CANADA’s education system is decentralized and if you’re embarking on a student exchange program to the country, you will surely be awed by Canada’s serenity and development. A typical student exchange program in English-speaking Ontario for instance is a class of mixed nationalities. It is not a surprise that a Filipino exchange student will be mingled with coed classmates from Zimbabwe, China, Norway, Russia, the United Kingdom or Germany. This class will then be introduced not only to Ontario culture but also to a French language acquisition course. French is spoken by half of the people in the country and all high school Canadians are compulsory to take that subject. In a student exchange program in Ontario, students are embedded with Canadian host families. Parents or guardians of these youngsters will certainly need not worry because these host families have already been pre-selected by the schools.

But before embarking on a student exchange program, foreign students must still go through Customs and present their visa. Flights land at the Lester B. Pearson International Airport in Toronto, the capital city of the province. Arriving at the airport alone, foreign high school students will be enthralled for Lester B. Pearson International Airport is the busiest airport in Canada. Ontario itself is filled with several tourism-induced cities – Toronto, the capital city, Burlington, Hamilton, Kingston, London, Ottawa, Niagara Falls, Sudbury, Thunder Bay and Windsor. Some tourist attractions in Ontario that foreign high school students may possibly see are Old Fort William in Thunder Bay, Lake Huron Lighthouses, CN Tower in Toronto and the Trans Canada Trail. Other things that students can possibly find as excursions are hiking through the Old Growth Forest, climb the Fire Tower and go canoeing at Lake Temagami. You can also camp at the Bruce Peninsula National Park or go visit Manitoulin Island. There are also a few beaches in Ontario – Wasaga Beach, Sauble Beach, Grand Bend, Pancake Bay National Park, Sandbanks, Lake Superior, Awenda, Charleston Lake and the Pinery. You can also visit Point Pelee National Park, Pelee Island or Algonquin Park. Or you may want to ride the steam train in Ontario.

Since Ontario is a melting pot of many cultures around the world, its restaurants also feature international cuisines. Since students cannot yet afford fine dining restaurants, it is advisable to tour them around casual dining restaurants in Ontario. Menus in typical casual dining eateries in Spain include the North American staples bacon, eggs, ham, chicken breast, pancakes, peas, sausages, potato fries, toast, spaghetti, grilled cheese, burger, fish, baby beef liver, roast turkey, lasagna, cold turkey, tuna, meat, meatballs, among others.

But above all, schooling must be most important. So make sure one studies well on top of the extra-curricular activities mentioned earlier. Make sure that students have the appropriate period set each to study and do homework. There will certainly be no problem from the viewpoint of the school since the Ontario Ministry of Education mandates that a high school class consists of only a maximum of 23 students. The motivation must come from the student itself.

Like described above, education IS important! As is, through mediums such as student exchanges, learning about new cultures. If you find yourself in agreement with this, why not consider taking your opinions to another level, by following your beliefs in your career? There are many TESOL jobs which offer the opportunity to learn about new cultures whilst teaching English. TESOL jobs are very rewarding – both personally and professionally and you could find yourself teaching anywhere in the world – what more could you ask for in a career?!