When I first came to Ottawa for Orientation I immediately noticed the cultural differences. The buildings are huge and very well structured. I have a whole new idea of how busy and how much is always going on with all the people in a big city. I was amazed at what can be accomplished. I couldn’t have imagined how big this city is; even though I know for others it didn’t seem big.

Here is a picture from Orientation, when we were all just starting to meet each other – both Canadian and International participants. The picture is of our Orientation camp site in Ottawa.

I have met so many people with so many different cultures. The NYA staff and facilitators have worked so hard to get us to where we are. With this program you don’t just do volunteering! You gain experience socializing, working, and managing your own responsibilities – with support and help from the NYA staff, your host family, your host buddy, and family back home.

I suggest anyone that who is looking to have a great experience should sign up for this program, it has helped me a lot.

Raymond and Ethan

My host family are great. They have a son who is really funny and fun to get along with, as well as a daughter who went to dancing camp, which is awesome. My host parents Letitia and John are great. They also have five cats, that are quiet, and a big beautiful house.

I love it working for the Habitat for Humanity ReStore. It is a great job. My co-workers are very funny and easy to get along with. I’ve found that it can be hard to live in the south, trying to find your way around a new city, making sure you take the right bus to work or wherever you’re trying to go. I got lost the third day and ended up in Halifax – haha. But things are good know, I’ve learnt my way around.

I would like to live down here sometime in the future. It’s a very beautiful and big place. I find that the culture is very different here. There are many different people from what seems to be a lot of different places, which is great to see.

I’ve went to the movies and to the mall here in Dartmouth. Ethan and I have went walking around the town, it was great even though we got lost for a bit, it was fun because we talked most of the time. I’m looking forward to doing a MMA or boxing class next week. Our host dad took Ethan and I for a ride to Halifax and showed us the Canadian fleet where there was huge boats that belong to the Canadian forces. I found it cool. We also drove through the neighbourhood with huge million dollar homes, with some good looking houses that were 3-4 stories high.

I’ve enjoyed this program and I’m looking forward to doing international in the future.

Chelsea and Mary

So far my experience as an NYA participant has been brilliant. My buddy Mary, from Sanikiluaq, and I were placed in Campbell River, BC. My host mother Debbie is so funny and such a welcoming person. She has a dog, a chocolate lab, named Buddy. So far, Debbie took my buddy and I to Victoria for the weekend and we actually had a chance to meet up with Chantel and Nikki. We had a great time with them. We went swimming and went to the Mayfair Mall. Also, when we were on our way back to Campbell River from Victoria Debbie took us to go zip lining. It was awesome. Mary and I have also went to Port Alberni and Tafino. When we were in Tafino we went to the Long Beach. It was so beautiful and so hot.

I work at Laichwiltach Family Life Society and lately I’ve been learning a lot about First Nations culture and I think it’s very interesting. At my work placement my responsibilities and duties are acting as a kid’s camp leader to make sure the kids are playing safe and being nice to each other. I get different kids every two weeks and now I’m on my second round.

My time in the south has been going so fast. I’m having so much fun at my work placement and learning a lot about First Nation culture. I have also met a few people that I can play basketball and just hangout with.

Chris and Dalton

My host buddy Dalton and I were placed in Bear River, Nova Scotia. I have really enjoyed my time here, as a participant with Northern Youth Abroad. My work placement is at the Fundy YMCA. It is in a little community called Cornwallis that is around 20km away from Bear River. At my work placement, I work with youth at the summer day camp program as one of the youth leaders. There are 3 other youth leaders and 1 youth coordinator. We play a lot of fun games with the youth such as grounders, water balloon fights, and other fun activities.

My host parent is Holly Meuse. She has been a host parent to 4 other NYA participants in the past. She also has 3 sons of her own. We also have a girl from Germany who is living with us.

We have also visited many other communities such as Digby, Yarmouth, Wolfville, and Annapolis Royal. While in Wolfville we visited Acadia University and spoke with a Professor about global warming. We have also spent time shopping and went to the Cineplex to see Antman and the Minions movie. Dalton and I have also gone to a theme park which had rides, games, and a haunted house.

Sandra, Alisha, Angela and Kyla together in London

My name is Angela from Igloolik and I was placed in London, Ontario with my buddy Sandra from Baker Lake. I am placed to volunteer at the Museum of Archeology where I am working with children as a counselor. I have learnt a lot of things about archeology, archeologists, myths and legends, dinosaurs, and fossils. We also do some outdoor games. My favourite is water day (we have balloon fights!) and Quest days.

