NIAGARA COLLEGE, WELLAND AND SOME NEARBY CITIES

1. NIAGARA COLLEGE

• History and introduction

Niagara College opened its doors in 1967 in Welland.

Now it has expanded into other parts of Niagara, such as Niagara-on-the-Lake and Niagara Falls.

• Students and offert

Niagara College has an enrolment of more than 9,000 full-time students.

More than 15,000 Continuing Education registrants annually.

The College offers more than 100 post-secondary diploma and post-graduate certificate programs, skills and apprenticeship training programs and bachelor's degree programs.

• Campus

Niagara College operates from three campus locations.

The Welland Campus: is home to programs in technology, skilled trades, broadcasting, communications, health and community, policing and public safety, and automotive. This is the campus when we are studying our Summer English Program. The campus has many facilities and some parts are very new because of the campus redevelopment project that Niagara College finished in 2011. It included the construction of an Applied Health Institute, a new state-of-the-art Technology Skills centre, classrooms and labs, student centre, athletic centre and learning commons.

The Niagara-on-the-Lake Campus: provides state-of-the-art facilities and “living labs” for our environmental, horticulture, hospitality and tourism, and business programs. It is also home to Niagara College Teaching Winery as well as the Niagara College Teaching Brewery.

The Niagara Falls Campus: serves as a dedicated industry development and training resource for Niagara’s important hospitality and tourism sector.

• Achivements

Niagara College has become a leader in education and training.

It is also recognized as a leader in student satisfaction, consistently ranking among the top colleges in Ontario in this area. The survey also gives Niagara College high marks in graduate employment rate, graduate satisfaction and employer satisfaction.

We can conclude by saying that we have had the chance to study in this wonderful College, when we have collected many special moments together.

2. WELLAND

Is a city in the Regional Municipality of Niagara in Southern Ontario.

The city was first settled in 1788 and now is where we have been living during these weeks. It is a nice city where everything you can see is green, perfect for those who loves the nature.

• Parks

You can visit many parks but we have highlighted the following ones:

Chippawa Park: an older, well-developed park in the northwest where you can even play volleyball.

Memorial Park: a newer park in the southeast where you can have a nice swimming.

Merrit Island Park: along the canal, a beautiful place to get lost in.

• Restaurants

Don Marco's Italian Eatery: you can try delicious Italian food in this nice restaurant.

Evelyn's Sandwich Factory: the best sandwiches in Welland! You can add whatever you want and enjoy them very much.

Sue's Seafood: in this restaurant which is specialist in seafood, you also can try meat or burgers. A perfect place made for everyone!

In Welland you also can eat in fast food restaurants such as Mc Donald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s… and of course, you can enjoy a wonderful coffee in Tim Horton’s accompanied by a delicious donut or cookie.

• Leisure

The city is not famous for its leisure but you can do different things here.

You can go to the cinema with your friends or family and have a good time together watching a nice film in Cineplex, inside Seaway Mall.

In the same shopping mall you can go shopping and spend a lot of money because there are so many shops!

There are other interesting festivals, for example the Rib Festival that we enjoyed two weeks ago.

In summer there are concerts in the Canal, a perfect stage to enjoy it a lot. You can have a great time listening wonderful music while you are in the nature and breathing fresh air.

It’s in the Welland Canal too where you can have and amazing swimming and do some exercise there: running, biking or even ride a canoe!

3. NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE

Niagara-on-the-Lake, often called the loveliest town in Ontario, has a long history. Site of the old Neutral Indian village of Onghiara, it was settled at the close of the American Revolution by loyalists coming to Upper Canada.

Nowadays over two hundred years after its founding, Niagara-on-the-Lake hums with a different kind of traffic. Its many attractions include historic sites: Fort George and the Historical Society Museum, the Shaw Festival with its three theatres, the marina, the heritage business district for shopping, golf courses, parks and beautiful farmland, agricultural markets and the world famous Niagara wineries. There are many special events throughout the year. You can take a carriage ride through the Old Town, or a jet boat up the Niagara River. A short drive along the scenic Niagara Parkway leads to Queenston Heights and Niagara Falls. You can check out the Butterfly Conservatory at the Niagara Parks Commission site.

4. NIAGARA FALLS

Located in the heart of North America, Niagara Falls is a renowned city. Niagara Falls is built upon an economic foundation anchored by tourism, manufacturing, food and beverage production, and knowledge-based sectors.

