This past summer, I took the opportunity to experience the culture of the country and school life in Cape Town, South Africa. I attended Bishops Diocesan School where I took senior classes in order to compare to our senior classes here. The culture of Bishops reflected that of MBA incredibly. The atmosphere of the school was very much similar to that of MBA’s. The boys had passions in the arts and sports, and rugby games were just as crazy as our football games. Outside of school, I was able to experience the culture of South Africa and visit the township of Langa in order to learn some history and partake in service. I tried crazy foods from a kudu burger, to a sheep’s head. My host family was also gracious enough to take me to a game reserve where I got to see lions, a cheetah, giraffes, hippos, and a lot more! One thing that surprised me the most about South Africa was the immense beauty. From the steep mountains, to the frigid water, South Africa’s natural beauty is beyond compare and definitely an experience to remember. It is safe to say that I will be back.
Thursday, August 10, 2023
Charlie McIntyre & Ketch Parker - Michaelhouse South Africa
This summer, we had the amazing opportunity of attending the Michaelhouse School in Balgowan, South Africa. We arrived in Cape Town, and saw some scenic locations like Lions Head Mountain and Table Mountain. After spending a few days there, we traveled to the eastern side of the country and stayed in Ballito, a scenic beach town. We also visited a game preserve, where a monkey opened our door causing a panic and then stole our host family's snacks. After a week of traveling, we drove to Michaelhouse to begin our three week stay. Michaelhouse was unique, as it was a boarding school in a rural area of the country. Our stay here taught us lots about life in South Africa, such as dealing with the lack of electricity, hot water, and central heating during the cold winter there. Our favorite class was history, where we learned about the Vietnam War and foreign perspectives of America. During the weekend, everyone played a sport, and while our stay was too short to be involved, we watched the soccer team demolish their opponents. While rugby was not in-season, we learned that around15,000 people would attend rugby rivalries at the school. After two weeks at the school, we traveled to a nearby golf estate and played golf. Ketch was a solid golfer, but I would take around 10 swings before hitting the ball each time. After we left the estate, we traveled to a nearby town Pietermaritzburg, where we enjoyed the hottest film in South Africa: Barbie. During our last week at Michaelhouse, we played pool in the dorms and spent time with the friends we met, enjoying the boarding school experience. As we were flying home, we reminisced on the amazing places we went and the great time we had.
Samuel Trumble - Tasmania
After spending 40 hours in airports and airplanes and traveling through many connecting flights, I finally arrived in Hobart, Tasmania.
In the first week of my exchange I traveled with my host family to Mt Wellington, a point of prominent elevation above Hobart. The views looking over the city and the rugged terrain towards the back were unbelievable.
Also in my first week of living in Tasmania I traveled with my host family to Bruny Island. At this point I boarded a boat to go examine an island off the coast of an island off the coast of an island off the coast of an island.
In the second week of my excursion I continued to attend the Hutchins School and learn more about what it is like to be a student in Tasmania. I was able to help coach the middle school cross country team while they ran at Tasmanian state championships. Over the weekend I visited yet another island. This time we went to Maria Island, which was home to all of the native wildlife including the Foster Kangaroo and the Wombat.
The Maria Island area used to be home to a heavy whaling community and there are huge whale bones that lay all over the island.
My third and final week of my trip was spent with my host family and seeing as much of Tasmania as possible. I had on my bucket list that I wanted to see a Tasmanian devil. They are extremely rare to see in the wild because of their low population, so we decided we would go to a nature rescue.
For my last meal in Tasmania my host family wanted to send me off with something unique. So that night we ate kangaroo just 5 hours after petting and feeding a few.
I will forever be grateful for my opportunity to travel to Tasmania on exchange. I had a wonderful time learning about the culture and history as well as meeting so many great people.
Gabe Lett & Anderson Walker - Melbourne Grammar
Gabe:
Arriving in Melbourne to the cool air flowing against our sun kissed cheeks, we walked through the terminal to find our host families. Once picked up from the airport and settled in, the adventure began. We spent the next week picking exciting new classes such as politics and legal studies, and we began to make friendships to last a lifetime. We then flew to Sydney for the weekend. We spent this weekend ascending to new heights such as climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge and surfing the frigid waters at Bondi Beach. We arrived back to school feeling like true Aussies. We knew the transit system by heart and we had the confusing class rotation mastered, but little did we know what being a true Aussie meant. The sole meaning of Aussie culture is “footy.” A fast paced game that combines the speed of soccer and the bloodlust of rugby. Watching a footy match was an all encompassing Australian experience. We experienced sport, food, and comradery during this short three hour experience. During our final days in Melbourne, we spent our time enjoying all that Melbourne has to offer. We went and explored the city and immersed ourselves in new experiences such as the largest shopping centers or small and hectic China markets. Finally, our time in Australia came to an end. We said our goodbyes to all of our new friends and teachers, and we spent our last evening cherishing the final hours with our host families. We woke up the next morning to begin the long and arduous journey home, but we will never forget our experiences down under.
Anderson:
Attending Melbourne Grammar as a student was truly an eye opening experience. Being in Australia not as tourists helped us immerse ourselves in the culture. Things like going to class, meeting kids our age, and wearing the uniform really helped us understand the true culture in the “down under”. We often found ourselves participating in class discussions even when we didn’t have to because the classes we took were so interesting. For example, in global politics class, not only was learning about America’s politics and actions from the perspective of a different country incredibly interesting, but also being able to bring a different perspective about global politics from America to those Australian classroom discussions helped everyone in the class learn more. Participating in school sports was a blast and learning about the great native sport “footy”, or Australian Football, was amazing. Overall, being a student was an incredible experience that we wouldn’t have gotten anywhere else.
