When my teacher was telling my class that we would get a chance to go to Quebec I was so excited. I knew that it would be a new experience to learn about another indigenous group all across Canada. At the beginning of the exchange it was quite different meeting new students from the other side of Canada. I was nervous but over a little time I got to know the students and became friends with all of them. I never thought that I was going to have this kind of an experience, especially see the other side of Canada which was a whole new experience for myself. The students from Ratihente were quite fun to be friends with and I had a great time with them. The students from my school showed the students from Ratihente our community and all the traditional things we do. We played sports like basketball and other activities. We had a community supper to welcome the students. As we showed them the town and the people, they had a great time. Some of the students were emotional to say goodbye for a short while until we saw them again in their community.
As the students left our community, we left to their community a few weeks later which was so fun going down and seeing the view all the way to Quebec. We got to see the area they live in which was very beautiful. The school was nice and comfortable to sleep in. On the second day they brought us to the mall and we were there for a few hours. After that throughout the week we were taught the Mohawk language and to play lacrosse. We learned about the Oka crisis which was quite terrible. They even brought us to indoor surfing and a virtual reality place. We saw the city to an extent. We saw St. Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal which was amazing to see the inside. We saw some great things we won’t forget about. I never thought I would be able to experience any of this. I can say that this trip was a great experience and hope that I can do this again sometime in the future. I also hope others will get to experience what I did. It was so thrilling to do this exchange. I would recommend this for others to do and have as much fun as I did.
By Bryson Nerysoo
