Hudson and Klara are best friends who live on opposite sides of the world – Australia and Maryland! But they decided to do Discover AMIGOS together this summer. Learn about how they keep their friendship up while living 9,784 miles apart and why they chose to do Discover AMIGOS together.

How did you two meet?
In 4th grade, Klara moved to Sydney, and I (Hudson) was the first person she met at the French school there. We were in the same class and soon became close friends.

In 5th grade, we went on a 3-day field trip to Canberra (the capital of Australia) with our school to learn about parliament. One of the buses broke down, so we and six other students got stuck at a museum with two of our favorite teachers. We had a really good time playing Truth or Dare outside, and eating caramel bars, and raspberry pastries at the café until a new bus arrived.

How do you stay close friends when you live so far away from each other?
We FaceTime and text regularly, and we keep in touch through Instagram. Although we live very far apart, we visit each other as often as we can! Klara came to visit me in Australia 7th grade (she had moved back to Maryland earlier that year) and I came to stay with her in 8th grade for a week. We actually both went to New York together in January this year!

How did you both hear about AMIGOS?
My cousin (Klara) did a project in Panama with AMIGOS, and it sounded fun as well as rewarding, so we did some research on similar programs. We both really wanted to spend the summer together, and we wanted to do something fun but purposeful and beneficial to the world.

We found a perfect fit in the Discover AMIGOS project in Costa Rica because it focused on turtle conservation. Since we both love animals, we thought this program would be perfect!

Why do you think AMIGOS is important for teenagers to experience?
We believe that AMIGOS is a great opportunity for teenagers to develop independence as well as practice their Spanish in a daily context through the immersion experience. We hope to build some confidence and leadership skills during our time in Costa Rica.

We are so excited to go- it looks so beautiful- and of course, we are really looking forward to seeing each other!