Niagara Falls offers a reasonable cost of living and some of the most attractive residential communities in all of Canada. Whatever you’re looking for you can find it in Niagara Falls or nearby. Arts, culture, recreation, commerce, and peaceful quiet moments...

However, the most amazing place in this city is the Waterfalls that we have visited. It’s awesome to see them at night too, with colour lights and of course, watch the fireworks above them.

Niagara Falls during the day

Niagara Falls during the night

Clifton Hill: it exists a huge contrast between the Falls, a natural lanscape, and this part, which contanis many restaurants and shops what is shocking.

5. SAINT CATHARINES

St. Catharines is the largest city in Canada's Niagara Region and the sixth largest urban area in Ontario. It lies in Southern Ontario. It is the northern entrance of the Welland Canal.

The city also has a lot of beautiful parks, for example: Montebello Park, Lakeside Park, Burgoyne Woods, Happy Rolph’s Bird Sanctuary or Ontario Jaycee Gardens.

Montebello Park Lakeside Park

Happy Rolph’s Bird Sanctuary Burgoyne Woods

Clifton Hill

DIGITAL SOURCES

Niagara College www.niagaracollege.ca

City of Welland www.welland.ca

Niagara Falls www.niagarafallstourism.com

www.niagarafalls.ca

Niagara-on-the-Lake www.niagaraonthelake.com/page/About_Niagara-on-the-Lake

Saint Catharine www.stcatharines.ca

Álvaro Hernández Valero and Claudia Moreno Martínez

OUR CLASS OF B2

Marina is studying primary education as she wants to be a teacher like her mother. She’s always helping people with a smile on her face and she has a very closed relation with her family. She’s crazy is love with Paris!! Even her pen drive has the form of the Eiffel Tower. Marina is one of the most loving girl that I have ever known. She is just amazing and this experience with her has been even better. By: Marta Manzanares

Marta is a wonderful person. She is smart and kind. She is always laughing about everything, and her laugh is very funny. She has always positive thoughts and an optimistic vision of life. She loves dancing and singing Spanish music, she does it all the time. When you see her biking with her helmet, you only can smile because it is a funny image.

By: Blanca Lopez

MARINA FERNANDEZ, 19, MALAGA,

MARTA MANZANARES, 19, MALAGA,

She has two younger brothers. She studies Biology in Malaga (Spain), and she would like to do a Master about Marine Biology in the North of Spain. She is a really friendly and sweet girl. She loves listening to music in English. By: Celia Caballero

CELIA CABALLERO, 18, MIJAS, MALAGA,

RAQUEL GUERRERO, 19, MALAGA, SPAIN.

This pretty girl you can see in the picture to the left, is Celia. She lives in Mijas, a small city which is 30 km far from Málaga City. She has one little brother who is 15 years old and she is studing Mathematics in the University of Málaga. Celia is a really good, responsible student as well as a likeable, lovely, charming person. She can speak English and German. In addition, she is able to play the piano, so just relax and pay attention to her wonderful music.

By: Eloy Moreno

She is from Antequera, a small town in Malaga. She hasn’t got any brothers or sisters. She studies a double degree in Business and Law at Malaga’s University. She likes listening to music, doing exercise and going out with her friends and her boyfriend. She is a kind and friendly person, as well as nice and responsible, and she is laughing almost all the time, so if you want to spend a good and funny time, do not hesitate going with her!

By: Diego Arenas

CLAUDIA MORENO, 19, ANTEQUERA, MALAGA,

ALVARO HERNANDEZ, 20, MALAGA, SPAIN.

This is Alvaro, who is studying Electronical System Engineering at the University of Malaga. When he finishes his degree, he would like to start studying another one. He is a very sportive person, wathever the sport is basketball, football, handball, volley or tennis, he loves playing it. He proved his hability in the soccer tournament, playing as goalkeeper, because he did not let the other team score a single goal. What is more, his team won the tournament. By: Raquel Guerrero

Eloy studies Mathematics in Malaga. He shows an excellent behaviour and that deserves to be told. He played tennis for many years and has gone to photography lessons. In other order of things, it is noteworthy he is always thinking of everybody: if we were planning something, and someone couldn’t go, he wasn’t happy until he arranged for that person to go too. He is a very concerned person. He is a very clever guy and is very friendly, so we think a shining future is waiting for him. If he does it, we’ll have won a great person. By: Alvaro Hernandez

ELOY MORENO, 19, MALAGA, SPAIN.

DIEGO ARENAS, 19, MALAGA, SPAIN.

