William Holbrook, Melbourne, Australia

The Beginning

The trip began with roughly 20 hours of flight time and severe jet lag. Keith, David, and I arrived in the morning (Australian time) and were exhausted. The jet lag was severe to say the least. However, I was quick to find that the long trip was worth it upon being greeted by the beautiful city of Melbourne. There was large scale pieces of art that decorated the interstate and the size of the city was amazing. Keith and I were fortunate enough to stay with the Pie family for five days and we were greeted with warm hospitality. Over the next few days, we explored the city which had lots of restaurants and places to shop. 

School Life

Melbourne Grammar School was a very fun experience. My host brother and I took the tram to school every morning. The campus was beautiful and reminded me a little bit of Hogwarts and the school from Chariots of Fire. Everyone was very friendly and eager to get to know "the Americans". They loved our "accents" and loved to tease us for saying "y'all" and "yes sir/ma'am". The school day was very relaxed and every teacher was happy to have us in their class. They offered less traditional courses such as media, psychology, and philosophy (I took all three). We weren't asked to do any course work which was a big relief and really allowed us to enjoy our school day with our mates. We also had to wear a uniform (pictured left) which was classy, warm, and comfortable. There are four houses and each house has a house tie which I was allowed to keep as a souvenir. For lunch, I went off campus most days but, there was a place on campus called the Canteen where I would buy food occasionally. During break, we would all hang out in a Senior common room and blast music. After school, I balled out with the basketball B team (shout out to Big Hame, Slader, and Gus) or lifted weights. The school days turned out to be very enjoyable and everything was very relaxed.

The Front of the School

The School Quad with Lockers

One of the Footy Fields in the Center of the Campus

Weekend Life

The weekends were definitely the most fun because I would get the chance to enjoy the city, the culture, and my new mates. Some of the highlights were attending and 18th Birthday Party at the end of St. Kilda Peer, raving at a downtown teen fundraiser, watching the Melbourne Rebels win in Rugby, watching the Collingwood Magpies smack the Essendon Bombers in Footy, going into the city with my mates, and seeing some of the wildlife native to Australia. Every weekend was a blast and there was a never a dull moment. Below are some pictures of the things I did on the weekend.

A View of AAMI Park at Night

The Rebels Playing Rugby inside AAMI Park

Inside the Melbourne Central Shopping Centre 

The Iconic Australian Koala Bear Eating

The Iconic Australian Kangaroo Lounging

Culture

I quickly began to love the Melbourne culture because of how relaxed and easy going it is. Most adults ask that you call them by their first name and treat you like a friend. No one says yes sir or no sir and they laugh if you do. It almost felt like it was all bout having a good time. Their is a heavy Asian influence in Melbourne due to it's proximity to China, Thailand, and Japan. This allowed me to eat some exquisite Sushi and Chinese food. The most traditional meat dish there is lamb which is very good too. The clothes mainly worn are tight jeans and khakis accompanied by urban wear. In that aspect, I didn't fit in very well with what they called "baggy pants" and boots. The kids there seemed much more independent and had a lot more free reign on their everyday activities. They have a lot of nicknames for everything and love to add y's and er's to the end of words. That accompanied with the accents was gold. By the end of the trip, I could say "G'day mate" flawlessly. 

Closing and Thanks

I can honestly say that by the end of this trip, I made life long friends that I still stay in contact with today. Words cannot express the significance this trip will have in my life forever. Every now and then I will think about the memories I made and wish I was still there. I'd like to thank the Whitson Family, Mr. Gioia, Mrs. Warner, and Montgomery Bell Academy for allowing me to have the experience of a life time. I would also like to thank the Umbers Family, the Pie Family, and the Frawley Family for all of the hospitality y'all showed me and all the memories y'all helped me create. It was truly a blessing to meet every single one of you and have you be a part of my life.

