Bacchus Marsh Lions host Finnish exchange guest

BACCHUS Marsh Lions Club is hosting a Finnish exchange guest, Siiri Niemenen, who is visiting as part of the Lions Youth Exchange and Camps Program.

“[Australia] is cool, very different,” said Niemenen,18.

Niemenen has one year of her secondary schooling to complete and then plans to pursue becoming a kindergarten teacher.

Visiting from Punkalaidun, Finland – population 2,700 and located 160km from the capital of Helsinki – she is currently staying in Darley with hosts Anne and Gerry Monaghan until 18 July.

The program this year has involved a week of camp in New South Wales, based around Newcastle and Sydney, followed by three weeks with the host family.

The camp involved nine visiting exchange students from Finland, Italy, Canada, Brazil, Spain, Hungary, Poland, and Lithuania.

Besides Darley’s Monaghans, host families are in Maryborough, and around Australia in places like Mossman, Lake Macquarie and Warrenwood.

“It is really fun and different from home,” Niemenen said.

“Finland is relatively flat, so the hills and mountains are interesting.”

She said one of the biggest surprises has been around recycling practices.

“Recycling here is not as intense as Finland,” said Gerry Monaghan.

“They have seven different bins. Separate bins for metal, plastic, glass, cardboard, paper. The town has collection bins that are shared by all residents, not necessarily seven bins for each household.”

Niemenen rates meeting new people from all over the world, sampling new foods and meeting some native wildlife among the highlights of her Aussie experience so far.

She also took part in the smoking ceremony at the Village Green to mark NAIDOC Week, and has presented Moorabool Shire mayor Cr Steven Venditti-Taylor with a bannerette from the Lions club in her home town.

“Lions Youth Exchange and Camps is an international program connecting countries from all over the world,” Gerry Monaghan said.

“Around the world there are over 30 camps each year, which provides opportunities for young people to travel to most countries in the world in the safety of being with a family supported by Lions.

“The program also offers the opportunity for Lions clubs to learn about people from other parts of the world.

“One of the Lions’ purposes is to create and foster a spirit of understanding amongst the peoples of the world and the Lions Youth Exchange program embodies this purpose.”