BLANCA LOPEZ, 18, TORREMOLINOS, MALAGA,

He lives with his parents and his little brother in his hometown, where he studies Insdustrial Engineering. He is a responsible and hardworking guy, that is why he has had the oportunity of spending in Welland a whole month. He loves playing soccer, going to the gym for keeping a healthy lifestyle and playing basketbal (in this last sport he is a really nice player because he is very tall). Diego likes hanging out with his friends and living new experiences. He is a loyal friend and he is very friendly, so that you will never get bored with him! By: Silvia Delgado

Silvia lives in Malaga with her family. She has two sisters, one older and another younger than her. She is studying Architecture in the University of Malaga and she has got very good marks. She is very funny and she loves laughing and making “jokes”. You can talk about anything to her because she is a really comprehensive girl. She likes hanging out with her friends and spending time with theirs. She doesn’t like sports at all but here she has played volleyball and basketball because she is able to adapt to any plan. To sum up, I can say that she an excellent and very intelligent girl and I’m glad to be her friend now. By: Claudia Moreno

SILVIA DELGADO, 19, MALAGA , SPAIN.

Blanca is studying journalism but she is not sure about what she wants work in when she finish the degree but she knows that she wants to do a Master in Madrid. She has an older brother who is 23 years old and they had a very good relationship. One thing that she really likes is taking photos of everything and she is very good at it. She is very kind and she always has a smile in her face, I like it so much! You can talk with her about everything and she is going to listen to you. She is a person who worth knowing.

By: Marina Fernandez.

SPAIN vs CANADA Two countries with different culture, people, costumes, schedules and different way of life will come together in this project.

Size and Population Spain is a pretty small country in compared to Canada. Canada is 19 times bigger than Spain. Here we are going to show some information about both countries. Although Canada is much bigger, we can see that Spain has a really higher density of population.

Spain

• Size: 505,990 km2 • Population (2014 estimate): 46,464,053 • Density: 92/km2

Canada

• Size: 9984670 km2 • Population: 35749600 • Density: 3.41/ km2

Climate In Spain and Canada there are really different climates, so we are going to focus on Malaga’s and Welland’s climate.

Spain

In the whole country we have the Mediterranean climate, characterized by dry and warm summers and cool winters. The climate of Spain can be very different from the South to the North.

The climate of Malaga is Subtropical-Mediterranean, with very mild winters and hot summers, with a plenty of sunshine the biggest part of the year.

The highest average temperature, in august, is 30.8 oC, and the lowest average temperature, in January, is 7.4 oC. This way we don’t have any snow throughout the year.

• Daily mean: 18.5 oC (year) • Average precipitation (mm): 534 mm a year

Canada

Welland experiences a humid continental climate typical of the Great Lakes region, with cold, snowy winters, mild, wet springs, warm, humid summers, and cool, wet falls.

The highest monthly average temperature is in July, 26.9°C. The lowest monthly average temperature is in January, -8.3°C. The daily mean temperature is 8.8°C, and the average precipitation 997.4mm.

Name and surname In Canada people only have one surname, their father’s. In Spain, they keep both of them: father’s first surname, and mother’s first surname.

Food and schedules Canada

The way we organize our time in Spain is very different from the Canadian schedules. In Canada people usually have breakfast, and then during the morning they eat lunch. After that, at aprox 6 p.m. they eat supper.

• Poutine: French fries with cheese and gravy • Pancakes with maple syrup

• Beavertails: fried dough pastries, individually hand stretched to resemble a beaver’s tail. It can be topped with cinnamon and lemon, chocolate, banana, maple syrup…

• Tim Hortons: Canadian multinational fast casual restaurant known for its coffee and doughnuts.

• Corn on the cob & Hamburger

Spain

In Spain, we usually have breakfast between 8 and 9, or even later. We may eat some fruit or snack during the morning, and then we have lunch at 2 or 3 p.m. We may also have an afternoon snack, but we will have dinner between 9 and 10 p.m. Some typical Spanish dishes are:

• Paella: it's a rice dish, regarded as Spain's national dish. There are many types of paella, including seafood paella and mixed paella.

• Different kind of fried fishes: in Spain, many different types of fried fish are served in the restaurants near the coast. Some of the most popular fish are anchovies, sardines and kingklip.

• Serrano ham and olive oil: the two basic products or the cuisine in Spain.

• Spanish omelette: is a typical dish consisting of an egg omelette made with added potatoes and fried in vegetable oil.

