First Day Of School

Today was my first day of school at The Academy at Charlemont. School begins with a morning meeting that is not dissimilar to St. Benedict's' convocation. There, in the Common Room/Cafeteria, everyone meets together and runs through attendance and announcements. My host, Emily, introduced me to the whole school of 89 students this morning.

Then I went to my A block, which was a free block today. During this time, I met most of the senior class, and filled them in on Saint Benedict's while they filled me in about Charlemont. One particular student, Matt, became my impromptu guide, giving me a play-by-play of what happens at the school.

Also during my A block, I meet another student named Allen, who is currently in the process of building a computer. He asked me to help him with it this weekend, to which I agreed.

Next, I went to advisory, a period similar to group in Saint Benedict's, where I met my Spanish V teacher, Mrs. Vasquez
 There the students shared their experiences on the recent class trips they took last week.

For second period, I had Humanities with Mr. Gay, where we talked about the life of the Prophet Muhammad.

C Block was another free block, right before lunch, where I talked to my class more in depth and I learned more about then as a whole.

During my Spanish V class, I watched a movie called Strawberries and Chocolate about a homosexual man in revolutionary Cuba. The entire class was in Spanish, which was different, to say the least.

During my E Block, I took a Calculus class which makes me feel like I'm in Groundhog's Day, because I just finished Calculus AB in Saint Benedict's.

After class, I played basketball with Coach Wilder, who is my baseball coach. He graduated from the Academy last year and is taking a gap year this year.

I practiced pitching with the baseball team for the game against Mohawk High School on Thursday.

After school, I went with Emily and her father to Greenfield for her viola lessons. While there, I took a stroll through the town with Mr. Comeaux.

I rounded out the day with a riveting conversation with Emily and Evan about cellular reproduction, evolution, bacterial resistance to medicine, and trash pollution

-Jonathan Lewis, signing out.

Day 1: Wiffleballs and Nerf Guns

Today was my first day on the exchange trip to the Academy at Charlemont. I'm staying with Bill Comeaux and Trish Parker and their wonderful children Emily, currently a sophomore at The Academy and Evan, who will be attending next year as a seventh grader.

Upon my arrival at the Springfield, MA train station, I met Mr. Comeaux, a Texas native, who filled me in about small-town life and the details of his home. The Trail became a huge talking point with his history of backpacking in Colorado. His family lives in Conway, 45 minutes from Springfield, with a population of around 1700. The town is mostly agricultural, and the Comeaux family owns 10 chickens.

When I reached the house, I was greeted by Evan, playing with a yellow umbrella by his fort, and Mrs. Parker. After Mr. Comeaux and Mrs. Parker showed me around the house, I played a three-inning game of wiffleball with Evan and Mr. Comeaux; we only stopped because of the onset of rain.

Then I met Emily, who'll be my guide at the Academy. She, like her father, has a love of backpacking, and has experience in it. We had a long conversation about what I should expect tomorrow at the Academy.

I ended the day with a tour of Evan's room full of Nerf Guns and disassembled electronics. 

I can't wait for tomorrow!

-Jonathan Lewis, signing out.