Some people are overwhelmed at the idea of transatlantic travel. Danielle Nelson isn’t one of them.
Raised in Flin Flon, Nelson is currently living in France as part of the Rotary Youth Exchange program.
A long-time French immersion student whose family has hosted exchange students in the past, Nelson was a perfect fit for the program.
While her first choice of location, Belgium – the homeland of Ann-Catherine Renard, Nelson’s friend and last year’s Rotary exchange student in Flin Flon – wasn’t met, Nelson got the next best thing – a host family in Lille, a city in France only minutes from the Belgian border.
Some students feel overwhelmed when preparing for their trip, but Nelson handled the process in stride.
“It was pretty basic. They gave me a bunch of paperwork to fill out. They sent me on a couple of orientations so I could get a grasp of what I’m going to go through,” she said.
“Myself, I had to prepare for the fact that my whole life was going to change. I had to realize that what I learned at home might not be useful here, it might not be the same.”
The real stress happened once Nelson settled in Lille. That was when Nelson realized she wasn’t in Flin Flon anymore.
“The first day was so exhausting. It was a big city, in my mind. I noticed that all the buildings seemed really old, even if people say they’re fairly new. There are lots of shops and restaurants, lots of bustle in the streets, people walking around, taking bikes everywhere,” she said.
“It is certainly a different atmosphere than Flin Flon.”
One of the changes she noticed early on was the difference between Canadian French and the dialect spoken in France.
“I’ve been in French immersion forever, so I had a pretty good sense of French. However, French here is different from Canadian French. It was hard to understand what was happening and what people were saying sometimes.”
Over the next few weeks, Nelson settled in well with her host family. When asked about them, Nelson spoke as if she knew the family her whole life.
“My family is amazing. My host mom loves to cook, my host father is an architect. I have a host brother who’s just like any other brother – he loves to play video games and annoy his older sister,” she said.
“They’re so friendly and so welcoming. They want to make my exchange as nice, as safe, as wonderful as they can. I really appreciate how lucky I am to have them.”
Nelson has taken advantage of her new location, visiting Normandy and the famous island monastery of Mont Saint-Michel, about a five hour drive from Lille.
One of the most meaningful visits of Nelson’s time abroad was a somber one with ties to home – visiting the Vimy Ridge memorial on Remembrance Day.
“It was beautiful, but…I can’t really put words to it. Just to stare up at that monument and be on the land that people died at, where people sacrificed themselves for others. I was in awe. It was very touching,” she said.
All in all, while the experience has been a big adjustment, Nelson has no regrets.
“I’m really glad I did it. I had my doubts before about going, but now I can’t imagine not doing it,” she said, adding that a big part of the trip was meeting other students from around the world studying abroad through Rotary International.
“I’ve met so many exchange students from other countries. They become a family, too. We all understand what each other is going through and we really connect with each other,“ said Nelson.
Nelson’s exchange ends in July. While some people would be happy to return home, Nelson is almost dreading that date, since it means leaving behind her new friends and fellow exchange students.
“I’m actually kind of scared to go home now because when I go home, I’m not going to be able to see them for a very long time. They’re not going to be a phone call away. I don’t know how I’m going to feel when they’re not around me. They’ve really become a big part of my life.”
Nelson will be in Lille until July, when she plans to return to Canada and travel cross-country.
Later, Nelson plans to study French education at the University of Regina – but not before some more travel.
“I want to travel across Canada, go from coast to coast. I kind of just want to freestyle it, put a tent in a vehicle and just drive until I feel like I find a good place to stop,” she said.