Conner Looney & William Barnard - Christchurch NZ
Conner: I was hosted by Jake Leck and his family for an incredible four weeks. After arriving in Christchurch, New Zealand (and delivering Dr. Boyd’s green card to him) we flew to Queenstown, a tourist town with beautiful mountains surrounding and a stunning lake. After bungee jumping off the bridge where bungee jumping was invented, we drove around the surrounding areas to see the magnificent views New Zealand has to offer. Battling jet lag and a cold, we then drove to Wanaka, where we spent much of the next three days with family friends of the Lecks. Finally, on the Saturday before school started again we drove to the Leck’s town house in Christchurch, which was a ten minute walk to the campus and overlooked a park owned by the school. In the two days I had left before school, the Lecks showed me around Christchurch, and Jake introduced me to some of his friends.
On Monday the school had parent teacher conferences, which meant another day of holiday for us, but then on Tuesday I went to my first day at Christ College. Walking into the campus was breathtaking. The British architecture combined with the pristine grass lawn made the school look like something out of a movie. I spent my first couple of days meeting Jake’s classmates and teachers and going to each of Jake’s classes. Their dining hall, much like MBA’s, was very impressive, with long tables running down the sides and middle. It was here that we ate lunch everyday, and dinner and breakfast the days that we boarded. Although the Leck’s had a townhouse just minutes away from campus, they normally live in the North Island, so we boarded many nights on campus. I had the privilege of staying in Flowers House, the best house on campus. Similar to MBA, the matron and staff of Flowers House took great pride in the presentation and accomplishments of their students. Although boarding was a foreign experience for me, the overall feel of the boarding house and school felt very similar to MBA. As the weeks passed, I grew more and more comfortable in the classroom and the boarding house and started to try new things, like taking a mechanical engineering class where I was able to weld for the first time. Although Christ College has many similarities to MBA, its classes are slightly more engaging and practical.
I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to do an exchange to New Zealand. I want to thank the Warner family for their much appreciated donation and the Leck family for hosting me. My time in New Zealand was certainly a once in a lifetime experience that I will never forget.
William: I was hosted by Bede Hamilton and his family and had a wonderful time in Christchurch, New Zealand. As soon as I arrived after 30 hours of traveling from Trieste, Italy, I was exhausted and took the remainder of the day to recover. However, the next day was actioned packed. I was taken to the beach at Sumner, but the cold weather and harsh winds meant that swimming was off the table. The views from the top of Sumner were fantastic, and I even set some of the photos I took as my phone’s background. I then traveled to Diamond Harbor and Littleton. The views there were just breathtaking and the light blue water, where the area gets its name, was unforgettable. A couple of days later, I traveled up to Blenheim to meet some of Bede’s grandparents. The drive there was in terrible weather, and I could not see the top of the mountain range that we were at the base of, but the sight of the seals and their fun tradition for tunnels made up for it. I then got to go to Picton, a coastal city in the Marlbrough Sounds, and saw the ferries go in and out.
At the start of the next week, I went to my first day of classes at Christ’s College. My first stop was Harper House which Bede was apart of. The house system is very different from Montgomery Bell Academy. They have a lot of inter house competition. Many houses have teams in a variety of sports and subjects that compete for house points to win the house cup. One important competition that was coming up was the house plays. Each house has to write, direct, and perform a play in front of a panel of judges. Harper House was adapting The Inbetweeners, a 2010s british sitcom about a kid adapting to a new school. Although I did not see the proper production, I did get to watch the rehearsal which was just as good.
Bede’s course selection was quite different from my own. His courses focus more on skills rather than STEM. He took a course about creating podcasts which I found interesting. They had to find a topic they were interested in, find people to interview, create cover art, and produce a whole series of episodes. Bede was creating a podcast about his time working for McDonalds. I created a script for a first episode about differences between America and New Zealand. He also took a music creation class where they analyzed modern composers and created their own works. My favorite class was mechanical engineering because I got to create something of my own. It was a portable laptop stand pictured below. Unfortunately, it is still in New Zealand because I could not fit it in my bag, but I am still proud of myself. The class I found most different was the three time a week chapel service, because I had never attended a school sponsored religious ceremony.
In my second week, the Hamilton family had to go away due to a funeral, and I stayed with Baxter Lamburg. It was so generous of them to let me stay with them over spending the weekend in a boarding house, and I wish to thank them. With them I got a tour of the city on their old fashion tram. I loved the modern architecture around the city. We also went to the earthquake museum.
During my other weekends I got to go to some other fun activities. My favorite was rugby because it was like a faster pace version of football. Although I do enjoy the games here in America, it is not for the gameplay. I saw several matches including a All Blacks, New Zealand’s national team, and South Africa match. On my last weekend, I went go-karting which was a incredible experience because I had never raced before. My host family loved playing games during and after dinner, so I got to play a lot of those which I enjoyed.
I just want to say a big thank you to the Hamilton family for hosting me and for the Warner family for sponsoring me.
Britton Busbee - Eton 2023
As I arrived in Windsor to start my exchange at Eton College, my excitement could not be measured. Now reflecting on my time, I still feel my initial excitement as the memories return. My favorite class was history, which provided an in-depth knowledge of the French Revolution. While learning about the Jacobins during the mornings, I spent my afternoons joining my house of Jourdelays playing the field game. The field game is a sport that was invented by Eton, and the game is a combination of aspects of soccer and rugby. Though it took me a while to understand certain rules of the game, I came to look forward to every match against another house. My nights at Eton were filled with attending the lectures from the experts of every range of profession. The lecture that I enjoyed most was Jane Goodall, who shared her experiences with chimpanzees and her thoughts on the future of our environment. As I reflect on the memories from my exchange, I am thankful for the opportunity to study at Eton and to experience another culture different from America. I will always remember my time living in England, and I hope to one day play the field game again.
