L’Emma Valdés i l’Anna Sánchez estudiants de 1r de BTX, ens expliquen la seva experiència a Canadà i als EEUU on actualment estudien gaudint d’una beca de la Fundació Amancio Ortega.
Emma’s experience
I’m Emma Valdés, and I’m studying grade 11 (1 Batx) in the city of Kelowna, Canada. The education system here is really different.
This is how it works: I am taking 8 subjects during the whole school year, but I am only taking 4 of them each semester. Everyday, I take 2 different classes that are 2 hours and 40 minutes long each one. Between them, there is the lunch break. It doesn’t feel tiresome because every hour and twenty minutes there is a 10-minute break. In the high school, you are allowed to eat in class, listen to music and even to use your phone in the corridors.
The other good thing about the education system here is that you can take the subjects that you really want to take. There are a few that are obligatory (English, Math) but, in general terms, you study what you enjoy studying. These are some of the subjects that you can study at my high school (Rutland Senior Secondary): Cooking Training, Jewelry, Dance, Drama, Business Education, Video Game Development… and so on. After revalidation, I have chosen the following subjects: Physics 11, Pre-Calculus 11, English 11 and Biology 12 (1st semester) and Comparative Civils 12, Chemistry 11, Basketball (yes, as a subject) and Computer Programming (2nd semester). There are also lots of extracurricular activities, such as enjoying a team (Basketball, Football, Cheerleading, Soccer, Volleyball…), the music band, the reading club and others. I am having a great time!
I got the scholarship from the Becas Fundación Amancio Ortega (Becas FAO). It’s free, and you can choose between studying in Canada or in the USA. So, if you are studying Year 4 ESO right now and you are interested, don’t doubt it and check the link below!
Anna’s experience
Living in Oklahoma has been a great experience so far. Everyone here is very welcoming and warm, and that made the adaptation to the US really easy. I feel Oklahoma is the right place to be and that I am at the right place at the right time right now.
What shocked me the most is that an American High School is exactly as it is portrayed in the movies: cheerleaders, huge cafeterias, and Football games every Friday.
The education system is very different. You can choose any subject you want, but you have to pass them all and take some revalidation subjects, such as history, math and English. But you get to choose what kind of math you want to study: geometry, algebra, etc.; what kind of History you want to take: US, World, European, etc. In general, the classes are more specific and you can choose depending on your preferences.
I am having the time of my life, doing new things, meeting new people and growing as an independent woman. I would highly recommend all of you doing an exchange program sometime in your life.
