By Amber Fiock

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in another country, away from what you know and are used to? That’s exactly what Miss Linda Geddes of Newtownards, County Down, Northern Ireland has been doing for the past eight months.

Geddes switched lives with Yreka High School teacher Lynda Barnett for the 2007-08 school year, through the Fulbright Exchange Program. The two teachers exchanged houses and jobs. Both are English and drama teachers. For the past several months, Geddes has been teaching drama and sophomore English at Yreka High School.

Geddes was born September 8, 1975, and graduated from Queen’s University of Belfast with a BA in English language and literature. Her favorite parts of being a teacher are reading and talking.

“I get paid to talk about books! Perfect,” Geddes exclaimed.

She has also worked as a counselor, in retail, and in a children’s home.

Geddes chose to come to America based on the friendly atmosphere she experienced from the five times she’s visited in the past. She also feels there’s a lot to see and do. The students and YHS librarian Sandee Sanders have become Geddes’ favorite part of Yreka.

While on exchange, she has also had the chance to visit new places, such as Brookings, OR and Hawaii. To others, this may sound like a vacation, but for Geddes, it’s had been far from a chance for rest and recuperation. Instead it has taken some time to settle into American culture. Fortunately, the faculty and staff at YHS has helped her by being very welcoming.

“Adjusting was difficult, especially at the start,” Geddes recalled. “I’ve definitely made some friends I’ll keep. Hopefully they’ll get to come and visit Northern Ireland some day.”

While in the United States, Geddes has missed four of her closest friends giving birth. And, although Geddes is a bachelorette with no children of her own, she looks forward to seeing her “mum,” dad, brother, sister, and four nieces back home.

Northern Ireland and America differ slightly in the way they approach education. For instance, the educational system in the United Kingdom is only mandatory until the age of 16. National testing determines grades and progression after 16, and in Geddes’ school, uniforms are compulsory.

Geddes said that the cultural part of America and the social opportunities greatly differ from Northern Ireland, “particularly for someone my age. But generally, people are people.”

American food is similar to what people in Northern Ireland eat, but Taco Bell was something she just recently tried, along with root beer floats. Geddes loved Taco Bell, but could not finish her float.

Although America has been a warming experience, she has a pet peeve.

“People don’t realize that Northern Ireland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom,” Geddes explained.

She is considered British for this reason, not Irish. For Geddes, New Zealand is next on the list of countries to visit if she were able to participate in another exchange program. Because of the friendships created here, though, she would like to come back and visit America again.

Feature writer Amber Fiock is a junior at Yreka High School.