A8-The Canadian Champion, Tuesday, JuIy 18, 2006 wwkrnfoeso.COMMUNI1TY 487Laurer~ _____________________________________________ Adventurous teen'"seas' the world in style L lass AJIoat program leaves lasting mark By Stephanie Thiessen CANADIAN CHAMPION STAFF When y'ou've had a whirlwind 12 months satling around the world, uts not easy nailing down the most memorable moment. Just ask Kiersten Corradetti, 18, who seemed almost at a loss for words as she recounted for The Champion some of her adventures at sea over the past year. Swîmming wîth doîphins in French Polynesia was amazing, but coming head to head with the moai statues on Easter Island wasn't bad, either. From hiking in Trnodad to braving the jungle, from hobnobbing wi th sharks to surviving in Marquesas, Kiersten, it seems, bas done ot ail. And she'il be the first person to say ber enroliment in the Class Afloat program bas left ber a changed person. "Different tbings are important now," Kiersi-en said. Class Afloat enables si-udents to earn their grade 12 credits while sailing to 25 ports of eall around the world on a tal ship - not your average sehool year. Kiersten, wboj attended Bishop Reding Seconda-y Scbool las- year, got a crash course in world btstory and geography bet- ter than anytbing she couid've iearned in a classroom. North Amnerica, Europe, Afnica and Soui-h America - these are i-be conti- nents Kiersten sailed to aboard the 57-mette, 15-sail Concordia. How many teens can say tbey've saiied 23,000 nautical miles? Bareiy two weeks back home, Kiersi-en said now i-bat the excitement bas.died down over seeing ber family and nid friends again, shes feeling rather down. "lEs weird to be bomesick wben I'm home," she said. -I feel sad. i miss those peo- pie s0 mucb." It wasn't easy, she admitted, to be thrown together wi-b a group of people who - it seemed at first - bad noi-bing in common. "Before ieaving, wben 1 first saw the sbip, 1 was a mess," she satd. "I was realiy nervous. i bad no idea what i'd gotten myseif into." After spending five days in Louisbourg, Nova Scotia, gei-iing acquainted and learning about sbip life, thbe group set sail - which required quite an adjusi-ment. 'Everyone was seasick," Kiersi-en said. "You were puking over i-be rail and the teacher was stili i-rying to, teach calculus, and you were like, 'I don't care."' But eventuaily, sometime between "port bopping" in the Mediterranean and camel riding tbrough the Sahara, she found ber place and knew she was wbere she should be. Granted, i-bis was no luxury cruise. The students learned to saii i-be sbip, but aiso bad to maintain it, whicb involved painting, sanding... and a whoie lot of elbow grease. The group spent up to 22 days sailing witb no stops. "The sailing is amazing. You get so much energy from thbe wind and the ocean," she said. It was during their fi-st long ssii i-bat somei-bing special bappened, Kiersten ssid. "That's when i realiy feit i-be magic of Ciass Afloat. You're so happy, you feel like you're on cloud nine," she ssid, adding,"W reaily came together as a team.", ln between ssiiing, i-be group toured, biked, swamn and snorkeied. Ail i-be while i-bey took classes, si-udied and even wrote exams. They i-ook i-orna keeping 'deck watch' i-brougbou- i-be nigbt, whicb mean- some days sbe'd be pre-ty iired, Kiers-en ssid. They aiso spen- iore wii-h i-be villagers, wbicb Kiersi-en said were some of i-be mos- valuabie parts of i-be tip. In Senegai, i-bey had a chance i-o visit an orphanage and play wli- i-be kids. After a hrief trip homne [or Christmas, semester two got underway A stop in Marquesas, where the hat show Survivor was filmed, opened their eyes tEX the unreality of reality TV "Survivor is flot exac-ly what we ail thought," she said, explaining just over i-be hili from where it was shot there was a town wîth a hotel. Snorkeing with sharks in French Polynesia was frightening at firs-, "but real- Iy cool," she said. If pressed [or a favounte place, she would probably say Penrhyn (in the Cook Islands), Kiersten said. That trip didn't start off well because stu- dents were greeted with a list of things tbey couldn't do since lit was Sunday. They could- n't play Frisbee, and the girls had to wear long skirts despite the sweltening heat, she said. The group visnited a church wearing the requisite big hats and Iooking, Kiersten said, "like we were out of the 1800s." But the moment the congregation started singing, everything else was forgotten. "lE was like nothing i'd heard before. I was in tears right away because it was so incredible." Afi-erward, the minister invited the group to hus house, offering them fresh fruit. They got to, know some of the locals, including some teenaged girls wbo made crafts in their spare time to seli in hopes of making enougb money to go i-o schooi in New Zealand. "lE was so interes-ing i-o con- nect on so many levels even tbough we're from different sides of the world." Kiersten's 18i-h birthday was spent sailing toward Isia Mai-ganita. And tbough one migbt expec- her to be fraught with homesickness on that special day, Kiersten said it was actually one of her best hirthdays ever. Her fniend bought her a hlender, she said, which they osed to have "smoo-hie parties. The students forged strong fniendships, making ut extremely hard to part, she said. Their last night at sea, some of them got up at 4 a.m. to watch the sun rise over the Rocky Mountains. Having earned her grade 12 credits while on the boat, Kiersten graduated in a cere- mony in Victonia, B.C., her family presenit. AIl in aIl, it was a trip she'il neyer forge. "I wish everyone could do something like i-bis to, find out so, much about i-hem- selves and to, have i-be experience of being away [rom i-echnology... and to be aware of wba-'s important in life, and what i-hey want out of life." Stephanie Thiessen cati be reached a- sthiessen@miltoncanadianchampion.com. 77\C QGECQ " Cogeco Cable Channel 14 Programming Schedule - liesday, Juiy 18 - Monday, juiy 24, 2o Wul L.ocal blvwm OMM m- "m m Ploi EXTU 8maoi *Mi Mogwe In! EXTRA 8M-1 1)-unPkçgeA MU' EXT 1M) .N n RA 8M,~ -~o MdNM-.d lof EXTRA Mon -OIUI PAugge lgW EXT DRA Mon -~w 1Age nopm Pluggd n! XR "Wu MO Rob gi-a c oma 1 DP Waon Hs Cua 1 1.n Mon Couxd Tli-u AMs ReR n EIagon RAls Council R 0p aton RAOs Cucd w w c g c ca(ce) Jd2ut TEJsRiX MiMl (cc Mou 1020 *1.06cc) Ju 12 20 (cc) Ju 12XaM www.cogco-ca 500pm AMm Pk*W1W EXTR 410pon400ponPHsggeln! EXTRA M 1 »gflm-MTWPUIn XRAXXHdqtNMln XR NORTH HALTON STUDIO #11110 11611 cn "m. - ib IR RbbORAFsge 'ETA R M 5PJXXR X Lauder Plaza oimp. w 500 Launer Avenue Mikon, ON L9T 4R3 905-878-9306 ----------- ---------------- --