Posted by John Borst on Aug 26, 2018
Dressed in her souvenier studded red blazer former DHS student Lindsay Cole shared highlights of her year in Belgium with Dryden Rotary.
Lindsay spent her year in Dinant, Belgium.
 
Using a series of pictures she introduced us to her three host families during her stay.
 
Her first family, introduced her to a refugee camp in Belgium, while her second family owned a bakery and did a lot of travelling with her including a trip to the Alps. Lindsay found her third family particularly supportive.
 
Each exchange student is also hosted by a local Rotary club. In this case, Lindsay’s host club was composed exclusively of men.
 
The school Lindsay attended looked like a castle. She was surprised to learn that when entering the class; the students had to wait until the teacher permitted them to sit down.
 
While in Belgium, Lindsay did four trips with other exchange students: Paris, Berlin, Greece, and Prague. She also visited Ypres on Remembrance Day and also went to Vimy Ridge.
 
Some of the pictures Coles shared showed:
  • exchange students with whom she bonded
  • traditional Belgian food such as waffles, chocolate, and beer
  • many festivals of which it seemed like there was a new one every weekend in some town or city
 
Lindsay will be heading off to the University of Ottawa to study “communications”.
 
Current, Future and Past Exchange Students in Dryden:
L to R – Lindsay Coles, Sigvart Støverud, Hilary Taylor, Maryn Wrolstad, Jacquie Grandmont
 
In closing, Lindsay thanked Rotary for a life-changing experience. It was, she said, “The best year of her life.”