Student Exchange: Settling Into Life in Tasmania

Posted on February 25, 2013 by admin

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

Student Exchange: Appetizing Tasmania!

Posted on February 18, 2013 by admin

I have now been in Australia for one week and three days. My experience has been incredible and has exceeded my expectations. I landed in Hobart, Tasmania on the 7th of February where I was greeted by Ashley (my exchange) and her mom. We then drove two hours to Launceston (after 33 hours of traveling, I fell asleep about ten minutes into the car ride!). Once we arrived in Launceston, I met the other members of the wonderful family: Craig the dad, Taylor who is 12 and Payton who is 5. The Brown family was (and is) so welcoming and kind; from the very beginning they made me feel at home. Well, not exactly … the sun was ridiculously strong and seeping through the windows, which, wasn’t exactly like home, neither was the huge garden with endless vegetables, fruits and herbs. Oh, and the homemade pizza we had for dinner; that was nothing like my usual Domino’s!

The next day, I started off with a nutritious breakfast of Milo and Tim Tams (chocolate and more chocolate!!), and a relaxing day, which was followed by an amazing weekend. When Saturday came, the first stop was the farmer’s market, an outdoor market that consists of roughly 50 stands where people were selling fresh foods. I tried new and delicious vegetables and fruits, homemade raspberry ice cream and cheeses. The fruit here is unbelievable and we always have tons in the house (e.g., nectarines, apples, peaches, cherries, strawberries and apricots). During the afternoon Ashley and I went into town and browsed some of the local shops. Sunday was yet another beautiful day spent outside in the sun. We went to the ‘Festivalie;’ a three-day festival that occurs once a year in Launceston. Food stores from all over Tasmania set up stands to sell their provisions while people enjoy entertainment, such as dancing, singing, acting and more. Not only did I get to watch tons of performances but I also tried some great local Tasmanian food such as sausage, chocolate-covered raspberries, pancakes with ice cream, and ginger beer. To end the weekend, Sunday night while we were sitting on the porch, believe it or not, there were wallabies and kangaroos sitting and hopping in the backyard!

Finally Monday came and it was time for me to go to school. I was nervous, excited and hot in my LCC uniform. School has been nothing but fantastic from the people to the classes and the environment to the activities. For the first few days I joined Ashley in all of her classes. Their timetable is very different than ours. They have double periods (two of the same periods, back-to-back) for a total of 90 minutes, and therefore, they only have three subjects per day. In addition, the senior school alone (there are different campuses for middle and senior school) has seven buildings, each containing different classrooms. Therefore, we are fortunate enough to walk outside to get to all of our classes. Also, for lunch, we can eat wherever we want with whomever we want! I have eaten lunch outside everyday so far which I really do appreciate. I am looking forward to what next week will bring and I can easily say I am having heaps of fun! –Leah Salzman ’15

Melbourne Exchange: A New Routine

Posted on February 13, 2013 by admin

January 30, 2013
After a very long flight I arrived in Melbourne. Only fifteen minutes after my exchange, Patrick Quay and his family returned from their holiday in Japan. For the rest of the day I stayed home getting to know the family, house and environment.

January 31, 2013
In the morning I had time to sleep in. Later in the morning, I went to the local park to the cricket nets and learned how to bat, bowl and field with Paddy and two of his friends. We spent about three hours teaching me to play. After cricket training we went to rowing. It was my first time rowing and I did not go on the water and just practiced on the rowing machines. That night Pat’s grandparents came over for dinner and to meet me.

February 1, 2013
Today was the “first” day of school. It was just orientation and during the day we mostly helped the new grade 7s with everything they needed to know. After school I had my first cricket game and luckily didn’t have to bowl or bat, only field.

February 2, 2013
In the morning, there was a rowing regatta. Because I was not rowing in the races, I helped the team assemble the boat and then got a bike to ride along with the boats and the coach. After the races we went back to the training facilities for more rowing and got home at around 5 pm. We were really hot and jumped in the pool. That night we went to Paddy’s cousins’ house for dinner.

