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.
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| 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.
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