Miles Curry, Michaelhouse, South Africa

Thrilled and ready to see the world, Ferriss Bailey and I were headed to the southern tip of Africa, South Africa. After flying to Atlanta, we boarded onto the South African Airways plane around 2 o’clock. After the 16 hours of reading, sleeping, and watching movies, we arrived in Johannesburg (or Joburg as the locals call it). Lizzy Vambe, the mother of Shingi Vambe, a Michaelhouse student who will be on exchange at MBA later this fall, was holding a sign that read MBA and showed us the way back. We rode the new Joburg train system that was built to accommodate the influx of soccer fans during the World Cup. When we hopped off the train, Mrs. Vambe drove to the Vambe family’s home that night. However, when we were getting into the car, I made the mistake of walking to the front right side of the car and opened the door only to find the steering wheel and driver’s seat. The drive was particularly fun not because Mrs. Vambe was driving a BMW but rather because the steering wheel was on the right side and she was driving in the left lane.

When we arrived at the Vambe’s stunning house, we were greeted by Shingi and his two younger sisters, who were all very fun and kind. The next day, they took us to the Lion Park where we saw Zebras, Impalas, Leopards, Giraffes, and of course the almighty lion. We also had to opportunity to feed the Giraffes and pet the lion cubs.

The next day the Vambes took us to the only place in the world where two Nobel Peace Prize winners, Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela, were born on the same street - South Western Townships, better known as Soweto. Soweto is an urban area of Joburg that borders the city’s southern mining belt. However, certain areas in Soweto suffer severe destitution; those areas are known as squatter camps. Fortunately, one of the locals named Mo gave us a tour of one of the squatter camps named Kliptown. At the start of the tour, Mo told us that by the end, we would be grateful for our personal living conditions. He was right. The houses were shacks; each water tap was shared by forty different families; and living quarters was tight. But, improvements are clearly being made. For example, at the end of the tour, Mo showed us Kliptown Youth Program, a phenomenal program that provides education and upbringing for young children in Soweto. The students develop computer skills and are provided tutoring, food, and simply a place to be. While squatter camps such as Kliptown are underdeveloped and considered third world, they are still rich in joy. A joy independent of  outside conditions, independent of whether they have or don’t have Ipads, golf clubs, and a large house. Soweto is saturated with incredible people with the same joy and strength as Nelson Mandela.

After staying with the Vambe family, we then went southeast to a city called Durban, where the Prinsloo family picked us up. After a short drive from the airport, we drove into Zimbali Estate, which was absolutely immaculate. The houses of Zimbali each had a view of the ocean and resort style architecture. There were multiple pools, a world class golf course, luxury hotels, and a private beach. In fact while the South African president, Jacob Zuma, was in Durban, he stayed in the house neighboring the Prinsloo’s house. So, I think it is safe to say that both Ferriss and I enjoyed our temporary resort lifestyle.

After having a relaxed first day when we swam, played golf, and watched movies, the Prinsloos, Ferriss, and I drove north to Hluhluwe, where we went hunting. Hluhluwe is actually a Michaelhouse student’s pineapple farm that produces twenty percent of the world’s pineapples. Both Ferriss and I shot guinea fowl and buck later at night.

After a fun hunting day, the Prinsloos took us to Umfolozi, the second oldest game reserve in the world. We saw two monstrous elephants, a giraffe, zebra, impala, wildebeests, wild hogs, a rhino, and more. While we were unable to spot the sneaky lions and leopards, it was truly an incredible experience to see the beautiful South African terrain and wildlife.

Our stay with the Prinsloos then came to an end, leaving Michaelhouse as our final destination. Michaelhouse is a very traditional, all-boys boarding school from grades 8-12. Michaelhouse students and teacher actually call grades “blocks”, and instead of using numbers they use letters. So they will tell you that Michaelhouse goes from E Block to A Block. The school is located in Kwazulu- Natal, which is simply a place with hilly lands and sparse population. But, that rural setting made for fresh air and wonderful views in the mornings and afternoons.

Michaelhouse has 8 different houses in which the students dorm: Baines, East, Farfield, Founders, Mackenzie, Pascoe, Tatham, and West. Each house has members from all the blocks, and there are about seventy students in each house. While I stayed in Mackenzie (which is clearly the best house) and Ferriss stayed in Founders, we had the opportunity to tour each house. We found that they all have their own unique feel.

