Lynn Lau
Northern News Services

Fort McPherson (June 17/02) - A group of 29 students from Chief Julius school is home after spending a week in Ontario as part of a federally sponsored exchange program.

The students, ranging in age from 11 to 17, took in museum visits, the CN Tower, Canada's Wonderland amusement park, a Toronto Blue Jays baseball game and went swimming and shopping during a packed Southern Ontario itinerary May 26 to June 2.

Matched with Grade 7 and 8 kids from Hillcrest middle school in Hamilton, students came away with new friendships and a fresh appreciation for their home town.

"It was awesome," said 16-year-old Ryan Wilson. "I loved it. It's a different culture -- that's what I learned about. People live different from around here."

Vice-principal Shirley Snowshoe was one of four chaperons from Fort McPherson who accompanied the students on the trip.

She says they were struck by the different pace of life between Hamilton -- a city of 490,000 -- and Fort McPherson, a community of 900.

"One of the things that really amazed them was the speed and the movement," she said. "I don't know how many times a day I was saying, 'We got to move faster to keep up to the group!' Around here you never have to be zooming around to be on time. That was one of the things -- our kids wanted to just take their time. But they adapted and adjusted to the situations that came up. They were able to just get right in there and take advantage of what was there to learn."

For 13-year-old Bradley Clark, the Hamilton trip was the first time he'd been any further from home than Yellowknife.

"I really liked it," he said. "I wish I was still there. It was busy -- lots of traffic, like it took me about 10 minutes just to cross the street. It was sort of noisy and lots of busy people. A lot of fun places." He says he especially liked the amusement park rides, and playing basketball and swimming with his Hamilton host, 13-year-old Jesse Riccardi.

Clark's classmate, Deon Blake, also 13, said he didn't expect Hamilton to be so big. "I thought it would a little bit more smaller. The air is not that clean -- it's polluted." Blake said he enjoyed the warm weather, friendly people, and going bowling for the first time.

During the other half of the exchange, April 14 to 20, Fort McPherson students hosted for their counterparts.

Snowshoe said it was a good opportunity for the youth to show off their culture.

"It made them aware that their culture has a lot for them to be proud of," she said. "To be proud of being Gwich'in, I think that's so very important."

Chief Julius school and the community raised $23,000 to entertain the visiting students for five days. During their stay, the Ontario students visited Inuvik, Eagle Plains, Yukon, and the Arctic Circle marker on the Dempster Highway. They also got a chance to learn about the Gwich'in language and culture, spent time at the Tl'oondih Wilderness Camp, and learned Northern games and bush skills.

Travel expenses between Hamilton and Fort McPherson were paid by YMCA Youth Exchanges Canada, which is funded by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage.