Luke Morad Wiesbaden Exchange

Luke Morad Wiesbaden Exchange

First Impressions:

On my first day, we visited a fort on the Rhine

I did not know what to expect going to Germany for four weeks with a host family. Since my exchange partner went to MLK, I did not to what to expect of my family either. Once I arrived, I bonded very well with my family from the start. Just the drive into the Wiesbaden from Frankfurt was an informative and cultural lesson. They described Wiesbaden as a whole and asked me more questions than I was prepared for considering the long flight. The family was very welcoming and engaging with me when it came to comparisons between the USA and Germany. In the first few days, we often sat around a table after dinner and talked extensively about the two cultures. On day two of being in Germany, I told my host family I needed to run every day for the cross country season. Florentin, my exchange partner, decided to join me on my first day of running. After a bit, he decided to get his bike. From that day on, Florentin kindly led me around his city atop his bike while I ran my cross country miles.

Wiesbaden as a City:

Weilburg Schloss Garten

To say that Wiesbaden is different than Nashville is an understatement. Although smaller than Nashville, it is just as vibrant and even more close knit. One time, I went to the park with Mickey Kelley and his exchange partner Linus. On the way, Linus stopped multiple times in the span of ten blocks in order to talk to everyone he knew. I asked Linus how he knew so many people to which he replied, "I have no idea.".  City squares and parks are something that I will miss. Having expansive parks in the middle of the city was something I found interesting because the city seemed to open up into a social environment. On my runs, I saw a majority of the city especially near the Rhine. One day, I tried to run from Wiesbaden to Mainz which was roughly eight miles round trip. I remember running through the factory district and seeing so much of an industrial setting. The grandparents also lived in the house with us. They both grew up in Wiesbaden and provided interesting insight into Germany during the Cold War. The grandmother was constantly worrying about me in a good way. She deemed me to be too skinny and always told me to eat more. She consistently asked how long I ran each day. After converting it to kilometers, she would always repeat it a couple of times and become worried that I would overheat and that I needed more to eat. 

Cultural Differences:

My new favorite fruit- Ground Cherries

What I gained from this trip was not only stronger language skills but also a world perspective. I often found myself discussing culture with my friends and host family.  I remember going to a school function with Florentin and seeing how casual they are with their teachers.  They even have cookouts together. Relationships and interactions between genders are also different in Germany. In Germany, all of the guys give handshakes and girls hug everyone no matter how well they know each other. Overall, I observed that more people date in Germany and there are more co-ed friend groups. 

My new found favorite fruit is ground cherries. They look like cherry tomatoes, have the paper-like shell of a tomatillo, and taste like sweet oranges. I found then for the first time when I ordered a coffee. With the coffee came this strange fruit. After trying it, I bought half a kilogram of them at a street market. Since then, I have scavenged farmers markets and supermarkets searching for this fruit. Simply the difference in fruits and juices amazes me. One of the things I will miss most is having coffee after every meal. Although, I continue to make coffee at my home, after lunch on weekends when it works out.  It is a nice memory.

The School:

Seeing the Humboldt school's classes interested me a lot. What stood out to me the most was their Latin class. Contrary to MBA's teaching style for Latin, it was entirely immersion and used a completely different form. It was interesting to see the difference. At the school, every class had taken their exams before the school year had finished. This meant that a lot of our class time was spent in discussion and films. The high school culminates with the Abiball which is their graduation. This experience was especially intriguing because of how much it differed from graduations in America. For starters, it is a catered banquet for only the graduating seniors and their family. As each student walks on, they are allowed to play music to walk on to. After some seemingly inappropriate songs, I asked Florentin if there were any rules on what songs could be played to which he responded, "no, none."  Fascinating.

Munich:

Hofbrauhaus Pretzel

After three weeks with the host family, we met the other exchange students at the train station and departed. Seeing the Neuschwanstein Castle has been one of my goals in life since I was little. Before I even knew its name or was able pronounce it, I had already made a complex model of it out of miniature Legos named Nanoblocks. Munich had very lively atmosphere. During our nightly free-times, I really enjoyed just walking around the city and talking to my friends. One night, I really wanted a pretzel. Since we had no plans for the nightly free-time, I went with the others to the Hofbrauhaus and bought the largest pretzel. I also ran my cross country miles through the English Gardens every morning where I saw people surfing in the river just after sunrise on some days. Seeing the BMW museum was also of great interest to me. I like cars a lot and enjoyed learning about the various models and the history of BMW. One of my favorite museums is the Deutsches Museum. It was a huge six or seven floor building that contained every section of science from smelting to astronomy. The sheer breadth of material amazed me and I think it would have taken me days to explore the whole museum. The food was so good, I took a picture of one of the restaurants in case I ever return. I ate German specialties every day because it is too difficult to find schnitzel and bratwurst in Nashville.

