Experiencias de nuestros estudiantes

Hannah B. – 6 meses en Blind River, Ontario 03/04

I was warmly welcomed by my host family at the airport in Canada and all at once, my fears and worries were gone.

At last I got the letter I had been waiting for so excitedly! The question about my host family was answered. So, I will be living with a young woman and her 5-year-old daughter during those six months. It is going to be in Blind River, a town of 4,000 inhabitants right on Lake Huron in Ontario. I am going to have a beach right in front the door! Blind River is close to Toronto, the capital of Ontario. Close in Canadian terms because it is a 6-hour drive.

Before I made the decision of spending half a year in another country, I asked myself many  questions. It is a big step to live in a foreign country with people you don't know and not be able to see your friends and family. I was sitting, quite nervous, with 50 other exchange students in late August on a plane to Canada. Only then I realized I was really going to live in a remote place in Canada for the following six months. I was warmly welcomed by my host family at the airport in Canada and all at once, my fears and worries were gone. I felt comfortable in my Canadian family.

At the beginning, the language barrier was quite big since I had only 4 years of English in school back home. However, that changed very quickly because there is no other way out and all of the sudden you realize you think and even dream in English. I went to a bilingual English/French school with a capacity of about 500 students. On the first day, it felt strange there. However, I was very nicely surprised when some students came up to me and were interested in learning something about my country. I quickly made friends with whom I used to go bowling, shopping, to the movies or on trips on skimobiles.

On the weekends we often went to my host grandparents' farm. The farm area was incredibly large. You could go through its own garden, walk for an hour and walk past the private lake up the hill and then see the farm in the distance. It was even possible to hunt there in autumn. From time to time, black bears could be seen through the bushes.

In winter you could go ice fishing or ice-skate on the lake. During my stay, I became an ice hockey fan like every Canadian. I went to the game of the Blind River Beavers with my friends almost every week.

Those 6 months in Canada were marked by many new feelings and experiences, and it was definitely never boring. Even though it was not easy to make the decision of going to Canada,  it was the best decision I could have made. I had a great time, have learnt to appreciate a new culture, and made many friends of a lifetime. I have visited my host family 4 times since my stay and my host mother and sister also came to visit me.

So I wish you have a lot of fun during your stay abroad! Enjoy the time because it goes by too fast.