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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
When Andrea Marrocu called home to Italy and told her parents about the first snowfall in Yellowknife their immediate response was, "So you're not going to school."

Quentin Chabennet, left, Andrea Marrocu and Pedro Navrro are three of six international exchange students who took classes at Sir John Franklin High School this year. The participants came to the territory with non-profit organization AFS. - Miranda Scotland/NNSL photo

If school was cancelled every time it snowed in the North students would never have to go to class, Marrocu replied with a laugh.

Marrocu, 18, is one of six international students who enrolled at Sir John Franklin High School this year. The teens came to the territory with AFS, a non-profit organization that offers exchange programs for the purpose of fostering peace and understanding.

The process to get into the programs varies slightly from country to country. For instance, Yellowknifers who apply have to fill out an extensive application and submit letters of reference from their parents, doctor and teacher. Meanwhile, Marrocu was required to attend meetings and complete a psychological test.

This year's batch of students arrived in Yellowknife between August and September and they are expected to stay until the end of the school year.

Quentin Chabennet, 18, of France said he first found out about Yellowknife's chilly weather through a letter from his host family, which his brother translated for him.

"He read, he read, he read and when he read -40 C he didn't want to translate that." Chabennet recalled with a chuckle. "He just tell me it's very, very cold. 'Like what minus 20?' 'Minus 40.'"

Chabennet was taken aback by the news but in the end, he said, the weather wasn't really that bad.

Since coming to Yellowknife, Chabennet has vastly improved his English. In the beginning, he said, all he did was nod his head but today he can speak full sentences.

Also, now that he understands what's being said, school is very easy. The math he is being taught in Yellowknife, he said, he had already learned in Grade 10.

Seventeen-year-old Pedro Navrro added he finds the environment in the high school completely different than in educational institutions in Spain. The teachers here are far less strict, he said, expressing his surprise over being allowed to eat, drink and go to the bathroom whenever he wanted.

Marrocu echoed his comments. In Italy, she said, students must address their teachers formally but in the North they're more like friends.

It's been a great experience, Marrocu continued. In the short time she's been here Marrocu has become more sure of herself and broken out of her shell. In March she went to Mexico to visit her mom. During the trip her mom was surprised to see Marrocu speaking English with ease and chatting up people she didn't know.

"You completely change from the beginning," Marrocu said.

Yellowknifer Kate Johnson said she had a similar experience when she went with AFS to France a number of years ago.

"I became a much more open-minded person, much more able to deal with challenges that would come about from not knowing the language and differences in culture," Johnson said. "I really grew as a person."

Currently, Johnson acts as the Yellowknife hosting co-ordinator for the organization. She is in the midst of looking for families willing to take in one of four exchange students who will be visiting from Malaysia, Dominican Republic, Denmark and Italy starting in August.

Host families are asked to provide the students shelter and the basic necessities of life. Although the volunteers get no monetary compensation they do receive something in return, Johnson said.

"You're doing it out of the goodness of your heart and benefitting your family because they get the exchange too," she said. "They get to learn about a different culture."

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