Ferriss and I dormed with C Blockers; however, we took B Block classes. It didn’t take long for Ferriss and I realize that Michaelhouse is a very traditional place. The dress code requires the students to wear dress pants and black dress shoes. A specific blue Michaelhouse shirt and either a blue, gray, or white sweater (they call them jerseys). And on formal events they have to wear a coat and tie, which they call “number ones”. There are roll calls in the mornings and weekends, prefects, and restrictions on which grass certain students can walk on.

Nonetheless, both Ferriss and I found Michaelhouse students and teachers to be incredible people. We played soccer, golf, basketball, cycled, random social games, and simply chatted during breaks. We both have built a lot of friendships. I guess when you eat breakfast, lunch, dinner, and essentially live with a good group of guys, you build strong relationships despite the amount of given time.

While we were at Michaelhouse, Ferriss and I were able to go to a few places. We went to Ushaka, which is a water park in Durban. While we were there, not only did we ride water rides but we also toured an aquarium. Finally, the day before we left a mathematics teacher, Mr. Stevens, drove us into Drakensberg, scenic and utterly beautiful. After walking a trail just over a mile, we saw ancient cave sketches named Bushman Cave Drawings. We then drove back to Michaelhouse and stared out to the sunset, for we had just finished our last full day in the magnificent country of South Africa.

I want to give a special thanks to MBA and Mr. Beth and Dudley Warner for creating the Warner Exchange Program. It was truly a life-changing trip that I will never forget. 

Jordan Pugh, Raffles Institute, Singapore

After a 28 hour flight, I finally stepped off the plane and into Singapore. We quickly found our way to the school representative,  and arrived at Raffles Institute at 1 am.

                The next day, I toured the campus, learning much about the rich history of the Institute and its founder. We were informed of the daily activities around campus and shown all of the major complexes. I was astonished to see just how massive Raffles was compared to MBA. The next day was our first day of classes, where we would shadow our buddies throughout their schedule.

                When the classes began, I realized how similar in structure they were to MBA’s, with the one major difference being a rotating schedule. After classes, my Buddy showed me to the Canteen where many different stalls each offered a different style of food. My first choice was the highly recommended chicken rice, which was great as advertised. After lunch there were a few more classes, and then  a required after school activity such as rugby or debate. After these activities, we would return to our dorm. After a few days, we were brought to a nearby mall, Junction 8, which was surprisingly large and fascinating. Little did I know that this was just the tip of the iceberg.

                Our 2^nd week at Singapore was more focused on exploring the cultural aspects of Singapore, and as such we were given access to the subway system and allowed to explore. I quickly realized how small Junction 8 was compared to the massive complexes located on the seemingly endless Orchard Road. Among some of the most interesting things we saw were sets of golden golf clubs, apparently meant to be purchased as diplomatic gifts. We saw many other parts of the city, including the very busy China Town, where we saw numerous vendors selling varieties of intriguing souvenirs. We also visited Arab street and Little India. All of these experiences were amazing and will remain with me for years to come.

                There were several other experiences that fit in  a different category, but were still very important to the exchange. One such event was our visit to the Army  Museum, where we learned of the rich history of Singapore’s armed forces. We also visited the Singapore Flyer, an amazing experience where I got a true bird’s eye view of the world below me.

                I would like to thank the Warner program as well as Mr. Gioia for allowing me this life changing exchange. I was immersed in an exciting culture and was welcomed by the students and faculty of Raffles. This was truly an amazing point of my life and I just want to thank everyone responsible for allowing it to be possible.

