THE KINGS SCHOOL 2013

Coleman Sorenson

This past June, I was fortunate enough to receive a Warner Exchange which enabled me to travel with Brandon Carpenter and Clark Hooks to The Kings School in Parramatta, New South Wales. This city was about thirty minutes outside of Sydney. This seems like quite a ways, but compared to everything in Australia, this is a walk in the park. The application caused much more stress than it was worth. I was very happy to find out that I got my first choice in Exchange.

My family has had a very strong history with The Kings School while I have been at MBA. Our first encounter with the school was when we hosted a boy by the name of Lachlan Cassidy. Lachlan, as many boys at the school are is very vibrant and easy going. While he was here in Nashville, I wouldn't be surprised if he single handedly raised the Stock Market a few points. The following summer, my brother Marshall Sorenson traveled to Australia on the same exchange I went on. Fast forward a few years and we are hosting our second student from the school, Samuel Black. Sam was quite possibly the nicest and easiest exchange student ever. Knowing my past history with the school, I was ecstatic about receiving this grant.

The plane ride was the most painful part. 5 hours to LAX and 16 hours to Sydney really took a toll on my sleep schedule, but my jet lag didn't last long thankfully. The first day we got there, Brandon's host dad, Mr. Andrews, took us to the Koala petting zoo where we got to hold and pet Koalas and Kangaroos. My main goal for the trip to see and touch a Kangaroo was finished within a few hours of arrival.

The next day we went to the school. The school is about 5 to 10 times the landmass of MBA. It's a boarding school, so that aspect of life threw me off quite a bit. I'm not used to staying at school during the night! The boys at the school asked some pretty interesting questions such as: "Is NASCAR a sport at MBA?", "Are all Americans required to play NFL?", and "Do you speak English?" These questions really made me feel like I was a different species of human! The whole concept of uniforms was different to me too. I like having freedom of choice! Classes were very interesting, and we had a lot more free time there than we did here! It was awesome!

On the weekends, we went back with our host families. My host brother, Will Hicks, is coming to MBA, and he is very welcoming and easy to be around! He plays rugby for one of the nearly 25 Rugby teams they have at the school. Brandon, Clark, and I got to play Rugby for the 10's (the bad team), but we enjoyed every second of it. It was a little difficult to pick up on the rules at first, but once I understood them, they seem very simple. I'd like to thank my host family again for being so warm and welcoming!

Some other highlights of the trip include seeing the country's capital, Canberra, climb the Harbor Bridge, see the vivid lights show, Manly Beach, Bandai Beach, Kingsden, Brumbies vs. Rebels game, and just hanging out with the guys at the school! This was a trip I will truly never forget for as long as I live! The memories I've gained will last a lifetime! I always thought this saying was cheesy until I went on this trip. I truly understand what that means, and until you experience something like this, you might not understand it.

I'd like to give a shout-out to my main NH Hamish Rowe, Mr. Chadwick, McCleland, Gillespie, Hicksie, Nick and Harry, Mr. Symons, and of course the Canadians! Attached below is a video I put together showing our trip! Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBXiYW6_IEA&feature=youtu.be