My time in Peru went by faster than I ever thought possible. On one hand it seems like just yesterday that I was going to my first day of school at Markham, but in other ways it feels like a lifetime ago. Either way, saying goodbye has been one of the hardest things that I have ever had to do. The bonds that I have made in Peru have become far deeper than I ever could have imagined, and I now have friendships to last a lifetime.

Honestly, it hasn’t quite hit me yet that I am not still living in Lima and that I won’t be joining my friends at Markham when school starts back up after their winter break. But for now, I can say with complete certainty that the past seven weeks have been the best of my life. My Spanish has improved immensely and I have learned so much about the Peruvian culture. I learned to love the welcoming kisses on the cheek and friendly smiles that I received every day. I even learned to love the insane traffic in Lima!

Each person that I met and friend that I made touched my life in his or her own unique way. Every day brought new surprises and new challenges— all of which made my exchange that much more exciting. Being forced out of my comfort zone to try new things made me learn so much about myself and the world around me.

One of the highlights of my trip was my second-to-last week where I participated in a “surf and service” project in Lobitos, Peru. Me and about 12 other students from Markham spent the week in the small town on the coast of Peru working with an organization called WAVES for Development. During the week, we worked at the local school and nursery–building a biodigester, planting trees, painting, cleaning up the beaches, and doing workshops with the young students. In the mornings and evenings, we had surf lessons with many of the locals. It was by far one of the best weeks of my life, and I learned so much from all of the people that I worked with. It was a trip that I never would have done had I not been on exchange. I am beyond grateful that I had the opportunity to participate.

Even though I will miss everyone more than anything, I know that I will always have a second home and a second family in Peru and for that I am forever grateful. Muchísimas gracias Peru. Te amo.

It’s crazy how quickly one teenager can assimilate into a whole different part of the world. After three weeks attending Ballarat Grammar School I can easily say I feel like another student there. These past three weeks have been a blast!

After 15 hours of traveling I was reunited with my Aussie soul sister Amelia Dunne (Millie). She was waiting in arrivals with a hilarious welcome poster. Luckily for me, Millie came on exchange to Athenian in the fourth quarter, so we had both already bonded over our many escapades by the Bay. We then headed to Ballarat. While driving I found out that there were A LOT more farms in Australia then I had previously thought. And this is coming from a teenager who lives in the definition of suburbia. It was amazing to see paddock after paddock right outside a main city like Melbourne.

Because I am only in Australia for six weeks, the Dunnes really wanted to fit in as much as they could on every weekend. Each weekend would be another excursion and adventure.

First Weekend

My first day can be described as a day of travel since I flew in that Friday and had to quickly prep myself for a six-hour drive to Millie’s’ aunt Mandy’s farm in New South Wales. As a driver of only six months it was very odd to see the steering wheel on the right side of the car and the lane directions switched. I’m hoping I don’t forget how to drive by the end of my exchange.

The following day on the farm was spent driving a gator with Millie and blasting some of our favorite music on my portable speaker. It was so much fun exploring the different nooks and crannies of Mandy’s farm even though a HUGE SPIDER FELL ON MY HEAD (I’m terrified of spiders) and bit me! Luckily the spider was not poisonous, but it gave me quite the fright.

After a stunning hike at Galore Point, we all went to watch a local footy (Australian Football) game at a local club stadium called Osborne. It was interesting to try to spot the similarities and differences between American football–my favorite sport– and footy. While I love American Football, I have to say that footy seems to be the more difficult sport. It was quite an experience as I watched the thrilling game and indulged in some steaming hot meat-pies in the 30-degree weather at the field.

I never really appreciated the minimal dress code at Athenian until that very moment at the uniform shop. After fumbling to learn how to wear a kilt and roll my skirt so that it wasn’t down to my calves, I felt thankful for the freedom and individuality Athenians have to express ourselves using our clothes.

