Melba is Shecana’s representative and organizer par excellence in Villavicencio. Already busy with her work as a teacher work, Melba has worked long hours to establish our Shecana program in Colombia. She’s explained the program in her community and arranged for top-notch school and host families for our Canadian students. One of her biggest jobs has been hunting down and stick-handling documents through government channels to ensure that everyone has the right paperwork in place – no small matter! We’re looking forward to meeting up with Melba and Derek, Jenna’s and Matthew’s host families in Villavicencio in just over a week.
As a teacher who has travelled and lived overseas in the UK and USA, as well as a month-long stay in Canada last year, Melba has the experience to understand our Canadian students’ perspective as they embrace the challenge of living and attending school in a foreign country.
Thanks, Melba, for the weather links: http://www.tutiempo.net/tiempo/Villavicencio_Vanguardia/SKVV.htm and http://clima.starmedia.com/sudamerica/colombia/villavicencio/. (Nice warm temperatures, but it looks like your advice to bring a raincoat/jacket and an umbrella is wise.)
Flights are booked and 3 BC students and their Shecana escort are set to head to Colombia on February 11th, just two weeks and a few short days away. This blog will follow their experience from trip preparation on to the schools Colombia. You’ll meet Derek, Jenna and Matthew, whose final exams this week are competing for attention along with the upcoming adventure.
While in Colombia, Shecana’s students live with carefully selected volunteer host families and attend school full time. At their schools, the Canadians will take some courses and will also work with teachers in the school to assist Colombian students to learn English. They’ll be there for the full school term then return to Canada at the end of June. Education is a high priority for Colombians: around 92% of Colombians attend private schools and the remaining 8% go to public school. This is about the opposite of the school picture in British Columbia, where the vast majority of students are in public schools. Derek, Jenna, and Mathew will attend private schools.
Where are we headed? Villavicencio, commonly known as Villavo, is a city of 360,000 people located in the foothills of the Andes 75 km southeast of Bogotá. It’s tropical, hot (average temperature 27°C) and humid, which is going to be a welcome change for those of us who experienced temperatures way, way below 0° C last week! Villavicencio is only 4° north of the equator, so seasons don’t change over the course of the year as they do here in Canada.
Villavicencio (panoramio.com)
By LeRae Haynes
Last year Jay Goddard and Stephanie Vanderlaan and their three children opened their home to a Shecana International Schools exchange student from Frankfurt, Germany. Grade 10 student Dennis Geyer spent 10 months attending Williams Lake Secondary School for the 2010/2011 year, making new friends and experiencing life in the Cariboo.
Stephanie said that one of the motivations for taking in an exchange student was a trip she took to Cuba with her daughter Chelsea on a school band trip. “It was such a great cultural opportunity and this was a chance to expand the experience,” she said.
Shecana International Schools provides opportunities for local families to experience worldwide culture right in their own home. All students who come to Canada have been carefully screened and are recommended by their teachers and their home schools.
Jay said that they got to read a range of profiles of potential exchange students, and that Dennis stood out because he had been around a lot of kids in his home and had some music in his background.
They said that Dennis learned a lot during his time in Williams Lake. “He learned to live without high speed internet, how to shovel more than 30 feet of snow, how to use a lawn mower and weed eater, how to ski in the trees and how to do the dishes,” said 12-year-old Damian Goddard.
The Goddards picked Dennis up from the Williams Lake airport at the end of August and brought him to the Frost Creek area where he would live with their family for the school year. Stephanie said that Dennis came from a big city and loved the rural countryside and the wildlife in the Cariboo.
He played clarinet and joined the school band, travelling with them to Prince George, Edmonton and Vancouver. “We all went to a concert in Vancouver, to the West Edmonton Mall, to Vernon to visit family and skiing at Mt. Timothy and Silverstar,” Jay explained. “He also came along with us on a family trip to Mexico.”
(Photo: Shecana exchange student Dennis Geyer is pictured here with members of his host family, Chelsea, Tianna and Damian Goddard.)
Shecana International Schools’ mission is to provide an array of safe, positive, and educational travel opportunities for youth. Their philosophy is that international long-stay travel is a genuinely educational experience that contributes to positive personal development, international connections, opportunities and friendships, respect for other countries and cultures, and an awareness of Canada's place in the global community.
Stephanie said it was a great ‘English immersion’ program for Dennis, especially because Chelsea Goddard, fellow high school student, refused to allow him to pronounce English words with an accent. He also got to try his hand at running sound when Jay directed ‘Just So’ at the Glendale Theatre.
“He taught me a lot about computers, ‘techie’ stuff, how to drive a remote control car and how to play video games in German,” Damian continued. “He taught us how to program a cell phone.”
When Dennis’ family arrived from Germany to pick him up at the end of the school year, the Goddards extended their hospitality to show them some Cariboo highlights including the Williams Lake Stampede, a mountain bike expedition and a trip to Barkerville.
“His parents are both engineers and they took in an exchange student while Dennis was in Williams Lake,” Stephanie said. “He’s been in touch on Facebook and by phone since he left.
“He became part of our family and we miss him.”
The Shecana experience was so positive for the Goddards that they’re doing it again, and their new exchange student, a Grade 11 girl from Munich, arrives this week.
“It’s a wonderful experience to have someone be so excited about our everyday life,” Stephanie said. “My kids learned that there are other languages and other cultures—this really broadened their horizens.”
