Winchester College

              This summer I went to Winchester College, which is about an hour south of London. The flight was short and the trip went by very quick. When we got to the airport, a representative from the school was there to pick us up to take us to Winchester. Each of us was assigned to a different boarding house, and I really enjoyed getting to know and hang out with the guys in my house. I had a room all to myself, but I could go visit anyone whenever I wanted was almost never in my room except for nights. I toke geography, chemistry, and philosophy, which were all interesting yet easy. Teaching in the UK is much more discussion based rather than lectures, so you are involved a lot more. Also students specialize their last two years so they are not taking every subject. My house was renown for having the best food, which it did, but whenever I was hungry other times I would go into town with friends from my house and classes and enjoy the city of Winchester. There are a lot of great places to eat and explore in Winchester. In my free time after school I tried to get involved in as many sports as possible. I played water polo, cricket, dodgeball, football, and even competed in a track meet and a tug of war. Alec Vest and I also ran up this giant hill most days, which always had its challenges that were rewarded with beautiful views. Though it is quite long being 5 weeks, I had a great time and I made friends I will never forget. I also got to explore many cool activities and places in London. I want to thank the Warner Family, MBA, and Mr. Gioia for letting me go on this life changing trip. 

My housemates

Alec and I in London

Running at the top of St. Cat's

King's School Sydney, Australia

The trip over to Sydney was not a short one as Gray, Conner, George, and I spent over 24 hours traveling from Nashville to Sydney. We were welcomed by our host families and taken to school after a short trip to Bondi Beach. Battling jet lag, we were given our school uniforms and put into our dorm rooms. George, Gray, and I were put in MacArthur Waddy House and Conner was put into Baker House.  It took some time for us to get adjusted to boarding school life, but soon came to love it. Gray and I even participated in the "cross country" which was a race between the different school houses. During the weekends our host families were nice enough to show us an array of activities throughout Sydney. We were taken to an AFL game, a rugby game, the Sydney harbor bridge climb, and the Sydney Zoo. My host family also took me out into the country, mudgee, one weekend to get a taste of life outside of the city.  I am very thankful to Mr. Gioia, Mrs. Warner, and MBA for this truly life changing experience. Unfortunately my phone broke recently and I lost most of my pictures from the trip, but here are a few I was able to salvage.

Henry and I on Manley Beach.

Conner, George, and I prior to a rugby match

The MacArthur Waddy House jersey

Conner, Josh, George, and I after the waratah's game

Holding a baby goat in Mudgee.

Eton College 2015

On my flight over to England, I could not seem to embrace the thought of attending one of the World's most renown schools, Eton College, for three months. And although it was nerve racking at first, it became one of the greatest experiences of my life. Upon landing, I was met by Mr. Oliphant-Callum, who drove me from Heathrow Airport to Eton College in Windsor. Due to my unfamiliarity with the roads in England, I constantly thought that we were about to be in a car accident on the ride over, yet we survived. Upon arriving, I stayed in Mr. Oliphant-Callum's personal house for two nights until Eton's next term started and I could move into my house.

For the term, I stayed in Manor House along with 40 other boys with Mr. Nolan, who was the housemaster, watching over us. Manor House, also known as TEJN in accordance to the housemaster's initials, was one of the older, more traditional houses that was located on the main road that led through Eton. Manor House was also across the street from College Chapel, the school's personal church. I attended Eton College for an entire term, requiring me to due all the work just as a regular student would as well as choose classes. I was put into the C-Block, the equivalent of a junior, and I took classes in math, language, history, and english. As a C-Blocker, or Junior, one is only to take 4 classes as they narrow down their interest and determine which subjects they wish to major in and focus on. Therefore, although there may be only 4 classes, these classes could be taken twice a day or more. These classes were taken every day of the week except Sunday. On days where classes were required, the morning consisted of an alternating chapel service or school assembly, depending on your grade or block. Yet, before going to this morning event or even classes, one must put on a full tuxedo complete with a tail coat as permitted by the school uniform standards that originated in the 1400s.