                

Coleman Kelley, Bishops School, South Africa

    My trip started on a hot saturday afternoon on July 15. Paul Garrard, the other student that came with me, and I said our goodbyes and started our long journey to South Africa. After a little over a day of traveling, we finally arrived at about 10PM South Africa time. Nashville is 7 hours ahead of Cape Town, making me completely exhausted. Paul and I grabbed our backs and walked out of the terminal to meet our families. My exchange partner was Cornel Smit. He is a great guy and I really enjoyed getting to know him over the next few weeks. We drove to the school and I was set up in a bunk room in White House, one of the 3 houses at the school. I slept very soundly and attended my first classes the next day. The Uniform at Bishops was grey slacks, with a Jacket and tie. Because it was cold, I also wore a sweater vest underneath my blazer (too cool). After attending a few classes, It was amazing how similar they were to MBA. After the first week of school, Paul and I were able to watch our first rugby game on saturday morning. It was a very interesting experience and the feel is very different from football because there are no pauses in the game. After the game, I went to my host families house. Paul came also because his host family was unable to host him the first weekend. The Smit's house was located in Blouberg, an area across from table mountain. The view from their house was incredible.

The view from the Smit's house

    After a nice, relaxing weekend, Paul and I returned to Bishops and had another week of school. After the school days, Paul and I would play ping pong and pool in the rec rooms. Cornel stayed in a big room with lots of guys who I got to know very well over my stay. This week, Paul and I attended a rugby practice after school. It was very fun, however we turned out to not be very good. On the thursday of that week, Paul and I took a bus tour around Cape Town with the rest of the exchange students at Bishops. We traveled all over Capetown and it was a very fun experience. We drove to the top of Lion's Head, a hill that looked over Cape Town.

The view from Lion's Head

    This upcoming weekend, Cornel was recuperating from shoulder surgery so I stayed with one of his friends, Justin Nel. Justin lived in the suburbs of the city which was very different from Cornel's house. On saturday night, we went to a Great Gatsby Party that was very fun. The next day we got up early and drove to Stellenbosch to a wine vineyard that was owned by one of the Nel's friends. We had a nice brunch and I was able to learn a lot about making wine.

Trying out the local wine (Not really)

    We came back to school sunday and the next morning we left for a garden route trip across south africa. The trip lasted 5 days while we traveled all along the coast of South Africa. We did many fun activities like bungee jumping and ostrich riding. We did too many amazing things on this trip to fit them all into this blog.

 Cheetah

 Elephant

 Hippo

 Me petting a cheetah

 Cave exploration

Me bungee jumping

    After arguably the best week of my life, we came back to school on friday night and I went to Cornel's. After a nice, recuperating weekend, I came back to school for the last week. It was a sad week because I knew my trip was on its final leg. On tuesday, I went to Robben Island to see the infamous political prison where Nelson Mandela was held.

Nelson Mandela's Cell

    Thursday came and it was my last day in Cape Town. To end the trip well, we went to Cape Point, the most Southern Point of Africa.

View from Cape Point

    That night, because my flight wasn't until around midnight, there was a party thrown for me. It was very fun but it was also very sad because I knew it was the last time I would see most of the friends I made on this trip. After the party, we drove to the airport and I said my final goodbyes to Cornel and the rest of his family. I met Paul in the airport and we had another long journey back to America. The best trip of my life was officially over.

    This trip was the best experience I have ever had and I would like to sincerely thank the Warner family, Mr. Gioia, the Smits, the Nels, MBA, and Bishop's School for giving me this opportunity. I wouldn't trade this trip for the world and I would encourage anyone to go on it next year.

Raffles Institute, Singapore: Johnathan Barringer

Just getting to Singapore was a major journey itself. We traveled for just over 27 hours to make it there, and on the way there, we essentially skipped an entire day. We had left on Saturday morning, and we arrived in the Changi Airport on Monday morning. To say that the plane rides were long is an understatement. We met Ms. Ho at the airport, and she took us to Raffles in a cab. Once we got to the school, she showed us to our room. We all fell asleep immediately because we were all completely drained from our travels. The next day we had a day of orientation to our new surrounding, and we were astonished to see that Raffles' campus is massive. It is three to four times larger than MBA's campus. We then got to go and meet our buddies who we would shadow to classes. After our meeting, we went Back to our room and fell asleep. This nap that we thought that we were taking ended up lasting from three o'clock in the afternoon to two o'clock in the morning!  The thirteen hour time difference had hit us hard.

