Holiday exchange
International students ready to experience a Newfoundland Christmas
GRAND FALLS-WINDSOR, N.L. — Christmas in Newfoundland is often spent with those you love, sharing family traditions, and a lot of food. Whether your traditions include cutting a tree, baking family recipe cookies, visiting family, giving to those in need, or just kicking back to watch Christmas movies, these traditions are special to you and those around you.
This year, some students will be spending time far away from home, and learning new family traditions.
Darin Boone is a host dad in Grand Falls-windsor who opens his home to exchange students from Exploits Valley High.
This year he will have three young men staying with him through the holidays — Jannis Kamp from Germany and Victor Fioretti from Brazil — as well as Erick Souza from Brazil, who lived with Boone as exchange student for two years of high school. He decided to stay on and attend college in Grand Falls-windsor this year. Boone is looking forward to sharing his Christmas traditions with them. “Like we normally do in Newfoundland, I’ll cook up a turkey with all the trimmings and we’ll have the traditional Christmas here, Christmas tree, gifts, all kinds of fun stuff,” Boone said.
He usually attends the Christmas Eve service at the Salvation Army on Park Street, something he is hoping to share with the boys.
“This year I’m not working so I’ll be around Christmas Day,” Boone said. “Last year I was working and Erick was here by himself while I was at work on Christmas
Day.”
Souza, who said he has been on the island long enough to be used to being away from home, is fine spending Christmas in Newfoundland. He visited family last year and talks to them often, so “it’s not like I’m really far far away from them.” His traditions are comparable. “We just celebrate, people get together and that’s pretty much it. Sometimes we have a turkey on the go. It’s pretty much the same as we are having here.”
Boone jokes that Souza came for five weeks and is staying for five years. “I didn’t really see myself doing much after high school in Brazil. I was working back then and had some money saved up so I thought I might move,” Souza said. “I was kind of living on my own for a little while back then.”
He spent two years as an exchange student at Exploits Valley High, applied and was accepted to the business accounting program at the College of the North Atlantic. He plans to complete the threeyear program before heading off to St. John’s for a degree.
“When I got here it was really nice,” he said. “I kind of got used to this place.” Last year Souza manned a Salvation Army kettle for volunteer hours towards graduation. This year he gets to share his experiences with Kamp and Fioretti, who are excited to see what Christmas is all about in Newfoundland.
“I actually love snow. Last time we had snow on Christmas was like three years ago but we usually don’t get that much snow anymore now. So I’d love to have a white Christmas,” Kamp said. “I actually kind of miss the times where we built igloos in our backyards in Germany, having a fight with snowballs, but we do not have that anymore because we do not have that much snow anymore.”
“I’ve never seen snow,” Fioretti added. “I saw a bit the other day but it was almost nothing. I want to hit the boys with snowballs.”
The students said if Boone is interested in incorporating some of their traditions they would be willing.
“But I have no idea what I should do. I can ask my Mom if she can send some Christmas pastry,” Kamp said. Boone adds his parents own a big bakery in Germany. “You only have toast up here right, and in Germany we have like 200 kinds of bread.”
Kamp’s family usually get a fresh tree out of the woods every year; Boone, on the other hand, likes a nicely-shaped tree so they will have to settle for artificial this year.
As for Fioretti, his Christmas tradition includes lasagna with turkey, and spending time with family. At midnight his grandfather says the names of the children as he hands them their gifts. It’s a very happy occasion.
“It’s nothing special if you aren’t in it, but for us it’s special,” Fioretti said. He’s fine spending his first Christmas away from home in Newfoundland. “I have Erick, he can share a little with me what I feel in Brazil. I really like the people here.” “I think it’s going to be good. I mean just one Christmas is going to be different than the others. I’m here to have new experiences so I’m not going to be sad because of that. I’m here to enter into his (Boone’s) traditions so if he wants to do something I’m just going to follow him.”