Kalvin Mensah Network Exchange

 This was probably my favorite part of the experience. So this whole thing came about because I spoke to Miss Amy(host mom) about one of the classes I was taking. As I had mentioned before my mobile app development class was structured in a way that was similar to how a company was structured. And when I had told Ms. Amy about she brought up how the company she works at does things like that. And the conversation spiraled from there. Eventually Ms. Amy proposed the idea of getting some of her co-workers to come and talk to me and her son(Gabe had had prior experience with them.). Ms. Amy then spoke to her teammates and learned that they were all pretty excited to talk to us about their career, college planning and anything else in general. After school on day 7, Gabe and I took a train to Ms. Amy’s work place and when we arrived they allowed us to sit in on a meeting. Not only was I going to get advice and strategies but I saw in person what I might be doing in the future. It was a...

 Hello everyone! My blogs will soon be coming too an end but it has been an amazing experience so far I’ve been combining most of the days as one day will usually be less eventful than the other while another is jam packed full of stuff. That is the case for these two day.  Day 6 was rather uneventful where I went though class times and did a few projects. Robotics was definitely my favorite class of the day I worked with another senior in that class to modify the design of a robot he had already to try and accomplish another taste. The robot would have to throw a ball and then drive towards an area and return to it’s starting point. So I worked on creating and stabilizing the throwing mechanism and fortifying the rest of the robot to work with the added weight. We would test it and play the game on Day 7. Day 7 was a day full of learning it was by far the most informative day I’ve had so far. First I attended my comp sci class which was a little uneventful as they were workin...

This weekend was amazingly fun(had to add in the extra adjectives to show it). We did a lot of stuff such as going to a soccer game and touring the city. On Saturday we went to a soccer game between the Philadelphia Union and the New York Red Bulls. We went to celebrate the birthday of a friend of my host. It was pretty fun and we had a rather interesting seating arrangement! We were seated right next to the Red Bulls fan section so throughout the whole game there was a lot of bickering. It was honestly hilarious watching the back and forth between the fans. At one point I couldn’t resist and starting humming along to the Red Bulls chants, and no one can blame me cuz they were pretty darn catchy. After the game was finished, leaving was horrendous. It took us about 45 minutes to leave the parking lot we were in. Today, we toured South Street and saw some of the old city in Philadelphia. As we were driving there I got to see a lot of the natural beauty of Philly as well as some of the a...

 Hey everyone!! Day 4 was pretty uneventful but I did participate in a unique GFS meeting. They are held every Thursday I believe, and are called “Meeting For Worship”. Meeting for worship is about a 30-45 minute period where the whole school meets and remains silent for that time. While I did have experience remaining silent at SBP, 45 minutes of pure and still silence was something pretty different. I found it a little difficult to stay awake if I am being honest, however I stuck through it. That was probably the most different part of the day.  Day 5 was also pretty chill. I had been wanting to hit the gym but sadly it was locked. The day I had the most free time and the gym was locked. It’s safe to say my day was dampered, however something rather interesting occurred during assembly. Different groups of people came up and presented parts of their performances for Poley Festival. From what I was able to pick up Poley Festival is a festival focused around the arts, such as ...

 Hello everyone! I just wanted to combine day 2 and 3 as they kind of merge with each other in a weird way.  I have made a lot of friends recently, it's pretty easy as the people here are rather welcoming, and I can usually just walk with anyone and strike a conversation. GFS's schedule was also slightly odd today. The last period class was moved to the community period which allowed us to get out earlier. I took a few more tech focused classes, however a few of the teachers were not present. Many of my classes were pretty chill as final projects and final exams are approaching, many due next wee k. On day 2 I arrived home earlier and took a nap for a little and had dinner with Mr. Josh and Gabe as Ms. Amy and Eloise (Gabe's twin sister) were at climbing practice. the highlight of day 2 was definitely the conversation I had with Mr. Josh. We sat watching the game for a little and ate ice cream. We talked a little about sports and the reason I had come to GFS and entered the...

My first day was pretty nice. I had recently found out an email detailing my arrival at the school as well as my schedule was sent out to the whole school. I did find it odd how everyone seemed to know where I would be next but that sure was a surprise.  There are a few things different about this school compared to Benedict's. Here attendance is not as stressed, and I can even leave the school campus freely if I wish. This may have to do with the fact I am a senior, but I am not entirely sure. During student free time such as lunch and their unscheduled periods they are free to do almost anything they would like. From going to the school's weight room, to playing basketball in the school's main common area they have free reign over their free time. Another interesting fact about this school culture is the fact that teachers are called by their first names here. It was a little awkward for me in the beginning, but I am slowly adjusting to it. A really similar thing was the ...