Bishops College - Jazz Oberoi

Last July, I traveled to Cape Town, South Africa, where I attended school at Bishops Diocesan School and experienced the culture and school life there. Bishops and MBA were quite similar: both have challenging academics, place high value on sports, and have beautiful expansive campuses. The student life felt familiar too, with students showing great enthusiasm for not only national sports teams, but also high school sports. Rugby matches like Rondebosch vs. Bishops (BishBosh) attracted 15000 in attendance.

I was able to take matric classes, their equivalent of senior-level courses, which gave me a new perspective on their education system. I even learned some Afrikaans, one of the national languages, which was a fun way to connect with classmates. Outside of school, one of the most eye-opening moments was visiting Langa, a township that gave me a deeper understanding of the country’s history and social challenges.

Cape Town’s natural beauty was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. I hiked up Table Mountain, ziplined through the mountains, and visited Boulders Beach to meet the famous African penguins. I also went to Cape Point, the southernmost tip of Africa, where I saw incredible wildlife. Everywhere I looked, there were towering mountains, blue oceans, and breathtaking views.

I’m grateful for the chance to immerse myself in Cape Town’s culture, learn from its people, and see such stunning places. Thank you to Mrs. Scholer, MBA, and my host family for making this exchange possible. I left with new friends, unforgettable experiences, and a greater appreciation for the world beyond my own community.

Christ's College - Daniel McLaren & Henry Billings

Daniel: Travelling to New Zealand was one of the most memorable, breathtaking, and enjoyable experiences that I have ever experienced abroad. The Kiwi people were some of the most welcoming and kind people that I have ever ordained myself with. When I arrived I was greeted by the father of my exchange student, and we immediately hopped in a car and drove six hours to Cromwell. We were on holiday for the first week that I was in New Zealand, and I got to go to many cool places like Wanaka and Queenstown. Furthermore, I was able to go skydiving and bungee jumping. I personally liked bungee jumping more as I felt it was more thrilling. I  also experienced skiing in the southern hemisphere which was something that was on my bucket list. After a week of holiday, I arrived in Christchurch for the first time. My host family welcomed me with open arms into their home. Christ's College has a beautiful campus and embraces the classic New Zealand culture. They had classes that are not offered at MBA like Psychology, Business and Enterprise, and the indigenous Kiwi language: Te Reo Maori. The connections that I made in New Zealand will last me a lifetime, and I'm excited for the friends I made to come visit the United States. Travelling without a parent or an adult allowed me to experience a glimpse of my future without my parents, and I had to rely on being independent. I frequently would wander into the town of Christchurch because the school was in downtown and get to experience the everyday life of a New Zealand native. This experience allowed me to see a different sphere of life, and I will be forever grateful for being given the opportunity. 

Henry: My time at Christ College in New Zealand was one of the most exotic, memorable, and awesome experiences of my life. The architecture of the school was truly stunning. The beauty of the landscape, culture of the nation, and attention to detail with respect to snacks and food were all different from home. For my first week, I stayed in Wanaka, New Zealand with the family of my host, Teddy Hailey. During this week, I was obviously not at school and instead was enjoying the outdoors and familiarizing myself with the culture. I went skiing which felt out of place because it was in the middle of July and later went bungee jumping in the same week. Although skiing was familiar to me, bungee jumping was completely new. I am proud to have conquered the complete terror I felt at first. Next, we traveled to Christchurch for my stay at Christ College. The school warmly embraced me, and my highlights of my time there were my PE and psychology classes, the first XV rugby games, and meeting new friends. This trip has made me a better traveller, friend, and student. But the major thing I learned on this trip was about the benefits of solitude. Frequently on this trip, because I was boarding, I would spend my school nights alone and without any school work. Being alone allows for reflection on the day, time to read and discover new things, or even wander into town. My memories of this trip will be with me for a lifetime and I am forever grateful for this grant, the friends I made along the way, and the Haileys

Michaelhouse - Loring Helfrich & Seth Taber

 Loring:

My time at Michaelhouse was truly a life-changing experience. At first, I was nervous, but upon arrival at the school, I was welcomed with open arms and immediately felt at home. Everyone wanted to spend time with “The Americans.” I have met so many exchange students who have come to MBA, but actually going on exchange exceeded my expectations. Everyone was so nice and wanted to learn about what life is like in the US. The school was a brick castle. Every building was connected with a series of square courtyards. It took a week before I knew my way around the campus. Another amazing aspect of the school was the bordering reserve. Finally, playing rugby was incredible. During the first practice,  Seth and I would walk to the reserve and fly fish in the ponds. We had the option of camping with a group, but it fell through. My favorite experiences outside of Michaelhouse were the exchange student travel days. We went on safaris, shark diving, and cultural trips into the mountains. Seeing such incredible species up close was eye-opening. National Geographic is one thing, but seeing a Black Rhino at five yards was like nothing I had ever experienced. We learned about poaching in the reserve and how the poachers use dogs to hunt animals. We did a fence walk and found holes where dogs travel and saw spots where snares were set in the past. However, these experiences do not compare to the friends Seth and I made. We were invited all over the country, but sadly had to decline most of the offers due to time constraints. But we jumped at the opportunity to hunt with a family on their personal reserve. I was allowed to harvest a beautiful blesbok. The meat was donated to the local village, and no part of the animal was wasted. In conclusion, my experience was exceptional, and I look forward to keeping in touch with the friends I made while in South Africa. 

