HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 2009-04-15, Page 12Pepe Al2 - Goderich Signal -Star. Wednesday. April 15.2009
Local girl returns from exchange to Indonesia
"It was really cool," said 18 -year-old
Kendall Irvin, a recent graduate of Goderich
District Collegiate Institute of her six-month
stint as a world youth citizen living abroad.
Kendall embarked in late October on a
whirlwind exchange experience through
Canada World Youth (CWY), a strongleader
in the worldwide development of interna-
tional educational programs for youth aged
15 to 25.
For three months, Kendall and her 17
youth partners, nine from abroad and eight
from Canada, learned the lay of the land
tucked away within Canada's Maritimes at
Antigonish, Nova Scotia. Fmm there, Kendall
and hercrew flew to the Republic of Indonesia,
a transcontinental country in Southeast Asia
where she called one of its 17,508 islands,
Meskom, home for another three.
"It's was something that anyone should
definitely do if they get the chance," she said.
"You •get to see how other people live, even
in Canada."
While she was away, Kendall spent her
days as a
willing
community
volunteer
completing
the chal-
lenges to
learn com-
plex social
and econom-
ic structures
of her sur-
roundings.
Kendall spent
time in
Antigonish
working with the mentally challenged,
while in Indonesia, she taught English to
local students.
"You learn so much so quickly about
how other people live," Kendall explained.
"[For example, in Indonesia, everyone is]
always late, but it's normal, it's just the
way things are."
During her time overseas, Kendall said that
she was fascinated by the difference in gar-
bage and waste systems between the two
countries.
"They don't have landfills like we do —they
don't have the resources we have," she
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Goderich resident Kendall Irvin, 18,
recently returned from three months in
Indonesia on exchange.
explained. "I lived on a island where every-
thing was used and reused in a crafty manner,
but they don't have the concept of waste or
landfills, so essentially, there is garbage
everywhere. It's an interesting mix."
Even so, she said that the natural surround-
ings of her home -away -from -home were
almost indescribable.
"It was very beautiful. I had a view from a
dock — the most gorgeous thing ever with little
fish houses along. It was picture -perfect, amaz-
ing, I can't can't explain it."
But picture -perfect is never completely so.
Kendall said that the language barrier created
some confusion at first. Unable to speak
Indonesian, Kendall said she and her host fam-
ily soon learned how to communicate, even
learn from each other in non-verbal ways.
"It was hard because I didn't speak the lan-
guage, but really, it didn't matter in the end,"
she said. "When it was time to leave, my host
family was balling tears. You knew- that you
learned a lot from them in a way you can't
explain, and they learned a lot from you."
Kendall returned in late March to the long-
awaited embrace of her family and friends in
Goderich. It was bittersweet, however, as
Kendall said goodbye to her Indonesian host
family just days before.
"I learned so much through the exchange
program, it's hard to describe," she said.
Among Kendall's new skills, Indonesian
• cooking, fishing, and weaving. What she
thinks her host family may have leamed from
her is some of the vast differences in religion
and belief systems worldwide. Indonesia is the
world's most populous Muslim -majority
nation, and Kendall said she believes those
within her host community were fascinated by
different religions.
In the CWY Youth Leaders in Action pro-
gram, a team of nine young Canadians and
nine young people from a partner country
spend six months together doing volunteer
work. they spend three months in a Canadian
community, and another three months in a
community in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean,
Eastern Europe, or Latin America.
Each young Canadian is matched with a
participant from the exchange country for the
enthe period.
"It's such a unique opportunity to become
involved as a volunteer, discover other cul-
tures, and maybe learn another language,"
Kendall said.