Student Exchange: Internationalism Changed My Life

Posted on November 28, 2013 by admin

I am born of Polish parents. I am an American citizen. I live in Canada, but I am a citizen of the world. It’s funny how things happen. Three years ago, I was introduced to the idea of a student exchange. I saw and heard so many things about students traveling abroad, and I made it my goal to experience an exchange on my own. I wanted to go somewhere completely foreign, someplace that no one I knew had gone before, so I chose Thailand.

From the very first moment I stepped onto Thai soil, Thailand became my home. I spent six weeks atThe Regents School in Pattayain boarding and I had the time of my life. I played basketball, did cross country running and played in their school band. I took weekend trips to pristine island resorts with my local friends and did a bicycle trip through the slums of Bangkok. Every weekend, I would get the opportunity to volunteer through different clubs in the school and help out at a local orphanage for handicapped children with my friends. In my boarding house alone, I met more people of diverse backgrounds than I could have imagined. I made friends from Bhutan, Lithuania, Armenia, South Africa and South Korea, just to mention a few. When it came time to leave, I felt like I was a movie character – as I looked out from the back window of the moving car on the way to the airport, all of my friends stood in a line, crying and waving goodbye. I, too, was in tears and didn’t want to leave.

Many people may say that their exchange was wonderful or enlightening, but my exchange experience changed my life. After having discovered a new exotic world and making unbroken friendships, I decided that my travel to Thailand would not stop there. I made it my goal to go back the next summer to see my friends, and on top of that I wanted to try something new and volunteer abroad. That’s when, with the help of my father, I found the Mercy Center and embarked on a four week independent volunteer trip to Bangkok’s biggest slum – Klong Toey, the “Slaughterhouse”.

I was extremely nervous because I was going to live by myself in a major city where crime and corruption was supposed to be very widespread. In the taxicab on the way to Mercy Center I obviously had thoughts racing through my head of, “Oh. Maybe I should turn around now. It’s not too late.” But chickening out was not the answer. I had traveled 26 hours and there was no turning back.

What really made me push forward, though, was the idea that I would be doing something useful and unique. The service I was going to do was not meant for me, but for the people in need. To turn back would be selfish and irresponsible.

Before I knew it, I was at the entrance of the Mercy Center, with a big purple suitcase in hand.The Mercy Centre, established by Father Joe Meier, is an emergency organization that takes care of families that have been exposed to human trafficking, rape, AIDs, sickness and any disaster. Many kids that live at the Mercy Centre are there because they have lost their families or were abandoned.

So I spent my summer working in the “Slaughterhouse”. The struggle started on my first day, when I was told that I would be teaching English to kids of all ages. Now imagine yourself in my position.This wasn’t a “read to your buddy for an hour” situation. I was a 15-year old girl that had to make a lesson plan before the next morning, get familiar with 20 students in my class and teach them. Oh yeah. I forgot to mention. None of them spoke a word of English and I had no idea how to speak Thai.

What made everything easier, though, was that all the kids were so sweet and wanted to help me do my best. They were super attentive and worked so hard in class – they really wanted to learn. After my first full day in the classroom, I was ecstatic. I loved my students and could not wait to see them the next day! When it was time for lunch for my pre-school students, I would go to the outdoor basketball court and play soccer on the smooth surface with the older local kids. I was really bad at soccer, but they still always let me play with them and taught me so many tricks.

Over my four weeks, I got the chance to work with kids from the ages of 6 to 18 and even worked on the organization’s farm outside of the city once a week.

There, I truly didn’t feel like I was doing community service, but living a normal life in a city that never sleeps.When I wasn’t working, I was spending time in the small alleyway home where I lived with eight Thai university students. I had only a tiny room with a bed and a fan, so with Thailand’s rainy season and 30+-degree weather, AC was something I had to learn to live without.

As you can imagine, it was truly a parallel world with a completely different culture, language and society rules but I soon blended in with the help of the locals’ open-mindedness and friendliness towards me.

