Hudson Ross - This summer I went to Hobart, Tasmania on an exchange to the Hutchins School. After 26 hours of delays and almost missed flights, I finally stepped into the cool Tasmanian air which was very nice coming from the Nashville heat. Then, I met the Archers with whom I would be staying for the next four weeks. As soon as we got to their house, Mrs. Archer whipped up some vegemite toast which is just toast with a traditional Australian spread. Then Seb, my host, took me on a walk around his neighborhood. I came during their winter break, so we were able to do lots of sightseeing. We went to Port Arthur and the Tasman Peninsula to see the old British prison and the, aptly named, Devil’s Kitchen, a massive cliff carved by the crashing waves of the Southern Ocean. We also went to Tarn Shelf in Mount Field National Park. When we got out of the car, it started snowing very hard making the hike difficult. Once we reached the shelf, the storm died out and we saw it: several small glacial lakes hanging a thousand feet above the rest of the mountain blanketed in freshly fallen snow. There may have been a few snowballs thrown while we were there. Later we drove up to Launceston where we hiked through a canyon and went to an amusement park. After a series of rainy days, we went to the main mountain in Hobart, kunanyi, and hiked to the Disappearing Tarn, a small lake with crystal clear, turquoise water that only appears after heavy rain. We then drove to the summit where I was almost blown off of the mountain by the wind. Near the end of the break, we went to Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary where I got to feed Kangaroos, Australian Possums, Wombats, Tassie Devils, Kookaburras, Echidnas, and more. Then we started school. I went with Seb to all of his classes including English, Math, Business, History, Coaching Development, Chinese, and PE. I enjoyed getting to know all of Seb’s friends and telling them all about America. I also enjoyed getting to experience school in a more relaxed environment and taking classes that were more applicable to life than your average high school math class. I also got to participate in the Hutchins swim carnival where I won the 50 m Breaststroke. I went to several of Seb’s AFL matches as well as a pro match between North Melbourne and Geelong. By the end of my time in Tassie, I had gained an immense appreciation of Australian culture, and I had really started to feel at home down under. Thank you to the Archers for being such great hosts, Dr. Daughtrey, Mrs. Scholar, and Mr. Marr for all the work you put into the exchanges, and the Warner family for making this experience attainable for all MBA students.
Ryan Skeeters - This summer, I had the opportunity to travel to The Hutchins School in Tasmania, Australia. In thirty one days, I attended school for two weeks, followed by two weeks of holiday. If I were to summarize the experience, I would highlight the welcoming nature of everyone I met. My host family, the Wises, went above and beyond my expectations and were extremely generous. Josh Wise, the student that I stayed with, kept himself busy with school, but also maintained a great relationship with his friends. I would say that meeting all of his friends was one of the many highlights of the trip. Lachy, Archie, Cliff, and Seb were all so welcoming and made the trip even better.
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