After picking my sizes of clothes, Millie introduced me to all of her friends. Everyone I met was so friendly and hilarious. They all loved my “American Accent” and it was clear I’d get along well with all of them.

Once I started school I had to get used to wearing a uniform and having my hair tied up, but I overcame that quickly. A big challenge of exchange is getting used to the different norms set up in my new school environment.  For me, at Athenian, everyone is very inclusive and there aren’t really clear gender divides. But at Grammar that seemed to be a blatant thing in each of the classes. Luckily, once I was given my own timetable I found it a lot easier to break some of the divides and bond with people over shared interests.  The first three days were difficult as I was unsettled by the increased amount of rules and such. But sharing my love of music with others, I was able to fit in as a student and make friends with my entire year level.

Second Weekend

I had an opportunity to participate in a community service activity where I slept outside (on BGS school grounds) to get a perspective on what it’s like to “sleep rough.” I thought it was an enlightening experience as it was difficult to get sleep because of the cold. I only had to do that for one night, while some people sleep rough every night.  It was great to see the other students support each other throughout the night and I made lots of friends as we tried to stay warm together.

After this I spent my weekend exploring the Great Ocean Road and surf towns. Some highlights of this weekend were seeing the lush forests and falls known as Erskine Falls, the hipster cafes and surf boutiques in Lorne, and the beautiful and famous beach known as Bells Beach. Bells Beach is home to some of the most important surf competitions (Bells Beach Classic and Rip Curl Pro). While visiting Bells Beach I was able to see some incredibly dedicated and talented surfers take on difficult waves in freezing temperatures.

This excursion was gorgeous and I fell in love with the surf culture of each area. While we stayed in the Dunnes’ caravan for the weekend in Anglesea, I got the opportunity to see some wild kangaroos and even go to take some pictures with them as they came up to our area.

Third Weekend

This week I was able to explore the gorgeous and lively city of Melbourne. After a delicious breakfast in the famous DeGraves Lane, I went to explore different hidden shops and alleys of art. After a morning of roaming, I went up on the Eureka Skydeck where I was able to see Melbourne’s entire skyline and appreciate the beauty of it all.  After we exited the Skydeck, we decided to head back to DeGraves for a late lunch and feast on some delicious prosciutto plates and chai tea. Millie and I went into some underground art exhibits and shopping areas and came in front of the Flinders Street Station to see a protest going on.

Since I am from the United States, specifically the Bay Area, protests are not something new to my eyes, but it was the difference in atmosphere that inhibited me to sit down and listen to the many speakers there advocating for their cause. Many protests in the U.S seem to get tense–quickly–and are soon broken up. But this protest sparked my interest as I was intrigued by how the police began to clap for some of the statements and I saw so much support given from every individual in the area.  The protest was about the need to close the Don Dale Detention Center in the Northern Territory. There have been many reports about children being beaten and abused there. Throughout Australia, many protests were held as anger was sparked by a video released in which a child was beaten by four guards at Don Dale.

In the protest, there was a cage in the middle of the audience and in that cage held four aboriginal teen girls who had chained themselves there until justice was served. The sounds of the teen girls yelling justice and the sight of the poignant posters made which read “Kids Need Nurture Not Torture” made for a striking scene.  Sadly, I was only able sit and applaud the “Justice for Don Dale Victims” for forty minutes but it was an incredible experience that really opened my eyes to how similar yet different the U.S and Australia are.

I ended my third weekend with a birthday party and found I made so many friends over my love for music. One thing that has always been very important to me is music and it’s safe to say BGS kids have some GOOD tastes in music. It felt great being able to connect with students over our love for artists that aren’t as big in the U.S (ODESZA, Hippie Sabotage, DOPE LEMON). Rapping and dancing with my BGS friends to “THat Part” and “Saint Pablo” really made me love my new schoolmates and it’s crazy to think that I am already halfway through my exchange.  Here’s to another amazing three weeks with my Aussie sisters and brothers!

So far going on exchange in South Africa has been an amazing experience. I’ve been here for a little over two weeks and already I’ve had the time of my life. I met my exchange partner, Nsuku, and his family right as I exited customs at the airport. Nsuku and I were soon cracking jokes and messing around as if we had known each other for much longer. That was when I knew that exchange was going to be pretty awesome. My favorite experience so far was when we went to a local park and played with lions, ocelots, caracals, and more. We even got to hold some of them!

I’ve been attending Stanford Lake College and it is very different from Athenian. No matter how much Nsuku told me about the school, nothing could prepare me for my first day. I was nervous, really nervous, because first impressions are really important. But luckily everyone here is very welcoming. Besides the shared belief in outdoor adventure, this school and Athenian are very different. The food, classes, how you address your teachers (Sir and Ma’am), and uniform make it a very different school. I wasn’t given a uniform to wear so I stand out like a black sheep. But it’s still amazing and in two weeks I’ve already had the time of my life!

After over 20 hours of traveling, I arrived in Adelaide, Australia at 11:30 in the morning. When I reached the arrivals area, I finally got to meet my exchange, Rebekah, and her family. I was so excited to finally meet my exchange after months of emails and Skype calls. I already knew that it was going to be cold in Australia but I was welcomed with strong winds and 50 degree Fahrenheit weather, which was extremely different from the 98 degree Fahrenheit heat I had left.

Rebekah lives in the small farming town of Minnipa. It took over seven hours to drive there from the airport. I was constantly panicking internally because they were driving at speeds of 120.  I had forgotten that they don’t use mph and that 120 km/h on a highway is a normal speed. Whenever we left the house to go somewhere and I was sitting in the front, I always went to the driver’s side because I didn’t remember that their seating is the opposite of ours.

Minnipa has a population of about 100 people, which was a big difference from the cities in the Bay Area. After I had settled in at their house, I was treated to netball and footy games that went on all day. While we were there, I met all of her friends from home. I spent the rest of the week sightseeing what small towns in South Australia looked like. We went to Streaky Bay, which is a town on the coast with beautiful views of the ocean. We then visited Gawler Ranges, which has amazing rock formations. I was given of a tour of their farm, which is huge, and we even got to chase their sheep around. Rebekah and I also went camping with three other friends and I got to witness a beautiful sunrise. It provided me with two completely different environments that were within an hour of each other. Back home you can only see kangaroos or emus are in zoos, but I was given the opportunity see them in the wild, which I was really happy about!

One major difference I noticed between California and Australia are the amount of farms that are in Australia. When we were driving back to her house all I could see was farms that would stretch out for miles. It was surprising because when I was landing the first thing I saw was the coastline and the houses and towns on the beach. I didn’t expect there to be so many farms.

As soon as Rebekah’s parents dropped us off at the boarding house at Westminster School, I was introduced to almost all of the girl boarders. Throughout that day it was just a blur of faces and names. When school started the most obvious difference was the uniform. I wasn’t that worried about the uniform before starting school, but when it was time to actually put it on Rebekah had to help me with the tie after seeing me struggle for ten minutes and my skirt was kilt style. I was a little uncomfortable at first because I had never worn a uniform in my life, but my apprehension quickly went away when I saw everyone else in the same uniform. Another notable difference is the size of Westminster compared to Athenian. Finding classes at Athenian is relatively easy even if you are a new student because of the close proximity of most classrooms. Westminster, on the other hand, is huge. There are different blocks all with upper and lower levels and tons of staircases, making it difficult to orient yourself.

Luckily, I had the same girls in most of my classes, so throughout the week I could actually figure out how to get to class while simultaneously getting to know other people. I still get nervous when talking to new people, but fortunately I became friends with some boarders who show me around and introduce me to new people. Every day at lunch students explain Australian culture and what “bogans” are to me. I am told that my accent is “very American” and asked if I see famous people all the time.  I also get asked about American politics and whether I will move to Canada if Donald Trump wins. Every time someone asks it reminds me that the whole world is watching American politics because you never hear about other countries’ politics as much as America’s.

