MCC Harmony

Ambassador Reflections

By: Gabrielle Manroe Dubois

Growing up in Windsor, Ontario, I was always exposed to diversity. It wasn’t uncommon to share different cultural dishes in class with your peers, hear various languages or compare and contrast cultural customs. When living in a melting pot, it seems as though everyday different heritages are being celebrated, which is not only beautiful, but extremely important. However, the Carrousel of Nations only heightened the celebration!

As a Youth Ambassador for the 2022 carrousel I enjoyed meeting new people, exchanging ideas and making new friends. I loved working as a team and then seeing our final project come to fruition. It was nice to celebrate this in-person carrousel with people that cared as much about their culture and others, as I. I got to visit villages that I never visited before and I was introduced to new cultures and traditions. I loved trying new foods alongside learning the origins of the dishes, I loved watching the different style of dances and I loved hearing the language of that culture fill the room to each village we visited. The atmosphere of each village was so embracing that I wanted to immediately just dive deeper into the culture! From visiting the Polish Village all the way to the Lebanese Village, I found that, although the music, language, foods, religion and dances were different, the heart of each village was to celebrate one another and to be proud of where you came from. This further proves my hypothesis that we are more alike than we are different!

I greatly appreciate the MCC for this opportunity and would love to participate in helping with next year’s Carrousel of Nations. I am excited for the future ambassador to get this experience. It was a great time to reflect and grow in understanding others, and I am inspired to continue learning about others customs.

Gabrielle Manroe Dubois

Youth Ambassador