The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

A8-The Canadian Champion, Wednesday, Juiy 30, 2008 87.nurer A eAâ1N 1(905) 87828811 Lwwky u w er4.if PHOTOS COURTESY OF RAMON BARBOLLA MEMORABLE TRIP Above, Spanish exchange students gather for a photo during one of their numerous excursions. Below, Gonzalo Martinez meets with Mayor Gord Krantz. Milton nice town, say exchange students Spantsh youth thoroughly enjoy month-long visit By Joanna Phillips SPECIAL TO THE CHAMPION The students that fiîled room 102 at Milton Distict High School lasi week iooked perfectly at home it was cicar these weren't studenî.s here agaînsi their will. This ciassroom didn't have the srappings of desention, or dreaded surn nmer schooi. These were 33 exchange students [rom Spain, ranging i age [rom 14 so 17, who were more than content so spend an hour in the ciassroom on this parsicular day. Mayor Krantz was paytng îhem a lisit, and it was anything hout tedtous. Occastonaliy, hc was a littie compiex lîke when his taik took a brief îumn to the agrîcuiturai sec sor. But, there was no need so worry. The students, in Canada for a month as part of the Red Leaf summer exchiange program, had transiators on hand so heip them understand. They'd gossen a lot out of their stay With iess titan a week to go, they were ahle to keep up a friendly hanter wîsh the affable mayor. The students gave him a round of appiause when hie told themn he'd ceiebrated his 5Oth wedding anniversary a few weeks prior wasn't losi on 5 them either. ý anyone's won--_ dening how old ' nied when I was about four," he joked, cracking : up the students. For the stu- Y dents, ventur- îng to a far-away country has heen a fun experience. its ail ahout iearning Fnglish, stghseng and partaking in the culture here. What t7-year-oid Antonio Beitran enjoyed mosi was the people. "The people are nice, fniendy. Loveiy people, here," he said. Antonio ix [rom Madrid, Spain - the third largesi ciîy in the European Union - so Milton was quise a change of pace for him. "Milton is a nîce town%, and I îhink its growing. .. 50 -. thats good," hie ohserved. Antonio and the oth- ers sîayed families in Milton, mark- ing the iaunch of the Red Leal pro- gram here in townM. The Red Leaf program has heen in Canada, îhough, for a lot longer, Its wei- comed i17,000 students - hetween the ages of 12 and 18 - into host families sînce 1989. The sicidents corne [rom Spain and France for a taste of Canadian high school life - even duning the summer. They spend time in the ciassroom, tmprovmng their English. Co-ordinator Carol Clarke and hier team, which included a teacher, personai assistant and two leaders fromn Spain, assîsted the group that just left Milton. And what an advcniurous lime they ail had. Their itnerary was a neat parcel of must- see sites. They packed in the CN Tower, Canada'- Wonderland, Niagara Falls, Playdium, 1a Blue Jays game and a four-day excursion in New York. They also explored whaî Milton had to off ,er. -They went (o Kelso Park, whîch îhey really enjoyed,- said Clarke. Clarke is pieased with the resuits of the group's stay here in Milton "'i was exîremely successfui. We had no prohiems ai ail," she said. Its apparent the studenîs have waiked away with many new expeniences - and for some of îhem, a photo-op with the mayor to show their fniends and tamîiy back home. For more information aholit Red Leaf, încludîng programs offered outide of Canada, vîsît wwwrcecI-leai.com. C GECQfwwwmcogeco.ca YW QG C NORTH HALTON STUDIO Laurier Plaza CogecoCable500 Laurier Avenue Milton, ON L9T 4R3 Channel 14 905-878-9306