Armidale School |

Well, where do I begin? The Armidale School has the 2^nd oldest cadets program in Australia, much like our school used to have. Last week the school went on a two-day cadets trip called… well I’m actually not sure what it is called because I can’t really understand what anyone says it because of their accents, but I presume it is something like “bivouac.”

Bivouac is a two-day long program where we trekked 18 kilometres, went abseiling (repelling) and did a river crossing. This was probably the hardest and most physically challenging activity that I have ever done in my life! I am told that what I have experienced is nothing compared to “annual camp” which is six days long, includes a 50-kilometre trek, canyoning (which is abseiling off a canyon), and it’s done three times. I am told the smallest abseil is 50 meters tall!!! Other than that we canoe for about 20 kilometres and do three to four river crossings (in total). I am in for quite the experience!

In other news I went to my exchange partners farm last weekend and I met some of his friends from outside of school. His farm was so much fun. All of the older kids went for three-hour horseback ride, which included me. I was terrified! –Jared Blatt ’16 (LCC exchange student at the Armidale School in Armidale, Australia)

HOW YOU GOING MATES!!!!!!!!! It’s been about two weeks that I’ve been here in wonderful Armidale Australia and it is really awesome. I’m going to give you guys the whole rundown of my trip.

When I learned that I was going Armidale the first thing I wanted to do was find a little bit about where I was going and what it was like. I discovered that it was a VERY small town. I emphasize very because the population is approximately 23,000. I was intrigued when I learned this because it gave me an opportunity to live in a small town and to learn a little bit more about how different they are from larger cities.

The first time I spoke to Jack, my exchange partner, I learned that he lived on an operational farm even though his mother is an anesthesiologist and his father is a pilot for Qantas.

Now for the travel. That flight, that terrible, dreadful flight to Sydney was actually not so terrible, and that was a plus! When I arrived at The Armidale School I was welcomed by everyone with open arms and huge smiles. Making friends was a breeze. Once I was settled in the questions started. Some a little strange such as: “Oy mate, do you think we ride kangaroos to school”, “do you have a pet polar bear” and “ha ha ha your cops are called Mounties”.

So far this experience has been the time of my life. – Jared Blatt ’16

Tag Archives: Armidale School

Student Exchange Australia: Different Accents and New Experiences!

Student Exchange: Having the Time of My Life in Armidale, Australia!