Sports Spain

The main sports of Spain are soccer (although we call it football), basketball, cycling, tennis, handball and motorsports. However, our country has had world champions in diverse sports as tennis, fencing, paddle tennis, badminton, soccer, water polo, sailing, boxing, gymnastics, figure skating and athletics.

• Soccer: Spain has got two of the most famous football teams, Real Madrid y Barcelona. Almost all the Spanish hearts are divided between this two teams. Football passion got increased wen the Spanish team won the World Cup in 2010.

• Tennis: Our best tennis player, Rafa Nadal, has been the No. 1 on the world ranking. But we also have other good players, like David Ferrer and Feliciano Lopez

• Motorsports: Spain has a wide list of champions in this kind of sports. Most of Spanish people usually watch the races on the weekend.

Canada

The main sports in Canada are

hockey, baseball and basketball. Hockey is the national winter sport. Here are some pictures of the Canadian team of every sport, as well as one of the Blue Jays, Toronto’s hockey team.

While our visit to Canada there have been held the Pan Am Games. It’s a really important event and not only sport competitions, but also concerts and more stuff have been taking place here.

Famous Cultural Places Canada

We are going to focus on those places that we haven’t visited, as there is a place in this Memory Book for the trips we have done.

• Ottawa: is the capital of Canada. Ottawa is a multicultural city with a diverse population. The following pictures are Parliament Hill with the Eternal Flame, Notre-Dame Cathedral and Quebec border with the river

• Montreal: is a city in the province of Quebec. It’s the largest city in the province. Here are some pictures of Old Montreal and Notre-Dame Basilica.

Spain

Spain is an ancient country, we have a very long history of wars, manifestations, cultural changes, industry changes and constructions.

There are a wide list of places where you should go, but here we are going to talk about those places which are well-known for almost everybody who knows something about Spain.

• Madrid is the capital of Spain, and is one of the most visited cities of Europe. The main touristic attraction of Madrid is the old town, where we can find the Puerta del Sol, starting point for the numbering of all city streets and all the country’s highways.

• Barcelona is the second most populated city of Spain. The capital city of the autonomous community called Cataluna has some of the most beautiful buildings of the religious culture. The landmark building is the minor basilica of Sagrada Familia.

• Malaga, our beloved province, it’s a beautiful territory near the coast, with really nice people and an ancient culture that has ancient roots that came from the Arabic culture. That way we have a mixed culture that make our people different from the rest of Spain. We even speak somewhat different, we have a characteristic accent, and we love it!

Wherever you come from, you will be welcomed in our city!!! We will be waiting for you!

Sources of Information

• www.hockeycanada.ca • www.canada.pch.gc.ca • https://en.wikipedia.org • Popular Knowledge!

We had the opportunity to stay with a Canadian family here and we have lived a very unique

experience.

At first, it was difficult because our culture is quite different.

Everything started with the jet-lag. We arrived in Canada after almost 24 hours of traveling and

the first thing we did was meet our Canadian families. Then our personal stories began. Every

story has been different because our families were different too.

We have made a lot of trips with the college but our families also wanted to go to some places

with us so we have visited different villages or countries with them.

Even some of them have introduced us to their families and friends in order to make us feel part

of their lives.

Some of us has had a closer relationship with their family because there were families more

implicated with foreign students but everyone has lived lovely experiences with them.

Eloy Moreno Nadales

Silvia Delgado Ferrary

Marta Manzanares Hurtado

Marina Fernández Muñoz

Álvaro Hernández Valero

Claudia Moreno Martínez

Raquel Guerrero González

Celia Caballero Cárdenas

Diego Arenas Roca

SUMMER ENGLISH PROGRAM B2 ACTIVITIES

1. Beach volleyball

2. Outlet collection at Niagara shopping trip

3. Pizza and movie night

4. Niagara Falls trip

5. Toronto trip

6. Soccer tournament

7. Another activities

Diego Arenas Roca Eloy Moreno Nadales

“Beach volleyball” on July 8th

On Wednesday July 5th, we went to Chippawa Park after finishing our classes at 1:00 PM. This natural park is very big and has three Beach Volleyball courts. Our experience there was amazing!!! We had fun playing volleyball, soccer, badminton… Or just relaxing walking around this big park, with a small lake with some ducks inside.

Furthermore, the weather was great, it was sunny, and Chippawa Park is very close to Niagara College so you can return there when you want. If you want to enjoy your time in Welland, don’t miss this activity! Come on!

