Scholarship

It has been a few days since I have returned home from my time abroad in Colombia and I can only use one word to describe the transition back; “surreal”. It feels surreal to be speaking English, to be wearing clean clothes, to have hot showers and Deet-free evenings. Less than a week ago, I was in the rainforest; unplugged from the Internet, taking short, cold showers; learning about myself, tasting the local cuisine and battling the evening bugs. I am sitting here fiddling with bracelets made by two little girls in a nearby Amazonian village and it heavies my heart.

When I entered the Dental Hygiene Program in September 2014, I had no intentions on travelling abroad to put my skills to test. When the option arose to travel to the Philippines for a dental humanitarian trip, I thought it would be an amazing experience. Not only would I get to use and advance my clinical skills, but I would have an opportunity to experience a completely different culture. Upon researching the Philippines, I learned that one third of the population lives in poverty without many dental necessities, "such a restorations" and other needed dental resources.

I have been in Bogota for four days, and I cannot get enough of this city. The people, the view, the Spanish language and the food are incredible. Let me tell you a little bit about what I have seen so far.

Let’s start with the architecture. In Canada, I find the architecture to be plain, old Canadian architecture. Perhaps it is because we are a young country, but I find in comparison to other places in the world, it lacks variety.

One day to go. New York awaits, Venice calls. I’m heading out to study with the Fine Arts Department field school from Kwantlen Polytechnic University. We’ve had an intense three weeks of studying contemporary art, getting ready. Unearthing a few of the secrets of how artists have changed the face of New York over the past decades, inhabiting Soho, then the East Village, moving on to Williamsburg and now clustering in Chelsea. Each time artists move into a cheap, rundown area that allows them to create without having a major cash flow problem the juggernaut of gentrification railroads in.

T minus 6 days until I depart to a part of the world that I have only dreamed of experiencing. On Saturday, May 23^rd I will be flying from Vancouver to Toronto and then off to South America. Am I ready? Mentally, one hundred percent; physically, high eighties. My world pre-departure has been a whirlwind.

You know the phrase: ‘be careful what you wish for’? Well, on my study abroad program I definitely learned that it’s one very true statement. Before coming to Berlin when people asked me why I chose Berlin and why I decided to go study abroad, I always answered the same thing: I want to grow, I want to learn, I don’t want to be dependent on my parents, I want to not live somewhere where I am so incredibly comfortable, and most importantly, I want to get out of my comfort zone.

Fourteen Grade 10, 11, and 12 students from Fraser Academy in Vancouver recently returned from a fantastic trip to Japan and South Korea. Over the 13 days, students were immersed in a wealth of cultural and social experiences, exposed to global perspectives and contexts, and given the opportunity to explore historical locations and artifacts. Various Japanese Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines were visited, including Sensouji Temple and Meiji Shrine in Tokyo, as well as Sanjusangendo, Kyomizudera Temple, and Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto.

On March 12, 11 students, one mom and two teacher chaperones from Ballenas Secondary School in Parksville flew from Nanaimo to Vancouver to Frankfurt to Athens, Greece for a 12 day tour with EF. We visited Athens, Delphi, Olympia, Epidauros, Mycenae, Nafplio, Cape Sunio. We took a day cruise in the Saronic Gulf and visited Hydra ( a beautiful island where there are no cars – if you want to go somewhere, you can go by boat, by foot or by donkey), Poros and Aegina.

By Megan Bondurant

In a word, our trip was unbelizable. We were nine Grade 11 and 12 students from Edward Milne Community School (EMCS) traveling with our two Biology teachers to a crazy, wonderful, Central American country on a packed 8 day tour.

Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada (DFATD) is pleased to announce that the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the United Kingdom has launched the competition for awards available to Canadians for graduate study at the PhD level in the United Kingdom (UK). These awards are funded by the United Kingdom Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in conjunction with UK universities.

Deadline:  March 9, 2015