Bolles Exchange Florida

“Florida is a cultural crossroads where people of different backgrounds have mingled, traded, and sometimes fought.” Perry Chang

The week started with much anticipation for an insight into Floridian life. From the onset, differences were immediately apparent: the heat, the people, the accents. After a whopping fifteen-hour journey, we were all very excited… to sleep.

Over the week we engaged in a wide range of activities, from an American high school experience to kayaking on the St John’s River. We were lucky enough to explore some intriguing historical sites, including Fort Mose and the Kingsley Plantation, which both had a wealth of history and culture attached to them. We learnt about the life of a slave in the Americas, from their capture across seas to their eventual freedom using the underground railroad.

Aside from these more educational outings, we also went on a field trip to the Silver Springs State Park, where we kayaked in crystal clear waters, encountering fascinating wildlife such as turtles, manatees, and 12-foot-long alligators. Additionally, we travelled to boneyard beach, where we explored the unique landscape, witnessing the ecological damage inflicted by years of erosion and heavy exposure to harsh Floridian sunlight.

On the weekends our host families were kind enough to organise an array of activities, such as a barbecue on the beach and a Potluck on the school’s river patio. Through this we got to spend time with our American counterparts, learning about their lives and how much they differ to ours. Examples include having pools, guns, and a range of political viewpoints.

Underlying all this we were working on collaborative projects, where we were able to thoroughly explore these differences through developing ideas relating to dystopia, terrorism, and feminism. We later presented these concepts to our fellow pupils, and we had the opportunity to discuss what we learned and encountered throughout the trip with a variety of teachers, parents, and students. We look forward to developing these ideas further when our counterparts visit the UK and spend more time with us at Alleyn’s.

Overall, the trip had a multitude of highlights from Kayaking, experiencing High School, and American hangouts. At times, this trip felt more like holiday and less like a school trip, but at its core was the immersion of us UK students into the American way of life, and we believe that was achieved. We all thoroughly enjoyed this trip, and we look forward to June where we will be hosting our American friends.

Written by Emily, Bella and Taran