“Pizza and Movie night” on July 10th

On Friday July 10th, at 5:00 PM ours teachers transformed one class into an impressive cinema. Really? Yes, they made it! The film we watched was “Pitch Perfect” and we also ate pizza while the film was running. It was delicious!

When the film finished, we took a bus from the College and went to Welland Canal because there was a concert in honor to Frank Sinatra. Another perfect, amazing, funny, great day!

“Outlet collection at Niagara Shopping Trip” on July 11th

On July 11th we went to a really big outlet mall located in Niagara-on-the-Lake. We took the bus from Niagara College at 10 in the morning, and we arrived at 10.45h. We spent a nice day there, walking from one shop to another. I strongly recommend you go to this outlet because of its huge variety of shops, such as: Nike, Adidas, the North Face, Levi’s, Polo Ralph Lauren, Forever 21, and so much more! Furthermore, there are so many good deals there! You’ll find a lot of good prices and discounts. As a piece of advice, I suggest you ask for a card at the Information Building (you only have to show your Niagara College ID card), so you won’t have to pay for any Canadian taxes in most of the shops…

“Niagara Falls Trip” on July 15th

It was on Wednesday 15th, so we went there as soon as we finished our classes. We took the bus from the College at 1 PM, it is just half an hour to get to the Falls. Niagara Falls are three of the most amazing waterfalls in the world, located in the border between Canada and the States. Their names are the Horseshoe Fall, the American Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls.

When we arrived there, we got the tickets for the “Hornblower Niagara Cruises”, which is a big boat that took us inside the river, went past the American Falls, and into the center of the famous Horseshoe Falls. As you can see in the picture, we were given a red raincoat, but we got wet! We spent a really good and funny time inside the boat. When you see the falls for the first time, you can’t imagine how big they are until you get inside the boat, it was amazing! I had never been there before, it was one of my dreams.

After that, we were walking around Clifton Hill, buying some souvenirs and we had something to eat too. Later we sat down in a beautiful park and we finally took the b us at 17 PM.

“Toronto trip” on July 19th and July 20th

We went to Toronto on Saturday with the College’s bus, but we thought that it would be amazing to spend one night in the city, so we decided to book a hostel so we would be able to see more things in this beautiful city on Sunday too. We slept in Hi Toronto Hostel, really close the downtown, for only 45 dollars! (Breakfast was provided too). We booked that with the help of our amazing teacher Carrie, who called the hostel. We also had to pay for the bus coming back, which we took in Toronto’s bus terminal, for only 20 dollars.

Once we got there, it was cloudy, so we decided to go up to the CN tower later. First of all, we saw all the city, including, for instance, China town and downtown. We had street meat for lunch, and we went up the CN tower at 7PM, when the weather was nice. We saw the sunset from the tower, it was awesome! Later, we went to a Mexican restaurant to have dinner.

Next day, we went to the Eaton Centre for some shopping, there were some discounts in brands like Adidas and Hollister, but nothing like the outlet mall we visited two weeks before. After that, we went to see Lake Ontario, one of the five great lakes, and finally we took the bus at the station at 5PM.

I really loved this trip, I strongly recommend you spending one night there, it is really worth. The only inconvenience was that it was so hot!

“Soccer Tournament” on July 22nd

On Wednesday 22nd, we all went together to play soccer: students from Niagara College Welland, Niagara on the Lake and Niagara Falls Campus. Once we were there, our coach, Carrie, organized our team and one T-shirt was given to each of us. We painted it in order to be recognized; two lines on the left arm was our emblend.

For all of us, this activity was awesome, we really had a wonderful time playing soccer against other students. In addittion, we won all our matches!!!! It was hard work to get to the final. We should express our gratitude to Álvaro for his amazing work as goalkeeper. In the semifinal, the score ended at 0-0, so we had to take penalty shots. We felt so nervous, but all our spanish friends were encouraging us. When Álvaro saved the last shot, we started to shout, jump and celebrate our victory. The unique problem was we did not have enough

time to play the final match. So both teams won a pizza as a price!!!! Congradulations Summer English Program B2!!

Other activities

We also planned more activities like going to the cinema every Tuesday because of the low price: only 5 dollars. We watched two different films: ‘Inside out’ and ‘Minions’. We went to the Rib Fest on Saturday July 11th. The day after, we went to have lunch at kimono’s which is a Chinese Buffet and to see a Car exhibition in the Seaway Mall parking. Moreover, on Monday 20th we spent all day in Welland Canal swimming and rowing with some kayak we rented. At last, we had a pool party in the house where Antonio is living during this month.