Seth:

My trip to the Michaelhouse School in South Africa was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I will be forever glad that I was chosen to go. Living in the boarding school itself was an experience, and I had never met so many people in my life in such a short span. Every night, I had a constant flow of classmates coming in and out of my room to talk to the American. Safe to say I did not get much sleep because they kept me up so late. Michaelhouse also treated us, exchange students, well. They took us on a series of trips, including shark diving, Durban, Safari, and the Drakensberg mountains. On these trips, we met other exchange students from India, Australia, and Scotland. At the boarding school itself, I met people from all over Africa. Meeting all these people from literally all over the world allowed me to create connections and friendships that will last a lifetime. Rugby games were awesome. We went to quite a few Michaelhouse rugby games where we participated in the student section and cheered on the first team. I also got the chance to learn how to play rugby, and played in a game, which is something I thought I would never do. Michaelhouse also had an on-campus animal reserve, where we could go hiking, fishing, and see animals like zebras. On our Safari, we saw a series of animals, including the cheetah, elephant, wildebeest, and lions. My favorite experience was my hunting trip. My exchange partner and I went hunting with one of the Michaelhouse students' families. There, I shot a Blesbok and Red Hartebeest and met native South African Hunting guides. The community received the meat from the animals I killed to help solve the issues of poverty and hunger. All in all, I made connections across the world and got to go through such cool experiences that I would never find anywhere else. 

Christ's College - George Ma & Lyon Playfair

 Week 1: 

During the first week of arrival, Christ’s College was on the last week of their winter holidays. Still Jet Lagged, the O’Gara’s took me on a road trip up the east coast of the South Island to Kaikoura, known for its marine life. We went on a whale watching tour, seeing 2 humpback whales and a pod of endangered dolphins. On top of the whale watching tour, I went on a mountain top ziplining adventure, consisting of 5 different zip lines totalling roughly 1.8 kilometers of line through the valleys of the mountains. Following our adventures in Kaikoura, we then went to Hanmer Springs and took advantage of the natural hot springs. Upon returning to Christchurch, we explored the town a bit, seeing the new construction following the disastrous earthquake. However our time in the city was short, as we then travelled to Mount Hutt to ski for the day. The slopes were much steeper than any slopes I have ever been to in the US, and the views were astounding. The following day, we tackled mountain biking; the wet climate brought muddy tracks yet the rides were exhilarating and tough. After these days of fun and adventure, the looming school weeks approached

I played golf and shot clays at Terrace Downs with the mountains in the backdrop. The next day George and I went skiing at Mt. Hutt which is about as good as skiing out west with no trees and great views.

Week 2: On the following Sunday, it was time to move into the boarding house. Instantly I was greeted by the warm house matron, Karen, as well as the head of house, Jake Leck, host brother of Connor Looney who went the year prior. As I settled into my college style dorm, I got to meet the rest of the house who were returning from their holiday. The boys were super welcoming and very intrigued by life in America with questions like “What do you think of trump” and “Do you own any guns?” I started my first day of school with a barge through my front door, their method of morning wake up. The schedule was fairly similar to ours at MBA, with 6 classes of 50 minutes long starting at 9, but their lunch was an hour and a morning tea of 20 minutes after the first two classes. Their class subjects were rather similar to ours at MBA, but offering some different classes like accounting and media studies. On Wednesday, as a part of Frank’s Earth and Space Science class, we went to Lake Tekapo to study the stars and the telescope facilities there. The trip was a 3 adventure that consisted of observing stars, learning about the machinery that drives the observatory, and taking in the views and pictures of the sky. At Christ’s College, the boys are separated into houses, based on whether or not they are boarding. People tend to stay within cliques of people in their own houses, so through class, I was able to meet a bunch of day boys. The week ended with Rugby games. Christ’s College First 15 team had a major win or go home game against St. Bede’s. The game environment was rather similar to that of an MBA football game. The game was close and intense, but Christ’s college squeaked out the win 20-24 on a last minute penalty conversion to seal the win. Weekends at the boarding house were pretty calm with most people leaving on the weekends either to go home or for other reasons.The boarding house has a computer system that shows where each person is signed out to

