When I first stepped through the airport doors in Nelspruit, South Africa to find my host family on the other side, I wasn’t sure what the coming weeks would bring. I was excited to see my host, Daua, again and to experience life in another country. Two weeks later, I’ve had a variety of experiences, full of highs and lows, and I am excited for the next month here.

There were several days before the new term began, so I had time to adjust before being thrown into school as well. We spent the days preparing for the new term and visiting local attractions. My host family is actually Mozambican, and my exchange normally boards at the school. While I’m visiting, they’ve rented a condo in Nelspruit so that I can stay in a house rather than in the dorms. My host mother wanted this for her daughter when she came to Athenian, so she arranged it for me as well. That is one of the kindest things anyone has done for me.

School began a week ago and what hit me first was the complete contrast to Athenian. The day began with chapel, during which the students pray, sing, and listen to short sermons together. As someone who is not religious, this immediately made me draw a comparison to Athenian as I am not used to the conformity of belief here. The school accepts those of all faiths, but all students partake in the Methodist practices of the school.

As the day went on, the differences between Penryn and Athenian kept adding up. The teachers here are very strict; class begins with the students standing until the teacher permits them to sit down. Grades, or marks, are very important here, and the highest scorers (and some of the lower ones) have their marks read aloud to the class. The top ten students in each grade have their grade averages on display. The open nature about scores here is scary to me, as I can only imagine the competition and sadness if this system were implemented at Athenian.

The way the classes are taught is also very different. Some classes consist solely of the students copying notes off a PowerPoint in complete silence. Classes, in general, are taught with the students learning passively. You gain a lot of knowledge, but it is told to you rather than discovered by you. Drama class is the highlight of my day as it reminds me the most of a class that could be taught at Athenian. The class is a much needed time of familiarity during the world of differences outside. The teacher is the friendliest I’ve met so far, and does not yell at us for sitting on top of the desks or for making noise. It’s the class in which I can be most like myself.

Although I seem to be writing about the school kind of negatively, I’ve actually had an amazing time so far. The students are hilarious and are all welcoming and willing to get to know me. Most of Daua’s friends are Mozambican as well, which has made conversations difficult at times because they speak Portuguese in Mozambique. Sometimes they’ll go back and forth in Portuguese for a while before someone says “guys, English!” and they’ll switch to English for my benefit. Their effort to speak English around me is much appreciated, and they are all super nice and try to make sure I’m included in conversations.

My first few days were spent fielding questions about the US. Everyone wants to know about life in America. Do the cheerleaders wear their uniforms to school all day? Are the popular cliques outright cruel to others. Basically, if everything they’ve heard is true. (Turns out, “the movies are all lies!”). Their questions were legitimate, as they have an outside perspective of life here that they’ve gained through our media. After realizing most of what they’d been told wasn’t true, people liked to turn the question on me. What did you think Africa was like before you got here? Did you think we rode giraffes to school? Thankfully, I’ve grown up knowing that’s obviously not true. But their questions made me remember the bubble that so many people in the US do live in, oblivious to the reality of life in other countries and only knowing stereotypes they’re shown in the media.

So far, exchange has been interesting. There have been times I’ve wondered why I ever wanted to go on exchange, times I’ve laughed so hard I almost fell out of my chair, and everything in between. To anyone wanting to apply for exchange, know in advance that it can be hard. You will question yourself and your decisions. There will be situations in which you don’t know how to react, as what is offensive to one person is a normal comment to another. But you will also meet amazing people and have incredible once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Exchange is something unlike any other. It’s something you have one chance to do, to go halfway around the globe at fifteen and be thrown into a whole new world.

Whether my next month here is wonderful or horrible, I know that I won’t regret it.

