Winchester Exchange

Winchester Exchange

This summer we went to Winchester College in England, which is about an hour southwest of London. After an eight hour flight from Charlotte, NC to London, we were only an hour's drive away from the smaller town of Winchester. From our very first steps on campus, the great tradition and history of the school was immediately visible through the chapel, boarding houses, and many other structures dating back over several centuries. The school grounds were beautiful, extending hundreds of acres into the countryside, including but not limited to the infamous St. Catherine's Hill, from the top of which the whole town and surrounding lands could be seen. Upon first encounter, the College definitely lived up to expectations as one of England's oldest and most prestigious schools.

At the Nashville Airport excited for the trip

Academics: When we arrived at Winchester, we attended classes as regular students. Before we departed, we each selected 3 classes to take while we were there. In addition, we were all required to take Div. Div is unique to Winchester College and has become a hallmark of the school. The class has no set curriculum and the teacher is allowed to teach whatever they desire, often involving watching movies or reading books. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, classes ran from 8:45 AM - 4:00 PM. On Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday classes ran from 8:45 AM - 1:00 PM. Unlike MBA's, Winchester College's curriculum was more discussion based. Instead of daily assignments, we were given weekly essays or reading to complete. Overall, academics are very stressed and Winchester and the boys are some of the brightest from around the world.

Athletics: Although Winchester College is best known for their academic excellence, there was a large variety of sports and activities available to students. Students participated in everything from squash to tennis on campus, but the College's most popular sports were Cricket and a sport unique to Winchester, known as Winkies, which is a mix between rugby and soccer.

Lord's cricket match in London

Brexit: Being in the UK for the Brexit vote was unforgettable. Crowds gathered in the town to campaign for their side, and we discussed the pros and cons of leaving the EU in our Div classes. The school held a mock debate, as well as a mock referendum, in which students voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU. With that said, the atmosphere the day of the vote was one of utter shock. People were openly pessimistic, to the point that the student body received an email urging us to "foster a pleasant and accepting tone in all discussions" relating to the vote.

Rainbow over the College

Exeat: Over Exeat, a long weekend break, the three of us had the opportunity to visit London. We each stayed with different host families, and saw classic sights such as Big Ben, Parliament, and the National Gallery, London's famed art museum. We also went to a cricket match, and viewed the ruins at Stonehenge.

Tom at the front gates of Buckingham Palace

Overall it was a great trip for all of us and a great opportunity for us to broaden our horizons and experience the world. A big thanks to the Warner family, MBA, and Mr. Gioia for making this exchange possible!

Jack and Brett with their fellow Collegemen

Winchester College Exchange Brinton Hoover

This summer I had the pleasure of getting to travel to the UK to go on exchange at Winchester College in Winchester. During the month that I was there I stayed at the boarding house formally known as Fearon's but more commonly referred to as Kenny's. I had a room to myself on the top floor of the house. Every day I ate all three meals with the boys from my house in this house.

They provided this lovely bedding

The view of the house's sport space from my room

While at Winchester College, I took biology, english, history, and a class called Div which is similar to an advisory group that meets for a period and discussing a topic that the teacher chooses. Of the 60ish people that lived in my house about 10 were in my grade. Because of the way the educational system works in the UK with students specializing in their last 2 years in high school the only class that I had people from my house in was biology because people wanting to specialize in medicine took bio. 

My time table. The blank spaces are called "bookies" and are like study halls where you can return to the house

Once classes ended each day I had to find a sport to do until dinner which was at 6pm. I tried out water polo and badminton but I decided on sailing as my primary sport. Sailing allowed for me to get to leave Winchester 2-3 days a week to go sailing on a lake about 45 minutes away from Winchester in Ringwood. While doing sailing, I was able to sail at the southern regional championship for another school called Millfield Shool. I also got to travel with the team up to West Kerby in the north of England for the nationals competition where Winchester came in 4th with the three teams in front being the teams representing Great Britain at the world competition.