Week 3: The third week kicked off Round Square week at Christ’s College which celebrates international diplomacy and cooperation. Throughout the week there were many events to celebrate internationalism, including different food trucks, a trivia night, and a karaoke competition. Aside from Round Square, the week went by fairly normally except for the fact that Frank made me speak at their assembly. Although departure was sad, and I will miss dearly the O’Gara’s for their warmth and hospitality as well as the great people that I met at the school

Differences: In some ways the school is very similar to MBA. The general atmosphere and culture among the people is roughly the same, which is to be expected at an all boys school. Their schedule is roughly similar to ours, although their school day is an hour shorter. Although the people are roughly the same, the kiwi culture definitely is different than the American culture. They fancy rugby and cricket over football and baseball, although basketball is still popular. 

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The biggest difference however, is the boarding experience. Just living at the school is an experience that is completely novel to me. The regimented schedule, the night role calls and prep hours, and the early wake ups were definitely new to me. 

I started this trip in Edinburgh, Scotland where I said goodbye to my family and St Andrews where my family is from. George and I had to go through customs which took a while and then we had to go out of the airport and take a bus to the domestic section and by that point we missed our flight. We flew over both islands and saw all the snow on the mountains. I showed up in Christchurch only getting about nine hours total of sleep on those flights. I was shown around Christchurch and met up with a guy named freddie. I went to bed at 4:30 thinking I was only going to nap but I fell asleep only to wake up at 11 then I could not go back to sleep for another few hours. I ended up waking at 8:30. That morning we hiked up the bridle path and went to the family's sailboat in Lyttelton. I then had lunch at a place near the city center. We came back to the house and chilled out and then had lamb for dinner. We would have a lot more lamb over the following weeks. The next day we went out to terrace downs and played golf at a resort course. The ground was wet from that morning but the soil was chalky and absorbed all of the water. If the course was done by a well known golfer it would probably be one of Jack Nicklaus's easier and more fun designs. We had really good brisket sandwiches out in the sun. The views were amazing with the course being at the base of a mountain and on the other side a small river ran by. The next day Euan and I went skiing with George and Frank. We got to their house and they were still asleep and then we had to watch them eating breakfast. We drove to the mountain on relatively flat roads then we went up the mountain which was a 1.5 lane road with enough room for two cars to barely get by. The road was dirt and had no rail guards. We eventually made it up the ski field and got set and went up the mountain. Frank got an all day ski lesson for $800. The other three of us got up and then we all lost each other going down. I went on so many runs since the lines were so short. The elevation was about four thousand feet and had three runs to get to the bottom. The powder was good. I went to the park several times and tried the jumps. We got one video of me falling on the jumps. The next day Euan went back to Mt Hutt. I went to Acaroua with Euan’s mom. We had good fish and chips then went on a dolphin boat tour. We saw many dolphins, seals, and penguins. The day after that I went to the Bob Charles Golf Center to hit some balls and do some putting. The place was really nice and was something that you would only expect at a very high end country club in the states. I went to the school which wasn't too different to MBA. The students wear coats and ties every day and are put into houses. The teachers are the same bunch as the ones at MBA. The academics are easier and are more broad. I went to a shotgun practice and used a crappy remington shotgun that jammed on me twice, was way too small, and was full of recoil. The one nice thing about the gun was that it was very easy to open and close. I shot 17 on the trap single shot which was very different to the trap back home since the clays are slower and move in more violent directions. The double trap was interesting and I did a bit better shooting 21 out of 25. I went to the Christchurch Club to meet my mom’s college friend. We talked about all the other college friends who I have met. The grandmothers were very funny too. They both showed up wearing their big fur coats and went outside for several smoke breaks. That weekend I went night shooting which was a ton of fun. I even shot better during the night than during the day. The last night Euan’s family took me out to a Japanese restaurant which was better than anything you could find in nashville. I had a wagyu steak with sake. The next day George and I flew out on our approximately 30 plus hour journey.

 

Michaelhouse College - Jack Hawkins & Clayton Lindley

Over the summer, I had the absolute pleasure of traveling to the Michaelhouse school in Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa. We flew into Johannesburg, where we stayed for a week with our lovely host family. While in Joburg, we got to see many exciting sites from Freedom Park in Pretoria, to the Mandela House in Soweto. Moving farther north, we took an excursion to Mabula game lodge, where Thabo, our guide, did an excellent job of making sure we saw as many of the animals as possible such as lion, white rhino, wildebeest, zebra and so much more. We spent our night there attempting to finish the final john wick movie, and poorly preparing ourselves for the morning game drive. After our game drives we spent at our other host family’s home and got to enjoy a local delicacy known as braai (their version of a barbeque). We returned to Joburg for our final days before going to Michaelhouse.