I am enjoying my stay so far! My host family (or parents) Arlene and Gary are very nice, welcoming and funny. They make sure we are happy and all, which I appreciate very much. They don’t have any kids or pets. Arlene has a niece, her name is Sabrina and it turns out that she is my second cousin! What a fluke. Anyway, the highlights of this program to me, is that there are so much differences from where I live, such as, the temperature, food prices, distance, even personalities.  Yes, I do get homesick. Even a break from work, or just a little bit of sleeping in, but it eventually goes away. I am very lucky to be in this program where we are very well taken care of, and most importantly, we aren’t doing it alone. We have friends who are going through similar struggles and we are all helping each other through <3. It’s already week 3! One night, we were having Chinese food, we all opened our fortune cookies and mine was “The things you are doing will eventually pay off” or something like that. I was proud. It made me think of this program. And Sandra had “A person can’t get you off their mind” Haha!

Angela and Marcus

I am also having fun going to new places and doing new things. We get to choose our plans for after dinner, or during weekends. Credit to Arlene, she drives us anywhere. <3 This weekend, we went to a cottage and felt very much at home. The roads weren’t paved, decorated and there wasn’t so many cars passing by. I loved the little things in nature! And next weekend, my brother Marcus and his buddy Paul are coming to spend the weekend with us. So happy! We are planning to go to Canada’s Wonderland and go for crazy rides.

I am glad to be placed where I am. It’s good to be gaining experiences, leadership, work skills and having great support from friends.

I am looking forward to seeing everyone again at Re-O and just hearing how everyone’s summer went! I’m really enjoying “my summer” in London. I love this program.

Robert and James playing with their host family

My experience so far as a participant in the Northern Youth Abroad Canadian program has been pretty good. I have really enjoyed my work placement at the Kawartha Settlers Village. At my work placement we do a lot of fun activities. We teach people about how the Settlers Village used to be back many years ago. We also run activities for children, likes painting and playing different games.

My host parents are Beth and Scott. They have 2 children.  They have taken James, my placement buddy, and I to a comedy show, to the theatre and out to go shopping. We have also done some painting and spent time playing with Beth and Scott’s kids. We have had a lot of fun together.

I have found a lot of differences between the south and back home. The weather is much warmer here. There are also a lot more people here. Especially in the stores, which are much bigger than those back home.

We have been having a lot of fun and made many new friends!

Sean Michael, right, with placement buddy Logan

My experience so far as a participant with NYA has been great. My placement buddy, Logan, and I have had a great time. I’ve had the chance to do lots of things that I’ve always wanted to do. My host parents are Cheryl and Brandon. They are very kind and generous. My host family is planning to bring Logan and I to Niagara Falls, the zoo, and maybe to the USA. My work placement is at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore. Their mission is to bring people together to build homes, communities and hope. I was nervous my first day because it was my first ever job but it has turned out to be a great job, with very kind co-workers. There is always something to do there. My main duties are unloading the trucks and handling all of the donations. I don’t really miss home and my parents too much; it’s similar to when I lived in Pangnirtung without my family for 8 months. Logan and I stay busy with work. We also go swimming together. We’ve also become comfortable riding the bus, something I hadn’t done before coming here. The biggest difference I have found about life down south is the heat. It is very hot here most of the time.

I really enjoy being here!

Allie, right, with placement buddy Devin

Well my experience thus far is great. The people I’ve met are nice and so is my placement buddy Devon. He’s more talkative than I am – we get along great! My host family is great. Melissa is a nice woman who I have learned a lot from. She is a strong woman who works and she still manages to raise her two wonderful kids. I have learnt a lot from her, especially time management and how to being busy can be rewarding. Corey is also a great person, he works a lot too. I’ve learnt a lot about fishing and renovating a house from him. I love my host family, I’m learning so much from them everyday.

I’ve learnt a lot about the south as well. The weather is very hot here, things are much less expensive, and the people are hard-working. I’ve also noticed some cultural differences, such as, they don’t eat on the floor like we do back home and they don’t usually go to church. I’ve enjoyed experiencing the different culture. Some activities we’ve done so far are go to a baseball game, bake, and learn new things. What I did for the first time is water and feed chickens. My time in the south is great! I am having a blast and I am loving it!