The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, July 24, 1996- Bt

OMMUNITY-

INSIDE
COMMUNITY

a ci PET cs

EVENTS B2

LESLIE DICKSON

Load up that
backpack

HROUGHOUT my last year of

high school, my plans for this fall

went back and forth between going

away to school in the fall or travell-
ing.

I caught the travelling bug early in life (grade
9) after going on the, now infamous, school trip
to England and Greece.

But I had also always planned that I would go
to university right after I graduated, partly to get
out of Terrace, and partly because it seemed like
the right thing to do. Now, having made my de-

- cision to travel, I would like to share all the

merits and opportunities that I feel travelling
holds for teenagers.

First of all, it is the perfect thing to do if you
just don’t want to go to school. You may be too
lazy to do the work required at a post-secondary
school, or just have no idea what type of career
you want to pursue.

By travelling you can see more of what the
world hus to offer and in the process, get a bet-
ler idea of what you want to do with your life.
Maybe you'll find out that getting your educa-
lion and getting a good job plays an important
role in your life, if only 10 allow you to make
More Money so that you can Lravel more often,
and for longer periods of time,

Travel can also alliaw you to broaden your
prospectives. While teenagers are more open
minded concerning homosexuality and accepi-
ing of other races than their parents, they seem
to be increasingly more narrow minded and
cynical in their outlook on life,

This is partly due to the bleak future we face,
but I think this could be remedied through
travel. They would see that there are people
their age much worse off than them, thus giving
them hope for the future when they see that
Canada isn't so bad off.

As well, ihey would meet many people their
own age wilh different views on life, and
wouldn’t be so quick to judge people, after
seeing life from different perspectives,

Teenagers also have the opportunity to be-
come their own person if they travel, They are
away from the unrelenting scrutiny of their
peers, and well-meaning interference of their
parents. They can go somewhere where they
know no one and act or be however they want.

Travelling gives people the chance to suspend
reality. They can leave behind all their problems
and focus on their own happiness, They can
regain their energy for life that has become lost
under the drone of day-to-day life and come
back from their trip with more energy than is re-

quired just lo meet their daily needs,

If your only interests in the places
you go are good hotels, restaurants
and weather, then you won’t learn any-
thing,

if our global community is constantly shrink.
ing, then we are increasingly working with
more people fom different countries, Thercfare
it is important to know how other countries and
cultures function, And what better way to learn
about other countries than to have lived there
and experienced their cultures firsthand?

We need to understand how people work in
other countries so that we can work together,

Through travel, you are exposed to many dif-
ferent people, tradilions and ways of life. This
exposure can lead to more open mindedness
which can help to end the ignorance which
cause many of the problems between cultures in
the world today.

But none of this can happen if you aren’s
ready to learn when you set off. If your only in-
terests in the places you go are good hotels,
restaurants and weather, then you won't leara
anything,

Read about the places you are going to visit
before you go. Avold the thirty second
panoramic tour that turns the sites into a blur
passing your window. Don’t let tour guides dic-
tate the places you see, Spend at least one day
just walking around and soaking in the scenery.
Try the local stout if you’re in England, or zip
around on mopeds in Greece, Most importantly,
go with an open mind and have fun,

A safety ‘net

Library offers Internet lessons

Iv’S FREE, CONVENIENT
and easy. So if you've been
postponing learning how to
use the Internet, you’re out
of excuses,

The Terrace Public Li-
brary bas hired two students
for the summer to teach
anyone who's interested
how to surf the net,

‘Non-profit groups, busi-
Ness people... we'll teach
anyone,’’ says Sarah Wiebe,
She and Jan deLeon will
help you put that first toe in
the water,

But what’s in it for you?
Well, after a brief introduc-
tion in how the Intemet
works, deLeon or Wicbe
can show how to access a
world of information, or just
have fun playing for an
hour,

Want to see what the
weather’s like in Tokyo? A
netcam will show you what
was happening there just
five minutes ago — in
colour. Or perhaps you'd
just like to see what the
surfs like on Kitsilano
beach in Vancouver.

You can register for uni-
versity courses, post your
resume or even go shop-
ping.

Anyone’s who's used a
computer before should be
able to pick up the neces-
sary skills in about an hour,
siys Wiebe. She and
del_con have designed a tour
through the net for begin-
ners, helping them wade
through new terminology
like.'search engine’ or ‘web
site.’ :

They also welcome
parents and children to
come down for joint ses-
sions.

If parents are concemed
about the information chil-
dren might have access to
on the Internet, deLeon or

CATCH THE WAVE — Surfing the net doesn't take any special skills. Sarah Wiebe and lan deLeon will show

you how this summer, with a free lesson on the Internet, °

Wiebe will tell them about
‘Net Nanny’ a -program
which edits out material

with inappropriate Janguage

or content

If one hour isn’t enough,
the public is also welcome
to book time in one-hour in-
crements on the Internet at

Student plans
overseas trip

AFORMER ambassador for
Terrace is spreading the
word about our community
further than the judges at the
pageant thought she ever
would.

Carrie McElroy, first am-
bassador for Terrace in
1994, is taking part in
Canada World Youth trip ta
Poland this fall.

She’s one of two BC
youths travelling to the
country under the wings of
the non-profit exchange or-
ganization.

McElroy will be part of a
team of seven Canadians
and seven Poles. The team
then splits up Into pairs, for
a three month stay in
Manitoba with @ host fam-
ily, Then theyll tavel to
Poland, where they'll stay
with more host families.

“Tl be doing volunteer
work, community service
and cultural work,’ says
McElroy.

She chose to go to Poland
because it was a relatively
new country for Canada
World Youth, and that
meant exchange sludents
from Canada would be a
fairly novel experience.

McElroy has been study-
ing Polish in preparation for
the trip, bul says ‘‘to wrap
your longue around some of
the words is a little dif
ficult”

If anyone in town knows
Polish, she'd appreciate
some help.

However, McElroy isn’t
toa worried about the lan-
guage barrier.

She’s working as a guide
at the fish hatchery — in
Kilimat this stimmer,. and

Carrie McElroy
has found ways to commu-
nicate with tourists without
words.

McElroy expects this ex-
change trip to Poland wiil
be start of a Ilfctime of
travelling.

“T've always been really
interested in exchange pro-
grams.

“T want to go to UBC and
take an international rela-
tions program, then work
with volunteer agencies in
third world counitries,’’ she
says.

She sees Canada World
Youth as a good way to start
this career,

McElroy will be doing
some fundraising this sum-
ner, to raise money for the
trip.

If you're. interested in
helping her out, you can

contact her through 635. °

7961,

ARG,

the library.

Even tourists are welcome
to have a go at the com-
puter.

‘“We had an Australian
tourist coming in looking
for rugby scores from back
home,”’ says deLeon. He
was able to find them on the

net
“You-.should have seen

deLeon.

The library also plans to
set up a general delivery e-
wail box, for those who
don’t have private e-mail
addresses. The only catch is

that anyone could go in and

‘ _Tead the mail.
the smile’ on his face,’’ says”

‘But this summer is’ “your
only chance for a free intro-
ductory lesson on the Inter-
net. Afler that people will
still be able to use the Inter-
net computer at the library,
but they’re on their own,

m Ready, aim...

NATHAN SOUCIE takes careful alm at a balloo
fast at the Thornhill Community Picnic on Satur
lhe cool weather, to take advantage of the games and fun times.

n during the dart throwing con-
day, Familles came out despite