2009 Chaperone Journal
The following is an excerpt from a Journal that was kept on last year's trip by the Chaperones.
WOW – what a trip it has been. Gary & Christine have combined 3 years of experience to put an “experience-packed” trip together for us all. To them we owe a big thank you.
The two weeks have given you a picture of the geography of Eastern Canada, a survey of some of the history and historically significant points, a great variety of meals and a visit to most of the major post-secondary institutions in Eastern Canada. Hopefully, these memories will stay with you for years to come.
You all have been wonderfully co-operative participants and have shown a maturity far beyond your years. This quality has been echoed time and time again by observers of you as a group. Doreen and I have really enjoyed meeting you all and wish you all the best. The future of the world is in your hands and we are most optimistic about this, and especially about your future.
Good luck to all of you.
Tom & Doreen Sears
July 14, 2009
Hello and bonjour!
I would like to say that you guys remind me of myself during my exchange year… but I think that might be giving myself too much credit! I can’t imagine that I ever possessed as many amazing qualities as you all have. I am sure that I didn’t have the musical talent of Paulina, Luis, and Julian; the fashion sense of Night and Hanna; the maturity of Katerina, Lara, and Chris; the dancing skills of Indiana and Jessica; or the crazy creativity of Ana and Juho. I hope that at least sometimes I laughed as sincerely and as loudly as Juan Pablo, Michelle, and Maria; that from time to time I joked around as confidently as Bastien and Miyuki; and that sometimes I captured the infectious enthusiasm of Sara and Catalina. I know I tried to be as sweet as sugar and spice and everything nice like Elodie, Laura, and Manon; and to smile as widely as Cindy, Daniela, and Mioto; but I don’t know if I was ever brave enough to express my personality as Dorian and Johannes have with their wonderful hairstyles! And I doubt that I could have been as fun as Celine, Nicolas, and Christina, who always have friends surrounding them!
I feel so lucky to have been included on this awesome East Coast Tour almost 8 years after my own exchange and I want to thank you all for helping me rediscover my inner exchange student. I feel privileged to have met such an especially wonderful group of people!
Thank you all so much for the amazing experience!
Laura Cook
xoxo
P.S. Keep in touch!
July 15, 2009
Hi Everyone!
It’s been a privilege for me to join you on this year’s East Coast Tour.
We traveled almost 7,000 km from start to finish. We were in our Nation’s Capital for Canada Day celebrations. We traveled through four provincial capitals. We experienced some of the history that made Canada a country and saw some of our most picturesque sights. Most importantly, we got to know one another and spent the last 15 days in good company, sharing our laughs, dreams, and sometimes tears.
Through each of you, I re-lived some of my own exchange memories and realized once more that once you begin a Rotary youth exchange, the experience never ends! In time, I am sure you will realize the same thing.
I want to thank each of you, from the bottom of my heart, for the sharing the memories, laughs, and most importantly, your friendship.
Cheers & love you all!
Rajeev
(also known by many other names)
July 15, 2009
I just want to say that I have enjoyed having time with you all these past 15 days.
You are a great bunch of young people and I believe that you will go far in whatever you decide to do.
All I hope is that you have had a great time and that you will take home with you, some fond memories of your time together and also of the places and things that you have seen and done.
Thanks for the memories.
Christine Traill
July 14, 2009
Well, it’s all over now, except for the shouting, as they say.
Planning this tour was to say the least, a lot of work. But it was worth every minute. As I certainly had a great time chaperoning you and I can only hope that you have had half as good a time as I. I also hope in years to come you can look back on this trip as one of the highlights of your year in Canada.
The majority of you will be heading home shortly after this trip and I’m sure that you are eager to see your families and friends again and I hope that your transition back to that life goes smoothly for you.
For those of you who still have half of your exchange year ahead of you, I can only hope that your year just keeps getting better & better. And when it’s over and you travel back home that you too have an easy transition back to your life there,
To all of you, I wish you every success in your future studies and in whatever career path you choose. Just remember, you are all leaders and don’t let anyone tell you any different. Also, don’t be afraid to step off the path once in awhile and try something different. As you never know where it may lead you and don’t be afraid to make the odd mistake as this is often how we learn. Remember, a mistake is really a positive learning experience teaching us something that we don’t already know.
I certainly hope that when your year here in Canada finally does come to an end whether it be in a few days or in a few months that you will all go home with memories to last a lifetime and that you will indeed be able to say that this was the best year of your life.
Please stay in touch from time to time, as Christine and I both like to hear how you are doing.
It really was a pleasure getting to know you over these past two weeks and I hope you all have a great life.
Gary