The Millfield School Sailing team and I after the southern regionals 

The lake where we practiced during the week and location of the southern regionals

With my history class, I was able to travel to London to visit the Imperial War Museum and have a nice dinner next to the river Thames. The museum had lots of fascinating exhibits with the highlight being the award-winning Holocaust exhibit that featured tons of artifacts and videos of survivors telling their stories. 

The Imperial War Museum

Photo of the entrance to the Holocaust exhibit. Photography was not allowed within the exhibit

Photo after dinner

The boarding school environment really allowed me to meet and get to know lots of people that live all around the world. As a house, we competed in dodgeball, tug of war, and once a week softball. There was a day called athla which was similar to our field day in which all the houses competed in track and field events. I competed in the javelin competition and came 3rd in the upper school.

My house thought I should stand out as the American on the team and had me pose with the javelin

During many of my bookies I wandered around the Winchester College campus and also ventured into the city of Winchester. Both the College and the city had beautiful architecture. The school was founded in 1384 and as such many of the buildings are true pieces of history. Just a short walk from campus was the famous Winchester Cathedral which was built in 1093 and is the burial place of Jane Austin. 

The Winchester Cathedral 

The stained glass of the Cathedral from inside

I would like to conclude with the most sincere appreciation to the Warner family and to Mr. Gioia and MBA for allowing me to go on this exchange. If not for their generosity I never wound have had this wonderful experience.

Winchester College

Anthony Swenson

Harrison Wheeler, Seth Cook, John Triplett, and I were dropped off at our respective houses after being picked up from the airport by a Winchester College representative. I was staying in Toye’s, the oldest house besides the College. The houses each hold about sixty boys, with twelve from each grade. After being introduced to some of the boys in my house, I was given a tour of the campus by a fellow American who went there. Founded in 1384, the history of the school was unbelievable. 

Meals

Despite the stereotype that British food pales in comparison to American food, the food in my house was enjoyable. The breakfast would usually consist of sunny side up eggs and bacon, which turned out to really be ham. I would usually eat toast, cereal, and a banana. Lunch was the formal meal of the day, and the whole house would gather at 1:10 PM to eat. The food at lunch was better than what was served for dinner, so I would try to eat as much as I could at lunch. The dinner, referred to as tea, was less formal and you could come and leave as you wanted, unlike the strict time frame for lunch. At night, they had cereal and toast that you could eat whenever you got hungry. The town of Winchester was only about a five minute walk, so I would sometimes go to the town to eat dinner or go to Starbucks. 

House Life

I had my own room, but it was not very big compared to some of the rooms. Although I did not have a roommate, I became very close with many of the students in my grade and the grade above. Since every meal is eaten in the houses, I got to know nearly everyone in my house well. Whenever other students and I would have free time, we liked to play croquet. The sport turned out to have many more rules than I had anticipated. Since the World Cup started the second week I was there, we often watched games together. I, along with the only other American in the house, stayed up till 1 AM to watch the US play Germany and Ghana. Every night at 9:15 PM, the house would gather together to take attendance and go over announcements. 

Academic Life

Academics are a priority at Winchester. Students begin to specialize and choose which classes to take at the beginning of their 4th year. I took English, Geography, Philosophy & Theology, and Division. Division is required for every student, and in that class, you study whatever the teacher wants to cover. For instance, I read a novel about the French Dreyfus Affair, and we would often discuss current events. Philosophy & Theology was by far my favorite class. It was very engaging and unlike any class I had taken since it required reasoning thorough thinking all the time. An emphasis is placed on learning rather than grades, and as a result, the students learn much more in my opinion. 

Athletics

Athletics are not taken very seriously at Winchester the majority of the time, except for cricket and football. Most athletic competitions take place against other houses rather than other schools. I played in the house golf tournament, house volleyball tournament, and ran in the house track meet in the 800m. Seth’s house defeated mine in the volleyball tournament to my dismay. I would run nearly every day through the English countryside, one of my favorite parts of Winchester. 