In the end, my whole idea of this volunteer trip being only for the people in need was wrong. By the end of my trip I realized that the students I was teaching, helped me more that I could have imagined. They taught me responsibility, perseverance and acceptance. They accepted me as their teacher and they cared for me from day one.

I never imagined that going on an exchange would have done so much for me. Taking that chance three years ago helped me build a bond with the country and the people that I see myself revisiting for the rest of my life. I am going off to university next year, but I have promised myself that I will take at least six months of my four years in college and go back to the Mercy Center to live and volunteer full time.

The internationalism that I gained from going on exchange and volunteering abroad is immeasurable. Maybe you may never reach a stage in your life where you will visit a slum or go on an exchange, like I did. I feel at home in Thailand, but many people may not feel the same way. But I know that each and very one of you have the potential to do service in an environment that you feel comfortable in and grow to love.

I encourage all of you to step out of your comfort zone and take any opportunity you have to travel and help others while doing so. I can assure you that you won’t regret it, and it may just change your life. – Olga Jablonski (Pre-U ’14)

Environmental Fashion: Will.i.am Is Going Green!

Posted on November 28, 2013 by admin

All you fashion forward men, it’s time to take out your wallets because you are going shopping!

Famous rapper and member of the Black Eyed Peas has teamed up with Coca-Cola and the H Brothers to create fashionable and luxurious men’s suits out of recycled water bottles, what a genius concept!

We are always encouraged to recycle in order to protect our environment but not everyone seems to be completely motivated. Perhaps it is because it isn’t done in a very creative and enjoyable way. This concept is not only creative, but it is also a unique way to help save our environment.

Will.i.am wanted to raise greater awareness about recycling and decided to promote recycling in a fun and stylish way. The H brothers and the rapper collaborated on some funky and fabulous designs for menswear using recycled plastic bottles. Each suit is made up of approximately 25 bottles. The line will also include trendy neckties, pocket squares as well as bowties!

Guys, check out this fabulous line!

As the manager of the H brothers mentioned, “It’s truly the best of both worlds when you can use recycled materials to help keep guys looking fresh”. – Jennifer Ben-Menashe ’14

The Timelessness of Hope, Pride & Possibility

Posted on November 28, 2013 by admin

Last week’s 50^th anniversary of President Kennedy’s assassination in Dallas, Texas marked a day that remains shrouded in dark mystery in modern American and world history. I spoke to our high school students about the Kennedy legacy at this week’s assembly because few had any sense of its context.

There are a lot of reasons that Kennedy and his assassination have left an indelible imprint on both American and Canadian psyches. At 43, he was the youngest president ever to be elected into office in 1960. He brought a youthful vigour to the presidency. He was also the first Catholic president; a big issue at the time because of fears that during his presidency he would be heavily influenced by the Vatican. This related especially to issues like access to birth control and the legal status of divorce.

Kennedy is also remembered for being the first “telegenic” president. An effective presenter on TV, he was perfectly suited to the short sound bites we have all become so accustomed to. Kennedy helped usher in the modern media age where it is no longer just content of the message that matters, but also how it’s presented. Today national leaders in the USA and Canada focus intensely on nationally- televised electoral debates that make or break their campaigns to win voters trust.

While in office, Kennedy actually was not successful on all fronts. However, his historical legacy has certainly been forged as one that addressed big issues. Many experts would describe his legacy as having had a focus on getting the country moving again and building optimism, hope and possibility in America and throughout the free world. In his famous inauguration speech in 1961 he made an important plea for Americans to commit to community service, stating, “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” This lead to the creation of the American Peace Corps and a new idealism that young Americans could lead through service in the poorest countries of the developing world.

Kennedy was also a close friend to African Americans and an advocate of proposed civil rights laws that would see greater equity in America, especially in the deep south which at the time was still very segregated.

The early 60s were also dominated by the Cold War nuclear standoff between the superpowers. During the tense 13-days of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, Kennedy came under enormous pressure. He was surrounded by hawkish military advisors who insisted he respond forcefully to the presence of missiles in Cuba. During those intense days in October, Kennedy managed to avoid a nuclear conflict and was able to convince the Russians to remove their weapons from Cuba. Historians still consider his Cold War diplomacy a significant achievement.

