1998 School Magazine

Girls Grammar ^ithool alarmbane 1998

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Rotary EXchange in Ca. .na, d. a

t was March of my senior year that I decided to apply for Kelowna, British Columbia, where I enjoyed temperatures of a Rotary Youth EXchange for 1998. At the time, I was forty degrees Celsius while swirlrrning and seadooing on Lake

Okanagan, a clear lookrn long lake. During August, I also got the opportunity to be staff at a children's sununer camp where I was known as "Aussie the lifeguard" for two weeks. it was quite strange to come home and be called less again after being addressed as Aussie for two weeks During the next few months, I'm looking forward to visiting

anxious about leaving friends and faintly for a year and I didn't know whether the deferring my university course anticipated homesickness and collfLision were going to be worth it in the long run. I wondered whether I'd make friends and be accepted in my new home. Most of all, I was unsure where I'd like to go and what I wanted to achieve I've now been in Canada for almost

the cities of Saskatoon, Halifax and Vancouver, as well as some more A1bertan centres. My Mum is coming over to visit in October when we'll do some extensive travelling in British Columbia and ruberta, arriving home in time to experience a Canadian Thanksgiving with family and friends here. Before I return home in January, I also hope to visit the United States To date, my most treasured ino- merits in Canada include those spent with other eXchange students from all over the world. For ten days at the beginning of summer, twenty eXchange

eight months and have had the most interesting, challenging, emotional, ex- citing and wonderful year of my life Living here in Edmonton, ruberta, has seldom been boring or upsetting, but , ,

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rather provided me with many chal- Ienges and new friends. I am living with four host families during my year here and have obligations such as acting as an unofficial ambassador for Australia and Rotary and following certain rules

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less CSecondfrom 1<1'0 with other 8:4cb@"ge stude, zts in the Rocky Mountct"s

functions and they provide me with a monthly allowance and a support network of members who take me in as one of their own by inviting me to family functions and on trips I have been attending the large co-ed public school, Jasper Place Composite High. I'm in Grade Twelve and am taking subjects including Social Studies, Food Studies and Physical Education. During this year I have also played rugby and basketball for the school and am presently on the volleyball team. These three sports are not ones I've played before and so they have been a new experience for me and an entertaining experience for my coaches and teammates. The school system itself has proved to be vastly different from Grammar with no uniforms (school is more of a fashion parade than a learntng experience), far less respect and discipline, more options with course choices e. g. Mechanics and Cosmology and, of course, much more gender interaction. I'm glad I've had the OPPortu- nity to experience life in another high school, because although I was always told that I was lucky to attend Grammar, I never really thought that other schools were so different. How my eyes have been opened! Apart from school, I'm also involved in the Royal Canadian Sea Cadets where among other things I've had the opportunity to develop my leadership abilities further. I've also learned to sail and ski as well as much about seamanship and survival. At our annual promotions and awards dinner in June, I had the honour of being promoted two ranks from Ordinary Cadet During my summer, I've done a lot of travelling throughout western Canada and A1berta. I've been to the Rocky Mountains many times where I've mountain-biked, hiked, camped and skied. Recently, I spent a few weeks in the resort city of

students went white-water canoeing and camping on the North Saskatchewan River that has its origin in a glacier in the Rocky Mountains. it was during this trip that I had plenty of laughs and memorable tones. Subsequently, some of these students have become my best friends. Learning to ski in February was also an experience that 1'11 remember for a very long time. Until arriving in twelve degree temperatures in January (and I was told that it was a wattn winter), I'd never seen snow , so when my first host family took me skiing in the Rockies, I was overjoyed. Being the stubborn person I am, I took one lesson and decided I was good enough to teach myself the rest. The end of the week found me incredibly sore from falling time and time again and from sliding face first down the mountainside. It's a nice view from that angle. To this day, I carry a shoulder injury to remind me of the experience. A year on eXchange in another country isn't alway easy There's always homesickness, tension between host families and students, problems fitting in and adjusrrnents to a foreign culture. However, it is these hurdles that make you a stronger person and learn a lot about yourself. Responsibility and maturity are two qualities that you acquire quickly when you don't have a family there to hold your hand and fight your battles. I've had my fair share of problems, but the places I've seen, the challenges I've overcome, the experiences I've had and the friends I've made, have made it more than worthwhile When it comes time for me to leave in January 1'11 find it hard to leave those I've come to love. Of course, I'm looking forward to seeing everyone at home again, but 1'11 be sorry to leave such great people and a country like Canada

JESS HAYNES

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