in Montreal, such as ice hockey and basketball, are not popular here. Lastly, their campus is huge compared to LCC, with a labyrinth of boarding houses, a chapel, two field hockey turf fields, a dam, three pools, tennis courts, netball courts, seven separate schools, as well as countless sports fields.

I have gotten used to the girls-only school but it is very different from LCC. Even though the boys and girls are on the same campus, they are very separate and boys and girls rarely see each other. I think that coed is a nicer way to go to school.

My host family has been so nice and welcoming and has worked hard to make sure that I enjoy my time here. I will be sad to leave all my new friends who have made me feel like South Africa is my home. I will miss South Africa and I hope that I can come back one day.– Natasha Ryan ’19, Exchange Student at St Stithians Girls’ College