Kennedy also initiated major spending on the space race with the Russians which eventually led to the Americans being the first to successfully put a man on the moon and literally reach for the stars.

When Kennedy was assassinated in November1963 his work was cut short. Many Americans wondered what he could have achieved, and the shooting represented a violent collision of hope and possibility with the reality of violence and sheer evil that also exists in the world.

The official version of the assassination concluded one gunman acted alone. However, multiple conspiracy theories still abound about whether larger forces were behind the killing. These include allegations against the mafia, the Russians, archconservatives fighting against Kennedy’s proposed new equality, and civil rights laws. We will probably never know; Kennedy’s death will likely remain shrouded in mystery.

But at the 50^th anniversary ceremony last Friday in Dallas, presidential historian David McCulloch reminded the audience that Kennedy was a confident optimist who was eloquent with his words. Kennedy knew that words matter and those that come from the mouth of the president have a special capacity to inspire and change lives. Quoting from Kennedy’s famous “New Frontier” speech presented when he won the presidential nomination in 1960, McCulloch stressed that Kennedy focused on challenges not promises and appealed to the American people to focus on their pride in a world of possibilities.

Hope, pride and possibility: If those are the core of the Kennedy legacy, then we should all aspire to see that modern civic life embodies all three, whether in the USA or here in Canada. In essence, Kennedy’s message is timeless, because it is hope, pride and possibility that will carry each of our students forward as young leaders. I see them in action at school and beyond. I am proud to say that I have confidence in them as doers and in their capacity to help build a better tomorrow in Canada and globally.
—Chris Shannon, Headmaster

Middle School Pride: Community Service @ Daycare

Posted on November 27, 2013 by admin

Middle School students share their thoughts on a recent community service outing:

J’ai aimé que les enfants n’étaient pas timides avec nous et ils etaient très gentil. I think it was a little hard to control the kids. – Sophia Auclair ’18

At the day care, I was surprised to see all the children with a lot of energy all the time. J’ai apris que ce n’est pas très facile avec les jeunes enfants petits parce que tous sont differents et tu dois savoir parler avec chacun. J’ai l’opportunité de parler fançais une autre fois avec ces enfants. – Sofia Tamarit ’18

When I was there, I watched little kids paint and played with them for a little. J’aime les petits qui disent tout le temps des choses joyeuses. – Ben Stacey ’18

Today I went to the boys and girls club. When I was there all the kids were really fascinating because we didn’t even know them and they just welcomed us like we knew them. J’étais surpris parce que les enfant étaient très excités, quand il faisaient des activités. Les enfant parlaient anglais et utilisaient des mots en français d’un très bonne manière. – Thomas Yang ’18

When I arrived, I didn’t expect it to be so big, have it’s own cafeteria, and even have their own big gym for all the kids to play in. Nous avons fait beaucoup d’activités amusantes, comme faire des maisons et enseigner des mots en français, qu’ils ont appris très rapidement.- Lucas Gold ’18

I liked that some children listened very well and most of them knew how to paint nicely. It is nice to see them learn new things. J’étais surpris parce que les enfants parlaient très bien le français. – Adel Abdalla ’18

Duke of Ed Silver Trip: “I’m a Survivor!”

Posted on November 19, 2013 by admin

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is an award students can work toward. It includes a number of different criteria, including an adventure component. If only it was that easy! People seem to overlook that it includes a strenuous hike over a period of four days while carrying our lives on our backs in sub-zero temperatures.

As we got prepared to leave the house I made a Facetime call back home to South Africa that I was sure would be my last. As I picked up my backpack, I stumbled a bit simply trying to get it to the car. One thought was going through my mind: how am I going to survive this? We arrived at school barely managing to walk with our backpacks. We were confronted with everybody telling us scary stories about what lay ahead. We packed everything on the bus. You’d swear that we were moving up north with the amount of stuff we had, not to mention the quantity of food that could feed Africa. The bus ride was pleasant but I will later wish that I appreciated the warmness and the feeling of dry socks more. The bus stopped at a place that looked exactly like the summer camps I’ve seen on TV; almost like the movie Camp Rock with the Jonas brothers.