Vienna:

Seal at the zoo

The first thing I noticed of Vienna was that all of the buildings look the same. I loved the white facade of every building. After a long climb up 343 steps, we got an amazing view from the Stephansdom church. The city was very flat and uniform. Seeing the Vienna zoo was also interesting. I like to visit zoos in different cities because they are always very different. On the last day in Vienna, we went to the famous amusement park with the Ferris Wheel. They had a ride that gave an amazing overview of the park, and then we got another view from the Ferris Wheel.

Thank You Wilson Family:

Thank you very much for making this experience possible. I feel like my language ability improved exponentially throughout my time in Germany. I gained an immense understanding of the culture in Germany. Being fully immersed in German offered a new prospective and allowed me to grow as a person. Thank you to Florentin and the entire Heinrich family for hosting me. You always helped me develop my ability even when I was incoherent.  My parents also thank you for making sure I was well fed with all my running. Thank you to Herr Dougherty for being such an amazing teacher. When students recommend MBA German class, they always mention how great of teacher Herr Dougherty is, and I have found this to be true. He showed us nearly everything in the giant cities and talked to us extensively about German and culture.  This was an experience that I will never forget.

Alex Wang Colombia 2019

The Arrival

Visiting a Latin American country was the experience of a lifetime for me, and while waiting for our flight to Bogota, Colombia, I was filled with excitement and anticipation. We arrived at Bogota around midnight and were greeted by our wonderful host families all eagerly waiting for us behind the glass wall. Once we finished our grueling customs experience, Ben and I went our separate ways and set off with our host families. Lucky enough for me, their house was on the school’s campus because Martin’s, my host, mother was the headmaster. Once we arrived at Martin’s house, it was well past one in the morning. I greeted Martin’s mother, Silvia Medellin, and his sister, Susana. Soon after we went to bed. I was excited to start my first day in Colombia and could hardly sleep that night. 

Claustro Moderno

During my stay in Colombia, I did not need to get up very early unlike the others. Every

morning I would get up around 7:15 because there was no need for me to catch a bus. Silvia and their nanny cooked breakfast which consisted of arepas, eggs, fruits, and cereal. Martin and I walked down to the school after breakfast and began our day. The students at Claustro Moderno, and Colombians in general, were very extroverted and were extremely nice. As soon as I stepped foot into my first class, I was swarmed by a mob of classmates wanting to greet me. The classes in Claustro Moderno were essentially the same as MBA, as they had Chemistry, Math, English, Spanish, Literature, but one class they did have that we do not is Philosophy. In Philosophy we learned about Greek philosophers and read about Greek gods and goddesses. After about three class periods, we had a break. The break was about 15 minutes and I played basketball about every single break. At Claustro Moderno, it seemed that basketball was more popular than soccer which amazed me. The basketball court would be crowded on most days and would be utter chaos. I met a lot of friends playing basketball and won’t ever forget those intense games with crowds of little kids cheering us on. Followed by the break we had about three more classes and then lunch. After lunch was two more classes and then we all headed home. We had no homework while at Claustro Moderno but we did participate in a science fair. Ben and I prepared a 5 minute presentation about sustainability in MBA. At the science fair we learned about many other projects that the other students had been working on such as the dangers of the internet, or how to water plants while being away from home. The science fair was a nice experience because it allowed us to see the innovation of the students at Claustro.

Science Fair

Campus of Claustro Moderno

Excursions

We had multiple excursions during my stay in Colombia. During our first excursion, we travelled to Chicaque National Park. We hiked miles upon miles, but the views we saw were definitely worth it. In Chicaque there were llamas just chilling outside of some campgrounds and seemed unfazed by the tents and people surrounding them. On another excursion Ben’s host family invited me to go to Boyaca where we rode four wheelers and visited the Villa de Leyva. On the four wheelers we were able to ride around Boyaca and see it’s beautiful landscape and also drive through large puddles of mud. After we had tired ourselves out from riding four wheelers, we went to the Villa de Leyva. The Villa de Leyva was breathtaking. The buildings made it seem like we were in the 16th century with their old architecture, and we even saw a traditional cumbia dance. Later on we went to the Catedral de Sal with Martin, Ben and some other classmates. The Catedral de Sal is a cave rich in salt and was dug into a mountain.In the Catedral de Sal we saw the many stages that lead up to Jesus’s crucifixion. 

