Exchange Students Share Experiences
From Greenwich Academy Press, March 2002
Carrie Denning, Staff Writer

Imagine being in an entirely different hemisphere and taking classes in a new country, town or school, surrounded by new people and teachers. Everything is extraordinarily new and almost frightening. But at the same time, it is incredibly exciting.

The two exchange students, Amanda Stollard and Yea Ji Sohn, have traveled 8818 miles from Auckland, New Zealand, all the way to Greenwich Academy. Their school in Auckland, Rangitoto College, is larger than Greenwich High School, with over 3,000 students. It is the largest private school in New Zealand with drama, film, TV studios, and state of the art turf athletic fields. It is located fifteen minutes north of Auckland, with gorgeous views of Hauraki Gulf and Rangito Island.

Though many New Zealanders come here, Mr. Jean Delcourt, Coordinator of Study Abroad Programs, said that only two or three of our students have traveled there, all of them before he began working with the program five years ago. One of the main reasons why the trip is not as popular is because students would have to travel to New Zealand in June during our summer vacation.

The new students take a wide variety of courses here, and their grades are sent back to Auckland in a progress report that Mr. Delcourt writes. Since now it is their summer, the girls’ school in New Zealand began the day they arrived here. One thing that seemed to shock both the visiting sophomores was the relaxed atmosphere of GA. Amanda was completely surprised when students brought bags of candy to Mr. Murdock’s math class. For the majority of GA students, the more easygoing atmosphere is taken for granted.

Yet both visiting sophomores felt that GA provided a challenging, welcoming, and exciting environment. In Yae Ji’s words, “Coming from a public school of 3,000 students, I find that the school seems a lot more personal, and it’s an environment where everyone knows each other. I feel like there is a lot of opportunity here for the girls to succeed; the quality of the education here is admirable. I found the faculty members really friendly and they helped me out in all sorts of ways. The people that I’ve met and gotten to know here were really accepting and pleasant.”

Amanda commented, “Coming here has really opened my eyes. I plan on working a lot harder when I get home.”

Recently, Amanda and Yae Ji went with their host families to New York City. Host sophomores Cricket Phillips and Ashley Smith found the trip fun and the whole exchange experience interesting. They both agree that at first they had some reservations about the idea of hosting a complete stranger, but now they realize what a fun experience it is.

GA’s opportunities for studies abroad and student exchanges are vast. Greenwich Academy students can spend anywhere from four and a half weeks to three and a half months in a variety of places from Switzerland to Argentina. These trips and the opportunity of getting to know exchange students offer new horizons, perspectives, and ways to meet new people and begin to understand new cultures.

For more information on Greenwich Academy study-abroad options, or if you would like to volunteer to be a host family, please email Jean Delcourt, or call him at 203.625.8900 ext. 7235