Life here is somewhat similar back in California. Everyone uses social media to communicate with their friends and a lot of people share my interests and have the same type of personality as me. But there are also things here that I haven’t seen back home. For example, teenagers here have to go through a complicated process to get a driver’s license. It takes at least 4 years in order to get a full license at the age of 21, whereas I could get my license at 16 after getting my permit at the age of 15½. Even though Westminster is a lot different than Athenian, I’m really enjoying my time here and I look forward to what experiences I will have in the future.

I am currently attending Stanford Lake College in South Africa and am having so much fun. My exchange, Mathabo, and I get along very well and have already created a friendship that will last a lifetime.

I met Mathabo and her family on the 14^th of July, when we had dinner with Lexi, her exchange family, my parents and my exchange family. From there, we went to Polokwane, where they live. We drove through rural towns, meadows and mountains to get to Polokwane, the capital of Limpopo. When we arrived in the city, I was shocked by the presence of rich neighborhoods and malls placed right next to poor rural places with families living in huts. I experienced many other differences the first few days, but it soon became normal to drive on the left side of the road and to convert Fahrenheit to Celsius.

As soon as I saw Stanford’s outdoorsy, close-knit and environmentally friendly campus, I knew that I would love it. We arrived in hostel a night early so that we could move in and I could get to know everyone. I spent that night laughing with friends, learning Sepedi, and comparing our two very different countries. This was a great welcoming to the next six weeks of my life.

I started school the next morning and followed Mathabo to her classes. Everyone went out of their way to introduce themselves to me and to make sure I was comfortable and having fun. I walked into my first class, greeted the teacher as ma’am and stood behind my desk, waiting for the teacher to greet us and allow us to sit down, a concept that is still very new to me. After a few classes, everyone made their way down to the dining hall for tea, which is similar to Athenian’s brief break except they serve tea, coffee and food. At the end of the day, people normally either go to sports practice, go to the gym, or run in the forest. After dinner and chill time, there is a period called prep, where you must be silently doing work in your room. Because I am an exchange student, I am allowed to go to friends’ rooms or do anything I want during this period. That is followed by second prep, and then we can all do whatever we want until bed. I am living in hostel here, which, at first, I was nervous about, but it has been one of the best parts of my exchange. I have gained 20 sisters that I can joke around, feast, and make many memories with. I’m so grateful for this opportunity.

As an American living in California, I am constantly asked, “Do you see celebrities everywhere?” “Do you live in or near Compton?” “You surf, right?” After answering no to all these questions, they proceed to ask, “So, do you like Trump or Clinton?” These stereotypical questions about America have made me realize how much power the US has over the rest of the world, but how many problems we have internally. Before I came here, if someone were to ask me about the South African election, I would have no idea who was running or what was happening, however, if you ask anyone here about the American elections, they know everything that is happening and have developed their own opinions on the issue.

The school is similar to Athenian in many ways, yet extremely different at the same time. The students all wear uniforms, so I stand out very much in my Adidas and Patagonia jacket. One thing that has really surprised me here is the amount of power you have based off your grade. Grade eight’s must collect the trash every morning, while matrics (12^th graders) can give strikes for messy rooms, being too loud, or misbehaving. After 3 strikes, you must do early morning, which is normally exercising at 5 in the morning. If you want to shower in the afternoon, you must ask those on your floor that are in the grades above you if you can shower. Although the teachers are addressed as ma’am and sir, the teachers and students have very close relationships, demonstrating one of Athenians core values. The school is not as strict as I was expecting, similar to Athenian. Another parallel between our schools is how eco-friendly and adventure-focused they are. There is a similar excursion to AWE in every grade called Trek, where you must spend 8 days in the forest, with your classmates, learning how to navigate and live in nature.

So far my time outside of school has been full of holding lion cubs, hanging out with friends, and trying traditional South African foods. I have made many friends and memories here that I will never forget and will last a lifetime. I am already dreading the day when I will have to leave, but I can’t wait for the next four weeks!

