Melbourne Grammar School (Australia): Andrew Scott

     From July 7 to August 11, Hayden Deakins, David Maynard and I embarked on a journey down under that we will never forget.  Even though the flights were long, and the sleep was far and few between, I realized we had come to whole new world, and the possibilities were endless.  During my exchange, I stayed with Ivo and Luca Sdraulig along with their mother, Erin Redmond.  Even as they were taking me home from the airport I suddenly realized we were driving on the left side of the road.  Needless to say it was quite scary.  But I was still excited to begin my journey.

     For most of the first week, my host brother Ivo took me around Melbourne to see all the different sights.  I experienced a game of Aussie rules football, rode the trams, ate some kangaroo, and went to the Melbourne Central to shop.  On the first weekend, my family was generous enough to take me on a trip to Sydney, one of the most amazing cities I had ever seen.  Staying in Darling Harbor, I got to see some of the most beautiful sights Australia had to offer.  From the Maritime Museum, which had real submarines and battleships in the harbor, to the Opera House, it was one of the most breathtaking cities I had ever been in.  Trying to take it all in, we first went to the Sydney Tower where I could view the entire city in all its beauty.  Next we walked to the Opera House, all the while passing the first government buildings of Sydney.  Once we got to the harbor, I could see the majestic Opera House and the huge Sydney Harbor Bridge that spanned the entire harbor.  The next day we took a ferry to Manly Harbor where some of the best beaches in Australia were located.  

     When we got back from Sydney, school started the next week.  Normally, I would drive myself to school in the morning.  But in Melbourne, it was typical for the students to take the tram to school.  These trips to school were always very interesting as we sometimes missed our tram and ended up late to our house period.  At school I was in the Morris House with Ivo and Luca and took Legal Studies, Studio Art, Literature, Economics, and History of Revolutions.  My favorite class of the five had to have been History of Revolutions where I learned all about the Russian Revolution in even more detail than my own AP European History class at MBA.  My schedule was also unique because it had seven different days which changed the times of classes every day.  This was very odd to me since I had never had a rotating schedule at MBA.  Another difference was the privilege to leave the campus to walk down the street to eat at Subway or McDonald's.  Needless to say this was an awesome perk to being a senior at MGS.  But there were many similarities between both schools.  Like MBA, Melbourne Grammar School strove to create gentleman well taught in athletics and academics as it is one of the top schools in Australia.  They also had assemblies almost every week where they talked about announcements and made speeches about various sporting events, service trips, and awards.  

     I'd like to thank all the people who made my exchange possible, it was truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.  Thank you to the Whitson family for being so generous enough to provide the funds for the exchange, none of this would be feasible without your generosity.  I am also very grateful to the Sdrauligs and Ms. Redmond who took me into their home for a whole five weeks and helped me with all the necessary things to get ready for school.  Thank you  Mr. Gioia, Mrs. Warner, and all the faculty members from MGS who helped to make my transition to school as easy as possible.  To all those wondering if they should apply to go on exchange, I urge you to apply and go because you will never forget the experiences and relationships you will have on your exchange.  If I forgot to thank anyone, thank you so much for all you did for me during the trip to Melbourne and I will never forget my five weeks there.