Yellow school buses and really amazing hamburgers.
‘Before I left home, friends told me what to expect in America,? laughed Lyall Beveridge, 15, an Australian native who has lived in Goodrich as a visiting student since August. ‘I really enjoy the pizza and burgers’they are high quality, cheap and really good. Not to mention the Hot Pockets here are pretty good, too.?
While Beveridge’s palate may be pleased with the first few months in United States’his immersion into the cultural life of an American student has also been satisfying.
Beveridge, lives in the suburbs of the Sydney. With a population of about 4 million, the city is located on the southeast side of the country on the Tasman Sea. The snow free subtropical climate where the winter months are June and July include temperatures only dipping into the 40s. When he leaves the looming snow of Goodrich in January it will be summer in Australia, where temperatures average about 85 degrees daily.
Lyall is in tenth grade back home at Killara High School, which includes grades 7-12, with an enrollment of about 1,600 students, larger than Goodrich High School.
‘Students here in America strive for a grade point average moreso than at home,? he said. ‘We also go to school year around’four terms with three two week vacations. Then we have one five week vacation. It really seems to break up the school year.?
In Australia students are required to complete year 10 of school, and then to continue in either education or training, full-time paid employment, or a combination of education/training and employment until at least age 17. Beveridge will return home in January to continue high school before seeking a career in STEM, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, he added.
Like many in Australia, Beveridge plays rugby, cricket and soccer.
‘I played rugby for my high school team,? he said. ‘But it’s nothing like the football they play here. The game is played during the school day and since I’m on the team I get out at noon to play.?
Since the Goodrich Martian Rugby team is nonexistent, Beveridge joined the Martian football team.
‘I’ve been playing defensive end,? he said. ‘There’s a lot more to learn in American football. It’s all about strategy in football’honestly, it’s a very complex game to learn’especially learning the plays. But, it’s really great that everyone comes out on a Friday night to watch football here. We have nothing like that back home.?
Lyall’s father, Adrian Beveridge, is the CTO of Iviis and his mother isAnne Reilly, an editor for Random House Publishing. He has a younger brother, Aidan, 11. He is staying with host family Terri and Mark Schall.