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471,aurîee» 878-2881 onid-.Pe ý,Taistudent and host family are both getting education through Rotary exchange program By STEPHANIE THIESSEN The Champion Though exchange student Anurak Saranyapharit is the one out of bis ele- ment visiting Milton from Tbailand, host Carolyn Keywortb is baving ber share of new experi- ences - particularly those of the culinary variety. -Vve been cating a lot of rice and sea- weed." Ms Keywortb said, adding, "Il's really delicious.' Last week after reluming home from a long day. Ms Keyworth was greeted with the smells of a home-cookcd aulhenlic Thai piirk and mushroom stir-fry Anurak, 16, had cooked. Ms Keyworth said Anurak tends Io ftnd the food here a bit bland, so sitting in her fridgeis a box of chiltes 'that will take the roof ouf your moutb off." she exclaimed. 'He's had burgers. hc loves ice cream and lies leaming 10 like chocolate. but sweets, bread and pastry is foreign to him. ,A ntght out tor duo sum was another experience witb Anurak Ms Keyworth said she's not Iikely Io forget. 'There were lots oft tbtngs wit tcntacles'- she said, laugh- ing. Anurak arrived last monith aid is staying ix Miltuon for a ycar as part of the Rotary International Yîîuth Exchange Programn. He'u bc- staying wtth Ms Keywortb for tbree months, after whtch belIl sîay wiîb a different host family cvery three months providing learning experiences uot just for him. but bts hosts. Each year, the Rotary Club of Milton sponsors an inbound and outbound student. The group«s currently accepting applica- tions from Milton studenîs who, like Anurak, would lîke te, expenience a com- plety diferent culture aid way-of-lîfe for a year. In past yeaes. the Milton club bas had tii spounsor students trom nearby com- munites rather than bome-grown students duc to a lack ot intcrcst. Ms Keywortb saîd mettibers arc boping 10 chanige that by get- tig the scord oîut about the program. The priigrant is oxpen iii 15. 16 aid 17- ycae &ld students. Applicants sbould be .ibosc-avcrage academically and demon- strate leadership in the community. Thcy sbould also be cmotiiunally able lu bandle the experience. 'They bave 10 be prepaed 10 spend a ycete away lrom home - itîs not for cvcry- one, Ms Kcyworlh noted, adding the sclccted student doesn't choose the country he or she visits. In the past, studenîs have been cultural ambassadors to countries including Chile, Japai. Thailaid aid France. Whilc Rotary pays for mont of the expenses, Ihere arc some that parents and students must incur, such as air fare aid some spending money. HosI families are oflen, thougb not always. families of students sclecîcd te, participate in the program, Ms Kcywonih satd, adding they're always in demaid. Ms Keywortb bas hostcd about ftve exchangc studenîs over the past six years. She said il's been ai enriching experience. "Mhis is a period of their lives when you cai bave aniImpact on their growth aid devclopmenî,'* she said. -I learn from thcm aid tbcy lcamn from me." She said it's exciting Io show off Caiada aid to watch as studenîs become comfort- able in their host counnies. This ix the fn-st time she's hosîed a student in bis firsi tbrce months here. "Whcn he first came, be was shy aid quiet. He was ovcrwhclmed, but in thrce wceks he's blossomcd.' Anurak bas the challenge of lcarntng written as wcll as spoken Englîsb stnce Thai script ix différent fromn our alphabet. But Anurak ix already communîcating using some Englisb sentences as wcll as a lot of gcsturing, Ms Kcyworth saîd. "We usually ftnd by Christmas tbcy're (exchaige studenîx) pretîy much fluent." Anurak ix attending Bisbop Reding as a student to truly gct a feel for the Canadian way of life. "He was vcry frigbîencd the first day, but be was buddied up with other studenîs wbo took him under their wing:' Ms Keywortb saîd. Paul McDougall is a Halton parent wbose daugbtcr. Amy. travellcd te, Argentina four years ago as part of the pro- gram. He said tl was ai invaluable experi- ence -aid challenîgc t or ber. "Amy was always adventurous. but she nccdcd 10 get out on ber own. It gave ber a wbolc lot of confidence,' M. McDougall said, adding she also acquircd not one, but two new taiguages. 'S e wnt not speakiug anyîbîng other thai higb scbool Frenchi. and sIte came back fluent in Spantsli and Portuguese.- He saîd one of the key différences she li n Argentîna was the gap betwcen the cicb aid poor. "lu Noctb Amerîca. there's mît a huge difference between upper. middle and lowcr classes. In Argentina. thece's a buge diffécence. The people she stayed ssiîb werc quite upper class. Thcre's not a uxhole lot of mîiddlc class.'* For more information on the exchange pcogram. caîl Amit Karta, chair of the Youîh Exchaige Commincee, aI (416) 616- 3014 or e-mail hîm aI tccl@rogers.com. Stephanie T/îieu.en ian be reaiIied ai stnhiessen@amilîcînî-anadiani/ihampiouii.(om. Rotary exchange stu dents Ale 0X H us b n d (leit) -just back from a year Un Japon - and Anurak Saranyaph arît fromn Thalland compare Ro0t ar y jackets md or n ed with sou- venir pins from their travels. Photo by GRAHAM PAINE WA COGECO 0 Cogeco Cable Programming Schedule - Tuesday, September 21 - Monday, September 27, 2004 Truly Local Televhsio Channel 14 .. . i. nif '. .. . NORTH HALTON STUIO sz, Sp.1ý-L o, ... 13 i0Pai, 1 9xM1 9'.ýC-1 4 o ', u C2,SMSHS6 Launer Plaza 5m 6m 9kge In-'~ & _5,6 ,gd1 0, ý.PýViN -6 11I lS A 0p 0 . 9 A.. 5, & 7 - 30, 9I. 73p 500 Launer Avenue 5 3C-"ý. r, 10- M -.fýRq Minon, ON L9T 4R3 w3 905,878-9306 "Auto Experts" Returns Live Wednesdays, 8:OOpm on TVCogeco.