"When I set my limits, the sky has to rise higher." Keeping this in mind, I set my foot forward for an extremely exciting and adventurous experience to The Regents' School, Thailand .

 

My stay in the school had been for a period of 5 weeks starting from the 4th of May, 2009 till the 19th of June, 2009.

 

Talking of my arrival there, I was warmly welcomed by the House Mistress of the girls' boarding house, Ms. Margaret Evans who showed me around and made me feel comfortable in every possible way she could .

 

She succeeded to a large extent. It wasn't till 3 days that I made friends with all the girls in the boarding house or all my classmates and the people in school. My best friend there, happened to be a girl from Russia who was also my room-mate and whom I taught Indian cooking and in return learnt how to speak a bit of a French.

 

As an exchange student, I had the advantage of not attending all the classes, of which I chose to study some new subjects which also included Zoology.

 

Considering the boarding house, The Victoria House is one of the best boarding houses I have ever come across. Apart from being united, the girls there are also very sporty, and fun loving. Every weekend we have some activity put up in the house and I would never forget the Victoria Idol contest I won for singing a song in Hindi which nobody could understand.

 

As I mentioned earlier, this period of 5 weeks I spent on their campus were the most beautiful ones of my life and the most memorable ones as well.

 

As we all know, all great things come to an end and so did my exchange. I had a surprise farewell party given for me which had a visit to the nearby mall, and a barabeque dinner in the house garden. All in all, it was a wonderful experience and I am thankful to the people of the Regents' School, for accepting me and making me a part of themselves. I am also thankful to our Principal and Ms. Badhwar for giving me such an opportunity.

 

Hello readers, this is a report on my exchange, summer 2009 to Appleby College, Australia, Canada. First of all I would like to thank Ms. Badhwar and the Principal for giving me such a wonderful opportunity to go on an exchange. Seriously every one, you don't want to miss it. I reached there in the 1st week of May. I was one of the 3 exchanges, others being from Oman and South Africa and my In-charge Ms. Serra was a great support. Out there I had the Canadian Boarding life and cottage life. I went boating, tubing and play stations. We played basketball and went gyming after study hour every night The rugby matches, soccer and everyday 10 km run was refreshing (it indeed was) and at the same time exhausting. Something that was a total change from here was that Appleby was an e-school. Once we went to the CN Tower and the view from the top of that place was arresting. Also the beauty of the Niagra falls left me dumbfounded. Going to the capital city, Toronto was so much fun. The weekends were just amazing shopping, playing games, partying, sleepovers in the other houses was just wow! Another thing that was extraordinary over there were the deck meetings, the spirit day, special Sunday diners of Italian and German food. Arts week, visual arts, making cupcakes for the art show . After all it's a piece of cake in performing arts was such a success and I learned many new methods of fine arts and before I knew it, my exchange came to an end. The farewell I got was so warm. We all went out for dinner at an Indian restaurant, dressed up in Indian clothes. There was a hint of uniqueness in each one of us. The best thing about exchange, I think , is making new friends and learning a lot. I suggest all of you give it a try because it is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

 

G'day mates! That's the way they greet in Australia! And now I'll tell you readers about my exchange on my exchange to The New England Girls School, Armidale, Australia. When I reached there, which was on the 26th of April, I was freezing, exhausted, jet lagged and terribly homesick but it was so much easier the next day because the people there were so warm and welcoming. I was the only exchange student there that term and apparently that was quite a privilege.

 

I got to learn a lot over there. Something that was exceptionally different was the teaching pattern. Most of the work over there was done on laptops and they even used calculators! Coming to sports I played netball and basketball over there. There was this one day when we had to raise funds for the school by making and selling cupcakes which was fun. I learnt how to cook Italian in my Design and Technology class. I used to go out a lot and I was the first exchange over there who got to go out on almost all weekends. On the weekends I once went to Walgett which was this small town 7 hours away from Armidale. In Walgett I did so many things only an Aussie would do. I rode a quad-bike, a motorbike, a buggy and a horse. I also learnt how to lead cattle which surprisingly went so well that I got 3 ribbons(which are like medals) for it! In short I had transformed from an Indian city girl to an Aussie farm girl. Another weekend I went to Gloucester and Port Mcquarie where I saw the koalas, dingos, kangaroos, emu, wallabies, reptiles and also went to the beach which was beautiful.

