1980 School Magazine

Waterloo, Ont 24th Sept. 1 980

Dear Mrs. Hancock and B.G.G.S. students, My year away f rom Australia seems to have flc"rn by so quickly. At times i find it hard to believe that I have already been away from home for more than eight months, and yet when I think of all that I have packed in- to that time, it feels like three years. Of one thing I am sure - participating in an exchange program as I have done this year is one of the most incredible experiences and opportunities that a student could hope for. This year I am based in Waterloo, Ontario which is a pro- vince of Canada. Waterloo is an area that culturally, is among the richest in the country. Even more so than Australia, Canada is populated by people of many nation- alities and backgrounds, many of whom tend to cluster together in huge groups. Because of their backgrounds there are also festivals held on many weekends. ln another week, Kitcherner-Waterloo will be celebrating Oktoberfest, which is the largest festival of its kind out- side of Germany itself. lt will entail about ten days of beer drinking, dancing, singing and many other cultural actrvities. School life is very different. High School in Ontario takes in grades 9 to 13, and because most students don't start in school until they are 6, they are generally 19 before finishing their education. The schools are on the whole, very much larger, averaging about 1 ,500 students each. Generally the schools are one massive structure, so you don't see the daylight again after walking into the school in the morning untilyou are released in the afternoon, as you also have to eat lunch in the cafetaria. Although in the large schools like the one that I'm attending, Waterloo Collegiate lnstitute, you are offered infinite courses to choose from, the whole scene is extremely impersonal. lt is extremely easy to just come to school to work and never become involved in school activities - at all. As the cafetaria is not large enough to seat the whole school at once, there are two lunch periods, 5th and 6th, and you take lunch in whichever of the two periods you have a spare. We have nine 36 minute periods during the day, which are run non-stop with 4 minutes break between classes f rom 9 in the morning till 3.'15 in the afternoon. This year lhave a sixth lunch which means 5 straight classes first thing in the morning. Attendance is very strictly controlled. lf you miss homeroom in the morning due to lateness you have to sign in and automatically take a detention. You have to sign out if you have to leave schoolfor any reason durlng the day and if you don't make it to class within the four minutes break, you'll find locked doors and the only means of admittance is with a late pass from the office and again a detention. Roll call is taken during each class so anyone missing is called up to the office again the next day. I really felt at the start of the year that I was living in a prison.

I think one thing I have really missed having this year is a school uniform. Despite all the arguments, I find dress an extremely competitive area, with many of the girls wearing better clothes than many of us would own for dress-up occasions. Life as an exchange student is a pretty hectic one but loads of fun and lknow l'm going to miss many of my new found friends. A great deal of my time is given to public speaking, with Australia as the basis for most talks. I usually average at Ieast one talk each week but this week for example, I have 4 different speeches to make. I talk to any group who'll take me, which includes schools, brownies and guides, Rotarians, Jriends, retire- ment groups, you name it. Being away from home like this really makes you appreciate your country. I know I've learnt a great deal about Australia this year and I think one of my f irst objectives on returning home will be to get out and actually see a little of all I've been talking about this year. I think that one of the year's highlights are the gatherings and weekend camps that we have with other exchange students in the district. Language and culture dif- ferences don't prevent us in the least from enjoying ourselves and learning about the different ways of life" ln fact I don't think you could find a crazier group than when a bunch of exchange students clan together. The f riendships that we make are really special ones - the warmth and strength of the bonds holding us together are so much greater than ordinary f riendships. There is so much more to say, but it will have to wait 'till I come home. Love, best wishes to all, Jane Pillow. 43