Leaving Australia on Saturday 19 September, David Charlton (10/MA) , Henry Gowers (10/ME) and myself [Sam Maley (10/KL)] travelled to Connecticut, USA on an exchange to Brunswick school in Greenwich. I stayed with Cole Fiorita and family, Henry Gowers stayed with Harry Rogers and family, and David Charlton with Andrew Kelly and family.

Our outbound journey began early one Saturday morning and ended 25 hours later in New York’s John F Kennedy Airport. Arriving late at night, we were greeted by Mr Hastings, the Brunswick coordinator of the exchange who then escorted us back to the school to meet our families. We were able to have our first taste of American food – a chicken schnitzel burger and a lemonade/iced tea half-half drink – within hours of landing. The remainder of the first weekend was spent perusing the town and close surrounding areas like the beach (with views of New York Skyline) and the shopping strip, all the while keeping a careful eye out for the ever-present jetlag that could hit us at any moment.

We spent the first two days at school shadowing our counterparts around to all their classes and learning how the school worked, where things were and meeting new people. We also also participated in sport with our exchange brothers. The first Wednesday was a Jewish Holiday, meaning there was no school, so we travelled with our respective families into New York City to look at the sites. Highlights of my day in New York City included:

• Visiting the tragic location of the World Trade Centre towers and the 9/11 memorial
• Bike riding through Central Park
• Going to a Broadway show (The Book of Mormon)
• Walking through Time Square
• Going to various shops, ranging from confectionery shops to street vendors and a six floor Nike store
• Ascending the Empire State Building.

The remainder of the week was spent back at school becoming more integrated into the school routine and some of the classes. The weekend arrived and hence our first opportunity to see a game of American Football! Brunswick was playing AVO and we had a pretty relaxed weekend in Greenwich.

In our second week, we were able to modify our classes to explore the diverse range of classes on offer at Brunswick. We were able to take up classes like Film Production, Ceramics, World Cultures, Ethical Dilemmas and Advanced Placement Biology. The second week also saw the opportunity to experience how the different sports at Brunswick operated. I did weightlifting, while David Charlton (10/MA) ran with the Cross Country team and Henry Gowers (10/ME) stuck with Soccer.

The second week – the first five day week that Brunswick had had for the school year – saw us integrate ourselves into the new classes, yet already we could see that time was slipping away from us. 

The final week was spent dreading the rapidly approaching end of our stay at Brunswick. Even though we thoroughly enjoyed our time we all felt somewhat somber yet grateful. The teachers at Brunswick were enthusiastic and warm, always willing to help “the kids walking around in the heavy black blazers” (us!), and while Henry Gowers (10/ME) forced himself to buy more souvenirs, I was dreading how I’d fit all my things into my bag which was already 8 kilos overweight.

Sam Malley (10/KL)