 

Overall my exchange was tremendous and I enjoyed each and every moment of it, made many new best friends and have learnt a lot. I am really grateful to the Principal and Ms. Badhwar for having given me this wonderful opportunity of going to the best exchange ever! Thank you so much both of you. Also, I would like to suggest to all students to go on an exchange because you get to learn so much and make so many friends and above all, become more mature and responsible in an environment entirely different to yours.

 

3rd May 2008 Indira Gandhi International Airport, 4 a.m. I wait anxiously for the announcement regarding the boarding for the flight to LAX. During my 18 hour flight I kept wondering to myself if I would be able to fit in; if I would be able to adapt to the school's environment and so on and so forth. Finalement! I reach my destination and see my wonderful host family the Baronsky's waiting patiently holding up a sign that read Rhea Sanghi in green! I soon found out that there was 5 other exchange students at Chadwick ; one from The Doon School, Dehradun ; one from Mayo College, Ajmer ; one from Bilanook College, Australia ; one from The Armidale School, Australia and the last one from Shiftung Loiselund, Germany. The only K-12 independent, college preparatory day school in the greater South Bay area, Chadwick currently enrolls approximately 815 students. It's 55-acre campus provides a beautiful and safe setting conducive to serious study, vigorous play and companionship among friends. I took up Chemistry, Math, US History, Spanish and Improv at Chawick. Improv is like drama but unlike drama you don't mug up lines way before the actual show and there are no rehearsals. I attended 4 improv shows and they were all mind-blowing!

During my stay with the Baronskys I visited the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Hollywood Walk Of Fame, Hollywood, Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills and The Chinese Theatre. They were all amazingly as it felt like I was coming out of a glitzy magazine when I visited Hollywood and Beverly Hills.

The Armidale School, Australia, was indeed an experience of my life time. The beauty of Australia enraptured me completely. I was one of the six exchange students who were from South Africa, Germany, India and Japan. As I reached TAS ( i.e. The Armidale School ), I was warmly welcomed by Mr. Harris and Ms. Barnier, my RS representatives, my housemaster Mr. Caldwell and my "mates" and believe me Australians are the most friendly people in the world. Being a day boarder here, the first different encounter for me was boarding at the Croft house, where I shared a room with Vaughan and Tommy. The other thing was using a macbook for studies as well as doing assignments.

Forthwith, I went for an excursion to Canberra where i visited the Australian Parliament House, The Australian Defense Force Academy, The War Memorial and heaps of other places, but the best of all were ice skating and rock climbing...so much fun!!!

I also went to a friend's farm for a weekend, where I rode horses, went fishing and even did quad biking. I took part in sport activities, drama and various other activities held at school as well as outside school. I even got a chance to play rugby for which Australians are as passionate as we are for cricket. I made heaps of friends over there from whom I although learnt how to find fun in the smallest of things.

Although I was sad to be going back, I still didn't miss on being adventurous and participated in the cadet activities which involved tree-climbing, radio and abseiling.

These were the most celebrated moments of my life and I will reminisce these moments throughout my life.

These fifty days have made me more outgoing and confident. I will cherish these moments all my life for what I did and what I got "My mates".

Hello, readers, here is a report about my breathtaking and simply magical exchange to Alice Springs, Australia. I left on the 19th of April and reached there on the 20th.The school I went to was St. Philips College. And when I reached there I found out that I was one of the10 exchange students from all over the world including student from Canada, Oman, Germany and India.

The school was very different to ours and the teaching pattern was also very different from what we have. One thing I loved playing there was touch football in P.E and also visiting lots of museums in my tourism class. In fact I was the first Indian to visit one of the museums. We had dance night on which I gave a dance performance on an Indian song. I also visited the Ayer's rock which is the biggest piece of rock in the world and also walked through the King's Canyon. Another interesting thing we did was the bicycle ride at the Simpson's gap. I also attended the athletics carnival in the school.

At the end of the exchange I attended a leadership camp which lasted for ten days. It was my best experience ever when I came down through the Abe sail and swam through the gorge. The scenic beauty I saw was extraordinary.

The experience of going on an exchange is so different that I suggest all of you to opt for.

I am very thankful to the Principal and Ms. Badhwar for giving me such a wonderful opportunity to go on an exchange to Australia.

