Two Innisfail students will never look at Nova Scotia the same way again.
From April 21 to 26, Natalie Verhaire and Hannah Cullum, along with their teacher Sarah Patton travelled to Nova Scotia on a cultural/educational trip in conjunction with high school French immersion studies.
“We travelled to three Acadian communities with distinct French dialects which surprised the girls,” said Patton.
Cullum and Verhaire found it difficult to understand the differences in the French accents.
“They speak very quickly, and they have a type of twang,” said Cullum. “We had to ask people to repeat themselves quite often.”
The French trip had quite an itinerary for the Innisfailians.
“Our trip started out in Halifax where we explored Point Pleasant Park, Grand Pre, Evangeline Beach, the Acadian Dykes, Port Royal and Fort Anne,” said Patton.
The former Nova Scotia teacher is in her first year in Innisfail having taught at Bridgetown Regional High School for three years prior.
“I got to take my students to the school I used to teach at, and where they have pen pals,” added Patton. “It was neat for them to meet the students they have been corresponding with for almost a year.”
The girls travelled to Nova Scotia's only francophone university, Universite St. Anne in Church Point, and met another touring school at the same time, which gave them the opportunity to share experiences across Canada and practise their French.
“We were fortunate to be able to take in a class from Professor François Bélanger, went on a campus tour, which included the language lab, the Acadian Interactive Centre, the library and stayed in residence,” said Patton. “We also went to the giant pool (almost Olympic size) and took a hike through the ‘Petit Bois' where they found five geo-caches, which thrilled them. They wanted to leave one behind but we ran out of time.”
The students also journeyed into the Clare and Pubnico Acadian regions where they tried authentic Acadian food such as rapure, which they did not like. But they did enjoy the trip to the Historical Acadian Village.
“It was a fascinating tour. We all got to experience the French Acadian dialect,” said Patton.
However, their trip to picturesque Peggy's Cove was not perfect, notably due to the weather.
“The day we went to Peggy's Cove it was very, very cold,” said Patton. “It is an open area and the wind chilled us all so we did not stay very long, 45 minutes instead of the planned two hours.”
Cullum and Verhaire added it was a beautiful place to visit despite any shortcomings with the weather.
Patton took the opportunity to plan a visit with her family while in her native province.
“My mother came with us one day on a day trip to Pubnico and my younger brother struck up a friendship with the girls,” added Patton. “They are still texting each other I think.”
The trio also visited the Halifax Waterfront, Pirate's Cove, and the Bangor
Sawmill.
“It was a really good trip,” said the students. “We all enjoyed Nova Scotia's largest candy story, the Freak Lunchbox.”
The students said they would go to Nova Scotia again while Cullum would like to move to Nova Scotia after she finishes school.