View from the edge of a ledge in Chicaque

Driving a four wheeler

Weekends

During the weekends, Martin’s friends and I went to the mall, went bowling, played cards, video games, or sports. They all loved to play card games, and often we found ourselves playing the card game ERS for hours. We often went to el Corral, a "Colombian" fast food burger restaurant which is loved by many. Martin's friends often joked around saying that el Corral was the most American restaurant they have been to. El Corral seemed to be everywhere. If we said that we were going to get something typical of Colombia, we would somehow end up in el Corral. A typical weekend in with friends Colombia was very similar to what my weekends are like here in Tennessee. One event that was very exciting is when we were invited to go the a Mercedes Benz car show. There were extremely antique cars and more modern ones. I had no idea that so many people would participate in a show like this. Silvia told me that since most Colombian citizens cannot have large houses due to the lack of space in Colombia, they buy extravagant cars that tell people that they have money. Martin's uncle gave us some money to buy food and we all bought tons of obleas con arequipe which is now one of my favorite desserts.

Mercedes Benz car show

Mall with friends

The Trip of a Lifetime

I had a blast visiting Bogota, Colombia. All the places I visited, the friends I met, the food I had, and the overall experience was something I will never forget. The people in Colombia are unlike anybody else in the world. I am still in touch with many of my friends from Colombia, and we often communicate about how life is in Claustro now that I am gone, or how life is at MBA. One of my good friends that I made in Colombia is actually coming to MBA for his exchange, and I am eagerly awaiting his arrival. Thank you Claustro Moderno being so kind and welcoming, thank you Silvia, Martin, and Susana for looking after me, providing a home for me to stay in, and all the jokes and tricks we played on each other. Thank you Mrs. Victoria for helping us adjust to life in Bogota, and finally thank you Sr. Paolicchi and the Wilson family for giving me the opportunity to travel to Bogota. I had never thought of ever going to Colombia in my lifetime, but after having gone on this exchange, I am eager to see if I can go to Colombia again later in life.

Summer in Argentina 2019

I  woke up on the 2nd of July to head out to BNA to start my adventure. I traveled from BNA to Miami with a fellow classmate of mine, Tripp Chamblin. He was flying out of Miami to go on a separate trip to  Ecuador. We shared our thoughts, excitements, and worries about our separate trips, but nevertheless we were both very excited. We got to Miami, Tripp met up with his group seemingly immediately, but I had about 8 hours of layover before my group was slated to meet.

Monument in Downtown Buenos Aires

Eventually, we were all together. The group had convened at last. Our leaders, Vincent and Taylor, had us play basic get-to-know-you games such as zip zap zop, an instant classic with the group. We got to know each other, and then late that night we started on our eleven hour flight to Buenos Aires. We got there the next morning, red-eyed and needing showers, and so naturally, we immediately went sight seeing. We saw things like the famed mausoleum, the presidents home, and their beautiful city parks. However, the thing that I was the most interested in was trying out the Argentinian cuisine. It came as quite a surprise to me in fact. The majority of all food that I ate usually consisted of some type of meat with french fries on the side. There were always  french fries on the side, it was like the American dream. In the following three days, we went around the city of Buenos Aires, sight seeing and being tourists, but after that we got on a flight to the northern province of Salta. Salta is where the majority of our trip would take place.

We arrived in Salta after a very pleasant two hour flight, and our first thing on task was to meet our host families. We took a bus about an hour from the airport and arrived in our small, home-stay town of Chicoana. Chicoana was very small, with a population of about 2,000 and it was the type of place where you were bound to run into at least 3 people you know walking to the market from home. So, I got off of the bus and met my two host brothers, Jorge and Maxi. They were very friendly and they helped me with my bags as we walked to their house. Inside the house, I met my host mother and my host sister, I encountered my host father later that night because he is a police officer. We got to know each other a little bit, but my family was very quiet and it took me a while before I could fully understand my mother's accent.

My host family in front of their house

The first night I recall sitting in the kitchen and being very nervous. The family was at work preparing sandwiches, because they ran a delivery sandwich shop out of the house. I tried to jump in and help cut the potatoes, but I'm pretty sure I did it wrong, because a few moments later I found myself sitting at the table again and my mother was cutting the potatoes. Regardless, the first night I was there was by far my favorite night. Right when I thought it was bed time, my brother told me to come with him. It was midnight at this point, and I was very surprised. We walked about half a mile and arrived at a huge festival, where it seemed half of the town had gathered. At first it was a rodeo, and then the gauchos and the horses cleared out, and it became a massive dancing festival. It was so much fun, I learned how to dance a common folk dance called the cacherera and I met my two best friends of the trip, Flor and Matias. We danced and laughed, and Jorge and I did not leave until seven in the morning that day. I remember getting home that morning and thinking "I really don't know if I can do this every day." I later found out that that was quite the special occasion, but still their daily schedule was very much different than ours here in America.

