Jacob Lothers: Christ Church Grammar School 2014

This past summer, I, along with my fellow classmate Si Deane, had the incredible honor of travelling half way around the world to study at Christ Church Grammar School in Perth, Australia. Being the first MBA students to participate in this respective exchange, we had little to no idea what to expect beforehand, but returned with a wealth of knowledge, appreciation, friendships, and memories that I expect we will never forget.

It took over 20 hours of total flight time for us to get from Nashville to Perth. Upon arrival, we were immediately confronted with the beauty of the coastal city, it’s vast and unique differences in everything, and even a taste of the Australian lifestyle. Running on merely three to four hours of sleep, we were brought straight to the beach by our host mother, Mrs. Jacqui, and brothers, Abe Forward and Ben Sloane, to go surfing.

 Si and I were both energetically starved by the time we retired to our new respective homes: I to stay with the Forward family, and Si to live in the boarding house with Ben.

After taking a day to recuperate with the loss of sleep and time change, from which my body never fully recovered, I immersed myself into life as an Australian student at Christ Church. The overall student body welcomed me with great hospitality, and I immediately befriended many of my host brothers’ classmates. I attended all classes that Abe did, ranging from basic Mathematics, English, and Science classes to specified lessons in boating and physical fitness. Si and I saw few classes together, but we reconvened every day during lunch.

I was honored with the position of foreign water boy at a footy game.

We were frequently bombarded with a slew of questions from students and teachers alike. We had even been asked at one point if we knew what fruit was; one of us amusingly replied by asking, “Is it a kind of meat or butter?”. We took the American jokes and stereotypes lightly, but after about a week or so we fully assimilated into the daily routine, and became familiar with our surroundings.

On weekends and after school we went took part in various social activities and excursions. On one day in particular, we were fortunate to miss a day of school to travel to Rottnest Island along with several other exchange students from schools such as Michaelhouse in South Africa. We biked around the island for several hours and played footy on the beach, despite the cold, as it was Winter in the Southern Hemisphere at the time.

Si Deane spreading his wings

One of my more frequent pastimes, however, was running around the neighborhoods of Cottesloe, where my host family lived, and to the beach, often times with Si accompanying me. One of these runs together was particularly meaningful, as it was after we received news of the untimely passing of one of our classmates, and Si’s extremely close friend, Wesley Tseng, back home. The sunset was especially spectacular that afternoon as we walked along the beach, coping with news, and remembering his presence.

sunset off the Indian Ocean

The last week of our time in Australia was spent in the city of Broome, far up north on the Western Australian coast, and at our host brother Ben’s family-owned resort, Eco Beach.

Local market

Eco Beach Dunes

Mac, master of crabbing

Cable Beach

 Here, our activities included hiking, fishing, crabbing, and shooting, all the while surrounded by the unique beauty of the landscape, defined by low brush and distinctive red sand. 

me, holding a crab that somebody else caught

Of course, we entered.

our continual obsession with sunsets

Cable Beach at Sunset

The most beautiful thing we saw there was unfortunately something we couldn’t take a picture of: the night sky. Given Broome’s extremely remote location, there was practically no ambient light whatsoever; you could literally see the Milky Way in its entirety, stretching all the way across the sky. We enjoyed the great hospitality of the Sloane family: Ben’s mother and father, as well as his aunt and uncle and their kids, who additionally housed and fed us for a number of days. Both families generously took us crabbing and introduced us to delicacies such as Kangaroo and Crocodile meat. Our last morning in Broome was spent riding camels along the city’s famous Cable Beach; it was an appropriately memorable last experience, consummating our adventure.

From there we flew back to Perth, spent one last night with my host family, and then embarked early the next morning for the long flight back to Tennessee. We were sad to leave, but eager to return to our lives, families, and friends at home.