Changi Airport

The next day we started classes. It was very interesting to see how similar many of the classes were to ours at MBA. The students practice the habit of standing up when any adult enters the room  including the teachers. The teachers were very similar to ours as well. I enjoyed my math class that I took. The teacher would joke around with the student as he taught which kept everyone interested and engaged. For lunch we would go to their food court. The students do not have a meal plan. They are able to choose from many different food stalls each day at lunch. The foods range from their "western" food which included spaghetti and hot dogs to more traditional asian cuisines such as chicken rice and sweet and sour chicken. After lunch we would go to our last few classes. After school, the students go to their CCA or co-curricular activity which is a government required after school activity. We tried out several different CCA's including rugby and pistol shooting. After our CCA's we would return to our dorm.

The second week of our trip focused more on the fascinating culture of Singapore. The country itself is a mashup of many different ethnicities and religion. Therefore there are many fascinating cultural destinations. Additionally, the country is also highly urbanized. We visited a single road that had around thirty shopping malls on it. These malls w
ere not like a normal mall in nashville either. Most of them were upwards of six and seven stories tall. We could not believe that there could be that many stores in one place. We also were able to ride the Singapore Flyer which is the world's tallest Ferris WHeel. This ride gave us the opportunity to see the country from a sort of birds eye view. Additionally we visited the three ethnic centers: Chinatown, Kampong Glam, and Little India. Each center had its own appeal, and my favorite was Chinatown. Chinatown was where we did most of our shopping as well as see  some of the local Chinese culture.

A Typical Mall 

Finally I would Like to thank the Warner family as well as Mr. Gioia for allowing me to participate in this exchange program. I would like to thank everyone at the Raffles Institute for making us feel welcome especially Alex, Sam, and Ryan. The trip was truly a life-changing event, and I know I will never forget it. I cannot begin to explain how incredible it was to be able to interact with kids that live on the other side of the world. I strongly encourage anyone interested to apply for this exchange.

Me in Front of the Merlion (The Country's Mascot) and the Marina Bay Sands Hotel Building

A mosque in Kampong Glam

Chinatown

David Spencer, Melbourne Grammar School, Melbourne Australia

Week 1 

The first day of my journey to Australia entailed spending a long time on the airplane. After saying goodbye to our families, Keith, William , and I spent around 20 hours on our trek to Melbourne Australia. We arrived in Melbourne around noon and were exhausted from traveling the entire day. Keith, William, and I arrived in Melbourne during the school's winter holiday so we had about a week to adjust to the 15 hour time difference, change of season, and funny accents. My host family greeted us at the airport and I met my host brother Alexander, followed by his brothers Andrew and Anthony, and their parents Steve and Marika. After a quick description of the city on our way home from the airport, Alexander and I ate some greek slouvakis from a local vendor. For dinner, I joined William and Keith for pizza at a hotel with my host family before catching some sleep at my hosts house in Victoria. On the second day I woke up to a very big breakfast consisting of toast, bacon, eggs. I played ping pong

Sovereign Hill

with Anthony and Andrew most the day before Alexander gave me a tour of the downtown area of Melbourne. While downtown Alexander toured me around the city containing roughly 4 million people. Here I was able to view the famous Eureka Tower and also many architecturally fascinating buildings. On the third day, I received my school uniform consisting of black pants, leather shoes, black socks, a collared blue shirt, a sweater, a tie, and a blazer with the school emblem. Although Australia rarely sees snow, this extra clothing helped me stay warm during their relatively cold winter season. After getting my uniform, my host family took me to an old mining town, Sovereign Hill. This gold mine town replicated the communities the miners resided in during the 19th century after discovering gold. Next, Alexander and I attended a Barbecue at, former MBA exchange, Jeremy's house before going to a fundraiser with Keith and William that Jeremy initiated. At this event we were able to meet many people that we would be attending class with for the following month. The following day us Americans witnessed an exhilarating last second victory in a local rugby match with former MBA exchange Seb. Then the next day my host family took me to Healesville Sanctuary where I saw Australian animals such as kangaroos and koalas. This place was similar to a zoo that housed only Australian native animals. That night I encountered the rich diversity of Australia after tasting delicious Vietnamese food near my temporary home. The following day I was able to attend an Australian Football League match where I witnessed a rough mix of soccer and football without pads.  