Once we got to Michaelhouse we got acquainted with our dorm mates who were A blockers (Seniors), who we got to know well and spent much of our time with. They introduced us to Ralfe house where we stayed for the next three weeks. While I spent my time attempting to learn to code in Information technology class, Clayton was dominated Economics earning a 100% on the test. Along with our classes we got to try our hand at the sports that Michaelhouse offered. Clayton joined the golf team while there while I joined 1 of 17 football teams that Michaelhouse has. Clayton consistently performed at Michaelhouse’s top level of their golf team, while I managed to score a hat trick in my final game for Michaelhouse’s F team. Through these classes, houses, and teams, we met tons of wonderful people who I hope to stay in touch with for many years to come, and we our incredibly fortunate and happy to have had this amazing opportunity to stay at Michaelhouse and go to South Africa.

Sincerely, Jack Hawkins and Clayton Lindley

Bishops Diocesan School - Charlie Warner

Last July, I went to Cape Town, South Africa where I went to School at Bishops Diocesan School and experienced the different culture and school life in South Africa. Bishops and MBA were surprisingly similar as the academics are hard, their sports are important, and the campus’s are alike. The atmosphere and student life was also similar to MBAs. The students were very enthusiastic about the South Africa National teams and other professional sports like us. Outside of school, I was able to see the beautiful city where huge mountains and the beaches surround the city. Although the weather was wet and cold almost everyday, I was able to go to some amazing places. I was able to hike up Table Mountain, surf in the cold Indian Ocean, and serve at a soup kitchen to help the people in the poor townships. On top of that, I went to Cape Point which is the bottom most point in Africa and was able to see ostriches, penguins, and a lot more animals. The natural beauty of Cape Town was truly unbelievable as everywhere I looked was beautiful mountains or an ocean. I am very grateful for my opportunity to go to Cape Town on an exchange. I had a wonderful time seeing the beautiful city and met great friends there. I am very thankful for Mrs. Scholar, MBA, and my host family for this experience.

Hutchins School - Hudson Ross & Ryan Skeeters

 Hudson Ross - This summer I went to Hobart, Tasmania on an exchange to the Hutchins School. After 26 hours of delays and almost missed flights, I finally stepped into the cool Tasmanian air which was very nice coming from the Nashville heat. Then, I met the Archers with whom I would be staying for the next four weeks. As soon as we got to their house, Mrs. Archer whipped up some vegemite toast which is just toast with a traditional Australian spread. Then Seb, my host, took me on a walk around his neighborhood. I came during their winter break, so we were able to do lots of sightseeing. We went to Port Arthur and the Tasman Peninsula to see the old British prison and the, aptly named, Devil’s Kitchen, a massive cliff carved by the crashing waves of the Southern Ocean. We also went to Tarn Shelf in Mount Field National Park. When we got out of the car, it started snowing very hard making the hike difficult. Once we reached the shelf, the storm died out and we saw it: several small glacial lakes hanging a thousand feet above the rest of the mountain blanketed in freshly fallen snow. There may have been a few snowballs thrown while we were there. Later we drove up to Launceston where we hiked through a canyon and went to an amusement park. After a series of rainy days, we went to the main mountain in Hobart, kunanyi, and hiked to the Disappearing Tarn, a small lake with crystal clear, turquoise water that only appears after heavy rain. We then drove to the summit where I was almost blown off of the mountain by the wind. Near the end of the break, we went to Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary where I got to feed Kangaroos, Australian Possums, Wombats, Tassie Devils, Kookaburras, Echidnas, and more. Then we started school. I went with Seb to all of his classes including English, Math, Business, History, Coaching Development, Chinese, and PE. I enjoyed getting to know all of Seb’s friends and telling them all about America. I also enjoyed getting to experience school in a more relaxed environment and taking classes that were more applicable to life than your average high school math class. I also got to participate in the Hutchins swim carnival where I won the 50 m Breaststroke. I went to several of Seb’s AFL matches as well as a pro match between North Melbourne and Geelong. By the end of my time in Tassie, I had gained an immense appreciation of Australian culture, and I had really started to feel at home down under. Thank you to the Archers for being such great hosts, Dr. Daughtrey, Mrs. Scholar, and Mr. Marr for all the work you put into the exchanges, and the Warner family for making this experience attainable for all MBA students.

Ryan Skeeters - This summer, I had the opportunity to travel to The Hutchins School in Tasmania, Australia. In thirty one days, I attended school for two weeks, followed by two weeks of holiday. If I were to summarize the experience, I would highlight the welcoming nature of everyone I met. My host family, the Wises, went above and beyond my expectations and were extremely generous. Josh Wise, the student that I stayed with, kept himself busy with school, but also maintained a great relationship with his friends. I would say that meeting all of his friends was one of the many highlights of the trip. Lachy, Archie, Cliff, and Seb were all so welcoming and made the trip even better.