Six years ago Lindsay Kleuskens was an exchange student at St Peter’s school in Broulee – in Year 9. Following her year in Australia, she & her family returned to Canada, but that never really cured Lindsay of her fascination for Australia ! So she came back…
Part of her whirl-wind tour back to Broulee included an action packed schedule catching up with some school friends, seeing some pen-friends, and also playing golf on the monumental Narooma golf course.
“Oh there is nothing like the Narooma Golf Couse – the ocean views, the green grass, it is just gorgeous”. And of course there was the obligatory swim at Broulee North Beach with the water temperature twice that of the air temperature – her patriotic way of celebrating Canada Nation Day on 1 July.
Lindsay’s parents Julie and David Kleuskens undertook a teaching exchange in Broulee in 2013, and worked in the senior school at St Peter’s for the 12 months. This was a reciprocal arrangement with another couple who were also teachers. Both families swapped houses, and undertook their ‘out of country experience’ accompanied by their families.
Nowadays Lindsay is studying Communications back at Ryerson University in Toronto. This is two hours North East of her home town of London. Her university is centred around a disused, and revamped school that has been transformed into a university. The University now make up almost the entire adjoining suburb, and is adjacent to the business centre of Toronto. It includes a couple of gymnasiums – one that has been constructed below the main grassed quadrangle in the centre of the old school buildings.
Lindsay’s family were sports-mad, and threw themselves into all manner of sporting opportunities while down-under - notably basketball.
6 years ago Lindsay made a sensational effort in taking a main role in the school’s tops production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. This years musical was the school’s very own production of ‘I am Woman’ – a tribute to the great female musical artists over the decades. Lindsay was thrilled to be able to see it.
“It has been a real buzz catching up with some of my old teachers, and friends back here. Some thinks have changed: the school looks better, and some of my great teachers have not changed one bit- that is really good to see!”
What Lindsay loved about Australia (and Broulee) is the surf, the sand, the lifestyle, and the Australian nature and way of life. The best bit she claims was a daring midnight swim into Broulee beach on New years eve 2014 – “Oh the memories !” – but another great bit was the outdoor education week hike that she did as a Year 9 student from Wog Wog into the Budawangs – a factor many kids identify as a truly unique feature of their middle high school years.
What she loves about her home in Toronto – the university, Poutine (a National Canadian dish of potato fries, gravy and grated cheese), Maple syrup (and her dad is now tapping the big maple tree in their home yard – catching 10 litres of sap in the Spring, which is then boiled up to make the traditional Canadian maple syrup.
Canadian tucker was her creation – a yummy cauliflower tacos meal.
Putting at Narooma golf course
Sometimes the rough didn’t matter – it was all so scenic
The Kleuskens family at the end of their stay in 2013 (Lindsay 2nd from the right), with mum and dad Julie & David, and sister Marielle & brother Joey.
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