4/13/2009 - A Bit of Local Flavor
By Sam Craig
for The Chronicle
They came from across the globe to see the gorge in all its splendor. From Italy, Hungary, Sweden, Denmark, Japan, China, Finland, Bolivia, Georgia, Spain, Costa Rica, Germany, Chile and India, they came to see the natural beauty and heritage of the Columbia River Gorge.
Foreign exchange students from AFS Intercultural Programs, who are spending the school year at schools around Portland, took a weekend trip to the major sites in Oregon and Washington.
It’s a tough proposition getting 16 students, two exchange teachers and six chaperons in one place, let alone touring them across hundreds of miles.
“Herding people is a lot tougher than herding animals,” says Rymmel Lovell, chaperon and chapter coordinator for the Columbia Gorge AFS.
Early in the morning on Friday, April 2, the students and chaperons packed into vans and headed from Portland down Interstate 84 toward The Dalles for a whirlwind tour.
After arriving, their first stop was Horsethief Lake for a hike out to see the petroglyph, “She-Who-Watches.” They braved the bracing wind and poison oak, escaping relatively unscathed, save for a couple of ticks who hitched along for a ride.
After that, it was back in the vans for a trip over to Dallesport to take in the exotic animals at Shreiner Farms and get an up-close and personal visit with the critters.
Most visitors to the farm aren’t allowed to get out of their cars, and can only catch a glimpse of the camels and zebras through a rolled-down window. The AFS students however, got a guided tour.
They got to meet giraffes, llamas, emu, ostriches and buffalo. They even got a chance to hold a baby wallaroo.
After their “Aww”-inspiring visit, they were whisked back to The Dalles for a late lunch at Riverenza Court before heading over to the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center to learn more about the history of the area they were in.
They took in the sights and sounds of the more recent history first, starting off with the beginning of how The Dalles came to be, went across the Oregon Trail, discovered alongside Lewis and Clark, headed back through Native American villages and shivered through the ice age.
The Indian artifacts at the museum were universally a big hit.
“You don’t really get to see this outside of America,” says Eva Villa, exchange teacher from Bolivia.
After spending a couple hours at the museum, the group got a special chance to take a look at the museum’s rescued bald eagle that lives in a specially made cage outside. The eagle, whose wing was damaged too severely to be released into the wild, was the subject of many photos when it came down to preen for the crowd.
The group then took off toward dinner for the night. At the United Church of Christ in The Dalles, a hearty potluck dinner was waiting for them before they headed home for the night with their host families.
The first day, and for the first try, Lovell believed, went quite well for having such a large number of people around.
“I’ve never invited the Portland people to come and see the gorge,” Lovell says. “Last year was my first year and I decided to get my feet wet and we had five students. This year we only had two students and I thought, ’I could do this.’ So this is the very first year. And, if they enjoy it, we’ll do it again.”
After a good night’s sleep, it was off to their final planned destination, the Maryhill Museum.
The group meandered through the museum, but the 65-degree weather drew them outside to the view from high above the Columbia River. They took in the sights, caught a little sleep while napping in the sun and managed to pet some of the peacocks that wander the grounds.
Before heading back to Portland, the group made one last stop at Stonehenge for a few more photos and a bit of rock climbing.
They enjoyed the gorge, though, it wasn’t the first visit for every one of the students, though the seasons do make it a different place.
“It’s changed a lot,” says Carolina Noziglia, originally from Chile, but staying in Portland .“We came through last September for the Pendleton Roundup and everything was brown and yellow. And now when we’re seeing it, it’s all green again.”
Students said their goodbyes and got into the vans and headed back westward down the gorge.
It’s an experience Lovell would like to see repeated. Things like this, and the experience of hosting a student, she hopes, promote a greater understanding of world culture.
“Most of my goal,” she said, “is to try and find students who want to go abroad and find families that are interested in promoting peace, one person at a time by hosting.”
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