The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Flin Flon has a way of embracing people with open arms and making them feel at home, no matter where their literal home may be. That's just what German teen Sophie Graefin Von Bernstorff has found since arriving here through the Rotary International Youth Exchange program last summer. "I will remember Flin Flon as being small with very nice people," says the Hapnot Collegiate student, "and great nature and great landscape." The 17-year-old has had much to delight in during her time here, taking part in such activities as ice fishing, dog sledding, and golfing with her schoolmates. But the native of Wessing, Germany, who studied English back home, originally had some apprehensions about traveling to this foreign land. "I was worried it would be too cold and I wouldn't be able to speak the language well or I would get a bad host family or something," she says with a smile. "It is a little cold, but it's really cool to have snow for this long." The Flin Flon diet has also caught Sophie's attention. "You eat a lot more meat over here," she says. "But I like the food. I really like it. Perogies are a favourite. I had never ate them before." School has been another positive adjustment for the friendly teen, who is enrolled in grade 11 at Hapnot. "I think the teachers are very nice. They do a lot more for their students than they have to, which I'm not really used to," she says. "They also have all these cool classes like woodworking. We don't really have that back home." Many distinctions may be drawn between Flin Flon and Germany, but a different kind of experience is just what Sophie was after when she signed up for the exchange program. See 'Learn' P.# Con't from P.# "I wanted to learn another language and get to know new people and another country, another culture," she says. Now a Flin Flonner for over half of a year, Sophie recognizes ways in which she has grown during that time. "I have changed a lot myself," she says. "I speak English a lot better. I've been over here and I've got to know many, many people, I have many new friends, and lived a whole different life." When she flies back home at the conclusion of the school year, Sophie will have two more years of secondary school ahead of her. After that, she may study law, but isn't certain at this point. What she does know is that Flin Flon will always hold a special place in her heart, and she will forever praise the Rotary Exchange Program. "It's the best thing you can do," she says. "Many people say it's the best year of their lives because you get to know so many great people that you wouldn't have met ever."