It hasn’t been long since I’ve arrived in Launceston, but I’ve already fallen into the rhythm of things as living with the O’Loughlins has come naturally to me. Knowing my Exchange, Caoilainn, beforehand has really helped me get rid of any feelings of homesickness. I started my experience off by losing my luggage in Launceston’s tiny airport, which I fortunately got back on the same day. I never realized how small the town was until my host family actually knew and greeted some strangers at the airport. I spent a week in Shanghai before going on exchange, so it was such a stark contrast traveling from humid 100+ degree weather to Tasmania’s cold winter time. Thin tights and thermal undershirts hidden under my uniform have become second skin. The weekend before school began, I got the chance to go a nearby beach, grab coffee with Caoilainn’s friends in the morning, and get my uniform. With this, I wasn’t anxious or nervous about starting school.

A few things about Scotch Oakburn College:

• The school doesn’t take action in gathering the Exchanges. There are ten or more Exchanges here and I haven’t seen or spoken to most of them. For example, I headed straight to Agriculture class and made cheese on my first day, so the Exchange program is very student led.
• As Scotch Oakburn is co-ed, almost every table is scattered with both girls and boys. It’s unusual for there to just be an all-girl friendship group or vice versa.
• School rules: We have to bring our own lunch and we’re not allowed to bring backpacks to class. We have to wear blazers to an assembly and going into town. My scalp hurts from tying my hair up every day.
• Since the school is Pre-K to Year 12, students here have known each other for years.
• Buildings in Launceston get up to less than 3 floors.
• Recess and lunch is spent on drama and gossip.
• Everyone here is a year older than people back home. Caoilainn is in Year 11; according to my age, I’m technically still in Year 10 here. Year 10 and 11 are extremely different as they follow different regimens, but I’m taking classes from both grades.
• A plus about having an older Exchange partner is that we can go into town or to someone’s house after school as everyone here has their own car.
• Everything is a little later here. School starts around 8:45 to 9:00 am. Lunch is at 1:15 pm. School ends at 3:30 pm for everyone.
• I’ve noticed that most of the students here are more independent.

Although I would love to draw more on the similarities and differences between Athenian and Scotch Oakburn College, I also feel compelled to mention how things unraveled mentally and more personally. I’ve definitely relied on some advice given from friends and family that has helped me get through my first week:

• Given that I’m just beginning my second week, I’ve learned to work at my own pace. “Don’t expect to find instant connection and continue meeting new people and take things in, but never disengage.”
• I have wondered why it was so hard connecting to others here as we have no middle ground. There is less diversity than Athenian, so was it my race? Was it because I was too quiet? I admit I have thought that those questions were to blame. However, it all comes down to personality. In my short experience being here so far, being more outgoing and easygoing really helps.
• I know that I can’t expect others to initiate conversation, but it is still hard to join in a conversation where they’re talk about people I don’t know.

As Launceston is such a small town, everyone lives less than ten minutes away from each other. So while it is at times difficult to connect with others at school, meeting new people and going on spontaneous coffee breaks after school is an insane amount of fun. For the next few weeks, we have planned to go to an Australian football (AFL) game, an overnight trip to the east coast, and an excursion to an art museum in Hobart–-all of which I’m super excited for and looking forward to.

It’s 6:00 am in San Francisco as I pass through SFO International Airport security–leaving my family behind in California for the next two months. I honestly never expected that I was going to be an emotional wreck while waiting at the gate by myself. I sat on the plane for the next sixteen hours sleeping and contemplating what my exchange experience was going to be like in Perth, Australia. When I arrived in Singapore, my flight to Perth wasn’t leaving for another five hours so I decided to explore the Singapore airport, which basically resembled a colossal shopping mall. Exploring this new airport by myself was an exhilarating experience.

Arriving in Perth, I met my exchange family for the first time. Living with a whole new family was a daunting idea—but they were super friendly and amiable, which helped me with the transition into Australian culture. I found that Perth actually wasn’t that culturally different from the Bay Area.

