Although what I have to say primarily involves the juniors for right now, it is certainly something that the rest of the underclassmen and even the faculty should consider.

Not very many people on campus realize that MBA offers a unique exchange program that juniors apply for in the fall in order to go on exchange over the summer before their senior year, and, in truth, they are given the opportunity to have the time of their lives. The school has seven different programs, two in England, two in South Africa, two in Australia, and one in Costa Rica, all of which, except for Costa Rica, a coeducational day school, are all-boys schools across the globe very similar to MBA.
Over the past summer, I was thrilled to have the chance to spend a little more than five weeks at The Southport School in Queensland, Australia. Just to give you an idea of where exactly that is, Southport is about a twelve-hour drive north of Sydney along the sparkling Gold Coast and, yes, is about a half-mile walk from some of the best beaches in the world. I guess that I went to TSS with the mindset that I was going to escape from MBA and my every-day life, and I had no problem doing so on the other side of the globe. The setting is almost like California, but better; everyone is very relaxed and spends a lot of time at the beach and just having fun.

Even though I found it so strange that MBA and TSS had so many similarities, one of the first unique experiences that reminded me that I was a full-day flight away from home took place on the first weekend I was there. I spent the weekend with the family Brian Syverud was staying with so that I could travel with them to Ipsiwich, a little town an hour or so north, to watch all of the school’s rugby teams play. We got there at about 10:00 in the morning on Saturday, and I guess that I had not realized what I was in for. Now, before I go on, I must explain that rugby does not work like football; there are literally about thirty different rugby teams just at TSS’s upper campus, as opposed to one big team. Anyway, about eight hours and ten rugby games later, I think that I was safe to say that I was a little bit tired, although we had learned a lot about the game. The thrill of rugby had quickly faded, and I did not think that I would last. But, when we got home, the people we were staying with said, “Oh, you need to stay around for a little bit longer. The Wallibies (Australia’s national rugby team) are playing the All Blacks (New Zealand) at 7:00.” This was a huge game for the Aussies, but, maybe if I had just not watched about eight other games of rugby, I might have been up for that game. I put up with it and came to accept it as something all of the people there loved. It seemed as though all I ever did in Australia was watch rugby, but I loved it. In fact, Brian and I played with one of the school’s teams, and Brian even represented us in a game, I think.

I should also mention that I enjoyed the change in academic life. Most of the classes at TSS are discussion-style instead of the lectures that primarily dominate MBA. During the course of my exchange, I had some of the coolest discussions in my classes. For example, a politics teacher, although I do not like politics ironically, was always inviting me to her class so that I could simply talk about American life with her students. In turn, I myself learned a number of facts about Australian politics I had never known before.

My experience in Australia was a blast, and in trying to give you a good reason for wanting to go, I have come up with the following. I suspect that, at some time in your lives, all of you will travel to another country, perhaps for a week or two, and you will see as much of the country’s culture as I did. But very few of you will come to understand what it is like to live in another country. Yes, many of you will travel in college, but still having the opportunity to be another average high-schooler growing up in that country is priceless. You get to go to school, hang out with friends, and relax on the beach as a normal teenager, not as one of those annoying, photo-snapping tourists. So go to Australia and these other countries not simply because they are free trips, but go to feel what it is like to live there, not just visit there. Bust out of your comfort zones for a month or two, and have fun in another place.

I can personally say that the five weeks I spent at The Southport School were the best five weeks of my life, and to be quite honest, I am already jealous of whoever goes to TSS next year. Please apply. Certainly feel free to stop me anytime just to talk about TSS or the rest of the exchange programs. You can also talk with Mrs. Warner in her office. The deadline to turn in you application is November 22. Good luck, and have a good rest of the day.