Another fantastic week in Tasmania!  There must be some unspoken Tasmanian rule about being hospitable: my host family and schoolmates have helped me feel quite settled and comfortable in a short period of time. At school I am starting to make some really good friends, which makes the days even more enjoyable.

I started my new schedule (separate from my exchange) at school this week.I am attending some really interesting classes—some with grade 10 others with grade 11 students—such as textiles, cooking, photo media and advertisement. In fact, Thursday, I had a cooking class where we made rice pudding and “toad in the hole,” a Tasmanian dish that consists of a sausage with a sort of salty pancake around it (kind of like pigs in a blanket). I am taking French here, too, which has been entertaining, and actually helpful.  Since we are learning the basics, it’s kind of like a review. All the classes have been great and I love having the chance to experience some different courses than those I take at home.

One of my extra-curricular activities is basketball. Playing on an exchange school basketball team is proving to be another great experience. This is not only a sport I really enjoy; I am also happy to have the opportunity to become friends with the girls on my team. We even won our first game on Thursday, 42-4!

This week I participated in the school’s swimming carnival, where students from each house (there are four) compete by age and category. I swam in the under 16, 25-meter breaststroke, backstroke and freestyle. Other people also did 50-meter and 100-meter races. Everybody wore their house colors and cheered on their teammates.

Overall, this past school week was amazing and, I am looking forward to the exciting activities we have planned for this weekend.—Leah Salzman ’15