International students settle in to new Concordia campus

EDMONTON - There’s one thing that stands out about Edmonton from the perspective of international student Daan Groot.

“It’s big,” he said. Fountain pops are supersized, cars are unnecessarily roomy, and a supermarket is 20 times the size of one in Holland, his homeland.

The only thing that isn’t huge for the 18-year-old Dutch newcomer is his high school.

Groot and just over 70 other students marked their first day of school Tuesday at Concordia high school’s new campus.

The faith-based, south-side location was formerly Taylor College and Seminary, near 115th Street and 23rd Avenue. Ninety years after its inception, the new campus has a chapel, a cafeteria, gymnasium, several classrooms and space for 40 dormitories — nearly double the space the high school had at its old location near 112th Avenue and Wayne Gretzky Dr., which it shared with Concordia University College.

The new location near Century Park LRT is more accessible for day students who commute, and closer to more recreational facilities like the YMCA and skating arenas.

At lunchtime, a few dozen students leaned over plates of penne with tomato sauce. Fifteen-year-old Grade 11 student Tobby Yang from Taiwan doesn’t mind the dish, but instead, dove into her own food: a vacuum-packed, microwaveable box of Taiwanese rice with chicken, which travelled all the way from home to Edmonton.

She misses a lot of things from Taiwan — the food, fashion, friends, family — but likes how friendly people are in Canada.

“It’s not that people in Asia are not friendly, but ... they won’t talk to you if you’re a stranger. People here talk to you even if they don’t know you,” Yang said.

In a small classroom across from the cafeteria, about a dozen Grade 12 students introduced themselves on the first day of their yearlong World Religion 30 class.

“Hi, I’m Matt ... I’m from Sherwood Park,” said one boy, sending the class into fits of laughter because half the students at Concordia come from Hong Kong, China, Europe or elsewhere.

While it costs slightly more than $6,000 annually for day students to study at Concordia, the cost is more than three times that for international students, who pay for room and board.

Tamara Larson, dean of advancement and a music teacher, said while the price is high, the students get a special learning experience.

“There is a strong sense of community here at this school. I think they develop that because class teachers are very invested in the entire student, not just their academics, but them as a whole person ... and they get really close-knit friendships that often last for life,” Larson said.

Classes at Concordia follow Alberta Education’s curriculum criteria, and offer other classes like food studies, enhanced English as a second language, and drama workshops. They organize weekend ski excursions, community volunteering opportunities and overseas trips. This year, they plan to send the boys basketball team to China during spring break for a tournament.

Groot, a lanky six-foot-four, hopes he’ll make the team.

At the cafeteria table at lunch, Groot and his new friends laugh and joke, and one girl remembers something: “It’s Daan’s birthday today.”

Tuesday marked Groot’s first birthday away from home, but he didn’t mind. “There will be cake,” he said.