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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1992-09-02, Page 3THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2,1992. PAGE 3. Blyth girl home from Australia Home again Dawn Gross of Blyth recently returned from a Lions Club Youth Exchange in Australia. BY CHRIS ROULSTON She came from a land down under recently where English isn't English, strange creatures bounce off into the sunset, and the seasons are reversed. Dawn Gross of Blyth came back last week from spending six weeks in Gleninnes, Australia as part of the Lions Club Youth Exchange. Gleninnes is in New South Wales about two or three hours drive from the coast. It was the first time Dawn had seen an ocean when her exchange family took her to see it. She was very impressed. The six weeks that Dawn spent in Gleninnes were in the dead of win­ ter, but she still managed to come back with a tan. Winters in Aus­ tralia are much milder than in Canada, explains Dawn. It was about 20 degrees Celsius most of the time, although it was cold in the mornings and evenings. One of the hardest things to get used to, maintains Dawn, is the lan­ guage. She says that they talk very fast. "They don't really speak English. They have their own little language," she says. Most of what they say is slang and it took her the first one or two weeks to under­ stand what anyone was saying to her. One of the words she had the hardest time with was 'chook', which means chicken. Dawn can­ not fathom where they got such a word. She adds that they call men 'bioaks'. Now, Dawn says, she says things the way they would say them in Australia and everyone at home laughs at her. Although food and fashion are fairly similar to Canada's, the wildlife is something totally differ­ ent to be reckoned with, says Dawn. Her exchange family took her for drives out in the country where she could see kangaroos, koalas, and other native animals. She thought one of the weirdest sights was the parrots and other birds, which we consider house pets, flying around in the wild. Dawn had the opportunity to visit an Australian school for a while. Since they are in winter right now, all the children are in school. She wasn't very impressed by the state of the school. The particular school that she visited used to be a jail so it was in rougher shape than most other schools. Every school had its own uni­ form, explains Dawn, but they weren't always fancy uniforms. Another point of Australian life that struck Dawn as funny was the milkman that came about three days a week to deliver milk. Gleninnes had a telegraph office as well, and exclaims Dawn, there was a pub on almost every comer. Australia is renowned for its eucalyptus trees, but it also grows Canada's own maple tree. Dawn learned that the Australians have imported almost all their trees. She adds that she thought the eucalyp­ tus trees were "really nice...they stink, but they're really nice." Dawn explains that she had always wanted to go to Australia and when she was approached by a member of the Lions Club about the exchange, she jumped at the chance. She applied for the pro­ gram over two years ago because correspondence with Australia takes so long. In May of this year they were still arranging the final details of her trip. Applicants to the program get to choose three countries where they would like to go. Dawn chose Aus­ tralia first and New Zealand sec­ ond; she didn't make a third choice. Dawn's host family and other people whom she met in Australia would like her to stay with them again if she decides to return. Dawn is anxiously counting her pennies in anticipation of seeing them again. Walden Photography Weddings & Portraits Call Gary Walden 482-7675 NEW OPENING Nicole's Hairstyling safely moved to its NEW LOCATION on Hamilton St., Blyth Don't forget there Is a 10% DISCOUNT ON PERMS FOR THE MONTH OF^ SEPTEMBER To make appointments call 523-9873 Nicole Kerr Blyth creek to get cleaning The Blyth Creek will get a new outlook on life next year if all plans go well. The Blyth Optimists along with the Blyth Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts intend to rehabilitate the creek under the direction of the Maitland Valley Anglers. Howev­ er, before the groups can begin work on the project, the property owner must be consulted for per­ mission, says Optimist spokesper- Legion plans for Legion Week BY MARY LOU STEWART During the week of Sept. 20-26, members of the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 420 and the ladies auxiliary will celebrate Legion Week along with the branches across Canada. Plans for a euchre party to be held Sept. 19, a visit by members to Adopted Vets and residents of Parkwood Hospital, a Games Night, and a Pub Night to be held in October are a few of the activities planned. The Royal Canadian Legion is over one-half million strong belonging to 1,800 branches throughout Canada and the U.S.A, and continuing to grow. Recently, two branches opened in Germany. Legion members continually strive to improve pension, medical and other forms of services to their former comrades-in-arms and their dependents. Branch 420, Blyth has been active in the local community in the past years by providing bursaries and awards for schools and sports activities, equipment for local hospitals, donations to Parkwood and Children's Hospital in London, supporting the Blyth Community Continued on page 15 son Jim Phelan. The property owner in question is the CN railroad company, and Mr. Phelan is in the process of writing them at this time. The project, the purpose of which is to improve fish habitat, is being developed for the Scouts to help give them a better appreciation of it, claims Mr. Phelan. Rocks will be used to reroute water in a way that it doesn't inter­ rupt the stream drainage. The group has begun placing the rocks near the creek in preparation for next year's work. In the mean time they still must await the go-ahead of the CNR. The involvement of the Maitland Valley Anglers is due to their pre­ vious experience in water rehabili­ tation. XoUT Community Oriented Policing tocal -COMMITTEE- UP OF THE WEEK Remember you must stop when school bus lights are flashing. IBIS ADVERTISEMENT IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY: ELLIOTT INSURANCE BROKERS LTD OFACER FRIENDLY BLYTH Local Blyth People Mrs. Violet Page, 84-years-old of Oxford St., London visited with Alvin and Gene Snell Friday, after going on a sight-seeing trip to Grand Bend and Goderich with Shirley and Kari Johnson from London. Kari will be returning to Eastern Pentecostal Bible College, Peter­ borough on Wednesday, Sept. 2. r - “i ATTENTION PARENTS BLYTH MINOR HOCKEY & RINGETTE ASSOCIATION Meeting Wed. Sept. 2nd at 8:00 p.m. at the arena. Please try to attend. Help make this another successful season. printing IS OUR BUSINESS • Colour Printing • Posters • Letterheads • Envelopes • Business Cards •Business Forms Brochures Flyers Carbonless Forms Labels WE CAN DO IT ALL! p M J i J .J A COMPLETE p/uivr/Mi SERVICE 1 BLYTH PRINTING INC. BLYTH 523-9211 Warm up to energy conservation The difference is heartwarming. You know propane burns more efficiently than wood or oil, that it's a cleaner fuel. But you also know that most gas "fireplaces" are a pale imitation of the real thing. That's why you should know about a HomeGlow. Our unique gas ring configuration makes the fire burn more vigorously with a taller, better distributed flame. So pretty, in fact, we put glass on three sides. 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