Ever since my return, I must say that my life has been somewhat different than from what it was before, and for the better. The encroaching reality of college on the horizon doesn’t terrify me as much as it used to, and I’ve found myself to be more ambitious in taking advantage of life’s opportunities. I owe my utmost appreciation to the Warner family, Mr. Gioia, and MBA, for making such experiences possible for me and so many others. I must also express my immense gratitude to the Forward family (Mrs. Jacqui, Mr. Graham, Abe, Gideon, Harrison, Kalkidan, Emily, Hannah, Matilda, and Marcus), the Sloane family, and Christ Church Grammar School for their tremendous generosity in accommodating me and Si for several weeks.

I would encourage any interested underclassmen to apply for an exchange opportunity, regardless of the destination. However, I would biasedly recommend Christ Church, as it proved to be the perfect opportunity for me. The fact that I have been to Australia still amazes me to this day, and I will be forever haunted by the beauty of its geography, culture, and the people I’ve been privileged to meet throughout.

Raffles Institution- Diego Martinez Rojas

Raffles Institution Singapore 

Diego Martinez Rojas

This summer I had the once in a lifetime opportunity to travel to Singapore and board at Raffles Institution for two weeks! It was without a doubt one of the most influential experiences I've ever had and I learnt more than I could have ever hoped for, regardless of how high my expectations were before the trip.

Arrival

Stephen, Jackson, and I all congregated at the Nashville airport with our nervous but excited parents in order to hop on our flight to the Chicago O'Hare International airport. After a relatively short flight we finally landed and prepared for what would easily be one of the longest flights of our lives, or at least the longest yet for me; the 15 hour ride from Chicago to Hong Kong.

The beginning of the journey

After arriving in Hong Kong we were greeted by breathtaking mountain scenery which got us all the more excited to be in Asia and even more mind blowing, to be on the other side of the planet.

Arriving at Changi Airport

After yet another flight departing from Hong Kong we finally arrived to Singapore and though exhausted were more than eager to set out into the city. Our very kind hostess, Mrs.Ho, awaited us after baggage claim and took us by taxi from the airport through the city and to our dorms at Raffles Institute.

Day to day Life 

My time at Raffles consisted of a very pleasant combination of classes during the weekdays, community activities and outings and tours at night, and some longer, more in depth tours and trips during the weekends. 

A Day at Raffles

-Everyday I woke up to my own alarm, showered, and headed out to the dining hall for breakfast at around 7 AM.  

-After eating my first meal of the day I would head out to the school's center where I would meet my host buddy Er Jun Jia, more commonly known as Jay Jay. 

-After a brief overview of the day we would head to about 2 or 3 fifty minute classes, such as English and math, to begin the day. These classes were very specific to Jay Jay's schedule. Later classes such as Chemistry and Physics were held in massive lecture halls with hundreds of students.

-About twice a week Jay Jay had an extremely interesting class by the name of "Project Work Class" where groups of around 5 students would collaborate on a written assignment or presentation. Though the classes objective was fairly simple, to teach students how to work together in order to end up with a better product than could be made alone, it truly hit me hard how ingenious the idea was. Much like Singapore as a country (in my eyes at least...), the class focused on teaching the Rafflesians how to make a better world through handwork and positively impact others.

-Afterwards we would proceed to eat lunch in either of Raffle's two "Cantinas", where I was free to purchase lunch from as many as a dozen stands of completely different foods. Regardless of the incredible variety from which to choose though, all options were all Eastern-style foods held dear to the melting pot of Asian cultures that is Singapore.

-Following our hour and a half lunch break, after having eaten and usually having played an intramural sport such as ultimate frisbee or pickup soccer, we would head out to the final part of the school day. 

-To end the school day Jay Jay and I would go to his lecture classes and finally either go get more food at the Cantinas, play some more frisbee, or simply go relax with other peers. I would finally return to my dorm at around 5 PM.

Project Work Class

"Yeah, Nashville is pretty far away"

 English Class with Jay Jay, Dhruv, and Abi.

Eating at the Cantina

INTERESTING FACT!   

- Much like in Harry Potter, Raffles Institution has five houses with designated mascots and colors. All students are assigned to a house upon entering Raffles.

The City of Singapore!

