My experience at St. Constantine’s has been one that I will remember for the rest of my life. The numerous friends that I made combined with experiencing a different culture/country make this trip the most memorable. To start off, Athenian, the school that I go to in California, is different from SCIS. We do not have any uniforms at my school and we call the teachers by their first name, but there are also similarities. SCIS has a similar approach to the school’s environmental footprint and the community is very tightly knit just like at Athenian. The students across many grades interact with each other and everybody knows everyone else. The teachers also have a friendly relationship with the students, just like at Athenian.
Furthermore, from this exchange in Tanzania, I have learned so much about the culture, the way people live, and daily life. From social classes to climate change, my general knowledge has grown as I have learned about the way people view and approach many of these issues. The different perspectives on many areas has been eye-opening. The multitude of changes from the US, which I previously thought would be difficult, was actually nice to experience because I got to see how people in such a different country live.
Coming to SCIS, I was terrified of not knowing anybody. I was frightened that students here may not like me, or that they already have their pre-existing groups and would not interested in one random person from the US. I have never been more wrong in my life. Everyone was really interested in the fact that there was a new person on campus, a different person. The things that I initially thought would not make people like me actually made them want to talk to me. I could not have asked for a more welcoming and friendly community to be a part of. The friends that I have made on exchange will be my friends for life.
The Athenian School Exchange Blog 