EXPLO Senior Interview with Thomas from England
With family in France, and having lived in both England and the UAE, Thomas knows a thing or two about cultures. This rising freshman appreciates the fun activities, the friendly people, and the cultural diversity at EXPLO. This year, he is enjoying his Aeronautical Engineering and Off-Road Vehicle Design courses and looks forward to returning to see what next summer has in store for him.
Tell me about the courses you're taking.
I'm taking Off-Road Vehicle Design, which is quite fun. The first thing the teacher did was give us a whole box of pieces and a very small engine, and from that we had to build a powerful car that would be fast enough to win the drag race. It can be a bit frustrating at first, but once you know what to do and you start seeing your car take shape, it makes the whole thing really fun! And for Aeronautical Engineering, Alex gave us a model rocket pack and from that we could use whatever we wanted to design and build our own rocket. We only had a few instructions, so we could do it freely, like change the nose cone and the length. Launching the rockets was a big relief, because I was a bit worried that it wouldn't work, but it worked out very well.
That must have been a great experience. Why did you choose those courses?
My ultimate goal was to be able to launch a rocket. And I took Off-Road Vehicle Design because I really love the show Top Gear, which is very popular in England. I've learned lots of things about cars thanks to it, and I thought it would be somewhat of a challenge to take this class and learn even more about how to build cars, instead of just gaining knowledge from television. I'm hoping to become an engineer or work in the finance industry when I'm older.
What makes you unique?
My accent [laughs]. In America it's my accent that makes me unique, because British people find that I have a French accent, and Americans find that I have a British accent. So it always changes from people's points of view. And maybe also the fact that I know a lot about different cultures, because I lived in Abu Dhabi, so I know lots about Indian cultures and Arabic cultures.
Oh, that's awesome! What was it like living in the United Arab Emirates?
I stayed there for two years with my family, and it's very nice, because on the weekends you can go to the desert and it's actually quite relaxing — it's really like a big holiday.
How did you hear about EXPLO in London?
My cousin, who is three years older than I am, went to EXPLO Pre-College and now my older brother goes there. I think my mum discovered it by luck, but the program is very fun! It's stimulating, because of the fact that we're always doing something and being active, which makes it fun. It's tiring — but in a good way. The fact that all of the instructors are so young means that it's more dynamic, and I love the fact that we have so many choices of activities to do that change every week. I definitely think I'll be coming back next year!
Have you found it easy to make friends here?
Very easy. You can just go up to someone and say, “where are you from?” and you gain a new friend. And I have a very nice living group. They're really fun and we're always talking or playing cards together, so we don't ever feel bored. I've met friend from all different places — some live on the floor above me, some are from different houses, but the guys in my house are very nice, and it's always nice to fall back on them. I've also met a wide diversity of people of cultures and different countries. America is so big, that because of the different states, sometimes it seems like people are from different countries. People act in different ways, they dress in different ways, they talk in different ways, so you can really see the diversity in where they're from.
That's a great point. What is one thing that you wish to gain from EXPLO?
I guess what I have gained is happiness, because it makes you happy when you meet new people and you have a great group of friends at the end. I've definitely met a lot of friends here, so I've been happy all the time. Once you're comfortable and you get to know people, it's like being at home.
That's great to hear. So what would you tell a new student planning to come to EXPLO?
I would say that you meet lots of great people and that there is a big diversity of cultures. You just have fun all the time — the courses are fun, the fact that we can try so many different electives is fun, and after activity periods and assemblies there are always fun slideshows and things like that. I especially like the lip-dub videos and crew time challenges that we do. I would tell a new student to make as many friends as possible. It doesn't matter who your friend is — if you find that person nice and funny, that's all that counts. And lastly, I would say, don't be scared to introduce yourself — it's very easy to talk to people here.