After the first night, my daily schedule started to set in. I started my Spanish classes that I would go to every morning, and then I would always go back home to lunch at the house. My host mother was an amazing cook, and and was always asking me, or in some ways, telling me to get a second plate. I could never refuse. After lunch we typically would go meet with friends to do things like go on hikes, ride horses, or play basketball or soccer. However, my favorite thing to do was drink matte.

Me and some friends horseback riding

Matte, of Yerba Matte, is a type of tea that is loved by Argentinians. Nearly all of them drink it, and it is the perfect drink to bring with friends and share. This drink is one of the reasons that I got to know my friends Flor and Matias. They invited me to drink matte with them one day after we rode horses, and I'll be honest, I was a little scared. Matte, for those who have not tried it, is a a very bitter and herbal drink that is not exactly pleasant upon first sip. However, I was dying to try it because the cup with the straw interested me so much. I drank mattes with them, and quickly realized that sharing a matte with someone was not about the drink itself, but about the people you share it with. This tea in a wonderful way, brings people together by being a binding unit that allows people to come together and share in conversation. It has so many social uses as well. Matias, who was very interested in American culture, explained to me that matte's social aspects are similar to coffee's in America. Where a first date can often be a coffee, or a business meeting, or just friends meeting after a long day. The difference I found between the two, is that mate often facilitates a slower and more personal connection than coffee. The reason being that you cannot simply buy a matte at a shop you have to have it yourself, so often you will meet in a park or on a hike, instead of at a restaurant or store. If there is one thing I am bringing back and keeping with me other than my big improvements in Spanish, is my matte satchel and what it means (I bought a whole satchel to hold the thermos, cup, straw, and tins to hold the yerba).

Me trying matte for the first time

My week went on and I learned more and more about Spanish and Argentina. I met more and more people, and got very attached to the the town and its people. However, at the end of 10 days it was time for our group to leave. The departure was sad, and we had a big dinner at a restaurant in town with all of the families, where all the families said a few words about their student. In fact, I even had to say something to the whole crowd, in Spanish I may add, because my host brother and his friend thought they were very funny, because when Nikko, the host, asked for any closing remarks they both pointed at me.

We left Chicoana the next day and started off on our adventure part of the trip. We traveled to the capital city of Salta, Salta City and met our guide, Sergio. We toured the city a little bit, but mostly we were there to visit an orphanage that we had made benches for. We played with the kids there and all of them were very sweet and very grateful. We painted a nursery there and did some waste removal, but following that we said another set of goodbyes and went off to the ranch to start our horseback riding and camping part of the trip.

I had never been horseback riding before in my life, and truthfully, I was very scared. The people that were our guides for this period of the trip were a group of people called gauchos. Gauchos are like cowboys, actually, they aren't like cowboys they are cowboys and they run ranches and herd cattle. They took us on treks up the mountains on horseback and showed us some of the most beautiful views I had ever seen in my life. We did this for a few days, going out on horses, eating a big meal, going back out for another ride, and then falling asleep upon return. An interesting fact about gauchos, they wear a certain type of shoe that has been a staple of gauchos for a long time. The shoe looks exactly like the brand that is very popular her called Tom's. In fact, if you look at the tag on Tom's brand shoes you can see it is the same design as the Argentinian flag. I am now convinced that Tom's are the biggest scam of all time.

Horseback riding up the mountains

We left the ranch after a few days and headed back to Buenos Aires. At this point the group was very close, and this last day we had together we spent remembering all of the good times we had, and talking about attempts we would make to visit each other. It was finally time to go to the airport and we set off for another flight for 13 hours. We arrived in Miami and said our last goodbyes, and I guess it was only fitting that I had another 9 hour layover until my flight to Nashville. However, it gave me time to think about my trip. I realized that while not all of it was the greatest, as a whole it was the greatest trip I had ever been on. I( made friends both in my group and in Argentina that I know I will see again, in fact two of my Argentinian friends plan to visit me next summer, and more than that, it gave me a new perspective on how I live my life. I saw the way that they lived in Argentina, how happy they are and how important friends and family are to them, and it has made me act differently since I've been back. Moreover, my Spanish has never been better, and I am confident now getting dropped into any Spanish speaking country and being able to not only survive, but thrive. Thank you so much Wilson family, this was a trip of a lifetime!

Great memories!

