HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1999-10-20, Page 10PAGE 10. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 1999.
Teen becomes part of family
By Janice Becker
Citizen staff -
With the shy grin of a 16-year-
old. Amandine Feuchot tells of her
life at home in France and her
three-month stay in Walton.
Feuchot has been living with
Katie Emmrich and her family in
Walton since August as part of an
exchange opportunity provided
through the school system.
Feucxhot, who lives just outside
the town of Prive in southwest
France, says she has “wanted to
come to Canada for a long time.”
Though she had five years of
English training at home, Feuchot
says it has been very good to come
to Canada and speak it for three
months.
She sees Canada as very big and
flat. “It is nice and beautiful,” she
says. “The people are very nice
compared to France. Here, every
one is friendly and they talk to you.
They are nice and open.”
Attending classes at Seaforth
District High School, she says the
education system is very different.
In France she goes to school from 8
a.m. to 5 p.m. instead of just 9 a.m.
to 3 p.m. She also has 10 courses at
a time rather that just four.
Feuchot says the work material is
also easier. The math being taught,
Feuchot learned last year.
She has had little trouble under
standing the spoken word but says
speaking has been more difficult.
Feuchot helped run a French
immersion day at the high school
with 40-50 Grade 9 students as
well. Some of the words and
expressions in “Quebec" French are
different, she says.
Feuchot has also had to adjust to
the food and the timing of meals.
“People eat really early here with
supper at 5:30 or 6 p.m. At home it
is 7:30 or 8 p.m. and we have no
snacks after supper.”
She says she rarely eats ham
burger at home and the vegetables
are cooked much longer.
During her stay, she has travelled
to Toronto, Niagara Falls, Mani-
toulin Island'and Collingwood
along with many local soots.
Horseback riding along trails in
the Blyth and Hullett area has been
her favourite activity so far.
She does plan on attending a Hal
loween party though the marking of
that occasion is also very different
at home.
“A few people will have parties,”
she says, “but there is no trick or
treating and we don’t carve pump
kins.”
Feuchot had fun when she went
shopping, finding Levis for $10 a
pair. “I had to buy two pairs
because they would be 10 times
more expensive at home,” she
smiled.
For Emmrich, the return trip in
February will be an experience she
has waited for.
Walton
Compiled by Patty Banks Phone 887-6156
J. Patterson speaks
Gloria Love and Doreen
Hackwell were greeters at Duff’s
United Church on Oct. 17. Guest
speaker for the service was John
Patterson of Stratford. He
welcomed everyone and the Call to
Worship was read by the
congregation. The choir sang, It's
Me O Lord.
The children were called forward
and told a story of The Blind Men
and the Elephant. It was told about
six blind men who tried to figure
out what an elephant was. Each
touched a different part of the
elephant and thought that that was
the elephant.
A man came along and saw them
arguing and told them that they
were all right and all wrong and
that if they all co-operated they
could figure out what the elephant
looked like. For no one person has
the whole truth about God.
The turkey supper is coming up
on Nov. 3.
There is a joint congregational
meeting Oct. 27 at 8 p.m. in
Walton to appoint a committee
from the pastoral charge to look for
a minister and to get information on
the procedure.
The sermon was called, Dual
Citizenship. The scripture reading
used was about the time that the
people tried to trap Jesus by asking
him about the image on the coin.
Were they to worship God or
Caesar? Jesus avoids the political
issue by simply acknowledging the
existence of Caesar’s power as
symbolized by Caesar’s coinage.
“I have just always wanted to go
to France. I would like to speak
French fluently.”
Emmrich has seven years of
French language courses, but is
unsure how well she will do.
The Canadian Education
Exchange Foundation offers the
program to high school students.
Both teens say they are very
pleased with the screen which was
done so that a good match could be
found.
“I had a nine-page application to
fill out,” says Emmrich.
Details of the girls’ interests,
hobbies, family environment and
even their height and weight, were
all taken into account. In both
countries, a foundation representa
tive visited the homes of potential
exchange students to determine the
types of homes in which partici
pants would stay.
There are approximately 12 stu
dents from the Avon Maitland Dis
trict School Board currently taking
part in the program.
As a first-time exchange parent,
Judy Emmrich says it has been
great having Amandine stay with
them. “She is like a member of the
family.”
For her part, Feuchot says she
has enjoyed her stay and doesn’t
want to leave. She plans to return to
Canada after completing her studies
in France.
“It is true I would recommend
this exchange to others,” she says.
People celebrate
Family and friends of Sister
Teresa Ryan, attended her 25th
Jubilee of religious profession at St.
Joseph Motherhouse in London
where she renewed her vows. The
celebration continued after the
service with refreshments being
served.
Claire (Hackwell) Henry of
Surrey, BC died Oct. 29 following
a three-year battle with cancer. She
was sister to Elliot, Howard and
Merton Hackwell.
Wayne Henry, husband to Claire,
arrived Friday to attend a family
memorial service on Saturday.
Remembering
childhood times
Friendly exchange
When Katie Emmrich, left, of Walton signed up for an
international exchange program through her school, she
found a friend in Amandine Feuchot of France.
The Adult Learning &
Resource Centres
Students enjoy play
The Walton Public School
children and teachers enjoyed a
duffle bag theatre production of
Beauty and the Beast on Oct. 12.
Children were chosen from the
audience to be a part of the story.
Our own Mrs. Bennett was chosen
to come on stage and get everyone
revved up for the show. She was so
good at it that some of the kids are
asking for her autograph.
What a perfect time to study the
letter B for the kindergarten class.
They got to see Beauty and the
Beast, chew bubblegum, sit in an
inflatable boat while singing Row
Row Row Your Boat and also bathe
two new baby dolls. Mrs. Scott
reported that the dolls are now
very, very clean.
Grade l/2s, in doing their study
of senses, used their sense of sight
and sound while attending Beauty
and the Beast. They also tasted
lemon juice, cocoa, salt and sugar.
The Grade 3s have been reading
about clouds and storms. In French
they are doing a clown unit which
helps them to learn words for
emotions such as tired, angry, etc.
The coffee shop is a great place
to be if you want to hear people’s
stories and reminiscings. I
happened to catch Marie (Bennett)
Coutts there this week and she told
me about a childhood memory of
her goat named Pansy. Her friend,
Emma Sanderson and her would
each hitch their goat to a sleigh and
would agree to meet at a certain
part of town and away they would
go. She said there wasn’t much
traffic on the roads in those days so
it was completely safe.
For her and her friends in those
days skating was a great source of
entertainment and if they couldn’t
get a ride from their parents they
were allowed to hitchhike. Since
there weren’t that many vehicles
going in the wintertime they often
got rides in cutters and sleighs. She
also recalled getting a ride to
school one day with Harold Sellers,
who had a fast horse and a cutter. It
wasn’t unusual to get hit in the face
with the ice chunks that would fly
back from the horse’s hooves.
There was lots of snow in her
Continued on page 11
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