Youth Exchange Canada: Toronto – Day Two

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On Monday, our group travelled to Casa Loma, taking in great views of the city as we climbed the hill and stairs to the castle. Our first adventure was walking through the 800 ft tunnel, through the “Toronto The Dark Side” exhibit to the stables and antique car exhibits. We then watched a film that took us through the history of Casa Loma and learned a lot about the time period in which it was built. After the film, we had free time to explore all of the rooms and grounds of the castle. The highlight for many of us was climbing up the winding staircases into the towers and enjoying more great views of Toronto.

After our visit to Casa Loma we had lunch in some green space nearby. All of the Academy students laid out the extra lunches they had made so that our guests could choose a meal they liked. We then ate in the beautiful sunshine and many students found ways to climb up trees and walls and monkey around.

When lunch was finished, we took the subway to High Park to show our guests the nature found right in our city. We had a nice walk through the park, stopping to rest by the cherry blossoms and view the animals in the zoo. We were happy to see the capybaras, Bonnie and Clyde, and their babies running around in their enclosure.

From High Park, we made our way back downtown and after we rested up and did a bit of shopping near the YMCA Academy, then we headed towards Fran’s Restaurant as our hunger grew anticipating the meal that awaited us. When we arrived at the diner, our excitement grew. As we chatted amongst ourselves our orders arrived. We had burgers and fries, fish and chips or chicken parmesan with spaghetti. The decor in Fran’s restaurant had the look and feel of the 1970s. The diner had seafoam coloured walls and seats along with booths and tables that were located in the front of the diner. The floors were tiled diagonally; the desserts were on display while the staff were wearing black uniforms. Jonathan says “I rate this restaurant environment and my meal 10/10”.

After we had dinner with our twins at the Fran’s diner we walk to Yonge and Dundas to show our guests the Eaton Centre. They went around going to find things that they didn’t have on the island such as make-up stores, EB games and more. We spend a lot of time there (and money). Afterwards we all went our separate ways home.

Check out more photos from this event on our Facebook page!

Youth Exchange Canada: Toronto – Day One

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It was a bright and early Sunday morning, me (Heather), Benny and Spencer carpooled down to Clarence Park. As I hopped out of the car the first thing I had to do was meet each of the exchange students for I was so enthralled that they were finally here! We went on a TTC scavenger hunt. The plan was to conclude the TTC scavenger hunt at Chester Station, then from there we walked to Withrow Park. At the park we ate lunch and played some getting-to-know-you games. Ebin and his younger brother Aubrey were climbing trees. It was wicked to watch them climb, so second nature. We walked to an even bigger park called Riverdale and I and some of the exchange kids and YMCA kids rolled down the hill it was happy times. We waited at Riverdale for a recent graduate of the YMCA named Dakota and his brother Phoenix that is currently attending the school. We walked to Dakota and Phoenix’s house for a native ceremony to learn a little bit about the native rituals that originated from Toronto. All the Haida Gwaii kids gave a cedar rose to the drummers. It was a beautiful and tiring day but altogether one hundred percent worth, yawns.

We weren’t sure, beforehand, how many of our visitors were members of the Haida Nation, but we wanted to do our best to present them with a traditional native welcome. A good friend to the Academy, and parent of both a former and current student, Valentina, did not disappoint as she hosted a beautiful, spirited potluck at her home. She arranged a group of drummers and singers to perform several touching songs, each with a particular focus and meaning. The event took place in the courtyard of their housing complex and was so powerful it attracted surrounding neighbours and even stopped cars driving by. In a surprise twist, Pauline Shirt, an Elder of the Plains Cree who was leading the welcoming happened to know and have worked with an aunt of one of the youth visiting us. What a small world!

Our guests were very appreciative of the welcoming we gave them, but were also happy to return to their accommodations and rest up for what would be a long and exciting whirlwind week of activities. This day was the perfect start to such a week.

Check out more photos from this event on our Facebook page!

Colombia: The Last Days on the farm

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Susan Couprie at the beginning of the hikeThe camp was a success- 24 people in attendance. Youth were the campers and young adult volunteers from the YMCA Medellin were being trained so that they can run this camp in the future. Mel and I along with 3 volunteers taught all about the process of farming and the English words associated with it. We learned all about the parts of a seed, how to prepare the soil- it started off as a grassy area, how to plant corn, composting and we spent some time with the farm animals (chickens, goats, my friend the parrot and the rabbits who have 18 new little ones). We also went for a hike around the countryside to see the local crops and of course played many leadership games and had a campfire. A fun and much appreciated time were had by all.

After 2 days of camp and a long sleep, we were up and ready to get going on our last adventure of the trip. We travelled to Guatape where we climbed the El Peñon de Guatape rock. If you remember, in a previous post, I talked about climbing a mountain in Strata One, well this climb was even more challenging. There were 740 stairs on the side of this650 foot rock and every step was challenging as we twisted and turned all the way up.

My last day on The Farm was filled with chasing chickens (they all got out of the pens overnight, so off me and the farmer went chasing them around the farm and back into their pens), checking out the little bunnies (almost impossible to take a picture as they kept jumping!!) and of course packing.