John Wallace- Spain 2019

Arrival 

William and I arrived at the Nashville airport for a reasonable 11:30 flight departure for Dallas. After a simple two hour flight and a lunch stop at the airport Applebee’s we embarked on our second flight to Madrid: a grueling nine hours. After nine hours of movies and NBA playoff basketball, we arrived at the Madrid airport in Spain and I could already tell we were in a much different place as the airport had high skying arches, gigantic light figures, and tan walls. Thinking our travelling was over, we hopped on a bus for a two hour ride to Salamanca, where we would be staying for three weeks. When we arrived at the bus station in Salamanca, our host mother Genoveva greeted us with hugs. We walked through the streets back to her apartment and admired the antique architecture and arrived at her apartment. We settled in our college dorm-style bedroom, ate a meal of rice and eggs, then promptly slept for the rest of the day.  

Stay in Salamanca 

On the roof of the Cathedral in Spain

Night View of the Cathedral in Salamanca

Outside the Cathedral in Salamanca

Plaza Mayor in Salamanca

For the following three weeks, we were in Salamanca. Things started off quick on the first day. We woke up at seven in the morning for eight o’clock classes. Our breakfast for that morning and the next twenty mornings consisted of three pieces of white bread, a croissant, plenty of nutella and strawberry jelly, and milk with chocolate powder. Immediately after, Genoveva led us through the streets of Salamanca to our school. We passed shops, went through the beautiful Plaza Mayor, and passed through some on the antique streets. We took classes from 8:45 until noon. The classes were all in Spanish and consisted of a combination of grammar lessons and discussion classes with our peers, college students as there were no students present our age just yet, and teachers, Alvaro and Angel. We would talk about our lives, comparing and contrasting our lives from the US to Spain, or just any general concerns we had. It was definitely some of the most fun I have ever had in classes. After school we would head back to Genoveva’s apartment for lunch, which consisted of a meat, soup, salad, bread, and fruit. For the first few days after lunch, we would participate in the siesta, or nap, since we were still very tired from the flight over. For the rest of the days we would explore the city and all of its wonderful places. We would walk through parks, shops(where we could see the clear difference between American and European clothes), gardens, churches, the college town, or anything we found interesting. One thing that we found most fun to do was playing basketball in the park next to our apartment. There we spoke the locals and although we were up against grown men twice the size of us, we were able to keep up with them and play some good basketball. We would also have culture activities in the afternoon which consisted of sports, tours of the cultural sites, or salsa dancing, which is more enjoyable than expected. Then we would come back for a dinner at 8:30 p.m., which was about the same as lunch. Then we would stay out until 11 and explore the nightlife of Salamanca and enjoy gelato in the Plaza. Some nights also consisted of stopping at a food truck festival for some food after dinner, seeing fireworks at the Puente Romano to celebrate the city, seeing a light show on one of the walls of the Plaza Mayor, or watching concerts for an art festival of Castille y Leon. These were really fun because we knew we would not be able to see anything like it in the US.

William and I at the tower in Granadilla

Excursions

Next to a pig statues at the Alberqua

Alba de Tornes

We also went a one day excursions to towns or historical sites around Salamanca or in the same region with our program. These places included the Alberqua, Alba de Tornes, Cacares, and Granadilla. At the Alberqua, we walked through a small, but culturally rich, town in which we saw a family house that was still in the same condition as it had been hundreds of years earlier. We also walked through small streets and besides streams going through the city. The Alba de Tornes was also a small town, but it had a tower that we were able to climb up and have views of the rest of the city and the landscape beyond. There was also a beautiful bridge with many arches. The next weekend we visited Cacares which is a city a bit smaller than Salamanca, but has a medieval town next to the Plaza Mayor. We were able to see the medieval architecture and the mix of cultures and religion in the town. That same day we visited Granadilla, which is an abandoned town with a tower in the middle that overlooks the mountains and lakes surrounding the town.