Three days after arriving, I was back at the airport at 4:00 am with 13 other Scotch boys on an expedition to the Karijini National Park. This trip was a seven-day backpacking trip through the various gorges (canyons) of Karijini, which is about 800 miles north from Perth. The geographical layout of Karijini is basically a mountainous desert that’s covered with slippery red rocks the size of your fist. The first day of the Karijini trip was a culture shock for me.  It was a challenge meeting all these new people in a dusty new environment with the added physical hurdle of a backpack that weighed more than half my weight. That’s when I realized that this backpacking trip was not going to be American glamping, as the Australians called it. I honestly didn’t think that I could get through the next eight miles on the third day with a bad fitting 65-pound backpack rubbing on my hips each time I took a step. One of the reasons that I did not have a mental and physical breakdown was because of the support from the other boys on the trip. The first few days on the expedition I was pretty quiet, but a lot of the boys engaged me with questions about our president and Burger King. On this expedition, I found that I was actually an okay camp cook. Even with the physical challenges of the trip, the scenery was amazing. These gorges were encased in rectangular rock formations with water running through the bottom like a canyon. We rock climbed and “abseiled” (rock climbing down) the gorges. Another once-in-a-lifetime experience was the opportunity to swim in the gorges. The gorges had almost freezing water with the temperature of 4˚C or 40˚F. This was icy cold, especially since my school-issued wetsuit had a hole in it. It was all worth it because we were able to see areas that no other group has seen within Karijini. Overall, my Karijini experience was amazing and I am so glad that I had the opportunity to go there.

My first day of school at Scotch College in Perth was an exhilarating experience. I did not have a uniform yet so I really stood out. One of the biggest differences from Athenian was that the two thousand students were all boys. Another difference was their community atmosphere based on respect, such as calling teachers by “Sir” or “Miss.” You could definitely see that the instructors had a lot more power over the students compared with Athenian’s democratic approach. Adjusting to this new school was not as much of a challenge as I thought it was going to be. I think speaking the same language has also made the adjustment a lot easier as well. My host, Will, introduced me to his friends.  Luckily I had a lot in common with them and they have been very friendly to me. Something that usually isn’t mentioned about exchange is that it is really hard leaving your family behind and being thrust into a new culture. When I was on my Karijini expedition I sometimes really wanted to be home. My whole body wanted to flop and sleep on the ground, but I knew that I had to keep going in order for it to be over.

So far, my exchange experience has been great. Tomorrow I will be trying out Australian-rule football (basically rugby) for the first time in PE, which hopefully will go well. 

 

My exchange in Lima, Peru ended a little over a week ago.  I’m at home now, typing this up at my old desk. Time has truly flown by. My exchange is just another blurred memory, a little more colorful than most. Funny thing is, I actually got on the airplane to Lima three months ago regretting my decision before the plane had even taken off, homesick within the first hour of leaving home. Yet, sitting on the plane in Lima a week ago as the wheels began to roll, I found myself sobbing next to the kind stranger seated beside me, tears beseeching time to stop and rewind for me.

My first week in Lima, I spent a lot of my down time contemplating how long the two-and-a-half months ahead of me seemed and skyping my mother every chance I had. My last week in Lima was, ironically, one of the best weeks I have ever spent, anywhere. I had a host of new experiences. I got to visit my Peruvian family for a couple of days, treated my host family to dinner at one of best sushi restaurants in Lima, bonded with my host, Marianne, and her mother by watching French movies in her mother’s bed until late at night the day before I was to leave, went to the cinema with friends twice in one week to see Wonder Woman and Spiderman, went shopping in Jockey Plaza (one of the largest commercial malls in Lima), and more. I even bought a fairly complicated non-fiction book written entirely in Spanish, perhaps a little too confidently I now realize. Speaking of which, I am finally able to string sentences together in Spanish without thinking in English. This is making my Peruvian grandmother very excited. Fortunately for me, with her constantly coming over to our house, I won’t have the chance to let my newfound Spanish skills deteriorate. I am still in contact with most of the other exchanges who I met in Peru (there were 22 other exchanges at Markham this bimester!), as well as with my host and a couple of other Markham students.

Thanks to this privilege, I now know myself a lot better, both in terms of my ethnicity and regarding the decisions I make for myself in different situations (when my mother isn’t there to make them for me).  I also feel as though a lot of my old habits have been changed for the better. I would like to thank the Athenian School for allowing me this opportunity and my friends here at Athenian for providing me with support and advice whenever it was needed. I’d also like to thank my host family for all of their patience and generosity.