Exeat

The Exeat was the three day break from school during our fourth of five weeks on exchange. Harrison and I went to our friend’s flat in London for the weekend. Ollie Slumbers, who came to MBA on exchange, gave us a tour of London which included the London Eye, the Tate Modern, the British Library, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and many other historical places. Harrison and I returned to London the following Sunday following an hour long train ride from Winchester. The British Library was my favorite part, home to some of the Beatle’s original manuscripts and a copy of a Beowulf manuscript. Unlike Harrison, I was not a fan of the Tate Modern since it seemed as if there were random objects everywhere that they claimed to be art.

I would like to thank the Warner Family, Mr. Gioia, and MBA for providing me with this opportunity to study abroad. It was without a doubt one of the best summers, as a result, and I hope to return to London and Winchester in the near future. Studying in England is something I will never forget, and I am very thankful for the opportunity. Thank you for your effort to coordinate this exchange. 

In front of the Winchester Cathedral

Running through the English countryside

Car show at Winchester Day

Croquet match with my housemates

John Triplett: Winchester College 2014

 John Triplett: Winchester College 2014

Beginning

      No less than two days after Commencement, Anthony, Seth, Harrison, and I congregated at the small but comfortable Nashville airport to head out for our great adventure. Thankfully, most of our traveling went pretty well considering that we had long layovers between each of our connections and that there were no luggage mix-ups. The first of our flights was a short hour and a half one to Chicago. We arrived in Chicago at 7pm on May 31st and then our flight to London left at 9:35pm. It was about an eight hour flight over "across the pond" to get to London. The plane ride was filled with movie-watching and futile attempts to fall asleep. We arrived at 11:25am London time at Heathrow which is a massive airport. Thankfully, we found our way to customs where we got through without much trouble. Then, after picking up our luggage, we were met by a man from Winchester driving an SUV which we piled all of our luggage into. Winchester is about an hour and fifteen minute drive south of London, so we piled in the car and started the short journey. Besides being a little freaked by driving on the "wrong side of the road", we were all very tired and tried to admire the lush landscape but just drifted in and out of sleep.
       Upon arriving at my boarding house, I was warmly greeted by housemaster, Mr. MJ Winter, and shown where my room and everything else was in my house. After being introduced to the guys in my year(grade), we promptly went to the local movie theater and saw X-Men Days of Future Past. Although I had never seen an X-Men movie before, it was pretty enjoyable. The rest of the day was spent hanging out with and getting to know the guys. At the end of the day, I fell exhausted into bed after a spicy dinner from a local Indian food place. The next morning I awoke to this view from my room: 

View from my room

 Academics

    At Winchester, academics are the same intensity as at MBA. Although there is much less busy work and written assignments in the British system, they still learn at the same level we do at MBA. In general their classes are more discussion-based rather than lectures like we have at MBA. They learn mainly by discussing and thinking about ideas and writing essays. Personally, I enjoyed the discussion-based classes more than lectures because they were in general more engaging and personal. I really enjoyed discussing ideas and issues with my classmates. I feel that they were not caught up in simply getting their work done, but they focused more on the process of learning itself and enjoying it. They also focus more heavily on individual subjects at Winchester. Students in their 11th and 12th grade years must concentrate on 3-4 subjects. Students then have two separate classes for each subject and thus two teachers for each subject. For example, I took Latin, Economics, and History while at Winchester. I had a Latin grammar class and a Latin literature class. Overall, I enjoyed all of my classes. Although, my British History class was a bit dry at times, my classes were engaging most of the time. 

