At EXPLO, eighth grader Svaraa is excited to be part of such a diverse community where she can both try new things and share her own cultural traditions with friends from around the world.
In India, there aren't very many people from different places, but at EXPLO there are so many students from all over the world. I’ve made friends from everywhere like Switzerland, China, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Spain. And these friends are all different — their lives, the way they think, their accents, which I also have — but it’s not difficult to connect to them. Whoever I’ve come across has been very good and nice, and our RAs and instructors really help us out. EXPLO is really welcoming to international students, and I’m so grateful to be here.
Here, I’ve done so many things I always wanted to do but couldn't back home. In my favorite movie, The Parent Trap, there's this fencing scene and ever since then I’ve always wanted to try fencing, which I was finally able to do here! I also tried a sailing workshop and now want to pursue sailing after this. I’d never think to go for these cool things in India.
One thing that I have done before is ColorFest, which is like Holi back in India. It’s a festival where we throw color to celebrate forgiveness, fun, and happiness. It was so cool to see something that I do back home here, but in a different way, with my Zephyrs and all the other houses. I loved that I could share something of my culture in a fun and beautiful way with my friends here.
Casey Kim