The Lucknow Sentinel, 2015-12-30, Page 5Wednesday, December 30, 2015 • Lucknow Sentinel 5
Bruce County provides respite from homesickness for Rotary exchange students
Darryl Coote
Kincardine News
Christmas can be a difficult
time of year, especially for
those away from family, home
and country.
For five 17 -year-old Rotary
International exchange stu-
dents stationed throughout
Southern Ontario, Bruce
County provided a little solace
against homesickness the
weekend of Dec 11-13.
"My first week of December
was a disaster because I was
so homesick at that time,"
Oona Hotakainen said, who is
stationed in Kincardine,
6,508km from her home of
Tampere, Finland.
For her, being here for the
month of December not only
means being away for home
for Christmas, but also for her
birthday, which was on Dec. 3.
"I found myself crying
almost every second day. And
when you are an exchange
student so many small things
become big things like one
smile can make your day and
one bad comment can ruin it
all," she said.
For Aurane Bugnon, from
Switzerland, currently in Bol-
ton, Ontario, this was her first
time in nine years not partici-
pating in a Scouts Christmas
celebration.
"I didn't even know they
were doing it yesterday," she
said. `:.. And it was so weird
because it was the first time
since I was eight that I missed
it and it was kind of my whole
life I've been doing that, so it's
been really missing one of my
biggest traditions."
That's why Lynn Howard --
who is not only the mother of
a daughter now in Poland on
a Rotary exchange, but is also
an exchange mother for
Bugnon -- arranged a special
early Christmas at her par-
ents' place in Kincardine for
the exchange students.
"I've told them all to face
Christmas ahead of time. You're
not going to be with your family
so get ready" she said.
So on the night of Dec. 12,
Hotakainen, Burgnon,
Michalina Makiela of Poland,
Miki Nagano from Japan and
Brazilian Isabella Takaki were
surprised by Gwen and John
Howard, Lynn's parents, with
a full Canadian Christmas
with turkey and presents.
"The experience has been
an absolute delight," said
Gwen, adding, "I didn't know
them until they arrived on Fri-
day and now I feel like I have
five extra granddaughters"
They sang Christmas carols
in several languages and
opened gifts -- they each got a
Reid's Corners WI
marks Christmas with music
The Reid's Corners
Women's Institute
enjoyed the music of
local group, Easy Does It,
at their Christmas
luncheon.
Nineteen ladies met for
a delicious turkey dinner
catered by Ripley Variety.
Gifts were exchanged, car-
ols were sung, games were
played which all added up
to a joyous time of
sharing.
The members wish eve-
ryone a very Merry
Christmas and a Happy
New Year.
Submitted/Ellen Waye
The musical group 'Easy Does It' performed recently for
the Reid's Corners Women's Institute Christmas luncheon.
Pictured: L -R: Steve Hasbury, Tom Durrant, Karen Weber and
Tom Lambert.
Out and about in Kincardine Oona Hotakainen takes a selfie with
her Rotary exchange student friends in the background.
hand -knitted headband.
Being together in Kincar-
dine, even for that weekend,
has made being away from
home a little easier, they all
agreed.
This small town on Lake
Huron, they said, reminded
most of them of their Euro-
pean homes.
"I love Kincardine, Makiela
said. "It's so small and beauti-
ful, and I feel like really at
home here. It's very similar to
small villages in Europe."
"It looks like a village in
Switzerland," Bugnon said.
"And it makes us feel less
homesick," added Makiela.
"For example, in Bolton you
can't really walk anywhere
because it's just houses and
you don't feel you have nice
spaces to walk like that's not
how Europe really is," Bugnon
said, commenting on the
town she currently lives in.
"And Mississauga is just
condominiums," added
Makiela on her current city.
"Some ways it is similar and
in some ways it's very differ-
ent," said Bugnon.
"[Kincardine] is really
Canadian, but it still reminds
a lot of Europe," added
Hotakainen.
"There are cute shops, and
in Mississauga, Bolton or any-
where, they only have like Tim
Horton's. Here you have Cof-
fee Culture, and it feels more
home in some ways," said
Makiela.
When asked if the commu-
nity reminded her of her
Darryl Coote/Kincardine News
South Bruce OPP took part in the `Fill -A -Cruiser' campaign
in December 2015. L -R: South Bruce Grey Constables Chad
Churchill, Kevin Martin, Shauni Voisin and Jeff Osborne.
South Bruce OPP `Fill -A -Cruiser'
Darryl Coote
Kincardine News
South Bruce OPP Consta-
ble Kevin Martin was out with
his fellow officers collecting
food for the food banks in the
region before Christmas.
From 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
the officers were outside
Sobeys and then from 12
p.m. to 2 p.m. they were by
Kincardine No Frills accept-
ing donations through their
Fill -a -Cruiser campaign.
Which, according to Con-
stable Martin, Kincardine
did at least a couple times.
"This is a great commu-
nity;" he said from the park-
ing lot of No Frills. "Every
year when we do these food
drives, when we have our
students come out for the
Christmas nights, we want to
stuff a cruiser, or any social
group or business in town
that wants to collect [dona-
tions], this town is unbeliev-
able. Every chance they get,
they fill the cruiser, they fill
the van, they fill whatever it
is people are collecting for,
and they give till it hurts for
the one's who need. It's
wonderful."
Submitted
Christmas can be a trying time of year for those away from home,
however Kincardine provided five foreign exchange students with
a little salve for homesickness the weekend of Dec 11-13. From
left, Oona Hotakainen, Aurane Bugnon, Miki Nagano, Michalina
Makiela and Isabella Takaki pose with Christmas gifts for a photo
on the couch of Kincardine residents Gwen and John Howard.
hometown Kanazawa, Japan,
Nagano replied with a smile,
"Ah, no. It's different, but I like
here."
Being together also allevi-
ated some of the wistfulness
since even though they are all
very different and do not
speak the same language they
can all relate to one another.
"I met these people on Fri-
day and we had a connection
like that because we had one
thing in common, which is the
rotary exchange," Hotakainen
said.
"When we are exchange
students it's easier to become
friends with other exchange
students because we want to
make friends. Even when you
are really, really different you
can make a good connection
because you have something
in common," Bugnon of Swe-
den said.
It brings them together,
Bugnon said, as they are all
having similar experiences
and feelings.
"These are wonderful girls,"
said Lynn Howard. "There's a
lot of growing that happens
with this type of weekend and
it's nice to see, nice to
witness."
OPP issues tips for
winter driving safety
Winter is here in Bruce
County and with it are poor
driving conditions.
High winds combined with
snowfall causes serious visibil-
ity issues for drivers along the
Lake Huron shoreline.
Each winter, Bruce County
residents and visitors face
some of the toughest driving
conditions around. The South
Bruce OPP is asking drivers
and vehicle owners to start
thinking about safe winter
driving.
• Hard packed snow and ice
reduce traction. Blowing snow
affects your visibility. Leave
yourself more time to reach
your destination in winter.
• Snow tires are marked with a
peaked mountain and snow-
flake to show they meet specific
snow traction performance
requirements. Improved trac-
tion = improved safety.
• Carry a snow brush/ice
scraper in your vehicle. The law
provides a $110 fine for the
driver not having a clear view,
but the consequences can be
far worse ifyou hit someone.
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