Travel Week

La Alhambra

Plaza de Espana

Bull Fighting Arena in Madrid

After our three week stay in Salamanca and saying goodbyes to friends our Genoveva, William and I made our way to the train station with our hiking backpacks to meet Sr. Paolicchi for a week's worth of travel through the southern region of Spain. After eating some bocadillas de jamon and a somewhat stressful train ride due to ticket problems, we arrived in Sevilla at around lunch time. We immediately left our luggage at our hotel rooms and went to a restaurant for ensaladilla rusa. Then we Sr. Paolicchi gave us a tour of the city. We saw the Plaza de Espana and the outside architecture of the cathedral and the bull arena. That night we went to an authentic tapas bar in which we had many little courses of food, but it added up to a lot. The following day we had tours of important sites in the city including the cathedral and the Royal Alcazar, a former palace of the royal family where we saw a beautiful garden and architecture. That night William and I attended a flamanco show and then enjoyed a dinner of seafood and steak with Sr. Paolicchi. We took a train to Granada the next day and stayed in the Hotel Sacramento, right in the middle of the action. The first thing we did was go to a seafood restaurant and we had mussels, calamari, some other fried little fish that still had the heads and tails. It was definitely the most seafood I had ever had. Then we toured around the city and hiked up to a location where we could get a fantastic view of La Alhambra, the gigantic fort looking over Granada. That night William and I went wandering throughout the small streets of the city and then met up with Sr. Paolicchi for a dinner of very nice looking tapas of salmon, Iberian jam, and hamas. We had a tour of La Alhambra the following day and we saw lots of gardens and carefully designed rooms and buildings at the fort. We were also able to get a great view of Granda as La Alhambra is so high up. That night we ate a luxurious meal of fish, meat, and different desserts. It being our last night in Granada, we

Real Madrid Futbol Field

went to the spot with the view of La Alhambra to see it when all the lights were on. The next morning, we left on a very nice bus to arrive at our final destination of Madrid. When we arrived in Madrid, we immediately got on the Metro and used that to travel to a stop near our Hostel. For lunch we had hamburgers, but with a Spanish twist. Then Sr. Paolicchi showed us around the metropolitan city so we could get our bearings since we would be there for three days. At first I thought it was just another big city like New York, but as we wandered more and more outside, we could see that there was more traditional parts than we thought.The next day, William and I had a scavenger hunt to complete in which we saw many statues and had to interact with the people to get our information. After completing it, we went to the Palace of the Royal Family. We then got patatas bravas and vistied the bull fighting arena, and fortunately there was no fighting going on. The next day we went to Toledo. We admired the architecture and the magnificent cathedral there. We were also able to see fantastic views of the landscape and city on the outside of the town. On our final day, William and I were able to choose what we wanted to do so we went to the soccer field of Real Madrid, wandered around the city to make sure we did not miss anything, and got some gift shopping done. The travel week in Spain is something I will never forget.

Toledo

Thanks

First, I would like to thank the Wilson Family for providing me with this amazing trip to Spain. There was not a better way to spend my last summer as an MBA student. Because of this experience, I was able to make memories and friends that will last a lifetime and I was able to become a much more proficient Spanish speaker. I also feel that I have a better perspective of the world now that I have traveled more. I would also like to thank Sr. Paolicchi for spending a week of his summer showing us around Spain and making the travel week a wonderful experience. This trip was amazing and I am truly thankful.

Arrival

Upon landing in Beijing I immediately noticed the buzz of activity which surrounds the Metropolis. The variety of vehicles on the road was impressive and the behavior of the drivers also reflected the seeming restlessness of the city. After meeting up with Cory Niu, my host brother who had stayed with me this last winter, we dropped Ms. Zhang off at her hotel. Being the only student on the trip, I would be staying with Cory while in Beijing. Upon arriving at the Niu residence we exchanged gifts and caught up. But, being tired, I shortly retired to bed.

Beijing                                                       Tiananmen Square

The next day was my first day of school. Transportation in Beijing is more friendly to non-drivers than any other city I have been to; the buses go everywhere and the Chinese “ubers” are plentiful. School started at 8am so we usually left around seven to go eat at school. My main points of contact at Beijing 8 were the college counselors. They planned all of my activities and made sure I was comfortable at school. Since I was attending the Sino-American Branch of Beijing 8, there are college counselors who help students navigate the sometimes unorganized or confusing process of applying to American universities, just like the counselors at MBA.

At school I took many classes which American students would not have in their curriculum. These classes teach many skills which MBA students would take for granted such as critical analysis, essay writing, and English. These classes help the Chinese students prepare for the American college system. The students are at a disadvantage on the SAT because they are not native English speakers but most make up for the language barrier by being well prepared in Math throughout their careers as students. Other than the English classes I took other courses such as economics and AP Biology.

Sites

In Beijing I alternated between full days of school and half-days. On the half-days, I visited may sites in Beijing with my teacher escort. We visited Tiananmen Square, the People’s museum, and the Beijing Zoo, just to name a few places. My first weekend in China was the annual Dragon Boat Festival. While we did not race any boats, Cory and I made the pilgrimage to the Great Wall. The wall was everything I have ever read or heard about, truly a wonder of the world. On the second day of the festival, we visited the Forbidden City. The palace complex was one of the most extraordinary places I have ever been in; I was impressed how empty it felt even with all the thousands of tourists inside and in the vicinity. There, Cory, his mom, and myself experienced and entire day of relaxation and learning at the museum. Another day, we visited the Summer Palace gardens, just a few miles away. The gardens were peaceful and captured the tranquility of Chinese Gardens. The third day, Cory's mom and I visited the Old Summer Palace. The palace had some of the most unique architecture in China since parts of it were designed by Italian and French architects. The rest of the week I attended school and visited many other sites such as the People's Military Museum. On my last day of school, the headmistress gave me a Beijing 8 class ring as a memento.

