"Pretty British Columbia"

Die Schülerin Nadia Rottensteiner (4B-WS) verbrachte das erste Semester in Kanada. Zusammen mit ihrer Gastmutter Rosalyn und ihrer Gastschwester Melissa lernte sie eine aufregende neue Welt kennen. Sie berichtet über diese einzigartige Erfahrung.

"When I first arrived in Richmond, BC, I was overwhelmed. I did not know what to expect about my life here. My host mother, Rosalyn, picked me up at the airport accompanied by my brazilian host sister, Melissa. Rosalyn drove us to her house where I would be staying for 5 months. The relationship between us three built up quickly so I felt really comfortable at her house in a short time. I have to say that I got really lucky with my homestay, Rosalyn cared for Melissa and me really well, she made sure we would feel welcomed and be able to talk to her if we had difficulties with anything.

The first week I was here, there were lots of activities for exchange students, where I met most of my friends. They are Brazilian, German, and Italian. We hung out all week, then when school started we hung out on the weekends. We became really close friends in a short time. In our free time we usually went shopping, did karaoke, played laser tag, went out for dinner or went for a hike.

I continued my education at Steveston-London Secondary School. It is a big school with about 1,200 students. They usually have lots of exchange students, this year there were about 30. You could take four classes per semester. I chose the subjects French, English, Accounting, and ELL, which was mandatory since English is not my first language. The teachers at the school are really nice. They make sure you feel welcome and provide extra help for students with difficulties. The change from having all classes in English was a challenge but I got used to it. I found the subject accounting the most difficult since I had to learn the vocabulary, but my teacher helped me with that. In my classes I also made some Canadian friends. They were all interested in my culture and country.

Steveston-London Secondary School

In all, I believe that whoever has the chance to do an exchange semester/year should do it because it is going to be the best time of your life. You will meet so many people, see so many attractions, and interact with so many cultures."

Some pictures:

Some of the attractions I have seen:

Halloween was so much fun. We went out for trick or treading and got so much candy!

The Christmas decorations were stunning. There was light everywhere.

Some pictures with my friends.

Vancouver