A Haitian Vacation – Frantzo’s first visit to Canada
This November 15th Frantzo Begin left the island of Hispaniola for the first time to see the vast country of Canada. There were many firsts on this trip for Frantzo…his first time:
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seeing snow
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flying for longer then 45minutes (Did you know that Vancouver is further from Toronto then Puerto Plata?!)
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eating sushi
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being up as high as the CN Tower
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having a surprise party!
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seeing an Imax movie: James Bond – Skyfall
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going to a hockey game (no not NHL but a great game! Thank you Jon and Christy!)
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attending the WestJet Christmas Party
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visiting the Stanley Park Aquarium with our friends from Boston Pizza
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seeing the rocky mountains in Banff and riding up in the gondola
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doing the flight simulator at WestJet and landing the plane (Cole and I make a good team)
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viewing a LiveDifferent presentation
We asked Frantzo a few questions about his visit here, and wanted to share his answers with you.
What did you learn about Canada on your visit?
I learned just how friendly and welcoming Canadians are. The road systems are so much more organized than back home. I loved the food and think I gained some weight! I also learned that it can get very, very, cold (Calgary brrrr!) Canada is so big and every city I visited was very different from the other.
What was your favourite experience?
I had so many experiences on this trip and don’t know how to pick a favourite, but if I have to pick just one I would say going to the WestJet Christmas party. There were so many people there and the circus performers that were the entertainment for the night were amazing. But more than that, I loved seeing everyone I had met on past Hero Holidays. It was so nice for me to visit them in their own country, and I felt so loved!
What did you think of SNOW? How will you describe it to your family back home?
Snow seems to be a normal thing to accompany the cold. It kinda makes the cold seem ok. I will tell my family to open the fridge and look at that ice that collects in the back when it gets cold. Maybe I will break some off and throw a snow ball at my son Gracely!
What have you learned on this trip that will help you as you continue to work with LiveDifferent in the Dominican Republic and Haiti?
It was amazing to come to Canada and I felt very blessed. Seeing the LiveDifferent office and getting to see one of their presentations at a high school really helped me understand more of what we do as an organization. I am so happy to belong to such an amazing organization like LiveDifferent who loves and takes care of their employees and it makes me want to work hard to represent them in the best way possible. I am proud of my job and love doing the work we do!
Anything else you want to say?
Honestly, many papers and pens would be needed to describe my happiness and my thanks to everyone who make my trip possible. There are no words that can express my gratitude to you all. You made me feel so welcome and cared for. It was an honour and a pleasure for me to be around each one of you these past three weeks. I hope to return the hospitality if you come to visit Haiti or the DR. If I didn’t get to see you, don’t worry, I will be back in January (8 – 17) for the LiveDifferent staff retreat and to visit some more. I’m excited to see Niagara Falls and do some skiing for the first time too!
– Frantzo, Nettie, and Cole – Hero Holiday Dominican Republic and Haiti Staff