Athletics at Eton College varied from soccer to rugby to the Eton field game, an original game invited in 1815 that only Eton college plays. These athletics were played on Tuesdays and Thursdays while there was open time on all other days to organize a game with a group of friends. I was able to play the field game, and I must say that it is one of the most confusing games ever invented. In fact, there are constant pauses were the referees have to discuss the call or even consult the rule book. There are other times when referees call a penalty that players did not even know existed. Regardless, it is a fun and interesting game that incites much concentration and aggressive play.

All in all, Eton College provided me with an unforgettable opportunity to be apart of a school that is filled with history, world influence, and political entities. I will never forget the friendships that I created with my friends in England with people such as George Rix, Villiers Smith, Kit Eastwood, and Charlie Mostyn. For now, those names may seem unfamiliar to you, but in coming years they will be some of the most highly influential people in the world due to their studies at Eton College. In going to Eton, I was able to see how the royalty of the World study and understand that MBA has provided me with not only the opportunity to study at such a school but also the ability to be competitive with such students who attend these schools. I will miss all of my mates in England, and I will never forget the influence that Eton College has had on me.

Gray Adelman Kings School

Starting with more than a day of travel, Alec, George, Conner, and I began our Journey to Sydney, Australia. When we arrived, we went straight to Bondi Beach and relaxed until we went to school. We were issued uniforms and moved into the boarding houses. We met our hosts and they showed us around campus for the day. Many times, whether after school or on the weekend, we took the bus to the train station, and then the train station to the city to explore Sydney. While in Sydney, we went to the Opera House, Harbour Bridge, and many other sites. I also went to the country to my host's farm and there we rode motorbikes and steered caddle. It was a great experience and I would like to again thank Mr. Gioia, the Warner Family, and MBA for my wonderful experience in
Sydney, Australia.

 Leaving Nashville

At my host's place in Darling Point

The Harbour Bridge lit up during VIVID SYDNEY

Alec and I at the Westfield food court.

Hugo and I bowling

Famous Bondi Beach

Michaelhouse, Jordan Rosdeutscher

I was honored to receive the exchange to Michaelhouse in Hilton, South Africa for the summer. It was a great experience and one that not many people are able to have. While I was there, i met some great people like my host family, the Prices. Mr and Mrs Price are working to put different stores and restaurants at the train station in Santon, the business district of Johannesburg. Sean-Michael and his older brother Ryan treated me like one of the family. By the end of the exchange, i didn't want to leave.

Me in the Johannesburg airport after the 16 hour flight

After the Prices picked me up in Johannesburg, they took me to their farm about a 4 hours outside of the city. Here, Sean-Michael and I ran around and did all sorts of things. We went for a little (2 hour long) hike through the hillside of the farm where I saw some pretty amazing landscape.

 
From the farm, the Price's took me to Kruger National Park. Kruger Park is one of the largest game parks in Africa. It is larger than England, from what Mr. Price told me. I saw some things i never before thought i would see. I was like a little kid in a candy store with all the animals.

Lioness standing between the cars at Kruger

After the trip to Kruger, we went back to Johannesburg. The next day, we went to the airport so i could fly to Durban. There was one slight problem. I ended up getting bumped from the original flight and had to take a later one. It all worked out though. I landed in Durban only an hour later than i would have originally. Here i met up with Davis and my second host family. Matt, my host brother, was a really cool guy. With them, we went to the beach and a second game park called Pindah. Pindah was fun because it was guided game drives as opposed to our driving ourself in Kruger. Everything was much nicer also. We only stayed for a day though.

African Rock Python sitting in a tree

After a goodnights sleep in Pindah and an exciting morning of driving away the monkey who tried to steal Davis's shoe, we drove back to Durban to get ready to head off to Michaelhouse. We arrived at Michaelhouse on Monday. I had no uniform at the time and being surrounded by everyone else wearing coat and tie was a little intimidating. It all worked out though. My roommate, Jono, was a very cool guy. He showed me the ropes of Michaelhouse. I probably owe him a lot of money since i ate so much of his food, but he did offer it to me.