Kangaroo at Healesville

Melbourne Grammar

School Days

The next week we began attending class at Melbourne Grammar School. Alexander and I often took the early tram or bus to school when his dad was unable to drop us off. My classes included politics, extended study, literature, media, and math. During politics, I was able to learn more about contemporary Australian politics and their intense political debate going on during my stay. My host mother packed my lunch for me everyday, although the school contained a canteen filled with many foods and beverages, and the school resided near many restaurants that the students could visit during lunch. Melbourne Grammar had many similarities to MBA. The school held assemblies usually every week and offers rigorous academics as well as competitive sports. However, the boys do not have practice everyday after school. Additionally, I noticed they had a very relaxed school setting compared to our school. After school, Keith and I participated in basketball and played in their games on saturdays. Keith, William, and I often spent time with the members of the basketball team and former MBA exchanges who were very welcoming and kind to us. Usually my host family and I would have a family dinner every night with food that I was usually familiar with.

Flinders Street

Final Days

In the end it was hard to leave all the people I had met but I was also excited to be home. The month long trip went by quickly as all the fun events and school kept me occupied. I learned that I became more aware of the strange culture of Australia, while also being able to distinguish my own culture. My trip was filled with many wonderful adventures that I am very thankful to have experienced. Everyone we encountered was very hospitable and kind to us Americans during our stay. I would like to thank everyone involved in the exchange program including the Warner family, Mr. Gioia, and the Montgomery Bell Academy, as well as the many kind people I met down under during my stay.

Americans at the Australian Football game

Winchester College 2013

My trip to Winchester College was quite an interesting one.  Traveling with Henry Ingram and Taylor Adams, I set off for Winchester almost directly after graduation in the spring, leaving little transition time from school to Summer.  Upon our arrival, we were all immediately thrust into the life of an English boarding school.  I was housed in Fearon's house, commonly known as Kenny's, and placed in the fourth year, which is the Win Col equivalent of Junior.  The first day, I immediately felt the huge presence soccer, or football, has in their culture.  I spent the entire Sunday either playing football or watching it that night until I collapsed from exhaustion due to jet lag.

A view of Kenny's from its garden

As Winchester is renowned for its academic rigor, I found myself working surprisingly hard for being on summer vacation.  I was placed in English, European History, and Theology/Philosophy courses.  The courses differ from MBA, though, in that one has two teachers for each subject.  The classes also go exceedingly in depth.  In my English class, with the legendary don Simon Taylor, we spent the entirety of my time there studying T.S. Eliot's "The Wasteland".  I found myself in awe of these lessons, once completely losing track of time as Si Taylor read the poem for the entire 40 minute lesson.  In my history class, I was able to learn about the likes of Pitt the Younger, William Gladstone, and Benjamin Disraeli from the best possible type of person: a Brit.  Finally, in my Philosophy class, we spent our time discussing morality, logic, and metaphysics.  Overall, the academic portions of Winchester were equally rigorous as they were intellectually rewarding.

Outside of class, a majority of our time was spent either playing football in what is referred to as "yard", or engaging in the Winchester favorite hobby of banter.  Yard, a chicken-wire caged astro-turf field unique to Kenny's, was were most of my time was spent honing my skills in hopes of becoming a better Englishman.  Following classes in the afternoon and tea at night, many housemates would assemble in yard for massive football games, a favorite tradition of mine.  Aside from football, a lot of time was spent reading, watching Cricket matches, and taking walks through the medieval downtown. In terms of banter, the most used word at Winchester, much time was spent engaging my English friends in conversations ranging from English Universities to movies.  An extremely unique aspect of Win Col is its notions, or made-up words.  These notions include "bunter", meaning something stupid or foolish and "goive" a versatile word, most of the time meaning to put something off.  The various notions appear in nearly every sentence spoken at this boarding school, and have become a part of their culture there.  

