By Mark Squibb/November 4, 2022
Being a teenager, with all of it’s trappings, can be tough, and the teenage years are a volatile time.
It’s especially challenging if you’re studying abroad, and in a strange country — which is exactly what six young women, currently studying at Mobile Central High School, have chosen to do.
Catalina Corente, Naiara Garcia, and Irene Regalado hail from Spain; Linda Vilisch and Lina Thum, are from Germany; and Lily de Fohony calls Belgium home.
All six students have called the Southern Shore home for the past two months.
“I thought, ‘Why Not?’” said Thum, 15, of her decision to study in Newfoundland. “There are a lot of benefits to it, like learning a new language and having contacts all over the world. And experiencing this makes me feel more independent and confident. And it’s fun. I don’t regret doing it, even though you miss your friends and your family.”
Not surprisingly, the young women have noticed a number of striking differences between Newfoundland culture and their home cultures.
“Here, sports are a big thing, but in Spain, they are important, but not this important,” said Regalado, 15, from the Canary Islands in Spain.
“Sport is not really a part of school, it’s more what people do as a hobby,” agreed Lina. “So, if you want to join a good team, you don’t join the school team.”
“This is the first time I’ve seen ice hockey,” added de Fohony, 17. “In Belgium, we have field hockey. So, going to a game was amazing for me because it was my first time. It was a big experience.”
There were other big changes between their academic life here in Newfoundland and their respective homelands, including class schedules, structures, and even dress.
“At school, I wear a uniform, and every time I tell people I wear a uniform and don’t finish school until 4:30, they’re like, ‘Oh my God,’ how can you?” said Corente, 15.
And while most of the girls celebrate Halloween and Christmas – though with less pomp and circumstance than here in Canada — Thanksgiving was a new experience. Conversely, some of the students were accustomed to two week fall breaks that Newfoundland schools don’t observe.
Many folks say food is culture, and the young women found meals, including the traditional Jiggs dinner, to be quite different from what they are used to.
“There’s a lot of meat,” allowed Thum. “Sometimes I would have a salad or a pasta, and that would be my whole meal, but here that’s only a side dish.”
And, students agreed, we eat a lot more fried foods here in Newfoundland than folks in other countries do.
When asked if there is any Canadian food they really liked, Corente went with poutine, and there were no disagreements.
Blueberry duff — or anything made with blueberries — was another food the students gravitated to.
And it’s not just the meals that are different — it’s the mealtimes.
“People here eat lunch at 12 and supper at five,” said Thum. “Back home I don’t have lunch until two and supper isn’t until nine or 10.”
The other girls concurred that they are more accustomed to eating later in the day, and had to adjust to our Canadian mealtimes.
They were also jokingly in agreement in another key area — most of us speak too fast.
Throw in our odd phrases and regional dialects, and most of the girls feel like they are learning two languages.
“My house family says that I’m learning English and I’m learning Newfoundland,” joked de Fohony.
“But I will say that people are really friendly,” Thum added. “Everyone is friendly and will stop and help you.”
Newfoundland music was another new experience for most of the girls.
“Music here reminds me of music on the Canary Islands,” said Regalado. “It’s not the same, but it’s similar… I think it’s because we are both islands, and we have that in common.”
The school began receiving exchange students last year, taking on three students. The exchange program is brokered through two different agencies — Academic Island and the Newfoundland International Student Education Program (NISEP.)
Rather than playing the part of strangers in a strange land, the girls have climatized well to their communities and home life with their billet families. By December, all of the students will have their Newfoundland terms completed and will be back in their homelands.
“It’s been awesome,” said Mobile principal Gary Petten. “Everyone has been great and has meshed well with our school… Our students have learned that cultures are so different, but rather than reading from a textbook or reading from a website, they’re sitting with a person here in their class and learning these things.”
Mobile has yet to send students out as part of the exchange program, but the young women recommend students consider partaking, even if packing your bags for another country is an intimidating prospect.
“You don’t have your family or your friends here, so of course you will miss them, but you can still enjoy it,” said Regalado. “It’s a different culture, a different experience, a different people, and you will go back to your country with a lot of stories and anecdotes.”