Saying goodbye to Argentina was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. The amount of love and happiness I feel towards this country along with all of my new friends cannot be put into words. The final hug I shared with my exchange host in the airport brought tears to my eyes and I couldn’t bring myself to let her go. Martina hadn’t only been an exchange host to me, but also a best friend. I will forever cherish every experience I shared with her while on exchange.

I could honestly talk all day about how amazing my exchange was and how each and every friend I made was absolutely amazing in their own unique way. Argentinian culture embraces loud voices, hugs, lots of energy, big gestures, and a general feeling of being very out there and proud of it. If you know me, you know that these characteristics perfectly describe me. Everyone welcomed me with open arms and was super accepting of my horrible Spanish and loud personality.  I couldn’t be more grateful

I am going to miss the food. Argentina has this kind of national caramel called dulce de leche, and I ate it in ridiculous amounts each day. Everything is centered around meat, which I couldn’t be happier about. Dinner was super late, around 10 pm each night, but that just left more time in between for snacking on traditional Argentinian snacks like yummy ham and cheese croissants, alfajores, and milanesa. I am hoping Martina brings me some of this food when she comes to California for her exchange!

One of the most memorable nights of my exchange was a birthday party. People in Argentina are all so open and willing to talk to you, and I made so many friends that night that I didn’t have classes with in school. The students here always want to get to know the exchanges and learn about their lives back at home, and this night gave me the perfect opportunity to talk about just that. Dancing with my friends was so fun. In Argentina a lot of people own a type of shoe that resembles wedges and they’re super tall.  I chose to wear them just to see the hype that surrounds them. Honestly, I loved dancing in these super tall shoes, even though I know I looked like an idiot. It was a night I won’t forget.

School itself was great. Belgrano Day School is super invested in exchange students and let me choose my entire schedule based on my interests. I got a chance to speak about Athenian to a class of 4th graders, and the number of questions they asked about Athenian and America in general was amazing. It was so fun to work with them and talk about how they should go on exchange in the future.

I am currently writing this blog entry on my plane ride home and I am going to cut it short here on account of how emotional I am getting. I am already planning on visiting my friends here on either my Thanksgiving or winter break. Argentina took me out of my comfort zone and I made so many life-long friends here. I am so excited for Martina to come to California and thinking about these next five and a half months without her pains me. I am so grateful for this experience and Argentina will always hold a special place in my heart.

Saying goodbye to Argentina was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. The amount of love and happiness I feel towards this country along with all of my new friends in it cannot be put into words. The final hug I shared with my exchange host in the airport brought tears to my eyes and I couldn’t bring myself to let her go. Martina hadn’t only been an exchange host to me, but also a best friend. I will forever cherish every experience I shared with her while on exchange.

After a day of traveling, I arrived in Launceston, Tasmania at around 5 pm. Driving through the town with Amy, my exchange, and her mom, I jumped in my seat every time she turned left before reminding myself that Australians drive on the left side of the road and we were not going to get into a head-on collision with incoming traffic. After dinner with her family, the jet lag started to hit me and I quickly fell asleep. Over the next few days, I met several of Amy’s family members, some of whom had accents so strong that it hardly sounded like English.

Since arriving here, we’ve driven down to Hobart and spent a few days there, the state capital and at 250,000 people the most populous city in the state of Tasmania. Tasmania is a small island off the coast of Australia and has a total population of 500,000. For comparison, that’s about the size of our least populated state, Wyoming. However, I quite liked Hobart and we were even able to meet up for dinner with fellow Athenian Chloe Kass and her exchange’s family, who also goes to my exchange school. I spent the weekend shopping and exploring Hobart with Amy and her family. We drove to the top of Mount Wellington and caught a beautiful view of all of Tasmania with its green rolling hills, snowy mountain tops, islands, oceans and river. On the way back up to Launceston, we went to an animal sanctuary where we pet koalas and wombats and fed kangaroos, which I found very exciting!