For my many after-school outings and weekend tours I got to see a vast part of the beautiful and ridiculously advanced city that is Singapore; a city which one truly needs to see to believe.

The breathtaking Marina Bay

To the left is the incredible "flying boat" building, one of Singapore's most well known landmarks.

Here is a wild looking car seen outside the Raffles Hotel. Luxury cars like these such as Ferrari's, Aston Martins, and Lamborghinis were not an uncommon sight at the heart of the city in Marina Bay.

Jay Jay and I at a Buddhist Temple

Ice Cream...Singaporean style

The Singapore Flyer!

A man enjoying diner at a Cantina

On a ride at "Sentosa" theme park

Night time Horizon

Late night Safari tour!

One of Singapore's countless malls

Singaporean Ice Cream Sandwich

A breathtaking Hindi Temple

THANK YOU!!!

As these pictures clearly show I saw more spectacles than I could have ever imagined witnessing. Without a doubt this journey to the other side of the globe changed my perspective of not only the world but of my life forever. I don't have words to express my appreciation towards Mrs. Warner, Mr. Gioia, and of course the Warner Family! All I can say is that I don't think I have ever been more awestruck within a two week period and I very much hope to return to the marvelous country of Singapore someday. Also a huge thank you to all of the wonderful people I had the opportunity to meet at Raffles for all of your hospitality, kindness, and wisdom! I will never forget you!

Si Deane: Christ Church Grammar School 2014

Jacob Lothers and I had the incredible opportunity to become the first students to make the 29 hour flight to the remote city of Perth in Western Australia. This was a brand new exchange.

 I remember standing in Mr. Gioia's office as he read off the list of names of who had the opportunity to go on exchange this year. I heard my name, followed by the school "Christ Church Grammar School, Perth, Western Australia." I became extremely excited. It was always a dream of mine to travel to Australia, but then I became nervous when I remembered that no one had ever been to this school or have even heard of Perth.

This turned out to be one of the greatest trips of my life.

First arriving in Perth

First day we arrived Jacob and I were exhausted from the flight which took us about a day and a half over all. Our host families were waiting for us and we immediately got in the car and went surfing.





















After we went surfing, we had to get to school. I was a boarder, and Jacob was staying with a family. This was my view every morning from the boarding house.

Christ Church Grammar School: a beautiful school located on the Swan River in Western Australia.

I got to play the sport "Footy" while I was in Australia. (It is basically Rugby with no rules). It is the equivalent to American football in Australia. This was my favorite time of the week. We practiced three times a week with games on Saturday.

My Footy Outfit                                   My host family's cousin was Pro Footy player Roy Sloane

                          

The Fremantle Dockers Footy Stadium                            The Fremantle Bazaar

       

I had the opportunity to miss a day of school with the other exchange students and travel to Rottnest Island, home of the Quokka, voted the happiest animal in the world. We got to ride around on bikes, play in the ocean, and explore this incredible island. 

Christ Church was an incredible place. I met many great friends here who I still talk to today.

I became really good friends with the two French and the two South African exchange students as well as countless students at the school.

On my last day at Christ Church, the school wanted me to play a song for the 1,700 students. I met 3 other students at the school, one being a French exchange student who could barley speak any English. We practiced two times the performed "Canon Rock." We received the first standing ovation in CCGS history. Watch the video here.

Jacob and I were lucky enough to spend the last week of our visit in Broom, in the North Western area of Australia. My host family, the Sloane's, owned and lived at one of the nicest resorts in Western Australia, Eco Beach, an hour and a half away from the nearest ambient light, it was the most amazing place I had ever visited. At night, it was so dark that one could see the edge of the Milky Way Galaxy wrap around the Earth. You could not look up for more than 5 minutes without seeing a shooting star

This trip turned out to be one of the greatest experiences of my life. I enjoyed every moment and am very gracious to the Warner family, Mr. Gioia, Montgomery Bell Academy, the Sloane family, and everyone else who helped with this incredible opportunity. I would highly recommend to any rising senior to take advantage of this amazing time.