       In Latin grammar, we discussed several grammatical topics and did weekly translations. In Latin literature, we read a chapter of Livy's Ab Urbe Condita. Economics was broken into one class of Microeconomics and one class of Macroeconomics. For History, I took one set of 19th century European History and another of British History. Overall, I really enjoyed my classes. I am very thankful for all of my teachers who promptly accepted me into their classes and took me in as one of their own students. I'd say my favorite class was economics because of the way both of my teachers presented the material and made it applicable to today's world. In fact, I read a book on income inequality while at Winchester called "The Spirit Level". I was also given a few weekly issues of The Economist which I greatly enjoyed. 

     Another academic difference between Winchester and MBA is that Winchester holds classes six days a week as opposed to five like MBA since Winchester is a boarding school. Although it may seem like this is entirely too much class time, both equal to about the same amount of school because Winchester has half-days on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. They hold classes from nine am to one pm on these half-days while on regular days it runs from nine to three thirty. Thankfully, they both equal to about the same amount of class time.
    Winchester also has a special course called Div. This class meets about 3 to 4 times a week and is a discussion/english type of class. There is no set syllabus to the course except that a set amount of literature be read every year and "Div Tasks"(written homework for the class) be due once a week. Everyone has a different Div don(teacher) each year. I had the head of the history department, Dr. Guymer, as my Div don. His class was very enjoyable. We discussed many different philosophies, ideas, and current real world issues. I remember one class period in particular in which we discussed the developing ISIS situation and aggressive Western Foreign Policy and its effects. We also read a few D.H. Lawrence short stories and watched a couple movies. Overall, it was a very intriguing and engaging class which always promised something new and exciting.

View from the library

Winchester College's renowned library, formerly a brewery

One of the main academic buildings

View from the main courtyard("Flint Court")

Athletics

      Unlike American schools, athletics are much less intense in the UK. Winchester has quite a reputation for having particularly bad sports teams. Despite these features, participating in sports at Winchester was still a blast. On my own, I often ran around the town of Winchester and the surrounding areas and worked out in the athletic facilities. I often took advantage of the rowing machines in the weight room. Unfortunately while I was at Winchester most of the sports which I enjoy were out of season. However, I did try my hand at cricket while I was there. I was able to play for house in the house cricket competition. I was not exactly the best at cricket, but I had fun learning how to play it! On a daily basis though, there were football(it's still just soccer) matches in my house's "yard". Unfortunately, I had quite the accident after I had been there for only 5 days. I was attempting to account for my vast lack of soccer skills in these games. Almost everyone could dribble circles around me. So, in the middle of a game, there was an unmissable opportunity to get a goal, and being as eager as ever to score my first one against someone else, I sprinted to the ball and put my foot through it, only to find my big toe smashing against another boy's foot. I promptly stopped playing. Through the massive bruising that ensued and the forced visit to the doctor, I found out that I had broken my big toe. Despite these troubles, I still thoroughly enjoyed playing soccer in my house's yard. For most of the rest of the term, I played goalkeeper often bringing on comparisons to the legendary Tim Howard. I also participated in American Football Society with two of my housemates. We played two-hand-touch once a week, and we had a great time doing it. One of my housemates and I often had in-depth discussions about football. He had recently taking a liking too it, and we talked about our favorite teams and our predictions for the upcoming season. 

Soccer fields

House Lifestyle

     At Winchester, since the students all live in about twelve separate houses, there is more of a house culture rather than a general school spirit. I was living in Kenny's while at Winchester(also known by its more proper name Fearon's). Kenny's had the reputation of having dreadful cooking, but I found to not be all that bad. It certainly wasn't spectacular, but the food was often good or average. For breakfast, they often served beans, bacon, eggs, and pastries. For lunch, they served a multitude of dishes some highlights of which were chicken curry, fish and chips, assorted meat pies, steak and potatoes, and several others. They often served similar dishes for dinner as they did for lunch with some added salad, assorted fruits, and desserts. Overall, I found the house lifestyle to be quite enjoyable. Even though I spent a mere five weeks there, I grew quite close to my housemates, especially those guys in my year. Besides living and often hanging out with his housemates, a student will often participate in various activities and competitions with his housemates. My housemaster, Mr. Winter, was quite a nice man who gave me good advice and company. 