A major difference between Tasmania and California is the amount of farms. California has tons of agriculture, but rarely do I see so much empty land full of green grass and trees, so much undeveloped land. In fact, it was the first thing I noticed when flying in. When you fly into SFO, you see endless city lights; in Launceston, it’s a landing strip amongst acres and acres of beautiful rural land.

Once I started going to school at Scotch Oakburn, the first obvious difference was the uniforms. I hadn’t thought about it too much beforehand, but on my first morning before school it dawned on me that even in the near freezing weather I’d have to wear an ill-fitting skirt and thin tights instead of a sweatshirt and Uggs. After a painstaking ten minutes of misbuttoning and fiddling with my tie, I was ready to face the day. Amy was in Melbourne getting her visa on the first day back to school, so I was really lucky to have Amy’s best friend Caitlin and Chloe to figure out my classes. My first class was with Chloe and when we saw it was dance, we both just laughed. The teacher encouraged us to participate, despite our polite objections and insistences that we were awful. In the end, however, we ending up having a great, if slightly cringe-worthy, time. Even then, we were still relieved to hear we could switch our electives.

Over the course of the next week, I met tons of people and teachers and desperately tried to match names to faces. Amy and Caitlin were eager to show me around and introduce me to their friends. It’s still a bit nerve-racking meeting new people all the time, but luckily I do have Chloe here and we’ve been trying our best to make friends with everyone we meet. In the process, I’ve been assured my accent sounds “very American,” told that only “bogans” wear Uggs outside here, and asked if I see celebrities all the time at home. On the other hand, I’ve also been asked if I like Donald Trump, will I move to Canada if he wins, and if all the gun violence scares me. I realized these questions had to come from people decently informed on American news, reminding me that the rest of the world does indeed watch our country and thus our actions hold global influence. Such experiences revealed to me the image the United States puts forth externally in the media and gave me a refreshed perspective on the issues our nation faces.

Some parts of life here are just the same as I am used to with my friends back home – everyone’s on social media, likes alternative music, and a lot of people have my sense of humor. But Amy and I also found several differences. Unlike living near Oakland and San Francisco where musicians regularly perform, going to a concert for Amy means flying out to Melbourne or Sydney for the weekend. The cost of living in a rural, environmentally-conscious state is a lack of cities and easy access to shopping. Whereas I got my license when I turned 16, Amy didn’t even get her “learner’s” (basically like an American permit) until age 16. We talked about how Aussie politics get so much less attention than America’s, even though Australia has had five Prime Minister elections in five years. I’ve also found out that her school, and Tasmania in general, has a lot less diversity than Athenian, but nonetheless has a strong interest in multiculturalism. They follow AFL (Australian Rules Football), NBA and even their school sports with such enthusiasm and excitement, making it quite a fun environment. Although Launceston is a bit smaller and quieter than I’m used to, overall it has been filled with friendly people, just like home.

I am currently studying at the New England Girls School (NEGS) in Armidale, NSW Australia. For the first three weeks of my time in Australia, I had the privilege of traveling around the country with my beloved family. We flew into Melbourne, then up to Darwin, across to Cairns, and then back down to meet up with my exchange and her family in Sydney. After spending two days together, I said goodbye to my family and off to my exchange adventure I went. Together, Jenna’s family and I drove four hours north to her house in Port Macquarie, NSW. One night at their house, we had a massive bonfire, and I got to experience an authentic Australian cuisine, sausage sizzle and dough boys (cooked dough with syrup or jam filling). After spending three days in Port, we made another four-hour journey west to Armidale, where I would be spending the next five weeks at school.

Only a few minutes after arriving at the school, I already had people jump to introduce themselves to me. It took two or three days to meet everyone in year-10. I had no trouble remembering the students’ names, just the teachers’. Because we address our teachers at Athenian by their first names, I had to re-adjust to my pre-Athenian ways of addressing teachers by Mr. and Mrs. I still don’t know most of my teachers’ names, to be quite honest, and have to ask Jenna (my exchange companion) their names every day.

