A group of 14 students from four countries is spending time in Olds during the 2013-14 school year.
Students from Brazil, Mexico, Germany and Japan are attending Olds High School while Courtney Schafer from Olds is currently in Belgium.
Four of the students studying in Olds said they are enjoying their time here. Ricardo Carnairo, a Grade 11 student from Brazil, said school there is much different, with core subjects such as English, mathematics and physics taking up a much larger part of student coursework. In Olds, however, there are additional options to choose from such as drama, stained glass-making and fitness that don't exist in Brazil.
Culturally, Carnairo said he enjoys the differences between here and Brazil.
ìI like it because the food is so different, the people are different and the customs are different too,î he said, adding the one thing he doesn't like about Olds is the snow and cold.
Marian Manzo, a Grade 10 student from Mexico, also said the school system here is much different than in Mexico. Here, there are five classes per day instead of seven back home. Subjects change after the semester is over at the end of January in Olds, with five new subjects from February to June, while in Mexico, the same subjects run throughout the entire year.
ìI'm happy here. Here you can choose your classes (and) I find it really good the system you have here,î she said, adding she is impressed with the people. Unlike Carnairo, Manzo said she doesn't mind the winter. ìI love the snow.î
Maren Grabe, a Grade 10 student from Germany, is only here for one semester and will be leaving for home at the end of January.
ìI really love (Canada). People are so much nicer and the school is kind of easier. It's more positive,î she said, adding that like the other exchange students, she likes the fact that there are some subjects students can choose. ìPeople are kind of nicer. The food is much different here.î
Mayuka Yamamoku, a Grade 11 student from Japan, said she likes Canada. She said Halloween and Christmas aren't celebrated in Japan.
ìI really like Canada and this school. Everything is very different,î she said, adding that Canadians aren't as ìseriousî as Japanese people.
ìSchool is very good. Subject options are very different (in Japan),î she said. ìThis Christmas I didn't have any homework. In Japan, every long vacation we have so (much) homework.î
OHS has had outbound and inbound exchanges for about the past 10 years, said Tom Christensen, the school's principal. The school has had several Mexican students each year at the school since forming a partnership with Xcaret School near Playa Del Carmen. The vice-principal of Xcaret School has visited OHS on several occasions, and usually comes to Olds twice per year to study the curriculum in Olds to see if some of it could be implemented at the school on the Mexican Riviera.
ìSince we partnered with them we've been having 14 (exchange) students, (from Brazil, Mexico, Japan and Europe),î Christensen said. ìIt's just such an intertwined world. These students, they come in and they share their differences.î
