# Host families and participants in the World Youth exchange program greet one another Saturday evening during a first meeting at R. J. Haney Heritage Village.
Exchange Group WelcomedBy Miriam OstermannMARKET NEWS Staff
Jun 29 2007
Emotions ran high with excitement as the bus with 10 Canadians and 10 Uruguayans finally arrived at Haney Heritage house just after 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 23.
The doors had barely open when Juan Pablo jumped out, screamed for joy and with a huge grin on his face ran across the parking lot almost knocking over Jordan Thompson, Canada World Youth Program Supervisor, with a big bear hug.
Right behind him emerged the rest of the team, which had travelled on a bus from Kelowna after going through an intense training camp for three days.
Pablo later said he felt very emotional when getting out of the bus, excited about which one of the families would be his.
Eager host families with their children, who had been looking forward to this moment for weeks on end, also received many hugs and handshakes, while both sides were eagerly waiting to find out who would go home with whom. Other guests that day included Mayor Marty Bootsma and Coun. Chad Eliason who came out to greet and welcome the group into the community.
“It’s just kind of an adjustment when I realize these are new people and we’re going to create relationships over time,” said Thompson. “You don’t know what you’re going to get out of it, but you have a lot of hopes, and expectations and fears and you just start working together.”
After the excitement had slightly settled down, the group got involved in an activity that let them find out where they would be staying.
Clara Scheil, who had been involved with the Canada World Youth exchange last year, helped translate English into Spanish. She says the experience is great for her son Andrew, who is the same age as the two boys they’ll be taking in for the next three months.
“It’s going to be exciting; all three are the same age,” Scheil said. “I was elated, I thought it was so awesome to see their faces... There’s all this anticipation in their eyes.”
She added it was nice to see the participation from the community and says it’ll be a wonderful experience with an exchange of culture, ideas and getting to know one another.
Ten Canadians from all over Canada were partnered up with their counter parts from Uruguay. Together they will work on different community projects, some of which include ground maintenance and office work at Haney Heritage, work with Shuswap Kids Club and the Shuswap Association for Community Living.
However, work didn’t begin until Monday, with Sunday to relax and settle in. After three months of experiencing the culture in Salmon Arm, the team will visit a town in Uruguay to experience culture there.
The day came to an end with a final activity. Like many of his fellow participants Pablo knows what he wants to get out of his experience.
“Lots of friends, a second family and a second country.”
