Travelling to Perth,
Scotland as part of the Sacred Heart Exchange Program was a wonderful
experience filled with many unique moments that I will never forget. The
similarities between Kilgraston School in Bridge of Earn and our own Sacred
Heart School of Halifax were numerous, which was very comforting and provided a
distinct sense of community despite being far from home and with people I had
never met before. One of these similarities included their end of year Prize
Day which was very similar in format to our Prize Day. One night, I was
fortunate to take part in an authentic Scottish ceilidh where I was able to
dance with the other girls from my grade. The girls had learned the steps to
the extremely fast pace dances at a young age and were able to teach me the
steps while violin and bagpipe music played in the background. I also had the
chance to tour around Scotland with my host family. I visited the Scottish
Highlands, Loch Ness, St. Andrews, and Edinburgh castle. Perhaps one of the
most memorable experiences was being woken up by my shocked homestay family on
June 23, 2016 - the morning after the United Kingdom voted to become
independent from the European Union. The result of the Brexit vote had many
people in Scotland worried and confused about the future of their country.
Overall, my exchange experience was one that I will never forget, and I look
forward to welcoming my host sister to Halifax in October.
Hannah Baillie, Gr. 11
(for more information on our student exchange program, please contact Mme Charlotte Riley at criley@shsh.ca)
