Students Travel the World for Spring Break

Over spring, Exonians headed everywhere from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania to the international destinations of India, Cuba, England and Martinique on Exeter-led trips both to expand their understanding of the world and to participate in special activities with their on-campus organizations.After months of preparation, Exonians in the Concert Choir and Chamber Orchestra traveled to London, England for a week to perform their pieces at some of the city’s most prominent locations. Many of the student musicians enjoyed the opportunity to play music outside of the Exeter community. Prep Olivia McCallum attended the trip because she knew it would be a special way to exchange her love of music with others. “[I wanted] to share our music [with] different people around the world, and I hoped that it would make us see how universal music is,” she said.Through excursions around the city to places such as Buckingham Palace, the London Eye and Westminster Abbey, students were able to observe British culture and learn about the nation’s history during their time on the concert tour. The “peaceful and meditative” atmosphere of Westminster Abbey enabled lower Nina Weeldreyer to reflect on the importance of the building and the history attached to it. “I was so moved just walking around, taking everything in, walking around the graves of such memorable people and then later being able to perform there,” she said. “It’s an experience I’ll never forget.”Apart from the amazing sights, many of the students appreciated the opportunity to discover music styles from across the globe. Both Concert Choir and Chamber Orchestra were fortunate enough to both collaborate and participate in an exchange with Isaac Newton Academy (INA), a school located in Ilford, London. “I felt very lucky that I was able to meet people from the other side of the world and be able to connect with them through music,” lower Annie Shin said.Lower Evie Houston felt similarly about the joint project between Exonians and the British students. “It was so interesting to see two different schools with polar opposite music backgrounds come together,” she said.Exonians noted that they were able to connect with the London students—not only through music but also through their common experiences as high school students. “My favorite part of the trip was our meeting with Isaac Newton Academy,” Shin said. “We got to actually interact with the students there, and I made new friends…The students we met were surprisingly similar to us.”When they weren’t learning about music during the trip, Exonians took the time to enjoy London’s local cuisine. Weeldreyer felt that the city’s cuisine was a window into the demographics of England as a whole. “Every day during lunch, we would have free time to walk around and explore little markets and street food stands in the city,” she said. “There would be food from all over the world crammed into these little corners.”Overall, one of the most memorable parts of the trip was its ability to strengthen the bonds between the student-musicians and create new friendships. “I got to know a lot of people both in choir and orchestra [that] I didn’t know before, which was awesome,” Weeldreyer recalled. Music Instructor Kristopher Johnson, who directs both the Concert Choir and Chamber Orchestra, pointed out that the improved relationships resulting from the trip make the students better musicians, travelers and students. “We had many unique experiences that would have been unavailable to us as individual travelers, and we grew as ensembles," he said.Across the Atlantic Ocean, students studying French participated in a trip that visited the island of Martinique in the Caribbean. The ten-day trip included both tourist destinations and day-to-day local experiences. For senior Ela Ferhangil, Martinique was her second chance at applying for a French-language program. “I really wanted to go to Grenoble in the fall, but it it didn’t work with all of the activities and academic things that I wanted to do at Exeter. When I found out that there would be another opportunity to go to a Francophone country, I was so excited,” Ferhangil said. Upper Tina Fernandez enjoyed the cultural immersion that the trip provided. “We stayed with host families and spoke French as much as we could to try and improve our language speaking skills. Whenever we went on trips to local attractions and beaches, the tour guides would also speak in French, so that really challenged us to try and speak in French the whole time, too,” Fernandez said.In Martinique, the students also had the opportunity to visit a local school. “We visited a primary school one day and were able to interact with some of the students there,” Ferhangil said. “They were very cute and fun to talk to.”Fernandez described Martinique’s culture as one of a kind. “The island shows a lot of cultural syncretism in which both Caribbean/Native and French traditions are combined, and it gives Martinique a very distinctive culture," she said.For Fernandez, the trip gave her confidence in the French language. “I wasn’t as confident in my French as I am now," she recalled. "I think that living with actual French people and hearing how they speak—the specific pronunciation, dictation, and intonation—really gives you the best exposure to the language.”Ferhangil agreed with Fernandez, saying, “My French definitely improved. My host mom was so sweet and answered all of the questions I had very thoroughly. I really enjoyed my time in Martinique, and I definitely want to go abroad in the future again!”