Street View near Kenny's

Road my house was on

Exeat

There was a short two and half day break in the middle of the term during which I stayed with my friend Ed Spencer and his family. They lived in Winchester itself, so we traveled a good bit during the break. On the first day we traveled around the county of Hampshire to various sites such as Jane Austen's House, Gilbert White's house, and the countryside. Then on day two, we walked around areas of London and saw various sights. It was quite a fun time and one that I will always remember! 

Me with my friends Eisenhower and Churchill

Changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace

Up close view of Houses of Parliament

Jane Austen's Home

     

View of the Thames from the London Eye

Picture of Houses of Parliament from London Eye

Me at the bank of the Thames

Winchester the Town

     Winchester itself is a small town about an hour train ride south of London. It is most famous for it's renowned cathedral. It has many small shops and stores and nice areas to walk through. I would go into town about once or twice a week with friends to buy items, get something to eat, or just walk around. 

   

Winchester Cathedral

Winchester Cathedral from front

World Cup

   The world cup was a meaningful part of my experience at Winchester. I watched many of the matches and really soaked in a different, soccer-obsessed culture. It was very fun watching the USA matches and poking fun at the guys in my house for England's struggles in the cup. I remember watching the USA vs. Ghana match with an American in my house and absolutely losing it when the US scored the winning goal. It was a great night. My time at Winchester would have been much different without the world cup

    Overall, I am very thankful that I was able to have this amazing experience. I would like to thank Mr. Gioia, the Warners, Dr. Townsend, and everyone else who made this exchange experience possible for me. It was truly a life-changing experience and one that I will never forget. I will forever be indebted to the guys at Winchester and everyone else who made this exchange possible. To anyone reading this blog thinking about going on exchange, you should definitely do it! It is such a great time that you will never forget!

Winchester Exchange 2014, Harrison Wheeler

Hello! The summer before my senior year, I was lucky enough to spend five weeks at Winchester College in Winchester, UK. While abroad, I maintained a blog of textual posts and photos from my trip. To view my blog, visit www.winchesterexchange.tumblr.com.

I would like to thank the Warner family for allowing me to have such an amazing experience. I will always remember my time at Winchester and am extremely grateful for your generosity. I would also like to thank Mr. Gioia and Dr. Townsend for their respective roles in my exchange. Thank you to my house master, Mr. Fox, and all of the incredible teachers that I got to know while away. I would also like to thank the Fletcher family and the Throsby family for giving me a place to stay when I wasn't on campus. Finally, I would like to thank all of the Furleyites that were so kind as to let me live in their boarding house.

This has been a truly amazing experience. For the rest of my life, I will look back upon my days at Winchester and be reminded of the beautiful campus, the incredible history, and the life-long friends that I have made.

Seth Cook Winchester College

Two housemates

Getting out of the car at Freddie's on Winchester's campus, I wanted nothing more in the entire world than a nap. Fortunately, I did not get one. Instead I was roped in to some strange soccer based game that the boys played in their garden. I quickly met almost every boy in the house. That night I went to my first "preces" meeting where every name was called and any announcements were made.

I started my first day with economics, a course that I had never studied before, and ended it with a Div tour to Winchester Cathedral. That Wednesday I began my CS (community service) with Ollie Redman, a housemate. We walked to St. Cross and helped an American man named Albert with whatever chores he needed help with.

The next couple of weeks went on and I continued to go to class and grow close with the other students. Felix Vardagh-Hunter and Angus Mckenzie both hosted me for a night during "Exeat" a weekend to go back home. Angus lived on a large estate in Southampton where I enjoyed an afternoon of tea and croquet.

