By Jacob Calderone

Read his Humans of FHCI article here

Between drowning in homework and studying for multiple exams, high school courses are not only challenging but also time-consuming.

What if there was a way to complete courses ahead of time while traveling the world? It turns out that there is a way to finish off courses early and explore all of what our world has to offer at the same time. Programs like Blyth Academy offer just about every high school course imaginable and every dream destination you can think of. How much fun would it be to do Biology in Australia and Fiji? Complete Visual Arts in Asia? What if there was an opportunity to study Classical Civilizations in Rome? These opportunities, otherwise known as International Classrooms, are adventures that create memories that last a lifetime.

In the summer of 2016, I traveled to Italy
where I completed Grade 11 English (Ironic, I know).

Going on this trip was one of the best decisions of my life, as I have always wanted to go to Italy and obtaining a course credit simultaneously was just a bonus. We traveled through Sienna, Florence, Sardinia, Venice and Rome for about a month with a group of roughly 60 people from all across Canada.

Now you may be wondering, what did we do every day in Italy and how were you able to coursework? For those wondering, we did not just eat pasta and pizza all day and listen to old men singing in Italian. Each morning we woke up and had breakfast as a group and for the rest of the morning, we had class inside the hotel. Each class had a maximum of 10 people in a group, which was extremely beneficial because the teacher had the opportunity to help each person individually for an extended period of time. As soon as lunch came, we were given the opportunity to go out and explore each Italian city for the rest of the afternoon and into the evening. Some days we would be given tours, go to famous monuments, and even some fancy restaurants to dine. Near the conclusion of our trip, we had a final exam and then a banquet in Rome.

Not only am I benefitting immensely from already completing grade 11 English (I don’t have to do all those essays and of course the exam) but I also got to experience a place that I have always wanted to go to.

 

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