My exchange has been amazing so far and it just keeps getting better and better. As soon as I reunited with my exchange partner at the airport, I instantly felt a part of the family. Since I arrived on a Saturday, Renata (my exchange partner), planned for us to go out on Sunday to get to know the city a bit and meet some of her friends. They were so welcoming and tried their best to include me in every conversation even though they weren’t very comfortable speaking English.
I have to admit, I was really nervous for my first day of school. As Renata lives in walking distance of the school, I get more time to sleep which is great. The moment I walked into school, I could immediately feel everyone’s eyes on me. I panicked a bit, but as soon as I started feeling these emotions, a group of girls ran up to me and hugged me and welcomed me to the school. I later found out that these girls were in Renata’s class and were so excited to meet me. Eventually, I walked into class and everyone was so sweet and welcoming, I immediately felt a part of their class. It felt so natural.
The difference between LCC and Belgrano Day School was evident as soon as I walked in. First, the classes range from about 22-25 students per class. Periods only last 40 minutes, but they have eight in a day. School starts at 8:15 am and finishes at 4:10 pm. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, senior students have gym, but as the school is located in the middle of the city, they have to take a bus to a separate campus, called a talar, where they play sports. Girls have the option between field hockey and volleyball, and boys have the option between rugby and volleyball.
Another difference is lunch. Students are allowed to leave school to get lunch in the area, as long as they don’t have sports that day. Otherwise, they can bring their own lunch or get food from the cafeteria. I’ve already been to two quinceañeras (celebration of a girl’s 15th birthday), met so many amazing people and experienced so much of the Argentinian culture. I can’t wait to see what happens during the rest of my stay, but I’m already having the time of my life and it couldn’t be going any better. – Clara Hamilton ’21, Exchange Student at Belgrano Day School