Exchange introduces students to trees, maple syrup

Trees, mountains, swimming pools, cows, skiing, maple syrup and pizza: these are among the many new sights, activities and tastes which impressed a group of students from Arviat who visited Quebec’s Eastern Townships in March.

Not to mention school uniforms and a school day that starts up promptly at 8 a.m.

Rob Davies, who taught at Arviat’s Qitiqliq School from 1999 to 2003, organized the exchange with his fiancée Anne Guyatt, who is still teaching in the community.

Davies now teaches at Stanstead College, a private day and boarding school in Stanstead, Que., about 200 kilometres east of Montreal in the heart of a rural area that straddles the United States border.

Ten students – Amber Tagalik, Dorothy Anoee, Arnold Anoee, Margaret Akatsiak, Malachi Mamgark, Ashton Kablutsiak, Peter Koomak, Billy Joe Kaayak, Anne Rose Aulatjut, Billy Ollie – and two teachers, Guyatt and Marvin McKay Keenan, went to Stanstead from Arviat.

“It went off without a single glitch,” says Davies.

That is, apart from bad weather, which postponed the students’ departure from Arviat and their arrival in Quebec by three days.

The travel costs for the exchange are covered by the YMCA and Heritage Canada, including airfare for 10 students and two teacher chaperones from Arviat and for 10 students and two teachers from

Quebec to travel to Arviat next month.

Guyatt, who teaches physical education in Arviat, selected students for the exchange on the strength of their interest and willingness to prepare for the trip as well as on their athletic skills.

All but one of the students was under 15. For two, it was their first trip outside of the North.

“It was different, but it was fun,” says Dorothy Anoee.

The Arviat students reacted with shock when they first arrived in the Eastern Townships – but they soon found their bearings in a very different-looking world, say Davies and Guyatt.

The differences between Qitiqliq School and Stanstead College are as striking as those in the surrounding scenery.

Stanstead College is known as a tough preparatory school, where students wear uniforms during a school day that’s crammed with classes and after-school sports and activities.

“The school is much more rigorous. Things start at eight in the morning – not at nine-ish,” says Davies.

Although many students qualify for financial aid, Stanstead College’s education doesn’t come cheap, either, with tuition for boarding students above $20,000 a year. The school also has a diverse student body, with many international students – unlike Arviat, where all but two students at the local high school are Inuit.

Despite these many differences, the mixed group of students from Stanstead and Arviat communicated well.

“It was neat to see how they opened up,” Davies says.

During their week-long visit, the group from Arviat spent most days sightseeing and visiting local sites of interest, such as a real sugar shack, where maple syrup is boiled down from tree sap (a southern Quebec tradition in spring) and a popular ski hill.

At Mt. Orford, the Arviat students took downhill ski lessons and, despite their initial fears, immediately headed for the slopes.

“It was my first experience. I was excited,” says Amber Tagalik. “It was really fun.”

One girl ended taking the ski lift up the mountain and skiing the whole way down. All received a medal for their efforts.

The Arviat students also spent time on the Stanstead College campus. During the school’s science fair, they ran a display on traditional Inuit games. The group also demonstrated eight games, and three of the girls performed throat-singing for the entire school – a new skill they had learned only in the months leading up to the trip.

For a day, the Arviat group went to classes at Stanstead College, wearing the school uniform, with its blazers and ties.

Lindsay Smith hosted Anne Rose Aulatjut at her home. Anne Rose also accompanied Lindsay to school for a day, but, according to Lindsay, she wasn’t overly keen about the experience.

“She went to four of my classes,” says Lindsay. “But they’re classes nobody likes.”

According to one student from Stanstead, the only thing everyone had in common at the start of the exchange program was the style of their clothes, but by the end of the week, the two groups of students bonded, say organizers.

“When we left Stanstead, one girl was crying. She didn’t want to go. When they first got there, they wanted to go home, but by the last day, they didn’t want to leave,” Guyatt says.

The exchange, she says, is all about making the kind of positive connections between youth that will last a lifetime.

The students from Stanstead College are to arrive in Arviat on May 19. There, they’ll sample ice fishing, camping and riding on a skidoo. The girls will be invited to make a pair of mitts and everyone will be able to use the equipment in the school’s workshop to make their own personal souvenir of either an ulu or snow knife. A day attending classes is also on the schedule in Arviat.

“I’m really looking forward to experience a different way of living and culture. But it’s probably going to be a little easier for us to go to Arviat because we already know them,” says Stanstead College student Jeffrey Cowen.