Sedbergh is an international school located in the Otaouais region, which stretches from Montreal to Ottawa along the Ottawa River. Located in Montebello, which is a really small . Town with just a few restaurants and stores with the closest McDonalds being 30min away.

Montebello is well known for Le Chateau Montebello, a hotel of the Fairmont chains that is the biggest log structure in the world and provides employment to most of the people.

Close by, is Parc Omega, a reserve where you can tour in a vehicle and watch and feed various Canadian animals.

Sedbergh welcomed me with open arms. As soon as I arrived.it felt like home. As there are only around 70 students in school, I became great friends with everyone by the end of my two-month stay there. The scenic beauty of Sedbergh cannot be described in words.

On earth day, an inter house roadside cleanup as organized. Sedbergh has two houses: Seds and Berghs. Points were awarded for the number of garbage bags each team collected and bonus points were awarded for recyclable items.

Moving on further, I became a part of the girls' rugby team. We played in the league and were placed second, being a super fun sport, rugby was taken enthusiastically by all the students.

Another important activity is Puffin Club for which you have to wake up early, meet at the Sedbergh sign, you run around 4 km and then jump into the Sedbergh lake.

Sedbergh as an active participant in social service as well, we did a fundraiser car wash for poverty relief.

An international dinner was also organized, in which students of different nationalities prepared dishes from their own countries. We made palak paneer with another half Indian student.

Throughout Sedbergh, huts have been constructed which have a capacity of 2-4 people. Each class goes up the huts 4 times a year, which earlier was every weekend. We did loads of fun stuff for the weekend activities like go carting, movies, golfing, wave pool, etc.

For the 5day break I went to Ottawa and Toronto. Soon after we came back, we left for the canoe trip, which lasted 5 days. We paddled all day, camped in the evening, cooked, slept and set off again the next morning. Each canoe had two paddlers and two barrels carrying food, tents, equipments and other personal belongings. Sometimes, we had to portage to go from one lake to another. Portaging is transferring from one water body to another over land. One of our portages was 1.6 km long and I had to carry a very heavy food barrel, a big rucksack containing our personal belongings and our paddles while my canoe partner carried the canoe on his shoulders. Each night we sat and wrote our experiences in our journals and in the end we had a discussion session. It was a great and once in a lifetime experience. All of us had our own scents to choose too. My scent was firewood.

Push-ups were the punishment for swearing and a work hour was given on every 3 strikes that a student received. A strike was given when a lapse was committed which includes skipping classes, not doing homework, disrespectful behavior, etc. jobs given for work hours were lawn mowing, washing windows and doors, etc. Towards the end we had the sports/OE banquet in which various prizes were awarded to students that excelled in sports and outdoor activities.

Sedbergh also has a tradition of pranks being played by the grade 11s and 12s. This year, they rearranged the dining area into an auditorium with a balloon doll playing the piano and a classroom on the roof of the main building. The closing was filled with applause and tears. On the last lunch the exchanges were presented the alumni ties and badges.

From being teased for my accent to teasing others, being confused in Spanish and Italian, being considered a math genius to chilling back bencher, listening to praises for Slumdog Millionaire to listening to 'jai ho' on the Canadians music players repeatedly and teaching them namastes, hari oms and satriakals, I experienced and loved it all.!! I would advice you all to never let go of the opportunity of going for an exchange. I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to our principal Kr. Sumer Singh and Ms Badhwar for giving me this chance to know myself better.

After having spent a month's rigorous and unforgettable exchange tour to The Indian High School, Dubai, it's really very exciting to bring every experience we had during this trip, to the readers.

All this began on 4th of May, when I, Ravin Jain with two other students, Shambhavi Shukla and Mitali Amin and our Teacher Mr. Utpal Banerjee flew to Dubai. After reaching we were taken to the accommodation which was to be our residence for next 30 days. The next day we reported to the school. We were supposed to start with our classes the very same day. Talking about the school The Indian High School is one of the most prestigious and highly rated school in Dubai. The school had huge premises that have many interesting aspects. One of them is the auditorium which is very royal looking, the best in town and is used to conduct some of the prestigious events in town.

When it comes to routine this is how it works. This school operates in two shifts separate for boys & girls. The routine was quite similar to that of ours where the day started with morning prayers called assembly after which students used to separate for their classes. We three were a part of this routine.

Cultural Dances, Workshop for teachers, speeches & presentation explaining Daly College, its tradition and heritage in detail were a part of many programmes organized during this trip. A workshop conducted by Mr. Banerjee was attended by almost 50 teachers from all over the Emirates.