The Main Campus of Beijing 8

The Great Wall

Shanghai

After two weeks in Beijing, I bid my goodbyes to Cory and his family and embarked an a high speed train to Shanghai. Hurtling through the countryside on a train was not unlike driving down an interstate here in America. I met Ms. Zhang at a stop on the way. Upon arrival in Shanghai, I was escorted by teachers from the WLSA program at the school in Shanghai to a school apartment. Once again I was alone in a new city. The time in the apartment gave me lots of opportunity for self reflection on my time in Beijing. The next day I spent with Tanya, one of the teachers from school. We went shopping at one of the biggest malls in China and visited various gardens all around the city. In the evening, we met up with Ms. Zhang and went on a sightseeing riverboat tour. Seeing the whole city lit up at night was awesome. The next day, I went to school and met lots of students who were familiar with America. I spent all of my free time inundated with questions about certain aspects of Chinese and American culture and relations. After my day at school, I was introduced to my next host brother, Peter, and his family. We took the train to his house for the weekend. That evening, I was informed that we would not be staying in Shanghai but were going to drive West for a wedding. One of my host mother's former students was getting married.

My Host Family in Shanghai

Suzhou

The next day we traveled to one of the best preserved ancient towns in China on our way to the wedding in Suzhou. There, we rode on a traditional boat and visited many examples of ancient Chinese architecture and saw many great pieces of traditional art by contemporary artists. That evening, we attended the wedding where endless courses of food tested my endurance. The wedding was not as traditional as I had imagined but was quite Western in attire and in form. The day was a contrast between the old and the new in China and perfectly captured the balance between both in China. That night we stayed in a hotel Suzhou and Peter and I had many interesting conversations, particularly about future cooperation between China and the U.S. in space. Upon returning to Shanghai, I gathered my things and said goodbye to my second host family and returned to the apartment. I left for the airport the next morning; my journey coming to an end.

Shanghai at Night

My unique situation as the only student on the trip allowed me to totally immerse myself in the trip without having the distraction of other students. The experience in China was truly once in a lifetime and I could not be more pleased to have the memories. I thank Wilson FamilyMBA, Ms. Zhang, Mr. Gioia, and the for making this entire experience possible. The experiences granted to the students are truly life-changing. They help the recipients become more aware of the world around them and make them into better gentlemen and scholars.

Andrew Bulgarino Bordeaux Exchange 2019

Traveling to France

My journey to France began on the afternoon of the twenty-seventh of May. Because I was the only MBA student venturing to France this year, I flew out of Washington D.C. by myself, arriving the next morning at the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. Unfortunately, the jetlag did not work in my favor going to France, as I arrived to a fresh, new day at around 8:00 a.m. local time with little to no sleep. After wandering through the airport and claiming my bag, I walked over to the train station to catch the high-speed TGV train to go to Bordeaux. This three and a half hour train ride was probably the most comfortable and smoothest of my life. I was greeted by the English teacher of La Sauque (the exchange school), and she drove me over to the boarding school itself. 

Me with my first host, Lino

Arriving at the School

Once I arrived at the school, my French-speaking skills were immediately tested. The few English words that the teacher had spoken to me were the last ones I would speak for a while. She introduced me to my first host student, Lino, and soon enough I was talking in a circle with his friends. I was shocked at first by the rapid nature of the conversation, which made it extremely difficult for me to follow. Lino, thankfully, realized this and eventually brought us to a smaller group where it would be easier for me to try and understand. He also realized that I was heavily jetlagged, so he asked one of the teachers if we could go to bed a little early after dinner so I could try and catch up on some sleep. After gaining approval, we then went to dinner at the cafeteria, where I was able to eat my first real French meal. The best part for me was definitely the bread, even though this bread was apparently considered cheap by the local students. After chowing down on plenty of bread to fill me, I gathered my bags and headed off to my room to get my first night of sleep. 