NEGS is the most polar-opposite environment to Athenian I have ever found myself in. Although I have relinquished many of the familiar freedoms I have the privilege of having at home, I have quickly learned to appreciate the structure that NEGS offers. Having the same routine every single day minimizes some of the stresses I endure daily back home, such as not having enough time to eat breakfast or dinner and waking up too late for school. When I initially read through all of the boarding student rules, I was rather upset that I would only be let out of the boarding house for two hours every Friday. However, I quickly realized how much fun being in the dorms was and love boarding at NEGS.

The major asset that draws students from all over Australia to NEGS is the incredible equestrian program that the school offers. Nearly every student at NEGS rides horses, which are kept in individual paddocks covering two-thirds of the school. Life at NEGS is catered to those who ride; many students leave during school hours to have riding lessons and the hours of free time are coordinated to work with the students who ride. Personally, I couldn’t imagine waking up at 5:30 every morning to walk 15-20 minutes to feed my horse before breakfast, but for most students this is a daily routine that has been embedded into their school life.

Thus far, I’ve really enjoyed my first two weeks of exchange, and can’t wait for the next four to come.

 

I’m attending Penryn College in Nelspruit, South Africa. It was wonderful to see my exchange student again, Crystal Daniel, and to finally meet her whole family.  Crystal stayed with my family from the end of March till the end of April of 2016 when she was on exchange at Athenian. I’ve been in South Africa about a week-and-a-half and I’m already having an amazing time.

Penryn and Athenian are very different. My first day at Penryn was the 19^th of July. The day before that I got my uniform, which was already a huge difference. I’ve never worn a uniform before, so the concept is still very new to me. I thought I would love wearing a uniform because I would not have to make any decisions in the morning. Even though it is easier to get dressed, the uniform is never weather appropriate. It is freezing cold at five in the morning and wearing a skirt in that weather is not fun. That is another huge difference: everything starts much earlier here. School starts at 7:30. Add on an hour commute to school and it means waking up and going to bed very early.

My first Penryn experience was at the school chapel, where they have their “morning meetings.” For those who don’t know me, I am not a religious person and so praying together with the whole school is totally new to me. Penryn is also fairly preppy and very formal. Almost every class begins with the students standing in front of their desks. Then the teacher walks in the room and says, “Good morning class.” Then the students say, “Good morning mam.” This is followed by the teacher permitting the class to sit down. The student-teacher relationships at Penryn are so different than Athenian. At Athenian students and teachers like to see each other as equals and I think that makes the two groups respect each other more. At Penryn students would never think about being friends with their teachers. This definitely has rekindled my love for Athenian. There is also much more discipline at Penryn. Students can get detention for not doing their homework! And on my first day one boy was sent home because his hair was too long.

The school is also a little more cliquey than Athenian. Crystal is part of a great group of 18 friends. Having so many people in their friend group was a little intimidating at first, especially because I’m not the best with names. However, they all welcomed me into their group and I’ve grown so much closer to all of them after just one week. When Crystal has school meetings or sports I am totally fine hanging out with her friends because they are all so friendly and welcoming. Attending Penryn has made me appreciate Athenian more and I’m also so thankful to have made so many friends already.

I really haven’t had any challenges adjusting to South African life. Crystal’s family and friends welcomed me in like one of their own and I’m so thankful for that. Adjusting to the religious aspect of the area has been a little difficult but also really interesting. At my first meal with just the Daniel family, I made the mistake of putting ketchup on my food and getting ready to eat, not realizing that the family says grace before every meal. I can now also say that I’ve prayed in class more than once. This is not something that I agree with for many reasons. First, not everyone believes in the same religion. Second, it forces students to hide their faith if they are not Christian. Third, in my opinion, school should be for learning and not a place to practice religion. However, religion fascinates me so I’m happy to learn about and experience the religious culture.