I’ll be visiting Lima again soon! Hasta la prox, Lima!!!

I arrived in Cape Town a week ago and so far my exchange experience has been absolutely amazing. At first glimpse, Cape Town is a small city that is somewhat similar to the Bay Area. The place where I will stay for my exchange is a very beautiful suburb within Cape Town that is located next to the famous Table Mountain.St Cyprian’s is a school that is very different from Athenian. Firstly, this is an all-girl school. There is a strict dress code. They have a whole uniform set, including a tie and a blazer. Students are also not allowed to wear any jewelry nor makeup. Secondly, most students here are religious. There is a small church in the middle of the school where the school holds an assembly every week. The assembly is usually hosted by the school priest, Mr. Johnson. During the assemblies, students are asked to sing carols along with the school choir and do prayers in silence.

All the exchanges at St Cyprian’s are part-time boarders. We spend our weekdays in the boarding house. Unlike what I expected, each girl gets her own little room with a small bed and a closet. The rooms are all very small but very comfy. I love the layout of the dorm because it gives everybody their own privacy, while you can still talk to each other with your door closed. Dinner is at 5:40 every day and every meal is mandatory for the boarders. After dinner we all go to the school library for prep (study hours). Students are allowed to listen to music as long as they don’t get caught using their cell phones to do other stuff. It is funny that every local boarder complains about the boarding house while I find it very sweet and interesting.

During my first week, I was very worried about making new friends at school. However, I soon realized how friendly everyone is. Hugging is their way of greeting each other. People always give me a big hug whenever they see me in the hallway–and some of them are girls I haven’t even met before!

My first week has been very busy. The school year starts in January in South Africa and so the school is in its third term now. The girls are all busy getting their fashion show ready. It is one of the biggest events in this term. There are many scenes in the show and every girl needs to participate in as least one. The girls sell the fashion show tickets to people outside of the school to raise money for the Metric Dance. It is a school tradition for the 10^th grade girls to raise money for the Metric Dance, which they are not allowed to attend because the dance is only for the 12^th grade. When they go into 12^th grade, the new 10^th graders will fundraise for their dance. The entire fashion show is designed and run by the students. They are in charge of the music, the videos, and the choreography. Everyone in grade 10 is now unusually busy as there is a practice every single day. Despite their overwhelming schedules, every girl seems to be enjoying the fashion show and the work that comes with it. Unlike Athenian, St Cyprian’s does not have any school meetings where students get to express their own ideas; therefore, the fashion show is a very precious opportunity for them to show their talents and strengths.On weekends, we go home with our own host family. My exchange, Bianca, lives five minutes away from the beautiful Camps Bay. The bay lays in between the well-known Table Mountain and the Lion’s Head. We took a walk on the beach with some other exchanges and their hosts. The view is absolutely stunning. They have many local shops along the street as well, including a bar where all celebrities go when they come to Cape Town. We went to Waterfront in the afternoon. It is a harbor with some of the biggest shops in Cape Town. We got a bus card before we hopped off Bianca’s mom’s car. Public transport is not very well-organized in South Africa. They do not have a BART system nor a Metro. For most people here, the most convenient public transport is the city bus. You need to get your bus card in advance as no cash is accepted on the bus and the bus cards are only sold in specific locations.

The first week of my exchange went by very quickly. I am very excited to see what the rest of my time in South Africa will bring me.

 

Being here in Australia seems like a dream come true! My exchange, Hayley Wapper is one of the nicest and funniest girls I’ve ever met. At her house, we make traditional (original) Australian food together. I have enjoyed every single meal and the snacks that I’ve had here in Alice Springs. In fact, a drink called milo–made of chocolate powders mixed with milk–is now in my daily routine. The weather here is surprisingly similar to California. It is freezing cold during the morning and night, but brutally hot during lunch time and the afternoon. It is also worth mentioning that Alice Springs is more than just a desert! You’d be surprised that there are actually green grasses and tall trees all around the town. Not surprisingly, there are a lot of kangaroos, reptiles, and sands. Hayley is also a very sporty girl. I was lucky to watch her play footy and netball, which are both very popular sports for girls in Australia.

