Feature TheReview Wednesday, March 6, 1991 — A26 Exchange students expand their horizons in schools = by Mare Davis The Review Nine students from all four cor- ners of the world are learning first-hand about British Columbia by studying at Parkland and Stelly’s secondary schools this year. Six Grade 11 students are taking part in the fifth annual exchange program at Parkland, while three overseas students — two in Grade 12 and one in Grade 11 — are studying at Stelly’s. Stelly’s exchange program coor- dinator Ethel Mailhot said the program has brought students from all over Central Europe, Scandin- avia, and the South Seas to Stelly’s in the last four years. But this is the first time her school has hosted a young scholar from Africa, she said. Stephanie Verger, 17, from West Africa’s Ivory Coast, said coming to Canada is is a “dream come true” and one of the things she’s most thrilled to have discovered here is snow. “T loved the snow so much when I saw it because I’d never seen it before. It was great fun. I even built a snow-woman,” said the Grade 12 student. Other things that impressed her and fellow Grade 12 newcomer Alison Owens, 16, from Wales, is the beauty of Canada. “It’s so beautiful here and so clean. I love the big open spaces. Ever since I was a little kid I wanted to see the Rocky Moun- tains,’ Verger said. Owens said she’s particularly happy about the “laid-back, easy- going lifestyle in Canada.” “Since I’ve been here I’ve loved it so much IJ decided to come back and study at university and see more of Canada. I just seem to fit in here,” she said. The only real problem for the girls has been the language barrier, which was acute for NEEL whose native tongue is French. “Every day you learn new words and different expression. If you don’t try to speak English, you stay in the corner and don’t social- e, she said. For Owens the language prob- lems are centered more around misunderstandings over words and terms that are used differently in Canada and Britain. “You don’t ask people where the toilet is here like we do back home. You have to say the bath- room because people here think saying toilet is gross,” Owens said. As for what they miss the most about her home countries, it’s the sandy beaches and the sound of the surf for Verger, while Owens yearns for her neighborhood pub, where she used to socialize. Both girls hope to come back to Canada to study at university and to maybe build a new life here. Verger, in particular, hopes to retumm next year to leam to be a French teacher and to “maybe marry a nice Canadian boy.” Also attending Stelly’s is Grade 11 student Masayoshi Harada from Japan. Parkland vice-principal Geoff Giles said the five foreign students and one Quebecker at his school are not merely here to learn about the way of life in B.C They re also taking part in a two-way educational process by heightening Peninsula students’ awareness of diverse cultures from around the world, Giles said. “We're trying to make our stu- dents aware of their place in the global community,” he said. Also, Canadian students who, in tum, have the chance to study in other countnes tend to “grow up a lot quicker’ and broaden their horizons, he said. “Generally speaking they go through a real educational process by living in another country and by experiencing another culture,” SHOWING OFF HER dance style during a recent rehearsal for a Stelly’s Dance Company production is Stephanie Verger, 17, from West Africa’s Ivory Coast. Giles said. “It's something we can’t dupli- cate here. From our point of view its a temendously successful pro- gram.” A month ago, Grade 11 students Tara Nelson and Rob Clark left Parkland for a year to attend school in New Zealand. A recent dividend of the exchange program is that Parkland is now benefiting from glasnost by playing host to two female Soviet Students, Giles said. Lena Khlebina and Arina Shulga are the first Soviets ever to attend Parkland and they ve both adapted remarkably well to Can- ada’s culture and education sys- tem. “Academically these two Russi- ans are pretty successful, like most of the exchange students,” Giles said. “While they are here, we try and give these students a pretty broad curriculum but most are pretty bright.” Also taking part in the exchange program is Naoko Okamoto from Japan, Marie Penichon from France and Federico Sinclair from Argentina. Though not from a different country, Quebecker Kathlien Giray also qualifies as an exchange stu- dent because of her cultural dififer- ences from West Coast Canadians, he said. In the past, students from Scan- dinavia, New Zealand, Australia and Japan have also studied at Parkland. Students are picked for the chance to study abroad on the basis of academic ability, enthusi- asm and “independent minded- ness, Giles said. 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