Exchange student came here for the cold

For 18-year-old Karilou Alaricon, Fort Frances seemed a world away from her home in Juárez, Mexico, but her time here has been very enjoyable.
Alaricon is an exchange student in her final year of high school. She chose to go on exchange to see the world.
“I wanted to see a little bit of the world that’s out there and experience a different culture,” she said of her decision. “Also, to improve my English. That’s one of the reasons I decided to come here.”
Her home town is on the border with the United States, so she didn’t want to go there. As well, other people she knew had been to Canada and said the “people were open. Also because it’s a beautiful country.”
At first, she was just excited to have finally received her exchange papers, which arrived late. She didn’t care where she went.
“I didn’t really care, as long as the place was really into the arts,” she admitted.
But one thing clinched it for her.
“I decided to come to Canada because of the cold weather,” she remarked. “I love it when it’s cold. I don’t like hot [weather].
“Holy man, the weather [here],” she continued, dramatically. “It’s too cold here [in winter]. Our cold is like your spring!”
Alaricon is in her last week in Fort Frances and now can reflect on the time she spent here. And for someone new to the community, she’s become quite well-known.
She had a supporting role in the high school musical production of “Oklahoma!” and according to some, she stole the show with her portrayal of Ado Annie—a spinster dead-set on getting married.
“It was great,” she said of the musical. “I miss it so much. It was fun, I’m telling you.
“Ms. Martindale helped me with my diction,” she added. “Some words I would pronounce wrong.
“I was really happy here because all the courses I want were here,” she said of the arts, drama, and music courses she could take at Fort High. “I think this is a pretty artistic town.
“It was things I really liked,” she continued. “Having fun and learning all the time, like drama. Mrs. Kunkel is hilarious. I’m going to miss her, we’re like best friends.
“I learned to play the saxophone,” she enthused. “I’ve always wanted to learn to play the saxophone. I’m going to continue with it because I love it.
“Mr. Denby is an excellent teacher!”
Having been immersed in the Canadian culture has taught Alaricon many things about life and herself.
“You get to know yourself and your culture when you’re out of your country,” she explained. “You don’t notice that when you’re in your place. Like the folk music.
“[And] the food!” she added, referring to something she really missed. “The hot peppers!”
Canadian food was too bland for her.
“It was fun and interesting being in another culture,” she said. “[Being in Canada] has taught me to decide and know day by day how to get my goals. It taught me different things I didn’t know I could do that I could do.
“Like acting in English,” she said, pausing to cough. “And how to get a cold!”
Alaricon is suffering from her sixth cold since coming to Canada in November. That hasn’t made taking the colder weather any easier. Neither did skiing.
“I went skiing. I’d never done that before. It wasn’t for me,” she said of spending more time on the ground than on her skis. “I’ll never do it again.”
Besides skiing, Alaricon got the chance to do a little exploring while she was here.
“I went to Toronto, to Niagara Falls, to Regina and Saskatchewan,” she said. “I went to musicals [while in Toronto]. ‘The Lion King’ and ‘Mamma Mia!’ I went to the CN Tower but I didn’t go up because of claustrophobia.
“Niagara Falls were amazing,” she continued. “I loved them.”
She also stopped in to see the Stratford theatre and made a trip with her billets—the Cornells—to Regina for the Canadian Western Agribition.
“My billets have a farm, so we went to a cattle show in Regina,” she noted. “I’ve seen how a calf is born.”
Quite an experience for a city girl, as was living in rural Northwestern Ontario.
“I think it’s really pretty here,” she said. “I live right in the city. To be so close to nature is nice.
“Everybody’s been really nice,” she added. “We had lots of fun.”
But the cold weather, bland food, and proximity to nature weren’t the only things to surprise her.
“Lots of things surprised me,” she said. “People here are really polite, responsible, and honest. I find that surprising.
“At first, I thought they were dry, though once they get to know you, they open up.”
Alaricon has fit in well and made many friends. “It’s going to be really hard for me [to leave],” she said. “Erin Woodgate is my best friend.
“I’m grateful for my host family,” she said of the Cornells. “The made my days go very quick. They’re a very active family. I didn’t have time to get homesick. They’re like the best.”
Alaricon is slated to leave Canada on June 23. The Cornells are throwing her a going-away party on Saturday, then she’ll be ready to head for home.
“I am looking forward to seeing my family,” she admitted. “I’m really close to my friends and family, so I want to see them.”
Alaricon is turning 19 upon her return to Mexico next week and she’s already planning for transition into post-secondary education. She plans on attending university in El Paso, Tex.—right across the border from her home town of Juárez.
She will major in musical theatre and minor in publicity.
Anyone who saw her in “Oklahoma!” knows she’ll do just fine in that program. And in El Paso, she’s probably going to stay warm and get all the hot peppers she wants.