The Estevan Toastmasters Club parlayed their ability to tell stories into raising money for charity during a story night Friday at the Estevan Art Gallery and Museum.
About 25 people gathered for the event. Most of the storytellers were members of the club, but there were a few tales that came from those who are closely connected to club members.
Louise Schnare opened the evening by talking about her family's love of fishing. Brandon O'Hanlon discussed a medical procedure he recently went through, and added to his story with a song that he wrote. Zia Abdul reflected an encounter he once had with elephants.
Lutos Villanueva reflected on some of his experiences after coming to Canada from the Philippines. Greg Johnston, who lives in the Kisbey area, shared some of his experiences from dealing with horses at his farm and driving a semi-truck when he hasn’t been farming. Lindsay Heier explained some of the differences between living in Canada, and living in Russia and Nicaragua.
Heier recently returned to Canada after living in Nicaragua for 20 years, and chronicled how he met his wife, who is from the Central American nation.
The speakers often used humour in their stories, and sometimes the stories were tailored to adult audiences.
Villanueva was born and raised in the Philippines, but he now considers Estevan home. He didn’t know anything about Canada before coming here, so the culture, politics, food and traffic rules were new to him.
“In our community now, there are lots of Filipinos, and I tried and got a job,” said Villanueva.
A head-hunter he had hired told him about an opportunity in Estevan. He took the job, and eventually flew from Manila to Vancouver to start his new life.
He arrived in in Canada in July 2009. His mother had packed him the thickest jacket and sweaters she could find, and put them in his backpack, because she believed that Canada was a cold country.
“We put our sweaters on, we put our jackets on, and we arrived in Regina,” said Villanueva. “After saying ‘hi’ … to our employers … we went to the parking lot to go to his vehicle. Boy, I was sweating big-time. My armpits were like a faucet that wouldn’t shut off.”
He quickly learned that it wasn’t always cold in Canada.
Villanueva believes that when someone moves to another country, they will miss the food the most from back home. He soon found himself pining for the seafood and the rice served in the Philippines.
Proceeds of the event will be directed to the STARS Air Ambulance. MC Desmond Bilsky said it's a great cause, and he said each person in attendance might need STARS’ services at some point in their lives.
