International Students enjoy sports weekend January 2014
Posted by Tony Caissie
on Jun 21, 2014
International students enjoy sports weekend
By Byron Hackett, The Journal Tuesday, January 14, 2014 8:30:04 CST AM
Published with permission of the Melfort Journal
Anytime a student can gather the courage to step up in front of a large crowd and speak it is a commendable feat. Even more remarkable when a student has to do it in a foreign country, speaking a language that is mostly likely not their first.
That was the scene at the curling club in Melfort on Sunday night as 20 international students from around the globe told an audience their name, country of origin and something they enjoyed about their time in Canada.
“The growth even from September when they arrived with some of them you can see such an improvement,” chair of the exchange weekend Mike Mahon said. “By the end of the year when the students go home they have grown so much.”
The students are all guest of Rotary International and have been staying with families across the division, which extends as far as northern Ontario.
The students were in Melfort to participate in a weekend of typical Canadian outdoor fun. In the past the weekend has been hampered by bad weather but this year was just right.
“(With the schedule) Hopefully we don’t have to adapt too much. Last year we actually had a day when he had to cancel some events because it was too cold,” Mahon said.
For the students, ranging anywhere from grade 10 to grade 12 or recently graduated, it was an opportunity to experience things like skiing, snowboarding, ice fishing, curling, a hockey game, snowmobiling and even a horse drawn sled ride.
On Saturday they spent the day at Wapiti Valley Ski and Snowboard Resort, which for most was the first time they got to try skiing or snowboarding.
For Camille Toussaint, a student from France who is doing her exchange in Regina, snowboarding for the first time was a fun but painful experience.
“I tried snowboarding and I had never tried it before,” she said chuckling. “ It was terrible. I spent most of the time on the ground and I probably have 1000 bruises.”
That night they attended the Melfort Mustangs game and cheered the team to a 4-2 victory over the Notre Dame Hounds.
On Sunday the group was able to meet up with the local snowmobile club and was able to take a ride, as well as a ride on a horse drawn sled.
The students got their chance on the ice at the curling rink just before dinner and the flag ceremony on Sunday evening.
Although Toussaint is from France (where she explained it doesn’t usually get colder than –17), she was still extremely surprised by the weather in Saskatchewan.
“The cold,” Toussaint said. “Minus 55 last week with the wind chill it was incredible. I saw a picture somewhere that said it was colder in Canada than Mars.”
For another student, Luc Imperiali who is from Switzerland, concerns of the brisk weather reached home very quickly after his arrival.
“I was kind of shocked by the weather, I knew it would be cold but I wasn’t expecting to be that cold. My mother was worried about me so she sent a down jacket and I’m actually glad I have it,” he said.
Imperiali is a 19-year-old from Switzerland who had already tried most of the activities that were available this weekend, but still enjoyed snowmobiling.
“I actually got to snowmobile for the first time in Alberta. But it’s something you can’t do in Switzerland because there is not enough snow. So it’s actually really Canadian,” he said.
For both the organizers and the students even more than trying out ‘typical’ Canadian activities, it is about the friendships garnered over the weekend by the students.
That was the one aspect of the weekend that Toussaint admitted she looked forward to most.
“Spending time together, it’s just amazing how close we are,” she said. “They all know how we feel. We just talk to each other about our feelings and everything we’ve done.”
“The students form a very strong bond with each other. The exchange students we have here will be friends for life whether they are from Brazil, Japan or throughout Europe. They really enjoy the time together and they really thrive on trying new things and if they fall flat on their face, they will have a good laugh about it because it’s something new, it’s a new experience,” Mahon said.
That was the scene at the curling club in Melfort on Sunday night as 20 international students from around the globe told an audience their name, country of origin and something they enjoyed about their time in Canada.
“The growth even from September when they arrived with some of them you can see such an improvement,” chair of the exchange weekend Mike Mahon said. “By the end of the year when the students go home they have grown so much.”
The students are all guest of Rotary International and have been staying with families across the division, which extends as far as northern Ontario.
The students were in Melfort to participate in a weekend of typical Canadian outdoor fun. In the past the weekend has been hampered by bad weather but this year was just right.
“(With the schedule) Hopefully we don’t have to adapt too much. Last year we actually had a day when he had to cancel some events because it was too cold,” Mahon said.
For the students, ranging anywhere from grade 10 to grade 12 or recently graduated, it was an opportunity to experience things like skiing, snowboarding, ice fishing, curling, a hockey game, snowmobiling and even a horse drawn sled ride.
On Saturday they spent the day at Wapiti Valley Ski and Snowboard Resort, which for most was the first time they got to try skiing or snowboarding.
For Camille Toussaint, a student from France who is doing her exchange in Regina, snowboarding for the first time was a fun but painful experience.
“I tried snowboarding and I had never tried it before,” she said chuckling. “ It was terrible. I spent most of the time on the ground and I probably have 1000 bruises.”
That night they attended the Melfort Mustangs game and cheered the team to a 4-2 victory over the Notre Dame Hounds.
On Sunday the group was able to meet up with the local snowmobile club and was able to take a ride, as well as a ride on a horse drawn sled.
The students got their chance on the ice at the curling rink just before dinner and the flag ceremony on Sunday evening.
Although Toussaint is from France (where she explained it doesn’t usually get colder than –17), she was still extremely surprised by the weather in Saskatchewan.
“The cold,” Toussaint said. “Minus 55 last week with the wind chill it was incredible. I saw a picture somewhere that said it was colder in Canada than Mars.”
For another student, Luc Imperiali who is from Switzerland, concerns of the brisk weather reached home very quickly after his arrival.
“I was kind of shocked by the weather, I knew it would be cold but I wasn’t expecting to be that cold. My mother was worried about me so she sent a down jacket and I’m actually glad I have it,” he said.
Imperiali is a 19-year-old from Switzerland who had already tried most of the activities that were available this weekend, but still enjoyed snowmobiling.
“I actually got to snowmobile for the first time in Alberta. But it’s something you can’t do in Switzerland because there is not enough snow. So it’s actually really Canadian,” he said.
For both the organizers and the students even more than trying out ‘typical’ Canadian activities, it is about the friendships garnered over the weekend by the students.
That was the one aspect of the weekend that Toussaint admitted she looked forward to most.
“Spending time together, it’s just amazing how close we are,” she said. “They all know how we feel. We just talk to each other about our feelings and everything we’ve done.”
“The students form a very strong bond with each other. The exchange students we have here will be friends for life whether they are from Brazil, Japan or throughout Europe. They really enjoy the time together and they really thrive on trying new things and if they fall flat on their face, they will have a good laugh about it because it’s something new, it’s a new experience,” Mahon said.