We made dinner the first night, a very deceiving dish called chili which was a bean and meat sauce type thing that we just had to heat up with some salad and chips on the side. Cleaning our plates was an entirely new experience. Our camp counselor Dan said we should place some dirt in our bowl and scrape all the food out. I thought he was joking but a few minutes later we were on the ground and scooping dirt into our bowls. Yummy right! One of the highlights was the night walk we did. The night walk was without flashes lights, just our eyes and the dark night spotted with stars. At first I felt very disorientated: we had to trust our feet and senses like never before. Tripping, being slapped in the face and poked in the eye with twigs became a normal thing. Never mind the slush that started to accumulate at the bottom of my shoes from falling through a badly built beaver dam that we had to cross. Once we were finally back at our campsite we made s’mores and were off to bed after the first day of our adventure.

When we woke up that Saturday morning we had no idea what time it was because we had handed in our watches to the teachers as part of the experience. I could feel the frosty tinge in the air that I recognized from the few ski trips I’ve been on. I peered out of the tent and saw the most magical site, snow! I suddenly felt as if I was totally unprepared for this. Peering out at the snow was possibly the driest I would be the entire trip. We headed to the main camp, which was a huge log type cabin right next to the beautiful lake that was now slightly frosted over with snow. We left our useless equipment and headed out for what turned into a five-hour hike thanks to Dan not quite knowing where he was going. This guy reminded me of a mad Bear Grills. We walked with our heavy packs through forests and over snow-covered logs. It was truly quite painful. We had to keep up our water intake and keep thermo regulating so that we didn’t sweat and then freeze. It snowed and then rained and then snowed some more for most of the day. We stopped for lunch in a small clearing in an area that looked like a fairytale. With the snow and pine trees surrounding us, our sandwiches were very far from a fairytale though. Everyone’s feet were soaked; pretty much everything of mine was soaked including most of my clothes and parts of my sleeping bag. This trip took a turn for an episode on Bear Grills. Wet and cold, they started the fire in the tepee. This fire literally saved lives. We started defrosting our iced toes along with most of our clothing. Our dinner consisted of roasting hot dogs over the fire and some thing that resembled a bun. If you wanted you could also add mustard or tomato sauce—or as Canadians would say “ketchup”—which I had to carry for what felt like eternity during the hike.

On our last morning we woke up to the sound of rain hitting our tent. I put on my wet socks; yes, wet socks, that’s what life had come to. We went on a beautiful hike without our backpacks, which was actually quite a relief. The walk to and back from the beautiful waterfall was enjoyable. We were all freezing but good friends. Laughs and some good jokes kept us going.

Being South African and not accustomed to -10^oC weather, I wore about six layers on my top and about three on my bottom, basically looking like a snowman. That night we took an almost solitary walk without any light source. This all sounds very serine and peaceful until you have to find a partner making an animal noise in the woods. We all cheered up knowing that we were heading home and that in a couple of hours a warm shower and our beds awaited us. Before that became reality we had a few team-building courses to do, which included trust exercises, a huge ball maze controlled by the whole group, and a two-metre wall we had to get over only using one another. I think we were all glowing and it wasn’t because we were in a bright yellow bus. We could see the signs of civilization. The song I’m a survivor played in the back of my head. When we turned the corner and looked up Royal Avenue at LCC, who knew I would be so excited to see a school!

Overall, Duke of Ed was an incredible experience. The friends we made, the memories we created and the laughs we shared outweigh the cold and shear wetness we experienced. Thank you to Mr. Weiland and Ms. Comley for leading us on this trip. To everyone with whom I shared this unbelievable experience, thank you for the good times and memories. We are survivors! —Carmen Debeer (exchange student from St. Stithians Girls College, South Africa)

Photos