The snowy landscapes enchanted the exchange students from Paraná who arrived in Canada between this Thursday and Friday (10 and 11). They come from different counties in the state and this is the first time they have been so far from home.

“Everything is very beautiful here. The snow… It’s white, soft and very cold. Soon I’m going to make a snowman,” says Kaio Vitor Santos, from Andirá, a city of 20,000 people who has the temperature summer in the house of 30°C.

He is one of 100 students taking part in the Ganhando o Mundo exchange program, sponsored by the State Secretariat for Education and Sports (Seed-PR). The students left Paraná on Wednesday (9).

Kaio has already met his ‘host family’, the family that will house him for the six-month exchange, and he is eager to start his classes at Madill High School in the province of Ontario. “I’m going to start on Monday. I’m very anxious and excited, but also a bit scared. There everything will be new,” he said. “I hope to make friends, devote myself fully and enjoy every detail of this new experience I have here.”

Gustavo Henrique de Oliveira, originally from Umuarama, has also arrived at his host family in the province of Ontario. “Lots and lots of snow, people. There is snow for sale,” he jokes. “The experience is great gratitude in the heart. It’s a dream come true for me. »

Student Ana Maria Hobold de Oliveira, from Francisco Beltrão, is still at the Montreal airport, awaiting boarding for the province of Terra Nova and Labrador, where she will spend the semester. She and other students came out of the airport to touch the snow and take pictures.

“The cold has been wonderful here in Canada. I love winter, so I enjoy it a lot,” says the student. Before traveling, the students received kits to prepare for the cold, with boots and two warm items of clothing (a windproof jacket and a sweatshirt), in addition to a backpack and a T-shirt.

Next to Ana is Eduarda Caroline Coutinho, from Barracão. The student is happy to be able to communicate well in English, a language she has already practiced since the flight, to order a meal and talk to other passengers. “It’s strange to arrive in a place where people communicate in a completely different language than what we are used to, because here they speak English and French. But everything went very well and we were able to communicate clearly in English,” he says.

She reports that colleagues who have already been to their Canadian cities and those waiting for connections at the airport are delighted to experience Canadian culture (and school) on a daily basis. “We are happy with everything that is happening. It has been an incredible experience,” he said.

“I feel like I’m living in a movie,” adds Ana. “We are literally taking over the world.”

WIN THE WORLD – The international exchange program Ganhando o Mundo was created by the Secretary of State for Education and Sports to provide high school students with training in foreign educational institutions that offer a curriculum equivalent to high school in Brazil. The young people were selected on the basis of a ranking of the highest marks among public schools.

The students were originally scheduled to travel in August 2021, however, still in the first semester, their trip was postponed to the beginning of this year due to the health measures imposed by the pandemic. Because of this, the destination changed from New Zealand to Canada.

The selection of exchange students was based on grade point average and frequency. The criteria were a mean greater than or equal to seven (7.0) in all subjects, and a frequency greater than or equal to 85%. To arrive at the final mark, the averages of all the subjects of the common national base (BNCC) taken in 2020 in 9th grade were added.

To improve the language, in 2021, those selected had access to an English course through an app, offered in partnership with state universities linked to the General Superintendency of Science, Technology and Higher Education .