The Travellers Return…
I had the pleasure of catching up with two Hagley students who both spent time overseas last year as part of international exchange programmes. Welcome back, Ava Trevella and Amy Eveleigh!
Ava Trevella spent 4 months last year in Spain, which was perfect for her given her interest in Spanish language and culture. It was one of the first things I learnt about her when I taught her in Year 10.
Ava got onto AFS when her mother mentioned it as they had a family friend who had an excellent experience through the programme. She did some research, filled in the hefty application form and then went about getting part time work to fund the trip. In Ava’s words “When I put my mind to it, I make it happen” and that is what she did!
Ava had experienced the other side of AFS when her family hosted Francisco in early 2017 who was from Argentina.
Ava explains her experience as being great for meeting new people. The AFS crew stuck together for a bit, hanging out in Barcelona at the weekends. Her host family encouraged her to meet more local people and get to know her town, so she took their advice and made some good friends. School was a hard part of the exchange as school was in the Catalan language, not Spanish, and Ava found that challenging. The school was also very traditional and academically focused, which was a change. She enjoyed the host family experience even though they were very different to her own family.
Whilst away, Ava took the opportunity to travel to France and the Basque region. Both of these opportunities were awesome and she is most grateful for them.
Ava went away during her Year 11 school year. As she left in September it meant that she still achieved NCEA Level 1; however, she recognises that it can be disruptive to your schooling to go on an exchange. Ava would recommend an exchange such as she did. She pointed out to me that you have to be resilient, as it can be quite isolating, and be able to see the positive side of things. Ava learned many things about herself while she was away and returned very grateful for her family and friends and most importantly for the awesome country she lives in.
Amy Eveleigh spent five months in Las Vegas, Nevada in the USA on a student exchange between August and December 2017. Amy decided on an exchange as she has always enjoyed both change and a challenge. In her words Amy said, “I’ll never stop looking for my next adventure, I guess...”
An exchange was the most challenging thing that she could think of to do!
Amy recounts the best part of the exchange as being meeting people that truly made those 5 months some of the best months of her life.
The hardest part of the exchange for Amy was being away from her friends and family and not having her normal support system in place, which meant that challenges faced were just a bit harder to handle. Reflecting on this, Amy recognises that she came back better equipped for the future due to facing these challenges on her own and building resilience and perseverance.
Her biggest learning from the experience was the understanding that just because you’re not at home doesn’t mean that the people around you can’t make you feel like you are!
When recommending the experience to others Amy, as did Ava, recognises that it is not for everyone. To those looking for a challenge and who have a strong sense of self, go for it! Amy finishes with adding that she will definitely look back on it as the best thing she has done in her life so far.
If you are interested in finding out about student exchanges overseas you could catch up with Ava or Amy around the College or alternatively there are a number of websites listed below.
There are also opportunities to host students from overseas who are in NZ on an exchange, if you like the idea but don’t want to travel yourself!
http://www.student-exchange.co.nz/
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