Team Picture after our first win

When I returned the House Volleyball Tournament, a tradition forgotten for 30 years, was starting up. A good friend of mine was head of sport for the house and named me to be captain of the team. After a total of 4 preces speeches our team was ready for the finals with the rest of the house supporting us. In a victory over the Hopper's house we won the House Championship, and Ben Throsby assured me that I was probably the only non-Wykehamist to lead a team to a house championship and win.


I would just like to thank the Warner Family, Mr. Gioia, and Dr. Townsend for making these exchanges possible. This was my first visit out of the country and it was truly unforgettable. Without this program I would never have been able to meet such amazing people, and I would not be able to call myself an almost OW.

Taylor Adams, Winchester College in England

Upon arriving at Winchester, I was tired, nervous, and had no idea what an amazing month lie ahead of me. Quickly I found that I had nothing to worry about when a new student showed me inside the boarding house and gave me a tour. Little did I know, I would become close friends with him during my stay. But as soon as I got to my room, I fell on my bed and was asleep in seconds. It seemed like whenever I was trying to sleep, people kept coming in my room introducing themselves and being extremely friendly. I’ve got to say, having unfamiliar people introducing themselves to you in a new place is a good problem to have. As soon as my first lunch at Winchester College came around, I could tell it was going to be a good stay when two guys immediately asked if I wanted to go on a run with them, and for some reason I said yes, even as tired as I were. 

A view of the school's armory

Classes started the next day for me, and so school in the summer began. Summer school has always been something I have tried to avoid, but if offered the chance again, I’d say yes in a heartbeat. I was excited before every class knowing that I would be learning something that I would never have the chance to do in America. I was able to take classes that are not even offered at MBA such as Theology and Philosophy and a class called Division, which is only offered at Winchester College. I even had the chance to get a jump start in Economics, which I am taking this fall. The English classes introduced me to literature that I would have never had the opportunity to study at MBA. Throughout the five weeks I stayed in Winchester, I enjoyed studying a whole spectrum of topics such as Auden’s poetry, Aristotle’s philosophy, Voltaire’s Candide, the Walmart of England, TESCO, and even the current tensions in Syria from England’s perspective. My mind was opened to a new array of ideas and ways of thinking from my time at one of the best high schools in the world.

Where I had most classes

After school there was always something to do. Soon into my stay, I joined the ultimate frisbee team that had recently been created by one of the top years in my house. I even got to compete in the final game of the year against another house called The College. Unfortunately we lost, but I did get to keep the jersey! On some other days, I would walk down to the river Winchester College built for their rowing team in order to stay in shape for rowing season in America. The river is really barely more than a stream making it hard to believe that the guys who have to practice on it every day could even compete with the German national champions team at the Henley Royal Regatta, one of the world’s most renown regatta. I would have attended had I not had classes, but I heard the stories of the nail-biter race, which the Germans ultimately won. The rowing team was disappointed, but I didn’t think they had anything to be upset about. The Henley Royal Regatta is something that I could only dream of going to, but I do think it may be in the MBA rowing team’s near future. 

A few of my housemates

Aside from school and sports, the people I met and befriended are some of the best guys I have ever met. In my house, called Sergeants, I liked every single guy. Being that I was a fourth year at Winchester, I was closest to other fourth years followed by the third years and top years. Because we lived in a boarding house, I was constantly around the same group of guys allowing me to be closer friends with each of them. On some nights when we didn’t have very much homework, we would all crowd into the house TV room and go crazy over watching a “football” match (they didn’t like it when I called it soccer). One of the guys was kind enough to invite me to his manor house on our only night away from school, and I met his wonderful family and enjoyed the beautiful English countryside on the way. When the weather finally began to improve, one of the guys in my house invited all of the fourth years in the house a barbecue at his house. We swam, ate, played tennis and croquet, and enjoyed the surprisingly comfortable weather. When the semester ended and summer break was beginning, it was sad leaving behind the laughs we had all shared together, but I will always cherish the memories made with the guys in my house.

