By Andrea Thoms

Ah....December in Vancouver.....There's a buzz (energy) coming from the Cambridge students as they gear up to take the exam this weekend.  Mark, our Cambridge exam guru, is confident that they will do well, but you can't blame them for feeling nervous.  The buzz (news) on the street is that the Cambridge exam is no walk in the park...We wish them success! Meanwhile, the buzz (feeling) on the street in Vancouver is one of pride and satisfaction since our Canadian Football League team, the BC Lions, buzzed into (to come in unexpectedly) the playoffs after losing their first six games of the season.  Not only did they bring home the Grey Cup, but the championsip game was hosted in beautiful Vancouver in our newly renovated stadium.  The other team, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, buzzed off (left) quickly after a 34-23 defeat at the hands of our Lions...Go Lions!!!! Everyone was feeling buzzed (energetic, intoxicated) last night after the Lions hosted a huge free party at Rogers Arena, and some of our students who attended are buzzing (talking a lot) about their experience checking out Canadian football culture.   Today, thousands of men across Canada are definitely feeling a temperature difference on their faces this first day of December now that "Movember" is over.  The buzz (sound) of thousands of shavers drowned out  the happy cheers of girlfriends, wives, sisters and daughters everywhere.  Thank goodness - just in time for our Christmas Party!  Only seven days and counting....Give your friends a buzz (call) and get them to come see what all the buzz (excitement) is about!

It has been a busy month here at Eurocentres as we said goodbye to a couple of very successful students and prepare for the holiday season. Teresa Sanchez completed a successful internship with an event-planning company and liked Eurocentres Toronto so much, she decided to extend for 4 weeks in Eurocentres Vancouver. After five months of hard work here in Toronto, Eduardo del Valle obtained an excellent score on his TOEFL exam which enables him now to apply to a Masters Program in Canada and the USA. Finally, Anna Suzuki, our first Youth of Hope student was able to get the true Canadian experience. She had a wonderful host family, celebrated Halloween with her peers and went out with her new friends every weekend. We are proud of their accomplishments! ….and it’s just the beginning! Many of our students enjoyed this past weekend kicking off the holiday festivities in downtown Toronto.

Saturday night was the Illuminite Festival at Yonge and Dundas square where they enjoyed live music, entertainment and the ceremonial lighting of the 45 foot high tree, featuring 52,000 LED lights! They also braved the crowds and saw the 107th annual Santa Claus Parade on Sunday afternoon! We have only just begun here in Toronto and as the winter weather starts, our first outdoor skating party is set for Friday to celebrate the start of the weekend!