Eton College 2013 - Bates O'Neal

Filled with nerves and excitement, Nick Boney and I packed our bags for 10 weeks in England. We had no idea what to expect other than the praise of previous years' exchange students telling us that going on exchange is the greatest thing someone can do in high school.  As the rest of the MBA community was beginning classes for the second semester on January 7, I was headed for the airport to spend an amazing few months in Windsor, England.

Despite the long plane ride and the fact that my luggage was left in America and would not arrive for another twenty-four hours, Nick and I were immediately welcomed into England and the Eton College community by an Etonian house master and good friend of Mr. Gioia, Ralph Oliphant-Callum. We quickly learned that most teachers and faculty at Eton were referred to by their initials (RDOC). We spent a lovely day and a half with him, learning about the school and being introduced to some traditional English meals before meeting our respective house masters and meeting all of our soon-to-be Eton friends Wednesday evening, January 9.

The first day:

My Home for 10 Weeks (aka the Dorm)

I stayed in Manor House, also known as TEJN (the houses were commonly named after the current housemaster's initials), which turns out to have played host to the princes of England while they were enrolled at Eton. After meeting the house master, Justin Nolan, and enjoying a bit of tea and pleasantries while getting to know each other, I was given a tour of the magnificent house, which houses more than fifty students at a time as well as several staff and the house master's family. I enjoyed a very large room, only to be reached by climbing up five flights of stairs.

Eton High Street is a marvelous resource for Etonians to find anything and everything that he could possibly need: clothes, souvenirs, school supplies, sports equipment (although they did not carry an American football), and last but not least, food. Mr. Nolan took me to the tailor to get my uniform, to Eton Sport to get my athletics kit, to the post to get school supplies, and he showed me other stores at which I could find other things I might need. My final first-day task with TEJN was to fix my schedule. I decided to take a schedule including French Revolution history, taught by none other than Mr. Nolan himself, Divinity, which included Ethics and Theology, "Maths," and Warfare, topped off with C Perspectives, which included a series of speeches and discussions about human nature.

Mr. Nolan with my Etonian friend Tom

I received a grand welcome by all of the Manor House boys that first night, watching a football match and singing some some songs around the piano while sharing stories and small talk to get to know each other. I knew from the first moment in the house that I was welcome there.

Thrown into the fire:

Let me first provide you with a little bit of vocabulary that I might use from Eton:

Beak = teacher
Timetable = schedule
School = class period
Div (short for division) = also class period
B Block = Seniors
C Block = Juniors
D Block = Sophomores
E Block = Freshmen
F Block = 8th Graders
(There used to be an A Block, which was like a PG year, but they removed                        that and never reorganized the block scheme.)
Chambers = break / midmorning snack (25 minutes daily)
Dame = house mother
Prayers = roll call every night in the house
Reader = study hall
Sport (never uses and "s" even in the plural) = athletics

Me Wearing the Uniform + Overcoat

The Uniform:
The traditional Eton uniform consists of a three piece suit with pinstriped pants and a tailcoat, a white collarless French cuffed dress shirt, a stiff collar with brass pins to hold it in place on the shirt, and a "tie" which is essentially just a long thin strip of fabric that covers the front pin. Overcoats, scarves, and gloves are also popular to help students cope with the freezing temperatures.

The Schedule:
Engulfed in a sea of unknown territory, wild vocabulary, British accents, and freezing cold weather, I had to learn Eton's ways very quickly, since I would be there for the entire Lent term. School runs Monday through Saturday every week. After an 8:00 breakfast, the school day usually starts with chapel (or an assembly) at 8:35, with classes starting at 9:00. I really enjoyed sleeping in, as my schedule at MBA often requires me to be at school before 7:00 in the morning. Each school runs for 40 minutes, with a 10 minute break between each div for changing books and walking across campus. There are five schools in the morning, with Chambers after the third. Lunch starts daily at 1:30, with every member of the house in the house dining hall. The timetable varies in the afternoon. Every day, sport follows lunch, but on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, there are two schools late in the afternoon, from 4:30 - 6:00. This means that Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays are the main days for sport competition.

Eton's Original Building behind the statue of Henry VII

Classes:
My teachers were fantastic for the entire term; however, courses are taught much differently to prepare for English exams, which took some getting used to. Mr. Nolan, my French Revolution teacher, did a fantastic job teaching the class in depth material concerning this period in history, throwing in some "banter" throughout. My maths beak, Mr. Vivian, prepared me for my current calculus course, as I was taking an very advanced maths course. I had a very odd warfare teacher, who I can only describe as a mixture of Mr. Jon Lanier and Mr. Dan Herring. Mr. Proctor was passionate about the subject, but I was befuddled at some of his mannerisms and teaching styles. This man was also immaculately dressed every day. Finally, in my Divinity divs, Dr. "Muscle" Russell (long story), my theology beak, and Mr. Griffiths (aka WING: really great initials), the ethics beak, gave me valuable insights into religion, human nature, and lawfulness through history and current events which helped me decide that I would like to study Judaic Studies in college.

