Some of them had never stepped onto ice before, but on Tuesday, a group of eight international students learned how to draw-to-the-button and drive-out-of-the-hack in one of Canada’s most beloved sports.

A group of eight high-school students, four Christian and four Muslim, got a chance to learn curling at Winnipeg’s Granite Club Tuesday as part of an introduction to Canadian culture.

The students are in the middle of a ten-day exchange with Westgate Mennonite Collegiate to learn about the great white north — and braving temperatures as low as –30C to play a sport with heavy rocks on ice is one way to do it.

The exchange program was the brain-child of Emil Halloun, who teaches at Mar Elias High School in Israel.

“They came with a few stereotypes, and now they see the real life of Canadians — how Canada looks, how the life of teenagers look,” said Halloun.

Visiting Winnipeg was Yara Maty’s first time ever being exposed to cold weather.

“I like the snow. We don’t have snow in Israel, so it’s really good,” said Maty.

James Friesen, a teacher with the school, said the aim was to build international relationships using new experiences.

“It seems any political language is always about division and separation, and we wanted to change that focus,” said Friesen.

Student Yona Lazar said while they’re learning new things, the most salient lesson has been the similarities between the two cultures.

“Music, sports, dancing, whatever — our day-to-day lives are pretty much the same,” said Lazar.