Overall, my experience at Winchester was an extremely rewarding one.  It offered me an entirely new perspective on what we consider to be 'highschool', as well as exposed me to an entirely new culture.  I met some incredible people and learned things I never would have discovered in the states, be it in or out of school.  I would like to thank the school as well as Mr. and Mrs. Warner for making this great experience possible, as the opportunity is exceedingly generous.  

A view of the War Cloister at Winchester College

A shot of Winchester's chapel

Keith Gambill- Melbourne Grammar School

                       Melbourne Grammar School 2013

After 20 brutal hours of flight, William, David, and I finally landed in Melbourne, Australia on Tuesday July 9th, 2013. Dressed in our t-shirts and gym shorts we were shocked to find that we could see our breath from the very second we walked out of the airport. We tried to act as personable and polite as we possibly could to David's host family as they drove us from the airport despite our jet lag. William and I were driven to the Pie family's house where we would spend our next week. The Pie family was simply amazing to William and me and they treated us as if we were their own sons. Mrs. Pie had lived in Nashville during her teenage years and attended Harpeth Hall and Vanderbilt University and it was very cool to have her explain to us how the Australian culture compared to our Southern culture. The first Friday we were there David, William, and I went to a Melbourne Rebels rugby game with Seb Ellis, who had stayed with me while he was on exchange in Nashville. The game ended up being a nail biter and the Rebels got a try with under 10 seconds left to go to win the game.

Melbourne Rebels Rugby Game at AAMI Park

After around five days with the Pie family, I moved in with my host family, the Wheelahans. I could not have asked for a better family to stay with, feeling as if I had never left the hospitality of my home. I shadowed Francis while I was there and he was 16 years old. There was also Claire (15), Joseph (9), and James (5). I had a great time bonding with this family doing things such as going to Healesville Farm to see a Kangaroo and a Koala, going out to dinner for Joe's 9th birthday, or going to two different AFL games.



School started the second week we were there and we had no clue what to expect. We were all dressed up in the MGS uniform which consisted of black pants, black shoes, blue shirt, house tie, jumper (or sweater), and a jacket. After a few days we began to learn the ropes and started to get involved in classes and sports much more. Each morning we had to attend a house period for 30 minutes. There are around twelve houses at the school and I was assigned to the Bruce House because it was Francis' house. Over the course of the next month at school I attended classes such as Studio Art, Media, Psychology, Math, and Extended Studies. It was extremely interesting to have the chance to study classes such as Psychology that MBA does not offer, as well as to take classes such as Studio Art that I have taken at MBA and to get a different perspective on them. Also, while at school David and I joined to MGS two's basketball team and actually got to play in 2 games. While we unfortunately went 0-2 in these games, it was still a great experience and helped us meet and interact with many of the students.

I was fortunate enough to get to go to two AFL, or Australian Football, games. This sport, often referred to as 'Footy,' is essentially equivalent to our NFL. Australians obsess over their teams and the rivalries get super intense. The first game I went to was at Etihad Stadium and was between the Bombers and the Bulldogs. The second game I got to attend was between the Essendon Bombers and the Colingwood Magpies. This game was at the MCG which is one of the premier sporting venues of the world and it made many of our college and pro football stadiums feel small in comparison.

A Scrum between MGS and St. Kevins School

View of one of the MGS Footy Fields from the Library

You can't go to Australia without seeing a Kangaroo....

View of another Footy Field and the Canteen from Math Class

AFL game at the MCG between the Essendon Bombers and the Collingwood Magpies

I would love to thank Mr. Gioia, Mrs. Warner, Montgomery Bell Academy, the Wheelehans, the Pie family, and everyone else who made this experience so great. Words do not do this exchange justice and I cannot even begin to express how much it meant to me. I highly suggest it to anyone who has this wonderful opportunity and I can guarantee that you will have an outstanding time and meet many new people that you will stay in touch with.