Before my first day of school, many concerns went through my head all night. What kind of people would I meet? Would Hayley’s friends like me? Would I like them? How would people treat me? What are the classes like? And so on. The next day at school, I was surrounded with many warm welcomes from students and teachers. People greeted me like I was their friend for ages. I immediately became friends with the other exchanges from France and Hayley’s friends, and I received countless offers of help from the students and teachers throughout the day. Besides the knowledge from classes, I also learned a lot about Australian culture. For example, a very Australian way of greeting people is “Good day, mate!” And I find it very funny that Australians call McDonald “Maccas.Everything was perfect except the uniform. I was not shocked at this very different school system considering that most schools in China have uniforms, but I still felt unfamiliar with uniforms after having been at Athenian for two years. Another major difference between Athenian and St. Philips is that no phone use is allowed during class or outside of the classroom. I was shocked by this rule, because my phone is one of the most important items that I needed for survival. In fact, now I have to wear a watch to check for time, instead of using my phone. Hopefully I’ll get more used to this in the future. Finally, the classes offered in St. Philips are also very different.  Compared to Athenian, there are not many choices for courses.My first week at St. Philips was everything that I did not expect, and I believe that that is the beauty of being on exchange. I look forward to my future weeks here in Alice Springs and to discovering new challenges.

It’s midnight in Lima, Peru as I walk out of the airport alongside my new family, leaning forward against the weight of my backpack, fiddling with my hands, as I watch my exchange’s mother and boyfriend lugging my two dysfunctional suitcases behind them. Although it is the beginning of winter in Lima, the air is humid. I’m perspiring after the ten-minute walk to where the car was parked, waiting. That night, in the midst of excited plan making between Marianne, my exchange, and Nani, her mother, regarding where we would go out to eat dinner, I fell asleep in the car. Due to the surprisingly heavy late night congestion, I was allowed a good hour of rest before we arrived at my new home. In a spontaneous change of plans, Marianne’s boyfriend Jordán cooked everyone an innovative fusion of laidback breakfast and hearty dinner. Although such moments of spontaneity are few and far between for me back home, they became increasingly common during my time on exchange.

We spent the last four days of their mid-semester break driving around Barranco, the district of Lima in which they lived. We visited MATE, a non-profit museum recently founded by Peruvian fashion photographer Mario Testino. We went shopping in Larcomar, a shopping center overlooking the ocean that is a popular site for both domestic and international tourists. To my surprise, I discovered that Peruvian Chinese food–otherwise known as Chifa–and sushi were better than any other version of those foods I’d ever tasted. Well, ok, save for Chinese food in China, but that’s a given. The Peruvian dishes were amazing as well, and tasted delightfully familiar. My grandmother, you see, was born and raised in Peru and cooks those dishes for my mother and I on a weekly basis in California.

On my first day of school, the first thing that struck me as I arrived in my crisp white-and-brown plaid uniform was the scale of Markham’s facilities. We entered through a large, multi-story parking garage and climbed up the stairwell to a panoramic view of the main campus: multiple soccer fields, indoor basketball and volleyball courts, a swimming pool complex, a newly renovated and pristinely white arts building, and, in the direction we were heading, at least a dozen multi-story buildings linked by a complex network of inter-building walkways on the upper floors. As Marianne paused to open her locker, I noticed another novelty: everyone was using their lockers. I later found out that this was largely due to the fact that phones were allowed only by the lockers, and would certainly be confiscated if seen anywhere away from one’s locker. On one occasion, I almost found myself on the receiving end of the punishment for this rule. School ends around 2:45 pm (and, unfortunately, starts around 7:30 am), but activities go on after classes until 5:00 pm. Marianne stays behind until 5:00 pm three days a week. One day, as I was obliviously chatting with a friend on the phone around 4:30 pm, the head of the school, Mrs. Rios, appeared in front of me and demanded to know why I had my phone out. I explained that I was an exchange and hadn’t been informed that this rule continued after 2:45 pm. She let me off with a warning. I nervously thanked her and tucked my phone away into my backpack. Moments like these were when I missed Athenian’s more lenient school policies. I do appreciate the self-control I have learned to maintain in regards to time spent on my phone. I found that spending less time on my phone at school improved my ability to perform tasks outside of school without being constantly distracted by my phone.