February 3, 2013
This morning it was family day at the local farm so Paddy and I went down and helped out. We cooked sausages on the barbeque and got to give them to all sorts of people there including a famous NRL player Bill Slater. When that was all over we went home and relaxed.

February 4, 2013
Today was the second day of school and there were actual classes. I met a lot of people and had trouble remembering everybody’s names. After school there was rowing and I went out on the water for the first time.

February 5, 2013
Today there was nothing special. There was school in the morning and nothing afterwards.

February 6, 2013
Today was the same as Monday’s schedule, school then rowing.

February 7, 2013
Today there was a huge swimming competition at school with years 7, 8, and 9 all swimming. There were individual and relay events and our house came 6^th out of 10. After a long day of swimming we had cricket practice.

February 8, 2013
Today there was school followed by a cricket game where I got to bat. I got a run but on my 3^rd ball, I was out stumped because no one had told me to stay in the crease after I hit.

February 9, 2013
Early this morning we got up and biked to rowing. We were there for four hours and while there we saw Paddy’s grandfather and had lunch with him. We got home, went swimming and relaxed.

February 10, 2013
This morning we got up late and since it was a bit cooler we decided to go to the movies with some friends. After the movies we went to go see a cricket game; Australia against the West Indies. Australia ended up winning. When we got home from the game Paddy had cousins over and we had dinner with them.

February 11, 2013
Today we had school and rowing. Other than that there was nothing special today.

February 12, 2013
Today there was school and nothing afterwards.

February 13, 2013
Today was a fairly relaxed day with school and then rowing afterwards.

–Alexander Dimitrakopoulos ’15

South Africa Exchange: Tasting a Different Culture

Posted on February 11, 2013 by admin

So far, I have nothing bad to say about SA. I have made tons of friends, I love the food and I can’t complain about the weather. It’s been warm and sunny for the most part. We’ve had a couple of thunderstorms, but nothing compared to the 45cm of snow we got back home!

Coming from Canada, I had really no idea what to expect concerning food. My mom tried to convince me they would feed me monkey brains! Nice try! My mom’s perception of SA was very different from what it truly is. … Anyways, the food is quite different from Canada’s, but very good. I’ve eaten ox tail, which is sweet, and much better than I thought it would be. I also noticed that South Africans eat pumpkin a lot more than we do. I’ve eaten pumpkin fritters, which are sweet, crunchy on the outside and smooth on the inside. I’ve also been watching Master Chef Australia, so I have bee thinking about food A LOT!!! Another thing we don’t eat is boerewors. It’s a typical South African sausage normally used for braais (barbecues). But, the best thing here is the fruit. I’ve had strawberry juice, papaya, prickly pears and other fruits we get. At first, I was quite scared I’d starve because I am one of the most picky eaters you will meet. My mom has tried to get me to eat so many different things, but it’s never worked. I have probably tried more foods here than in the past five years of my life! –Andrea Naday ’15

South Africa: Subtle Differences

Posted on February 7, 2013 by admin

Grade 9 student Andrea Naday ’15 is on a student exchange in South Africa, attending St. Stithians Girls School. Here are some reflections on her experience to date:

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I find it very interesting how South Africans speak the same language as us but use different terms and expressions. For example, if a person was annoyed by someone, they’d say “she’s such a rash.” They also say “shame” a lot. If I said someone was sad, they’d say “shame.” They also have an accent similar to someone British. But, South Africans don’t think they sound British at all. When I was talking to Carmen about it, she realized how she was speaking, and how some things they say don’t make sense. For example, South Africans say “tomato” as someone British would say it, but “potato” as we say it (i.e., they pronounce the “a” differently).

Another major difference I noticed was the currency. South African currency is called Rand, but about 8.5 Rand would equal $1. So, you can’t buy much with R10. Basically, anytime you would go out you spend around R150-R1000. It is weird to be spending R350 on some souvenirs: 350 sounds like a big number! So I always have to divide everything by 8 to figure out the approximate value in dollars! But, I have been able to adjust.

Cars are different too. The driver is on the right side of the car, and South Africans drive on the left side of the road. At first, I thought it was very weird, but I have gotten used to it.