On my class’s most resent field school, we went to California and visited San Diego, San Jose, and San Francisco. After a few days of sight seeing and being tourists in San Diego, we got to meet some really cool locals. My class got to go to a Project Based Learning (PBL) highschool in San Diego to interview the grade 9’s there.

The school that we went to is called High Tech High, and it isn’t just a school, its a community of schools split into three different campuses surrounding a food court and park. The schools on the campuses include the High Tech High Elementry, Middle, International, and the one we visited called High Tech High Media Arts.

When we arrived at the school, we were given our buddies and then we were taken on a tour of the different schools. My parters name was Lydia and her friends were Britny and Isabel. The four of us walked to the park in the middle of the campuses to do our interview, but this was a very difficult place to record.

Not only were there kids walking by and other groups recording, but there were also airplanes that loudly went over our heads every 5 minutes. There was also one more problem, I only had one microphone so we had to pass it around instead of clipping it to our shirts like it was meant to be used. All setbacks aside, my interview went really well and I learned a lot about what it is like to be a student at High Tech High.

I had about 6 questions prepared for my partners about High Tech High and the PBL program in California. Once we were done with those questions, we started to compare Vancouver to San Diego. I was happy to hear that even though they don’t have huge mountains right next to them, they still go hiking and swimming and do the same activities as us (but maybe not as much skiing).

We talked about everything, from politics to what its like in Canada without pennies. It was interesting to hear what they do after school, which is pretty similar to us, but without rain! I learned about all the shopping, swimming, and homework they do after school with their friends.

After talking for almost an hour with my partners, we decided to head back into class. There, I had the opportunity to meet even more student, including Ajok, Bryah, and Lauren. All of us went out for lunch in a big group for both of the days we were at the school so that we talk more.

One of the best things that we did at High Tech High was go to their classes with them because we got to see what kind of curriculum they were doing. In one of their classes we made little booklets called Zines and some other artistic projects too. I worked on a project with my partners that showed my journey from Vancouver to California. We showed what it looks like in Vancouver (mountains and snow), an airplane representing my flight to California, and a drawing of California (palm trees, beaches, and sun!).

Vancouver:

Airplane:

California:

On the last day at High Tech High Media Arts, we all said goodbye to our partners and other friends. I am so happy to have met these awesome people and learn a bit more about them and their lives. It was a really fun day, and my favourite part of the trip!

Once I got back from California, I was able to edit the podcast down from an hour to 5 minutes. Some of the parts in the podcast were too quiet and loud because we were holding the microphone in different places, but I edited it to try and even out the volume. After a second draft with more edits, I’m happy with the final product of my podcast.