It’s around 8:00 pm, which means I’ll be called to the dinner table soon. At home my mother and I eat around 5:30 to 6:00 pm. I’ll end by noting that, glancing at my calendar, the best of my exchange is still to come!

My time in Argentina felt both short and long. In my last days, I both wanted to leave and wanted to stay longer. Buenos Aires is an amazing place to visit, but unless you know some Spanish, I would deter you from going. The people in Argentina speak English, but Spanish is definitely their preferred language and they talk in Spanish regularly, so you will have a very hard time if you don’t understand what they are saying.

One of the biggest differences I noticed between Argentina and California was how open people were to talking with me, even if they didn’t know me. People in Argentina are all around much nicer people.  There was very minimal bullying at both of the schools I went to. Almost all of the classmates were very close friends and treated each other kindly. Another thing I noticed was the difference in food. In Argentina, people eat much more beef and meat. My favorite thing to eat there for dinner there was empanadas. They are basically folded bread with something inside like meat or cheese. In Argentina, laws for driving are more like recommendations; oftentimes, you see people swerving past other cars, driving in the middle of the road, running red lights, and honking constantly. The police seemed nonexistent. In my eight weeks in Argentina, I think I saw two police cars. Despite all of these differences, Argentina was not very hard to adjust to.

I found my host family extremely welcoming. They had a poster in my new room that said “Welcome Chris,” with pictures of my family surrounding it. They were all very nice, and when I didn’t understand, could translate (roughly) into English. My exchange partner, Dante, attends a school called Colegio Norbridge. They have English in the morning Monday to Thursday and Spanish in the afternoon Monday to Friday. Friday morning is “gym,” where you play sports or run. The class was small, only about 25 kids, and they were all super nice. Within the first couple of days, I had made friends, both inside and outside of school. The question they all asked me was whether or not I supported Trump. 

One of the biggest challenges was adjusting to the food schedule. In Argentina, people do not eat dinner until 9-10 pm. Between lunch and dinner, there is the merienda, where people eat something small, such as toast with tea. Another challenge for me was the school. Their school day is from 8 in the morning until 5 in the afternoon. Compared to our school day, this was impossible. The first couple of days of school, I came home and slept until dinner. The number of hours sitting in the same classroom made my brain hurt. I didn’t understand how people could concentrate for nine straight hours.

My favorite parts about going on exchange in Argentina was being able to experience a different part of the world without my parents, meeting new people, and being able to live a completely different life and see the cultural and social differences. I also loved the people; everybody was super nice and inclusive, which made it easier to adjust.

Overall, I would recommend coming to Argentina on exchange, but only if you have taken some Spanish. Without Spanish, it would be extremely hard to make friends and communicate with anyone.

There are times when I enjoy being the only one awake. When I sit alone, the wind wrapping its icy finger around my wrist and tugging me towards the faintly glistening stars. When I spontaneously shove some frozen food in the oven at two in the morning. Even when a mischievous pair of claws dig into my elbow and awaken me from what I’m sure would have been an extremely rewarding slumber. Now is not one of those times. I am surrounded by zombies; mouths agape and heads tilted backwards. I am much too excited to become one of them. I hurtle through the air at breakneck speeds.  I’m on a plane headed for the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls. Well, actually, I’m headed to New York and then Johannesburg. I know that I should shut my eyes before I am at my destination and cursing myself for insufficient eyelid resting, but decide I may as well try and follow South Africa time. I really hope to make the most of my time there. No matter what.