Thank you all for following my trip to Medellin. I hope you enjoyed my adventures and learned a lot about the YMCA along the way. It is with a hopeful heart that I said goodbye to all those I met here. If all goes well, I will see many of the friends I made on this exchange in the next couple of years. Until my next adventure, with my friends and colleagues from the YMCA Medellin….

Colombia: What does an exchange look like?

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Monday morning I was back at Soliera School. This time, the objective was to promote the upcoming exchange next year to The Academy and to invite the students to an English Immersion camp that we will be running next week. I visited with all the grade 8 and 9 students as they are the target for the exchange. It was important to get their feedback and concerns to help us create a meaningful exchange.

Looking down on Soleira School from above
Looking down on Soleira School from above

In the afternoon, I led a teacher meeting with two focuses. One – presentation on what an exchange might look like based on previous exchanges run by The YMCA Academy (again asking for feedback and concerns) and Two – a presentation and discussion on inclusion in the classroom for students with exceptionalities focusing on ADD/ADHD (as requested by the school). Unfortunately we ran out of time before I finished the workshop on inclusion (when the buses arrive, all the teachers need to leave as this is their transportation down the mountain). I left the rest of the workshop with the school, so they can continue it at a later date.

With all the feedback from staff and students, it was time to sit down, reflect on the feedback we had received so far and make some decisions about the exchange. We agreed upon:

• The objectives of the exchange
• The criteria for participating
• The possible dates
• The student/staff ratio
• A list of tasks to do before, during and after the exchange.

We were well on our way!!

At 6am on April 5, I was back on the road to visit the Catholic University (1 ½ hours away) to present a sample exchange to interested parents. Although we ran into some traffic issues and ended up being late, we had a warm and welcoming meeting.

We were kindly invited for lunch at Diego’s home (volunteer at the YMCA and one of my interpreters) with his father (YMCA Board Member) and back on the road we went to arrive in time for me to participate in three evening classes. All three were English classes. The first was a children’s class and the other two were adult classes. Every class is run by a volunteer. What a wonderful wealth of dedication I see every day in the volunteers here.

Diego
Diego

It was now time to solidify the exchange, so Carlos (Director of the YMCA) and I sat down and discussed options of activities that would fall under the objectives of the exchange which included:

• English immersion
• Environmental theme
• Cultural exchange
• Tour around Canada’s largest city and surrounding areas
• Experience the life of a student at The YMCA Academy
• Experience YMCA Camp
• Become actively engaged in the Toronto and surrounding community

We presented our exchange to the Director of the Soliera School the next day. We ended that meeting with my first “high five” from Carlos and a celebratory ice cream snack. All ends well as this was the closing of the allotted time for organizing the exchange. Although there is a lot of work left to be done, we have the groundwork of a great exchange. I anticipate changes to the work we have done here as a lot can change in the next 12 months and I am sure that there will be feedback from staff in Toronto. The important thing is the relationship building that I have been a part of and the dedication and interest of all.

 

Colombia: Travelling to Rionegro Town

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Sunday, April 2 was my day off of work, but by no means was I idly sitting in my room. To my delight, we travelled to a small town called Carmen which is known for ceramics. As many of you know I am a potter and as you can imagine, this town was the perfect place for me to spend some time. Everywhere you looked, pottery is used.

Lampposts
Lamp Posts
Yes, there are plates, tiles and even bowls decorating the buildings
Yes, there are plates, tiles and even bowls decorating the buildings

If you take a close look at the pillar in the middle of the town square, you will see from bottom to top the history of ceramics.
If you take a close look at the pillar in the middle of the town square, you will see from bottom to top the history of ceramics.  The brown at the bottom represents the earth all the way to the blue at the top which represent the sky.  If you look closely, you will also see plates embedded into the structure.

I also travelled to Rionegro Town. We visited the house called Casa de la Convención, where the constitution of 1863 was signed, and we were allowed to touch the table that was used.   We learned about the culture that was emerging at the time and how the people used printing presses to communicate.

Cabinet that held the letters and numbers for the printing press
Cabinet that held the letters and numbers for the printing press
Close up of one of the drawers with letters in them
Close up of one of the drawers with letters in them
The table at the far end of the room was used to sign the constitution
The table at the far end of the room was used to sign the constitution

This is the box that carried the constitution and all the notes that were taken during the writing of it.

This is the box that carried the constitution and all the notes that were taken during the writing of it.  Notice that there are 3 key holes.  Three different people each had one key to ensure that nothing was tampered with.

During these times, communicating with your significant other before marriage was carried out through a special window in the homes where one person sat on inside one side of the wall and the other was outside the house.  Only holding hands was allowed!!!

The seat on the inside of the house if you were communicating with your significant other.
The seat on the inside of the house if you were communicating with your significant other.

And we finished up the day at Tutucan which is on the outskirts of Rionegro.  It “is a replica of a typical paisa town with a church, park, mill, taverns, coffee farm and livestock. The site features ‘locals’ who animate the streets. It also has restaurants serving local Antioquia dishes.”

A day at Tutucan which is on the outskirts of Rionegro