DEH GAH GOT'IE KOE/FORT PROVIDENCE - Months of sorting and counting endless amounts of recyclables are about to pay off for six Fort Providence students.

Jim Snider, front left, Deh Gah School's vice-principal, and students Megan Antoine, Erin Sullivan, Ben Vandell and Shiana Sabourin; back left, Sechiah Norwegian and Kyle Canadien stand at the bottle depot that they've been running since August to raise money to travel to Oaxaca, Mexico. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

Megan Antoine, Erin Sullivan, Shiana Sabourin, Ben Vandell, Sechiah Norwegian and Kyle Canadien, who are all senior high students at Deh Gah School, have been running the recycling depot in the hamlet since August.

The students took on the twice-weekly responsibility as their primary fundraising activity for an international trip.

The group will be spending three weeks in Oaxaca, Mexico, from March 5 to 24, studying at a Spanish language school. The students will be taking daily language lessons, but will also have time for other pursuits including salsa dancing and Mexican cooking, said Jim Snider, who's the vice-principal and a program support teacher at Deh Gah School.

This is the second year Snider has organized a student trip to Mexico.

Last year he convinced three students including Ben Vandell and Sechiah Norwegian to make the journey. Both Vandell and Norwegian signed up again for this year's trip.

"It really makes me happy that there's a growing interest in travelling and learning," Snider said.

The students who travel will receive a Spanish high school credit, but, more importantly, they will be exposed to a new culture and language and different ways of doing things, Snider said.

As of Feb. 10 the group had raised approximately $17,000. They hope to fundraise around $9,000 more before they leave.

Megan Antoine, 17, is looking forward to trying new food, sightseeing and participating in traditional activities in Oaxaca.

This will be Antoine's first time out of Canada.

"I figured it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience," Antoine said about her decision to join the group.

Running the recycling depot to raise money has been okay but it can get busy, she said.

When the depot opened after the Christmas break, the students had drivers in four vehicles and six snowmobiles waiting to get refunds for their recyclables.

You feel better at the end of the shift at the depot because you know you worked hard and are working towards a goal, said Erin Sullivan.

Sullivan, 17, signed up for the trip after listening to Vandell's stories from last year's excursion. He made it sound really fun, Sullivan said.

Sullivan is excited about learning Spanish, meeting new people and being immersed in a different culture. She's a bit nervous about the home-stay.

During the trip, each student will be living with a local family. Both Vandell and Norwegian have requested to be with their families from last year.

Other activities during the trip will include three days at the beach and demonstrations of both pottery and wood carving using natural dyes.

"It's really, really cool," Snider said.

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