Total Immersion: International Students Spend Spring Term at Groton
Lessons learned in America: snow isn’t always soft; teachers and students can be friendly; junk food is abundant.
This spring, seven visiting students—from Nigeria, Tanzania, India, and France—have been immersed in Groton, living in dorms, attending classes, playing sports, and otherwise absorbing American culture. Apparent to all is how differently students and teachers relate to one another at Groton, compared to the student-teacher relationships at their home schools.
“The teacher-student relationship is really close,” said Aarushi Aggarwal, who is visiting from India. She echoed the sentiments of other visiting students, who admired how interactive student-teacher exchanges were during lessons, compared to more lecture-oriented classes at home. The students did find it strange at first to move from classroom to classroom; in their schools, the students stay put and the teachers rotate in.
Besides Aarushi, Groton’s guests this term included:
- Rachel Oguntola, a native of Nigeria who is taking a gap year after college; she came to Groton representing the African Leadership Academy.
- Kesuma Laizer and Saingorie Mollel, from the Orkeeswa School in Tanzania—they arrived knowing several students who had visited Tanzania during a Groton summer global education trip.
- Kanishka Gupta, who attends Welham Girls with Aarushi in India, and Raj Shivam, who attends the nearby Doon School; those schools host Groton’s spring trip to India.
- India Chevallier from Laval, France, who visited campus from April 8 to May 8 at the initiative of a Groton French teacher
Most have been at Groton for most of the spring term and will stay through Prize Day.
Groton encourages its students to take advantage of service, cultural, and learning opportunities around the world through the School's global education program. Part of students’ global awareness comes through peers who attend Groton; the School's students represent 17 countries. Also contributing to global awareness are visiting students, who make the Circle their temporary home.
Students like Rachel, who didn’t find study at Groton terribly different than her post-high school studies in South Africa. Some things, however, did startle her. “I wasn’t so shocked except for the amount of junk food here,” she said. Snow also surprised her: when she arrived, she kicked a pile on the ground, expecting it to be soft, but was surprised to hit a solid, frozen mass.
Kesuma tried lacrosse for the first time at Groton, and Saingorie baseball. “I played softball before so it was easy to adjust to the changes,” he said.
For all, the initial days were filled both with welcome and adjustment. “It’s just a culture shock,” said Aarushi. “Not in a bad way—it’s just different.”
Back
Students like Rachel, who didn’t find study at Groton terribly different than her post-high school studies in South Africa. Some things, however, did startle her. “I wasn’t so shocked except for the amount of junk food here,” she said. Snow also surprised her: when she arrived, she kicked a pile on the ground, expecting it to be soft, but was surprised to hit a solid, frozen mass.
Kesuma tried lacrosse for the first time at Groton, and Saingorie baseball. “I played softball before so it was easy to adjust to the changes,” he said.
For all, the initial days were filled both with welcome and adjustment. “It’s just a culture shock,” said Aarushi. “Not in a bad way—it’s just different.”
Groton School Mission: To inspire lives of character, scholarship, leadership, and service within a diverse, inclusive, and close-knit community.
© 2024 Groton School. All Rights Reserved.
