Lion tales from overseas

Times Contributor

 

Sarah MacDonald and Carter Bauer regaled Lions Club members with stories of their adventures overseas. The Strathmore Lions, under the Lions International Youth Camp and Exchange, sponsored the two students.

“It was absolutely the best experience of my life,” said MacDonald, who travelled to Germany. “Thank you for giving me this opportunity.”

She lived with a family who have four children. They had a teen close to her age. They took her sightseeing to different cultural venues in Switzerland, France, Austria and Greece.

“We went skiing in the Swiss Alps. They were really good skiers, kicked my butt,” MacDonald said.

She said she gained some knowledge of the language by the end of her five weeks.

Bauer initially went to Finland. He said he was intimidated at first when a massive Viking-like man greeted him as he got off the plane. They quickly established a rapport when they discovered they both had a love for hockey. He experienced bike trips, hiking, music jams, shopping in Helsinki, ocean kayaking, sightseeing and camping, complete with swims in Nordic lakes. He brought back some flags and pins for the local Lions members.

He also went to the international camp where he met other young people involved in the Lions exchange program. He says that he still keeps in touch with them through Facebook

“We met kids from Israel, Japan, and France…people from all over. We were all similar and yet so different,” said Bauer. “It was amazing. Thanks and please continue this program.”

For more information about the program check out www.lionsclubs.org/EN/our-work/youth-programs/youth-camp-and-exchange.