Friends and Flags Classes from Italy and Canada Meet in Nova Scotia, Summer 2002

Mayor of Halifax with Friends and Flags Teachers Paola from Italy ( Left) and Diane from ( Canada)

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Report of the Trip | Newspaper Article | Reflections |

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Report by Paola  Crevola, Italy

Our  Canadian-Italian partnership proved to be so exciting and successful through last schoolyear that my kids were invited to visit Nova Scotia during summer holidays. Diane and I arranged the trip for the first week of September ( 2 - 9 ) not to disrupt the start of the academic schoolyear in both schools.

Diane visited me with two students in late June and she hosted me in Nova Scotia. As she is a very generous sensitive open-hearted person, she also hosted one of her students and her Italian epal Valentina. 

All the other students were hosted by their epals and wonderfully treated and 'pampered' as family members. What was more, Diane and the host families organized a fantastic programme for the week. We paid 85 Canadian dollars for excursions and tickets, but this was a very small sum compared with what we saw and did.

I was deeply fascinated by beautiful Nova Scotia as a pristine land. Also, the landscape is stunning: indented fiords, hundreds of lakes, big fir-tree woods and the Atlantic Ocean!

Halifax is a modern city in a very quiet natural harbour and has some nice historical buildings dating back to British colonial times. It is the most populated area of the province and the surroundings consist of nice framehouses scattered in the woodland and on the lakes and fiords. Life is very relaxed and safe: most people don't lock up their doors and leave their cars open while shopping. Unbelievable!!!

Eastern Shore District High School is about 40km from downtown Halifax and close to the sea. The atmosphere is very friendly and the schoollife pleasant and quiet. My students really liked it!

This was the week's programme:

Monday the 2nd: late-night arrival

Tuesday the 3rd: morning: guided walking tour of Titanic cemetery ( Titanic sank off Halifax coast in 1912 );

  afternoon: Pier 21 ( very interesting and educational emigration museum ) and ferry-crossing of the bay from Halifax to Dartmouth.

Wednesday the 4th: morning: guided tour of Maritime Museum;

 

afternoon: meeting with the Mayor of Halifax in

the Victorian Town Hall;

guided walking tour of Victorian Gardens ( now public gardens ) and bus tour of parkland and residential areas ( usually called 'the Golden Coast' ).

Thursday the 5th: morning: visit to Citadel Hill ( an ancient fort ) and show of multimedia video on colonization of Nova Scotia;

 

afternoon: boat tour of the harbour and the bay ( Halifax is the second natural/harbour in the world after Sydney ).

Friday the 6th: morning: excursion to Peggy's Cove, a very picturesque village with a big lighthouse and granite rocks often used as a film set;

 

gorgeous free lunch in the best cafeteria of Dalhousie University and guided walking tour of the campus. Dalhousie University is the largest of the four universities in Halifax.

Saturday the 7th: pizza-party arranged by host families at a cottage                                                                                    by a lake and canoe rides on the lake. 

                           Pizza party

 

Sunday the 8th: hockey game.

Monday the 9th: the saddest morning departure ever...