Eton's College Chapel

Extra-Curriculars:

Music:
While at Eton, I had the honor of being able to be a member of the prestigious College Chapel Choir (CCC). We sang daily in the magnificent 15th century chapel at Eton and were accompanied by the fantastic grand organ. This is certainly the most talented group of singers of which I have been a part. We sang SATB (male and female) music using the younger F Block and E Block singers whose voices had not changed as the Sopranos and Altos, and the talent level was so high that we were expected to sight read college level pieces. In addition to this, I had two other singing opportunities in England. I sang in a ~400 person chorale which performed Bach's "St. John's Passion" in German at the end of the term. I also participated in my house choir, which took 3rd place out of 24 houses in the house harmony competition.

Sport:

Eton's main Sport field

          At Eton, I decided to explore new sports which are not often offered in America, field game and rugby. Field game is a sport which is exclusive to Eton College. Picture a mixture of football, American football, hockey, and rugby, but with a myriad of other rules which have evolved over time. I played for the Manor House team, but I did not succeed very often in playing the game correctly, as I was still learning the extremely intricate sport and all of its nuances through the end of the term. Playing rugby sevens was great fun, and even though I am an excruciatingly slow runner, they liked having me on the team because of my size and physicality. Also, I dabbled in kickboxing as well, which had late night practices twice weekly. It was hard work to improve, but it was also really enjoyable once all of the bruises went away.

Great Relationships:

The students at Eton College are fantastically talented. Being around brilliant students, great athletes, world class musicians, or just all-around great people, I made a connection with nearly everyone I met there. I made some great friends at Eton, and I even have tentative plans for a few of the Etonians to come to America in a couple of years for a reunion cross-country road trip.

The House Social with the Girls of Wycombe Abbey

Leaves:

Short Leave = a 2 and a half day break at the beginning of the term

In addition to the amazing opportunities I had at Eton, some of the most memorable moments on the trip were during the vacations. During Short Leave with Jack, I got to see a small village in the south of England and witnessed the quieter side of life, playing piano and singing with his family until nearly 2:00 am. Then, I took the train to Cambridge, where Edmund lives. We got some of the most delicious food I have ever had from the Sunday courtyard market at Cambridge University, and we even were able to go to an evensong at King's College Cambridge, which hosts one of the best and most prestigious choirs in the world.

Jack's Historic house

Chapel at King's College Cambridge

Long Leave = a 10 day break in the middle of the term

For Long Leave, I stayed in three different places. First, I was with Ned in Yorkshire, at his castle. He is the Earl of Hillsborough. His humongous castle sleeps around 28 comfortably, which is crazy. They run a nearly self-sustaining property on their 1300 acre estate. In the castle, they have a grand dining room, a full sized snooker table, a tennis court, and bathroom reading selection that looked like the rare books archives of most libraries. I even was able to go "shooting" the English way, when we hunted pheasant on the grounds of his estate. After an action-packed first weekend, I stayed with Freddie in Kent, in a house which was built in the 13th century. Staying with him, I was able to see several historic sights, including Leeds Castle. Finally, I was able to visit London with Alex. One of his friends hosted a party in her beautiful 8 million pound penthouse apartment overlooking the London skyline, a stunning view to say the least. We played golf in the middle of London and watched the Six Nations Rugby tournament all day on Saturday as well.

Ned's Castle from a distance

Three Eton friends in front of the London night skyline

Me by the river on Ned's estate

Leeds Castle

Thank you:

I am so glad that I had the opportunity to spend this time in England at Eton College, and I would do it again in a heartbeat if I could. I met so many wonderful people, had countless fantastic opportunities, and it was a growing experience for me without a doubt. I will certainly recommend this exchange opportunity to anyone in the future who is thinking about going abroad. Thank you to Mr. Gioia, Mr. and Mrs. Warner, the MBA community, my teachers who put up with my missing an entire quarter of school, Mr. Little (Eton headmaster), Mr. Oliphant-Callum, Mr. Nolan, all of the Eton boys who befriended me, the Clovers, the Ryans, the Fishers, the Hills, the Horns, and everyone else who made this great trip possible for Nick and me.