It was a brief but very interesting visit for two 18-year-old Scandinavian students who were in and around the Energy City for three weeks, enjoying the sights, smells and sounds of southern Saskatchewan.
Petra Roilia of Harma, Finland and Johan Krogh from Hirtshals, Denmark are part of a Lions Clubs International youth exchange program that saw about 20 young people, mostly from Europe, make their way to Saskatchewan this summer to engage in a cultural exchange.
Two weeks of the three-week visit were spent in Estevan for Petra and Johan, guests at the home of Patrick and Nicole Dupuis. The final week (this week) sees them in and around Regina and Katepwa Provincial Park with the other young students, comparing notes and getting involved in a variety of activities.
It was a first time visit to North America for both of them and both reported they didn't suffer much culture shock. They are very adept with the English language and the weather patterns didn't phase them either since Harma is located in the northern sector of Finland and Hirtshals is on the northern tip of Denmark, a short ferry ride from Norway.
Johan is enrolled in a computer science course at university now, while Petra is finishing a final year of high school with no clear direction yet, but she thinks she'll probably pursue a degree in education.
Johan loves playing guitar and enjoys soccer and a variety of other sports, while Petra loves gymnastics.
When asked what enticed them to make a bid for an international trip, Johan said it was a simple case of his father's friend who was in a local Lions Club, making the suggestion that he put in an application.
"I was working for him this summer, and he asked me if I would be interested. I naturally said yes. He brought some paperwork to me and I signed on and here I am," he said with a laugh.
For Petra the process wasn't much more complicated, although she was required to complete an interview with a selection committee. She had heard about the exchange opportunity through an announcement in her school.
Both have travelled before throughout the Scandinavian countries and Europe, but their first foray into Canada brought out one major observation.
"Everything is so vast here," said Petra.
"Yes, big things, big cars, big trucks, big houses. Everything is big here," Johan said, nodding in agreement.
Nicole Dupuis said they have managed to do a few side trips, one to Kenosee that was partially rained out, but the daily ice-cream run hasn't been deterred by weather. The extended family, including Dupuis' teenaged daughter Marie-Josee made a trip into Regina to see the theatrical production of Les Miserables and a visit to Wascana Park. There was also a trip to a grain farm, where once again the size and scope of the operations was well noted by the young visitors. They were to get another glimpse of bigness again, with a scheduled tour of the local mines and power generating stations.
Both visitors are members of large families. Johan said his father, who was a sailor, was forced into early retirement with a back injury and his mother is a certified care-giver for disabled clients. He has seven brothers and sisters, and he's in the middle of the family compact.
Petra said her father is a manager of a meat processing plant and her mother is a waitress. She enjoys the company of two brothers and two sisters, and she's the oldest sibling, "so I get to give them all heck," she said with a smile.
Before they left the Dupuis family, the two were scheduled to pay a visit to 15 Wing Moose Jaw to tour those facilities, and they enjoyed a small aircraft flight with host Patrick Dupuis on a good flying day. They also went bowling and toured the local campus of the Saskatchewan Energy Training Institute and attended a local party that involved some Estevan teens and young people. A visit to the Estevan Archery Club and a jam session with some local guitar players kept Johan busy for a few extra days.
He said he's impressed with the fact that young people get to drive early on here, since the legal age to apply for an operator's licence in Denmark is 18 and it's a costly proposition around $2,000. But on the other hand, the legal age for consuming alcohol is 16. It's all part of the cultural history, the two figured, since the driving age in Finland is also 18, said Petra.
During their Katepwa visit, Johan and Petra were to have the opportunity to do some rock climbing, boating and zip lining. They were also to visit the RCMP training depot, tour the CNIB headquarters (a Lions Club international project) and participate in a scavenger hunt in Wascana Park, in Regina. Besides a visit to the air force base in Moose Jaw, the two would join the other young international visitors in a tour of the tunnels and local museums.
"The kids from each country will be assembled in their respective groups and will be presenting information about their native land to the other kids," said Nicole.
That session will officially wrap up the whirlwind three-week visit, as the various groups will make their way to the airport in Regina to bid goodbye to their hosts and return to their homes to complete their summer, hopefully bearing fond memories of their visit to Big Saskatchewan.