I once read that nervousness and excitement can be treated as the same thing. Each one grips your insides until your gut crumbles to dust and blows away in the wind. Even as I sit in a school-driven car, engrossed in a completely different book, I can feel a calloused hand wrap its knobbed fingers around my insides, its thumb pressing tightly against my chest. My mind pretends to pay no notice, but I can tell that I am lying to myself. I choose to be exited, I tell myself. My palms grow damp in anticipation. I turn another page.

As we arrive, I am greeted by many unfamiliar faces, some of which I would come to recognize. With my mother there (as we had spent the week before travelling throughout South Africa), I feel as though I am forced to take the back seat. I am making the most of my time here, no matter what. I recognize some of the names from before-trip coordination, but most remain clouded in obscurity. The students are in class; these smiling faces are all adults. As we pull the silver tusks toward us, the geometrically-textured wooden door swings open to reveal cylindrical lamps adding a comfortable yellow tone to the open area. There are lightly-tinted brown couches on wooden floors and windows lined with woven and beaded basketry. Welcome to the reception hall. Welcome to OWLAG.

I want to do everything I can to make this place my home for the weeks to follow. This is what I think as I empty my bags and arrange the books on the shelf at the foot of my bed. I believe that a proper living area should start out organized and become more disorganized as time passes. “Can I borrow some tape?” I ask my roommate. Although Xu is an exchange student from King’s Academy in Jordan, she was born and spent her childhood in China. Her quiet and introverted manner overshadow her more social aspects. Like me, she speaks more as she grows more comfortable. Due to the time difference, she can talk to her friends and family during the day, and often does. Despite her distinct lack of interest in sports, she partakes in regular exercise. It is not an uncommon sight to see her go to the gym or on a run. The sentiment must have spread, like a spot of mold growing in a basket of fruit, as I, too, have engaged in more regular exercise. She hands me a roll of tape adorned with cute animals and objects; thin and delicate, it could be mistaken for paper, were it not purposed for sticking. I use it to attach a note from Mbali to the top shelf.

Although OWLAG (Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls) does not send students out for exchange, Mbali has been assigned as my exchange partner to help me feel more comfortable during my adjustment period. Mbali is organized and professional, so much so that she is often mistaken for a business student. However, she is also comfortable and casual, and easily helped me feel at home. She hopes to become a student of architecture. One glance into her living area highlights her otherwise hidden artistic ability. Various pictures and posters hang beside her bed, some printed and some hand-drawn. She is a social person and seems to know everybody. As she walks down the pathway to the dining hall, she will often briefly join conversations of the people passing by–and not in an awkward or uncomfortable manner.

Most students at OWLAG feel comfortable with one another, and will greet each other as they pass. The social atmosphere between the students is incredible, likely due to the residential aspect of the school. Even Khensani, who started out as quiet and withdrawn, has come out of her shell due to the social atmosphere. Khensani, or George, is Mbali’s roommate and Xu’s exchange partner. Although she retains her quiet demeanor, it seems to be an intentional quiet, as though she does not thirst for social interaction, but rather accepts it. She is kind, thoughtful, and intelligent. Despite the ongoing exams, she still found the time to bring over a few board games for Xu and me.

For some reason, I had always appreciated Thursdays. In middle school, Thursdays were the days where I had school, but little homework that I had to complete immediately. Bad things didn’t seem to infect Thursdays and liking that day became a habit for me. It was of no surprise to me, then, that my first Thursday at OWLAG was filled with likable classes such as Math and Zulu, as well as Physics (which includes Chemistry) and English. Although I spent most of Math trying to receive printing capabilities and ended up walking into the wrong classroom twice, my optimism knew no bounds. I spent my time in Zulu making a Quizlet set of random vocabulary words, and drastically failing to remember them. But I continued my unfettered excitement. During lunch, the students ate outside, playing active games and enjoying themselves. I was a little too busy eating lunch to join in, even though I felt like I should. As I pensively sipped my bagged guava juice, I shared a spot of conversation with Xu. And all was good with the world.