Winchester Cathedral

Lastly, I would just like to give a huge thanks to the Warner family for such an amazing opportunity. Winchester has always been a school that I’ve dreamed of seeing, and thanks to the Warner family, not only was I able to see the school, but also I was able to attend it! I had an incredible time, and I know that the experiences will influence me for the rest of my life. Very few people are given the chance to visit such a prestigious school, and the Warner family's contribution to give young men such an opportunity is appreciated beyond words. 

Winchester College- Parrish Preston

My wardrobe in Cook's House adorned with my bottles of Tabasco and hot sauce to enhance the British food!

 

With a short hop, a skip, and a jump across the pond, my comrades Mckay Proctor and Andrew Karpos and I found ourselves in the Land of the Brits in London, England. Jet-lagged and groggy-eyed, we spent an hour ride—on the left side of the road—to Winchester College, which would be our home for the next month. Having dropped Andrew off at Furley’s, Mckay and I settled into Cook’s House, a residence for 60 boys equipped with a squash court, gym, pool table, two music rooms and a spacious garden I would frequent to catch up on summer reading and throw the Frisbee with my housemates. 

Discovering what it means to be a "Wykehamist"

 Winchester College is similar in its commitment to educating boys in a rigorous environment. It varies, however, in its use of a block schedule. My “lessons” were taught by multiple teachers or “dons,” consisting of eight periods a day with varying study halls or “bookies” in between. I took four classes: History: British and European, English: Literature and Composition, Division: a theology and religion class, and Latin: Literature of Tacitus and history of the Roman Republic. 

My Division class and I on the roof of Winchester College chapel, overlooking the town

Mckay and I celebrating July 4th.                            Coaches and players on game day.

One of my favorite highlights from the trip was on July 4^th --not just because we were living in the country from which we declared independence 200 years earlier. Our house’s football team won the championship for Six-a-Side, the inter-house soccer competition. Mckay and I, finely dressed in suits, acted as the teams quasi-coaches, going undefeated for Team Cook’s. 

Athletically, I continued my love for rowing by participating on their accomplished crew team. I rowed and worked out with the team every day, actually accompanying them to several regattas including Redding and the Eton Rowing Centre. My time on the team was highlighted by my competing in a race in an eight with whom I had spent the past few weeks training. Spending this great amount of time and effort strengthened the bonds I had developed with my teammates. 

At the Eton College Rowing Centre

I also tried my hand at Cricket, a baseball-esque game very popular in England. Sticking out like a sore thumb on the pitch, I was apparently the “best Tennessean bowler” the coach had seen. I took this as a compliment, not sure how much it was based on fact, and played several matches with my housemates.

On a Saturday and one of my favorite experiences there, a fellow Cook-ite took Mckay and me to a free food festival called Taste of London. We lost many “pounds” shopping at many of London’s cheap retail stores and markets. We went through Heathrow Airport and iconic Waterloo Station after learning to navigate the extensive tube system of London.

Rite of passage: using a pay phone at Waterloo Station

Marti, Mckay, and I at Regent's Park.

I was absolutely amazed at the amount of greenspace in Regent’s Park, a park in London which we spent almost an entire day. This park features open fields, beautiful botanical gardens, an extensive jogging track, and a lake. 

The town of Winchester, virtually twice as old as the United States itself, is a quaint, historical jewel only a ten mintute walk from the college. Town life was bustling every day, especially in preparation for the London 2012 Olympic games. Mckay and I would frequent Winchester Cathedral and the many shops and restaurants in Winchester. 

I would like to thank Mr. and Mrs. Warner and Mr. Brad Gioia for not only making my trip possible, but also all of the International Exchange Programs. Thank you for supporting my first out-of-country experience, it was one I will never forget. I would also like to thank Mr. Taylor my housemaster, Nadia my house matron, and all my Winchester friends who took me in as one of their own.