For more information about the Shecana International Schools program visit www.shecana.ca
**Originally posted on Monday August 22, 2011, by LeRae Haynes. Click here to link to original blog post: http://www.welcometowilliamslake.ca/index.php/human-interest/76-human-interest/4143-local-families-benefit-from-shecana-exchange-program.html
Posted by
Kristine _ on Thu, May 26, 2011 @ 05:54 PM
So you are thinking about going on a high school exchange and starting to do some research! Good for you! I cannot express how strongly I believe in exchange- but I know there is a lot of research, energy, and time that goes into your decision. To help ease the load, I have created a list of the 5 most common questions when going on an exchange:
1. How much does it cost?
- The prices vary from $3500-$16000, depending on your length of stay and your location.
What’s included?
- 3 month High School Abroad - School and Host Family support
- 5 & 10 month High School Abroad- flight, School and Host Family support
- We understand that this is a big investment and do have some bursary’s available, as well as job opportunities
2. How much spending money do I need?
- You will need approximately $200-$300 per month. This way you will be able to enjoy a movie with your friends, a dinner out or a fun new activity!
3. Can I choose what city I live in?
- You can request what city you would like to live in and we will do our best to accommodate you. We do have to consider host family & school district availability.
- My advice: trust us. We have been doing this for over 18 years in dozens of cities. We have the experience and knowledge to find a city and situation that will fit your needs and help enhance your exchange experience.
4. Can I travel independently in the country I go to?
- With our GAP Program you can do this but on a high school exchange you cannot. In Canada we have trips planned where all the exchange students in Canada can attend. This way you can go and see other parts of Canada and meet some great new people around the world. Also, when going on an exchange you will build connections with so many people so you will always have a place to stay in another part of the world.
5. How do you pick my host family?
- They pick you!! We send your profile to different families and they make the decision based on who would suit their family best!
Posted by
Kristine _ on Wed, May 11, 2011 @ 06:57 PM
Shecana International Schools Ltd. is based in Prince George British Columbia, Canada and operates international travel and education programs for youth.
My name is Sheila Hoeg and I am the founder and CEO of Shecana International School. I began working with international exchange students in 1993 with a company out of Sweden and now work closely with several reputable partners internationally and many different school districts in Canada to provide a variety of programs.
Shecana’s mission is to provide an array of safe, positive, educational travel opportunities for international students
Shecana International Schools offers international study and grad travel programs.
International Study
Where can I go?
- With Shecana you have a choice of over 20 countries, our most popular destinations include: Australia, New Zealand, Austria, Italy, & Brazil.
- If you have another country in mind, please check with us. Chances are we have a trusted partner there and can make arrangements for an exchange
- You may go on exchange to any country for 5 or 10 months. Some countries also offer a 3 month exchange
What can you expect?
- A host family that’s right for you!
- Your application includes a full profile of you and your life in Canada. Your profile is shared with interested host families in your destination country. Once a suitably-matched host family is found, they go through a careful screening and interview process.
- Attending High School:
- Your experience itself will be an education, but you will also attend school! Shecana arranges a high-school placement for you in your host country.
Grad Travel Programs (GAP)
“I just got home from England yesterday so I wanted to send you an email and thank you so very, very much for creating such a wonderful opportunity for me. I had an incredible time, I can’t think of any period in my life where I’ve experienced and learned so much in such a short time and it has left me so confident about travelling and living on my own.”
– Katie Rogers: Work Experience Program, U.K.
Shecana’s Gap Year Programs are designed for high school graduates ages 17-25. All around the world, young people take time off from work or study to just head out and explore. Along the way they learn a lot about themselves and their planet: that’s a gap experience. The amount of time you take is up to you. If you’re thinking about a gap experience, Shecana can help. We’ve set up partnerships with trusted organizations abroad to offer Canadians interesting, challenging and lively experiences in a variety of countries. You choose a program that works for you; we’ll help you prepare to go and make sure that you’re set up with safe accommodation, a job, learning opportunity or cultural home-stay
Where can I go?
United Kingdom:
Adventure Camp or hospitality- Work in an adventure camp for 5 months or more as a group leader or guide an adventure activity. There are also jobs in retail, catering, maintenance, housekeeping and hospitality at a fine resort or hotel.
New Zealand:
Horticulture or hospitality- You can work in New Zealand’s thriving horticulture industry [maintaining crops, picking produce like grapes and kiwifruit, or working in packing plants]. You can also work in a hotel or resort doing food and beverage service, kitchen work, housekeeping, reception or other guest service positions.
Germany
Language assist program- Another cultural exchange choice: live as a member of a German family while you teach and help them practice English for 15 hours a week.
Brazil
Cultural homestay- This program gives you an opportunity to live for 6 or 8 weeks as a member of a volunteer family.
This is one of our first blogs to introduce Shecana and I hope you ask us any questions to help you with your travel adventures!
-Sheila Hoeg
"The world is a book and those who do not travel, read only a page." St Augustine
Shecana International Schools offers safe, positive, educational travel opportunities for youth. We have options for Canadians to go abroad on work, volunteer or cultural experiences, or to host students who visit Canada to study and experience life here.
Hosting a student or living abroad while learning or working contributes to positive personal development, international connections and friendships, respect for other cultures, and an awareness of Canada's place in the global community.
Join Shecana's international travelers and Canadian host families! Please browse to find your opportunity.
Click here to apply for a High School Abroad Exchange