In honor of World Oceans Day, June 8, 2016, we are happy to share this story written by Bo, a former AYA student from Germany, during his time as a high school exchange student in Florida. Bo wrote about his fantastic adventures volunteering to preserve marine life in the Florida Keys and fun times sailing with his host family.
Looking back, it was such a privilege to place Bo with an American family. He was an incredible student, and he joined a truly remarkable host family. Read on to hear about Bo’s adventures in Florida and his work to help preserve a fragile ecosystem!
Between Two Wonders
Hi, my name is Bo, and I live with my host family in the Florida Keys! I’m living together with my brother Garrett, my mom Lynda and my dad John. My host family sailed around the world for 3 years and they came back 3 years ago. I’m happy to have the opportunity to live in such a unique family. Hearing stories from their adventure is amazing!
I have been sailing since I was born. My dad bought me my first sailboat when I turned 7. This passion for sailing has brought us closer together as a family.
Garret and I are members of the local sailing club. The waters of the sailing club are also the beginning of the Everglades National Park. We do most of our sailing here and have seen pelican and roseate spoonbill rookeries.
I decided to study marine science in high school during my stay. My Marine Science class in school has about 50 fish tanks. Students are responsible for maintaining the tanks and keeping the marine life thriving.
I also have been able to go on a shark tagging trip, organized by the University of Miami. It is a fascinating opportunity to see these endangered animals and help the researchers measuring and tagging these sharks. We caught about 3 sharks and successfully tagged and released them. After we were done tagging, we stopped to go for a swim right next to Key Largo´s famous “Christ of the Abyss” underwater statue, about 4 miles offshore!
As a volunteer I have been able to meet Dr. Ken Nedimyer, the founder of the Coral Restoration Foundation. He and his team are restoring the reefs. Dr. Nedimyer has been nominated as a CNN Hero for his Coral Restoration Project. My brother and I have been invited to join him as volunteers.
I enjoy learning and sharing my year with friends who have grown up here and help to preserve this unique ecosystem. I still can’t believe how many fascinating animals I have been able to see, including sting rays swimming in the canal right next to me! A day in the Keys can end with watching a wonderful sunset on your way in from a fishing trip right after school! I’m going to miss it!
How wonderful it is that host families give opportunities to students, like Bo, to volunteer their time and talents to important projects like protecting sharks and our coral reefs! We hope sharing this story will help raise awareness about World Oceans Day and showcase the potential of AYA student exchange. The impact of hosting a single student, can truly be measured on a global scale.
Like Lynda, John and Garrett, host families are as interesting and diverse as our AYA students. If you have room in your home and are interested in sharing your American life with an international high school exchange student, we hope you will consider becoming a host family with AYA. Visit www.academicyear.org to learn more.
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