Minnetonka is often known for its wealth of opportunities provided to students. Between classes, sports, the arts, and other extracurriculars, it’s pretty easy to find at least one thing that you’re interested in and passionate about. I participated in many things during my four years here, but there was one opportunity I had that was arguably my favorite and most impactful experience at MHS. I wanted to take my time here to share that opportunity with others as well.
I first learned about the International Studies program during my sophomore year and registered for it my junior year. International Studies is an additional elective class you can register for where you will be placed in the program of a specific country. For the 2024-25 school year, there will be 6 programs available: South Africa, India, Spain, Germany, South Korea, and Costa Rica. The class itself is not a big time commitment, with two zero-hour meetings and about 1-2 extra assignments per month. The important part is communicating with the partners you are assigned to from the partner school, the best part is the opportunity to travel to the partner country.
I got to experience all of that during my junior and senior years in the South Africa program. I attended the classes and communicated with two different partners from the Rondebosch Boys’ School in Cape Town, and part way through the year it was confirmed that we would be traveling there.
There were 12 of us on the trip, and we spent 16 days in Cape Town at the end of July. I was hosted by both of my partners and their families while we were there. We saw some amazing things, like Cape Point National Park, Robben Island, Bo Kaap, and Table Mountain.
The most amazing part, though, was getting to be fully immersed in their culture. The families we stayed with included us in their daily lives and their family traditions. We learned words and phrases in some of the languages spoken there, like Afrikaans and Xhosa. We tried all kinds of unique South African foods, like samosas and milk tarts. We also spent a few days of the trip attending school with them. The Rondebosch Boys’ School is an all-male English colonial model school, with a lot of night and day differences compared to the American public school system and particular atmosphere of MHS.
Beyond experiencing those many differences, I also got to know both the MHS students and the South African students really well, and we all became really great friends by the end of the trip. Having those experiences and discussions with people from an entirely different cultural, political, and religious background was an incredibly eye-opening experience. I would argue it was just as much of a learning experience as being in class, if not more so
A couple months after we got back from the trip, this past fall, we got to see them again when they came to visit Minnesota. They came during our homecoming week, and we got to host them in our homes and show them popular Minnesota attractions, and they attended school at MHS with us for a few days too. Similar to how my trip to Cape Town gave me a bit of a new perspective, seeing my home state through the eyes of people who had never seen it before gave me a bit of new appreciation for where I live.
I still message back and forth with some of the students I met there, and I keep incredibly fond memories of both my trip there and their visit here. I think International Studies is an option at this school that isn’t very well known, but it’s one that was incredibly enjoyable and extremely eye-opening, so if you’re looking for a cool opportunity, or a new extracurricular, or even just an extra elective credit, I highly recommend it.
Brayden Diethelm, Feature Editor