The only other challenge I’ve had was on my first day of school. I’m a gymnast and I need to practice while I’m on exchange. It turned out that a girl in grade 10 at Penryn also does gymnastics. Before coming to South Africa, I arranged so that I could practice with her. My first day of school was also my first day of gymnastics. The girl, Ashley, was going to arrive late that day so I was all on my own. To make matters worse, I found out upon arriving at the gym, that it is an Afrikaans gym, meaning that the gymnasts there primarily speak Afrikaans. I do not speak a word of Afrikaans. That made me a little nervous. But, I ended up having the best time at gymnastics! All the gymnasts spoke English, some better than others, but at least I could understand them. They all had so many questions about America and what we call different gymnastics moves and what kind of food we eat and what we do on the weekends. All the levels warm up together and everyone wanted to stretch next to me because there was someone new in the gym. They were so eager to show me around the gym and help me if I didn’t understand the Afrikaans. What I thought was going to be challenging ended up being one of my best experiences on exchange so far! I’m so excited to continue to learn and love the culture around me.

Today I happened to run into two other Athenian students at a restaurant in Graskop. I ran into Sonya Ahn and Ethan Gross, who are on the Round Square International Service project in South Africa. It was so weird but also completely amazing to accidentally see Athenians on the other side of the world. What a crazy coincidence!

I am looking forward to all the great memories yet to come on my exchange in South Africa. I’m already dreading the day I have to go home!

I cannot believe how fast time has flown by as I start to wrap up my exchange. I have had an amazing time here in Germany and am not ready to return to the US. The friends I’ve made and the memories we’ve shared will last me a lifetime.

Throughout my time here I’ve had to get used to boarding school and I’ve actually grown to quite like it. I thought I would miss the privacy of my own room, but I can honestly say that I don’t. I am happier than ever living with my two roommates, not to mention everyone else in my wing, Junibau Oben. All of my friends are only few steps away all of the time and I love it. I’ve gotten used to the freedoms and responsibilities that come with living so far away, such as getting to freely take the trains to nearby cities or buying things, like food, for myself whereas, before, my parents might have done it for me.

The hardest part of my exchange was definitely the language barrier as I made many friends in the German system. It was sometimes difficult because I had to get used to not understanding everything 100% of the time. Despite the fact that this was hard every now and then, I don’t regret it. I made some amazing friends who, if I was struggling, would always stick up for me. I quickly found that everyone was willing to speak English, I merely had to put myself out there. Even in the event that the big group wanted to talk in German, there was always someone who was willing to chat with me on the side. Through my experience with the language barrier I’ve surprised myself quite a lot, noticing myself growing more talkative and outgoing, which is something I am very proud of.

One of my favorite parts of living at Salem is the baggersee. Baggersee is a lake that is located roughly 2 kilometers away from the school and we go there quite often. At the edge of the lake there is a big ship with places to jump off, ropes in the middle to climb back up, and lots of other things to climb. Many of my evenings were spent here; listening to music, laughing, and pushing each other in. At one of the earlier baggersee trips, a couple of friends taught me to watch out for the term ‘austauschülerin, schubsen!’, which means ‘exchange student, push!’ Of course now when we go I know that there is no ‘watching out’. I am going in, end of discussion.

As I attended Salem during the sixth epoch, the epoch of end of year exams, I also got to participate in the Sommerfest that takes place in the last week of school. Since finals are over, it is basically a weeklong celebration of the coming summer holidays. Each wing prepares a dance, which they preform at the end of the week at a school wide competition. I was particularly nervous about this, as I am not a very good dancer. Yet, to my dismay, my wing ended up tying for first place! After the dancing there is a big party held in the castle courtyard with lights and music. Although I am sad that my time has ended, I was glad to spend one of my last nights this way with all my friends by my side.

Words cannot explain how much I am going to miss Salem and all of the people that come with it. Thank you for this amazing opportunity.