On January 2, 2014, I had my second “first” day at St. Robert; this time in eighth grade instead of K4.  Strange, right?  Most people have never been the new kid at their old school, but I have been across the ocean for two and a half years.  I left St. Robert after 5th grade when my dad was transferred by his company to Brussels, Belgium, for a few years.  It was hard to leave my friends, school, family, and sports teams.  I dreaded moving to a new country that I had barely heard of before, aside from Belgian chocolate.  I had also never been outside the United States before.

In Belgium, I attended The British School of Brussels (BSB) which is very different from St. Robert.   First of all, it’s an international school with over seventy nationalities, the campus is bigger, and there are 1,300 students ranging from preschool through high school.  Unlike St. Robert, at BSB we only wore uniforms for gym class.  You may think that sounds great, but deciding what to wear every morning gets old really fast.  The vocabulary was also very British.  You will “do” maths, play footie, toss your rubbish in the bin, and say “well done.”  BSB has no religious affiliation; however, like St. Robert, the students are active in charitable causes.  Adapting to the British system took me a while.

On my second first day of school at St. Robert it was strange to see the familiar faces of my classmates looking so much older and taller.  I found that I have learned slightly differently, and adjusting back to the American system
will take time.  The biggest change in education at St. Robert is the personal student devices used as a learning tool.
I think the new Google accounts are very helpful for sharing work with teachers, and then receiving feedback online.
I like the calendar on our Google accounts for keeping track of homework.  St. Robert is definitely keeping up with technology.

Thankfully, many things at St. Robert are the same–kind teachers and staff, Wednesday early dismissals, mass
on Fridays, the uniforms, and school spirit.  I am very glad to return to a smaller school where it is possible to know all of my classmates, and to recognize everyone down to the kindergarteners.  Of course, the best part of St. Robert
is my friends.

Overall my experience living abroad has made me a more open-minded person about different cultures.  I loved the different ways of learning, trying new sports, and making new friends.  But there is no place like home, and there are no friends like my St. Robert friends.  I am thrilled to be back in Shorewood, and St. Robert to graduate with my 8th grade classmates.