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The different culture and learning style appeal me to study in a Canadian High School. Previously, my family and I worried about the adaption and the security in Canada, but now I am here for 4 month and I think I have melted into my homestay family and also the interesting learning style.
Actually, everyone is quite friendly, especially my homestay family. Their enthusiasm helped me get used to the new life quickly, and in the school, teachers are really willing to assist me in adapting the complicated subjects. My oral English thereby achieves lots of opportunities to practice. Finally, what i want to say is the environment here force me to speak English everywhere.

Frankly, especially during Grade 10 in Germany, I felt the urgent need to escape from the old, every day life, which started to become s l i g h t l y annoying. I think the majority of exchange students would agree with me on that point. I just thought of going to school in another, completely different country for a year as being very exciting, educational in a social way, and, well – something completely different. I really have to say: It was.

But it also was way more than that. I didn’t just, “visit Canada” or “spend some time abroad”. This place clearly became something like a home to me. I made many real friends – Canadians as well as other exchange students – I’m for sure going to keep in touch with. Already planning: for this August, one of my host sisters and my violin teacher are going to come and visit me in Germany, and next summer there’s going to be at least 3 Canadian friends staying with us for a little time, wanting me to show them around. I think that is great. Having friends in so many different countries and being able to learn from each other.

Maybe most important of all, there’s my awesome host family. When I came here, I thought: “So this is the place where I’m going to stay for the year. Cool.” Well, it didn’t quite turn out that way. After a shy getting-used-to-everything in that house and family and thinking “What is going on? That’s different in my family! In Germany, we don’t do that…” my family is now, well – MY family. I can talk, I can laugh, I can cry and I’m even guessing that I could argue with them like I’ve known them for years, not months. Occasionally, they even pretend I’m their favourite exchange student so far… !

About the program itself I have to say you’re doing a really great job with organizing trips to show the students your country. In the first semester, I think I took part in every single activity but one (because I was busy already) and all of them were just great. Weekends in Whistler and in Vancouver, snowboarding at Mt. Washington, the Royal BC Museum, climbing, and all the other gorgeous activities.

Surely, there are a lot of factors influencing our stay here. For me, I can say that everything even went way better than I dared to hope. And I’m just very outright grateful for my b i o l o g i c a l parents, who made this experience possible for me and for everything that made it as awesome as it was. As an exchange student, I became more outgoing, know more about Canada, and actually learned what people think of my country and continent and that way even learned to identify myself more with it.

Last but not least, the school should be mentioned. Belmont has been a fantastic environment for us to meet new people, get to know the “Canadian way”, and just be part of it from the very beginning on.

It’s been almost seven months since I got here, and I’ve got hundreds of great experiences during that time. My host family, Belmont, Victoria and Canada have made me live amazing moments far away from home. Going to school in another country is not easy, but when you get to meet great friends makes it way easier to enjoy your time. I’ve brought my Mexican sense of humor with me, it has printed smiles in many people that I meet every day, and for me making others smile, makes me happy. In sports I’ve became a soccer star, many teams want me playing for them, in the school team I did a great job and demonstrated that I have quality, but I use my time there as a coach for the first time in my life and now my team is in a semifinal.

I continued making friends in the soccer community and leaving a great taste of what Mexican soccer and culture is like. As a runner it has been great, running in the most important races in Victoria in beautiful landscapes, different from the ones at home. I’ve done well there, but runners here are amazing running and amazing persons, I like it a lot.

I have a bit more than 3 months to go, I just live every day as much as I can, as if it was going to be my last one here, when I’m back at a place that is 45 degrees celcius daily I know I’m not in Canada any more, but until that time I hope to continue enjoying as I’ve been doing and learning more about Canada, which has given me the opportunity to live an experience of a lifetime.

I totally appreciate what you are doing for your students in order to make their stays an experience as good as possible. I want to thank you for being there for me whenever i needed to talk to you about something.

I could always talk to my host mother when I had any questions about life, family or school. She is the greatest mum I could get. My host dad is like a buddy for me because he always takes me to trips like fishing, playing music or just visiting some friends.

Before I came to Canada, everybody says to you: “what a great experience, being an exchange student” But you don’t know what is it, till you live it. And it is for sure, one of the most rewarding experience of your life. You learn a new language, you meet new people, new cultures, new costumes, new ways to talk, to behave. You learn to work yourself, to give your best, to think more about your future and what are you gonna do in your life. And you also teach, about your country, about your music, about yourself.

You get to know people, and people get to know you. You create links that gonna last for ever. You learn that being from a different country, or having a different tone of skin or speaking another language don’t make us more or less people. You learn that we are all humans, everywhere. We are all the same.

Being in Canada, where there are people from everywhere, makes you see the world in a different way, in a way you haven’t seen it before, and it makes you more human and more proud of be who you are.

I chose Canada because it is a lovely country where people and nature live in harmony and people are friendly and sweet . The teachers are excellent here, it is safer than in America. I like that it is a multicultural country, which makes it easy to live here.

Now that I have graduated I am attending Vatel International Business School in France !

You’ve asked me, in which way Canada has changed me. Well, of course my English has improved – My English teacher here is pretty happy with my style, now! And I think that I’m more independent now, like, I know that I could handle things without the help of my parents. I’m still happy that usually I don’t have to, though.

These are just two examples of how my stay in Canada- and therefore YOU and YOUR TEAM have affected my life. Thank you!

Souta returned home with a lot of joy and appreciation. He has been so excited about his happy and interesting experiences in Canada. He just can’t stop talking now.

Thank you very much for taking care of my son. I appreciate your hospitality and all your efforts to let him have such a variety of experiences over there.

He met so many people, barbecue at the yard, went boating in the river, and played game in the room.

He had really precious experiences with you. He will never forget them. And they will be a good source for his learning and thinking all through his life.

He says many times, “I want to go back, and to say thank you to all.”

I hope he will have another chance to visit you. He is the luckiest boy in the world to meet such a wonderful family.

When you have a chance to visit Japan, you must stay with us. We will take care of you and your son. Thank you again.

My name is Laura. I am a Colombian citizen and I was a participant of the international student program at Belmont in 2001.

One week ago I got my undergraduate degree as a Historian, and as I was receiving my diploma I thought about the people that helped me to obtain it. Belmont Secondary School and it’s staff were part of that list, and I was just writing to thank you. I want the school to know how grateful I am for all of them. There is not one day that passes by in which I don’t think about them and what they taught me.

Besides the fact that I had the best time of my life, the six months that I spent in Canada helped me not only to improve my English, but also gave me confidence in my own talent. The people that I met, helped me realize that it wasn’t crazy to study History and that actually I had a very promising future at it. They remind me about my passion.

Thanks to them I am doing what I really love: studying History.

Now I am a social studies teacher; and I teach in English. I am also looking for a graduate program in North America and it is thanks to Belmont I am able to do so.

Finally, please keep up the good work because I am sure that there are people around the world, just like me, that will be thankful for the rest of their lives.