Transition Year student Saoirse Ní Ghallachóir writes about her two-week exchange to St Louis
EVERY year, my school offers a two-week exchange trip to St Louis for 12 Transition Year students. Because my older sister, Alisha, enjoyed her experience so much, I made it my mission to be selected.
To apply, we had to write up to two pages explaining why we deserved a place and how we would represent Irish culture in America.
This year, there were more applicants than ever—basically my entire year group. Luckily, our teacher contacted a school in Pittsburgh, and they were able to take eight additional students.
From the moment we found out who was selected, the planning began. Between outfits, shopping lists, and gifts for our host families, it felt like there was an endless amount to organise.
Nineteen students and I from Coláiste Ailigh set off on Easter Sunday night. As you can imagine, there was very little sleep on the journey to Dublin Airport.
The St Louis group at the airport.
We then flew to Newark—a seven-hour flight that somehow felt longer thanks to our randomly assigned seats. From there, we split into two groups: twelve heading to St Louis and eight to Pittsburgh. Our goodbyes were quick, mostly because we were too excited about the next (mercifully shorter) three-hour flight.
The moment we landed, my excitement turned into about 50 per cent nerves, knowing this would be my life for the next two weeks. Thankfully, I was incredibly lucky with my host family, the Stokes, who gave me a true ‘home away from home’ experience.
My host dad, David Stokes, introduced me to real St Louis traditions—starting strong with gooey butter cake for breakfast.
And don’t judge it too quickly, like I did, because it might just be the nicest thing I’ve ever eaten. He also brought me to their country club, where Kylie and I played tennis… with varying levels of success.
Kylie, who we quickly decided was my long-lost American twin, made sure I experienced all the essentials, including a trip to West County Mall and the shops I’d only ever seen online. She also showed me all her favourite takeaway foods such as Raising Cane’s, Chick-fil-A, and Crumble.
My host mum, Jennifer Stokes, and I bonded over watching Derry Girls in the evenings, which quickly became a tradition.
By the final night, we had finished all three seasons. My host brothers, Ryan and Nate, also took it upon themselves to give me some much-needed baseball lessons before we went to see a Cardinals game—though I can’t promise I’ve mastered the sport just yet.
School in America is very different from school at home. Each morning began with a prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and daily announcements—including birthday shout outs. During our first week, we experienced ‘Spirit Week’, where each day had a different theme. Highlights included dressing as Justin Bieber, ‘rob your grandma’ (which raised a few questions), and tourist day, which, thankfully, was easy enough for us. Justin Bieber’s day was probably my favourite because at lunchtime there was a dunk tank where many students attempted to hit the target for us to fall in the water.
Although Kylie was my host at home, I was also paired with an in-class host, Caroline. When she was out sick, I went to class with her best friend, Maddie, and I ended up becoming very close with both of them.
Kylie had lacrosse practice most days after school, and one afternoon, while watching with my friends Ailbhe and Emily, we were invited to join in. Let’s just say… we gave it our best shot.
We went on a good few field trips, as a group. We visited the Art Museum, the Forest Park, the Arch, the Foundry, and the zoo. My favourite was by far the zoo with zebras, elephants, stinky camels, and the art museum, where we saw Claude Monet’s Lilies and picassos fruit basket. As Ailbhe and I walked through the art museum, we came across an eerie room, and to make it creepier, the security guard roaming the hallway told us that it was haunted! We laughed it off but were still intrigued, so we asked the next security guard we saw, and she hesitated for a little too long to tell us she had never seen anything abnormal, but that she’s had people tell her of their paranormal experiences!
We quickened up the pace, giggling to ourselves, hoping the haunted spirits wouldn’t be too offended.
And lastly, to the Kylie and Stokes families, thank you for everything. A special thanks as well to her grandparents, Mike and Pat, for taking me to McGuirk’s Irish Pub and making me feel completely at home.
It was the most amazing way to spend my last night—I couldn’t have wished for a better host family. You truly turned an exchange trip into a second home.