Driving my twelve year old son home from school the other day, he commented on how much he was enjoying his experience in Canada and remarked that: “after a while everything seems normal and you feel like you’ve lived here your whole life”.
Max’s statement pretty much sums up how my family and I are viewing our current exchange experience to Kingston, Ontario. Six very short months ago, we were frantically preparing for our odyssey. Amidst the chaos and cleaning, the thought of spending a year in another country did not quite seem real. At times, I wondered if I were doing the right thing. My husband was initially cautious about going and my 15 year old daughter definitely did not want to go. Three days before departure she was determined to stay with her grandparents for a year. Nevertheless, after two days of travel my family and I made it to Kingston just in time for New Year’s Eve.
Kingston is a city of 120000 people located on the St Lawrence River. Initially the site for Canada’s capital, it is rich in history and culture. Big enough to have every facility at your fingertips, Kingston is still small enough to travel easily from one side of town to the other. I have heard that it has been rated the third most liveable city in Canada and I can quite believe this. We are lucky to have our exchange here.
My teaching assignment for the year is at Holy Cross Secondary College, a school of 1400 students in Kingston, Ontario. The Ontario secondary education system differs greatly from that of NSW. For a start, students do not have to sit external exams in order to receive their High School Diploma. They have to complete a certain number of credits along with compulsory volunteer hours in order to graduate. Our school day is sectioned into four periods. Teachers teach the same class at the same time each day. I currently have three classes under my care and am enjoying the experience. The universality of teachers and their joys and concerns was most noticeable for me. We all share the same hopes and ideals for our students, deal with the same issues and care deeply for those under our care. The kids themselves find my “Aussie-isms” quite humorous at times and I as I settled in, very quickly acquainted myself with the Canadian lingo. Last Friday was our last day of classes before exams and I cooked Kangaroo on a grill in my classroom. Some were a little grossed out but most were happy to try some and judged it to be quite satisfactory.
Settling in to another country wasn’t all that difficult. Once we got over the shock of the cold, we soon felt very much at home. We quickly became acquainted with a snow shovel, snow scraper and various types of snow, snow boots, toques and mitts – all essential items for getting out of the house on a school morning. Looking back, I can’t believe that initially I thought -5 degrees was actually cold. After days where Arctic Highs bought temperatures of more than -27 where doors freeze close on the car and tissues in your pocket freeze, -5 seems almost tropical. Having said that, as the weather warmed up, we were amazed at how winter very quickly turned into Spring and suddenly, our landscape changed from winter white to green and luscious. We have now become familiar with black flies and bugs!
My children quickly settled into their various schools and have made many friends. Most of whom, wish they had accents like the Aussie kids. We find this amusing. For my boys, the transition of coming from a school of 42 into a large elementary school was made easy by the number of friends they quickly made and the friendly professionalism of the teaching staff. My daughter also made a smooth transition from Carroll College, a school of 500 students to Holy Cross with almost three times that number. The community here has been truly welcoming. One of the benefits of travelling with children is that you get to meet a wide variety of community members through their activities like soccer, swimming and dance.
Naturally, with a year of living in another country comes the opportunity for travel. We have been on several weekend events conducted by CLEE (The Canadian League for Educational Exchange). These have included trips to Toronto, the Winter Carnivale in Quebec City and the Tulip Festival in Ottawa. These events have given us the opportunity to meet with other Australians currently on exchange. It’s great to be able to share stories and experiences. We have also met some wonderful Canadians who have organised and hosted these events. Our March Break was spent in New York City where we were able to visit some of those famous cultural icons we had seen on television for years. We even managed to take in a Broadway Show. We have also visited places like Niagara Falls, Montreal and the Algonquin Provincial Park where we managed to spot a Moose!
With the summer break looming, we plan to travel to the Eastern Maritime Provinces for most of the summer break as well as spending some time at various cottages nearby Kingston. The possibilities are endless.
In less than six months we will return to Australia with mixed feelings. My three children are already dreading the time they will have to say goodbye to their Canadian friends. Even the reluctant 15 year old is enjoying herself more than she cares to admit. For me I can barely imagine life without Tim Horton’s, driving on the wrong side of the road, never teaching at Holy Cross again and the sadness of farewelling new friends. We will, no doubt be glad to be home. However, we will bring with us a wealth of experiences, memories and friendships that hopefully will stay with us for life.
A teaching exchange is truly a privilege. As a professional, I have gained so much from this experience. Personally, my family have grown in ways I can’t begin to express. We have become closer and the quality family time is something I’ll never forget. My kids have been taken out of their own personal comfort zones of life in Australia and have embraced the change and all that comes with it. My husband, a school principal in Australia, is enjoying the challenge of supply teaching and the lack of stress associated with running a school. One thing we have realised as a result of this exchange is that if you have your family with you, you can live anywhere.
For those of you in Australia, if you are even remotely considering a teaching exchange, I say do it. It’s something you won’t regret.
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