Bunbury Cathedral Grammar School year ten student Emily Anderson has returned to school jet-lagged after a two-month exchange in Peru on Sunday.
Ms Anderson said it was very full-on with all the opportunities on offer. The ambitious student saw snow for the first time, built houses as part of a service trip, took salsa-dancing lessons after school, went rock-climbing and trekked up a mountain.
“It was an amazing experience and would highly recommend it to other students considering going on exchange,” she said.
“It was a completely different culture. They were so confident with each other and very sociable.
“I got to meet students from lots of different countries around the world. There were more than 20 other exchange students while I was there.
“They speak Spanish over there, but are fluent in English so would switch to English when talking to me. I tried to learn [Spanish] but they spoke incredibly fast and used a lot of slang, which made it quite hard.
“Even though I’ve seen photos, seeing Machu Picchu for the first time was incredible and one of my favourite things.
“The food was very different. The flavours were richer and they like sour foods... they put lemon on everything.”
Emily attended Peru’s Markham College with her host student who visited Australia earlier this year.
The exchange was part of the international program hosted by Round Square, a membership network of 180 schools in 50 countries that offers schools structured opportunities to collaborate and share experiences with like-minded peers around the world. Bunbury Cathedral Grammar School has been involved in the program for 11 years.
Round Square encourages students to immerse themselves with another family, school and country where they are taught to appreciate, value and respect all cultures, religions and languages.