Downtown Bordeaux

All of the exchange students

The next day was, luckily for me, a short school day, as Wednesdays usually are in France. It seemed like I had arrived on just the right day, as it was the start of a long weekend due to a bank holiday. Because of these days off, I stayed with Lino’s family for the weekend. This was near perfect timing; I could sleep in and adjust to the jetlag instead of waking up early every day at the school. During this long weekend, we met up with Lino’s friends essentially every day, whether it was at the local shopping center or at one of their houses. This was a great part of my experience in France, as I felt really included and accepted immediately. After a fun few days with Lino’s family, we returned to La Sauque on the next Monday. During this week, I met several new friends, including some fellow non-Francophones. There were other exchange students already at the school, with some from Ireland and others from America. This was also the week that the students from St. Cecilia arrived, so it was really great to see all of these exchanges happening at once. Instead of going to classes for a week, La Sauque had planned daily excursions to local sites for all of the exchange students and their hosts, including the castle of Montesquieu, downtown Bordeaux, a meeting and dinner with the mayor of the local town, and the Dune of Pilat (though the rain actually cancelled this trip). This was a fantastic week full of tourist activities, and I really liked the format of doing all of these touristy-type outings with the other exchange students, and then go to our host families individually to immerse ourselves into the daily life of a French family rather than as a tourist. The last day of school was that Friday, and there was the end-of-year awards program that evening, where all of the exchange students were recognized, with a representative from each school giving a quick speech about their experience. Being the only one from MBA, I had no choice but to give this speech, which was actually not as nerve-racking as I expected it to be–maybe the fact that it was in a different language helped. After the ceremony, it was time to say sad goodbyes to the other exchange students that I would not see again on my trip, as we were all going our separate ways with our host families. At this point, I went to my second host, Jean Baptiste, for the rest of my stay in France. He lived in Périgueux, a small town located more in the countryside about 2 hours away from La Sauque.

Some of the other host students

Last day at La Sauque with the other exchange students

View of the French countryside

One of the prehistoric drawings from inside Lascaux

Overlook of the city of Arcachon

Second Host Family

The first week with my second host family was full of talking, as I was bombarded by questions about American culture, daily life, and politics. I thoroughly enjoyed all of these conversations, as it was great for developing my French, and it really made me realize that as an exchange student, I essentially was the representative of America for all of the locals. Even though I live in Nashville, I was still seen as just as valid as a source when talking about the north or the west coast. Regardless of whether that was true, every meal was full of heavy conversations like these. That is one thing that is remarkably distinguishable in France; every dinner in France is a long, family process with at least three courses. While at some points this was a little tiring, they were for the most part enjoyable. Other than eating and talking, my host family took me out to see many local attractions, including Lascaux, a prehistoric cave that features some of the oldest-known prehistoric drawings. We also visited the beautiful Chateau des Milandes, where we even got to see a falconry show. After this first week of seeing some local sites, the second week was full of a bit more travelling. During this week, my host himself had a required internship, so he was busy during the days. Because of this, his sister and I went to downtown Bordeaux and stayed with her grandfather. As there are so many little shops and stores in this area, it was easy to fill the week. There was also the annual Fete le Fleuve in Bordeaux, so there was many activities going on in the city. On the last day of the week, we went to La Cité du Vin, which is renown for its architecture and of course its wine. After learning a bit about the history of wine and vineyards around the world, we enjoyed a glass of wine atop the building with a lovely view of the city. Later that night, the rest of the family met us in Bordeaux, and we all traveled to the city of Arcachon. This made for a nice last weekend in France at the beach. We stayed at a beach house that was very close to the Dune of Pilat, the largest sand dune in Europe, so of course we had to go and climb it. Though it was a strenuous climb, the view of the bay below was well worth it. That night the parents had some of their friends over for a dinner party, which meant that there were even more people now to ask me questions about America, or what I think of France, all of which I really loved to talk about, even if I was answering some of the same questions again. This made for a fantastic last weekend in France, and once we returned to Périgueux on Monday, I had one more day to just relax, reflect on my trip, and pack my bags. Thankfully, there were no issues with my traveling, so I was able to return to Charles de Gaulle via the TGV and catch my flight back to America. 

Popular plaza in Bordeaux

Wine tasting at La Cité du Vin

Panorama from atop the Dune of Pilat

A Flight of Reflection
I spent most of my flight just pondering over my voyage. There were so many fantastic moments, and it is quite hard to relate all of them into a blog. This was truly an experience of a lifetime, and it really made me think differently about the world, as I was not only able to witness another culture in action, but I was able to partake in it, and this true immersion into the culture could not have happened without actually speaking the language. I would like to express my extreme gratitude to the Wilson family for making this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity possible. I would also like to thank Mr. Paolicchi and Mr. Trotter, as they allowed me to both begin my study of French and take it to the next level.