Dubai is one of the seven emirates and the most populous city of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and around the world due to tourism and its fast and luxurious living standards.

Dubai has the largest population and is the second largest emirate by area, after Abu Dhabi. Dubai has been ruled by the Al Maktoum dynasty since 1833. One of the most important thing for which Dubai is known are the gold markets.

Being a world famous tourist spot, Dubai has many places to visit. The aquarium was one of the places, which we liked the most. There we saw uncountable verities of fishes. We spent about 3 hrs in the aquarium, the underwater tunnel being the most exciting part of the visit. We also went to other emirates i.e. Abu-Dhabi and Sharjah. That included our visit to the Indian school of Abu Dhabi where we met some of the old Dalians. Their I had a thrilling sensation of holding a python which made my heart bounce up to the throat and made me sweat to see its tongue flicking towards my eyes. Being in Dubai was an adventure. We went for the very famous desert safari where it was scary to have a drive in the land cruiser which used to take sharp turns and twists that made us feel as if it was a free fall and then going to a camp for dinner and also trying Arabic clothes. We had a moment when we felt like an Arabian when we put on the the robe.

The memories of those 30 days have became eternal for us. Finally I would like say that going on this exchange has helped in adding confidence and being more self-reliant. If provided one should never miss such an opportunity that always helps in enhancing and developing skills and giving a worldwide exposure and a chance to explain what Daly College is all about.

8th May'09 was the day when we 5 dalians, including myself Ankit Ghiya, Prashant Jain, Aaradhya Kasliwal, Anuj Sharma and Aditya Mittal escorted by Mr. A.K. Singh left for the United States of America. We were joined by 2 other groups of students from Delhi Public School Bhilai and Podar International Bombay. It took us 22 hours to fly from the land of 'Johny's hot dog' to the land of 'Mc Donald's hamburger'

Journey began with our dream city the New York City. The city that never stops, where life never ends, the city which is being fancied by Bollywood too and the city which witnessed the most terrible 9/11 terrorist attack. We visited the world's most expensive places like the Manhattan, the Times Square and 1454 ft high, with 102 floor , the Empire State Building at 2 am in the night and with 2ºC temperature it definitely became a spine chilling experience. You can imagine the panoramic view we got from the top of the building. The view is inexplicable. We also visited the most famous Statue of Liberty, the Ellis Island, the Central Park, the United Nations, the South Pole sea port, WTC site, Historic Museum, Midtown and Lower Manhattan and all sky scrappers. Having visited them all, we understood why they were age old favorite destinations for Indian film fraternity.

We then flew to our next destination Orlando (Florida), the city of Disney. Our excitement was at it's peak during the visit to the Disney Animal Kingdom, Disney Sea world, Disney Hollywood Studies, EPCOT center and of course the main Disney World. You will be startled to know that Disney World is 254 times larger than our school i.e., it has an area of 30000 acre of land. Attending the Youth Educational Series Workshop was an enriching experience where we were taught about the physics laws working behind the mechanism of huge roller coaster and other type of rides. On our way to EPCOT center, we got to know the informal full form, which stands for 'Every Person Comes Out Tired!', which we also experienced!! We saw the amazing and definitely world's most famous fire cracker show at Magic Kingdom at EPCOT center. Thanks to Sam Walton, we enjoyed shopping at the biggest chain of supermarket WALMART, we also shopped at other famous American supermarkets stores like Macy's, K Marts and Target, visited the Cocoa Beach, which was a fun filled experience.

Later we visited the most awaited destination NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) the John F Keneddy space centre, informal which is, 'Need Another Seven Astronauts', in the remembrance of the 7 astronauts who died in a shuttle crash, including the Indian Lady Kalpana Chawla. We were very fortunate to see a space shuttle on the launch pad. We also did some interesting and knowledge enhancing exercises at the mock shuttle mission, where we were made to virtually launch a space shuttle. Amongst so many good experiences the most cherishing was the lunch meeting with a NASA astronaut, who shared his experiences with us. NASA was a unique part of the tour and a life time experience.

This was over all a fantastic and an amazing tour. I would like to thank The Principal Kr. Sumer Singh, Vice Principal Mr. Rajan Potty and Mr. A.K Singh for arranging such an awesome tour!