Californian students enjoy a taste of Hoppers Crossing

Eight American high school students are experiencing life in Wyndham.

The students from Estancia High School in Wyndham’s Californian sister city, Costa Mesa, are visiting Hoppers Crossing Secondary College for three weeks.

During the first week of their stay they visited Sovereign Hill and Ballarat Wildlife Park, where they got up close to some kangaroos.

They later visited Hoppers Crossing CFA and Werribee police station.

The students also attended classes at Hoppers Crossing Secondary to get an idea of how Australian schools operate.

Estancia student Alex Adkisson said students at Hoppers Crossing had the chance to study many subjects, including food technology, that weren’t offered at her school.

She was also surprised to find physical education classes had theory components, and that there weren’t as many tests and exams in Australian schools as there were in America.

Joe Hume said one of the highlights of his trip so far had been seeing kangaroos, while other students listed discovering Tim Tams as an experience to savour.

This week, the American students will travel along the Great Ocean Road. They also plan to attend an AFL game.

Hoppers Crossing Secondary College assistant principal Keith Halge said this was the fourth year the schools had run an exchange program.

Students from Hoppers Crossing will visit Estancia in January.