Statue of the Arch Angle Michael at Michaelhouse

There was one final trip to a game park. The school organized this one and it was with the other Michaelhouse exchange students and the exchange students of the sister school. There were 2 boys from Australia and 1 from New Zealand. All of the girls were from Australia. It was fun to hang out with them and get to know them, even though Davis and I were out numbered by a lot.

Davis chilling at the game park

This was the trip of a life time and one that I have been looking forward to since i was a little seventh grader. I had so much fun and I'm looking forward to seeing Sean-Michael and Matt when they come to MBA. Thank you so much to Mr. Gioia and Mrs. Warner for this amazing trip.

Petting a Cheetah

The Exchange Students

Conner Gray, The King's School, 2015

This summer I was fortunate enough to travel all the way to the beautiful Sydney, Australia, with my friends Alec Whitson, Gray Adelman, and George Lazenby. We stayed at The King’s School, which had an amazing campus and culture that reminded me of MBA, so I felt almost at home. I knew it would be an amazing experience, but never expected the kind of experiences and memories I would have.

Our travels lasted for over 30 hours and we could not have been more exhausted from the flights, yet we went with our generous hosts to the famous Bondi Beach for breakfast. It was a beautiful morning and just the drive from the airport to the beach was pretty impressive to me because of the vastness and beauty of Sydney.

After breakfast, we all headed to school to get all our new equipment for school, including clothes for the various uniforms, computers, schedules, and things for our dorms. It was really exciting to dive into a completely foreign culture and school community since I have been at MBA for so long, so I got to feel what it was like to be the new kid again. My host, Josh walker, and his family were extremely nice and patient with me adapting to the new environment, which really let me feel a lot more comfortable.

The school’s facilities were really nice and I was lucky enough to be in one of their new dorms.

The first thing we did was an AFL (American Football League) game, which is a form of football, but it has a lot of kicking and hitting and play is continuous. We all went to that with our hosts so that helped us become comfortable with one another, and the game was really interesting and fun to watch!

We continued doing a lot of really cool activities and things in addition to school, but the life at school was also fun. Here are some of the pictures I took at a friend's farm and other places.

I would sincerely like to thank Mr. Gioia, the Warner family, and MBA for this amazing experience, as well as my host family and all the great people I met along the journey.

Lindisfarne College 2015

By Werner Bradshaw

This summer I enjoyed an incredible trip to Hawke's Bay, New Zealand where I attended Lindisfarne College. I would like to thank the Warner family, Mr. Gioia, and MBA for this incredible, life-changing experience.

I was first struck by New Zealand's beauty on my flights from Auckland to Wellington and Wellington to Napier. The views from the plane were incredible.

My host family picked me up from the airport in Napier and took me to their home, which is also a bed and breakfast called "The Verandah." Their house had a large porch with a great view.

The view from the porch

Their house is situated atop Bluff Hill, a very steep and naturally beautiful location. Breathtaking sunsets and sunrises are the norm for Bluff Hill residents, who were much less impressed by the natural beauty than I was.

The sunset on my first day in Bluff Hill

The sunrise on my second morning of school

Lindisfarne, like MBA, is an all boys' school with many rich traditions. While attending Lindisfarne, I studied Geography, Chemistry, Physics, Film, and English. I even got to participate in a policy debate for the school's debate team. 

Other Highlights of my trip include my weekend visit to Wellington, New Zealand's capital city. Wellington is a very beautiful waterfront city with a very unique landscape. While in Wellington, I went to see the ANZAC exhibit in the museum in Wellington, an exhibit I will never forget. 

New Zealand's parliament building in Wellington, "The Beehive"

 Part of the ANZAC exhibit

 A view of the unique landscape in Wellington

Me and a New Zealand flag in front of the parliament building

I also got to go to visit many other great places in New Zealand, including Te Mata Peak, Ocean Beach, and my host family's farm. At my host family's farm, I rode in the back of a pickup truck over some of the most beautiful scenery in New Zealand.

Walking on Ocean Beach with my host family

The view from the top of Te Mata Peak

Visiting my host family's farm was an incredible experience

I would again like to express my sincere thanks to the Warner family, Mr. Gioia, and Montgomery Bell Academy for this incredible experience