In English that afternoon, we took a brief assessment on listening comprehension. As I was completely unaccustomed to this sort of quiz, I ended up the only student who didn’t actually take notes. Oops. Before you say anything, I will have you know that I usually learn better without notes, and I believe I did better than I would have if I had taken notes. It was truly a lovely experience.

As the evening arrived, I felt a pang in my chest. But it was fine. I recognized the beginning of the second conflict, mental isolation. I was supposed to be well equipped for this. I wasn’t supposed to be missing home so soon. My friends would contact me exactly the same amount if I were home, I rationalized to myself. I probably feel better here than I would if I were in America. Even still, I went to bed with an unsatisfied feeling in my bones. I now realize that Thursday was just like any other day. When I approach the day with optimism, it became a “good” day. I didn’t allow myself to face any negative feelings I may have had. I let them settle restlessly in the back of my mind, instead of facing them and inevitably letting them go.

In the days before Friday, the entire school bustled with excitement, and a certain amount of disdain. This is because the school board was visiting–on the day before exams started. This meant that the students were required to wear their summer skirts instead of their usual winter khaki pants, sweater, and jacket. It also meant that the teachers had to teach a lesson instead of giving the students time to study for exams. A member of the board looked on as the Physics teacher performed an experiment where she asked the students about intermolecular forces. Afterwards, she blew something up. It was informative and helped keep the students engaged, but the part I will remember is the blowing-stuff-up bit. Despite my initial concern, I cannot say whether the arrival of the board was a help or a hindrance to the students. After all, the lessons were lovely. We spent a large part of the afternoon in a school-wide meeting with the board. This was mostly fascinating. Considering the upcoming exams, it was also a source of stress for the students.

Near the end of the meeting with the board, one of the students brought up a concern about balance in the life of the students. Mbali mentioned later that she felt this girl spoke what everyone else was thinking. It is only now that I grow to appreciate the ample breaks and study hours we are given as Athenian students. Although my exchange student, Hayley, from Australia had much less homework than we do, I am starting to explore a different story, where the students have the same amount of homework (or maybe a little less), but less time during the day to complete it. Xu’s school in Jordan has seven classes every day, with fifteen minutes for lunch, and she does extracurriculars until about seven, leaving little to no time for herself. Maybe our school is much more proficient at achieving balance than I previously thought.

My exchange at Birklehof School in Germany was an exciting one. I got to meet new people, experience a new culture, and visit a new country. When I first left for exchange I thought of it as a once in a lifetime opportunity to study abroad in another country and I will remember this experience for the rest of my life.

One of my highlights from exchange was meeting all the fantastic people. When I got there, everyone was super friendly and nice to me. I was able to make a lot of friends. I still keep in touch with them even after my time on exchange. Meeting all of the wonderful people made my exchange a lot better, and I hope that I will be able to see them again. Another highlight would be all of the amazing food I got to eat. There was a variety of food that I have either had or hadn’t tried before. The food in Germany was very delicious.

I didn’t have many challenges on the trip except perhaps some classes that were in German. For the first week I had no idea what was going on in the classes, so I asked my friends about what they were learning and asked the teacher to summarize the lesson for me after class. I also had difficulty with the weather because it kept changing from super cold to hot. I also did not bring many shorts believing it would stay a little cooler, but I was definitely wrong.

From what I have learned about the school, it was very similar to Athenian, having fun events and student-led meetings. The campus also reminded me of Athenian, so I felt right at home. The only things that I would say were different would be the students’ schedules and that they mainly spoke German. I was definitely nervous living in another country for several weeks, but I learned that I adapt quickly and was able to fit right in with everyone else. I never felt out of place or as confused as I thought I would be because it felt like I was still in California.

For any 9^th graders thinking about going on exchange, remember to pack for everything. I did not have an enough clothes to keep me cool or warm. Always prepare for the worst because you are in a different country and have no idea what to expect–don’t be too worried because it probably won’t happen–but always think about the wonderful things that can happen to you.

I am so glad I had the opportunity to go on exchange and I would be glad to do it again.