Mandarin anyone? It isn’t an easy language to learn but Hailey Quig can’t wait to give it a try.

She’ll have plenty of opportunity. Come September, the 15-year-old will leave the Island for northwestern China for two years. It’s part of a cultural exchange under the banner of United World College.

Hailey was one of four teenagers selected for the programme this year. Padraig O’Shaughnessy, Sara Vallis and Hana Bushara will respectively travel to Wales, Costa Rica and Italy.

The idea is they’ll complete their International Baccalaureate diplomas while there.

There’s a whole world out there, and Hana Bushara wants to see it.

First up is Italy.

The 16-year-old is off to the United World College Adriatic in Duino this autumn.

“Sometimes it is easy to forget there’s more out there when you live in a small place like Bermuda,” she said.

She had the first choice of UWC spots and chose Italy.

“I love Italian culture,” she said.

She did a summer exchange programme last year in France organised by the Alliance Francaise. She feels that prepared her for the language barrier she’ll invariably face in Italy.

“I had a Russian roommate who did not speak French or English,” she said.

“She would play heavy metal music which I would pretend to like just so we would have something in common.

“At breakfast we would make each other laugh by making jokes with our hands. We had to be creative.”

Her music tastes run more to classical guitar, which she plays with the Bermuda School of Music.

For her final project at Somersfield Academy, she wrote six songs to demonstrate the power of creativity.

“I also made a documentary about the importance of creativity,” she said.

“The songs weren’t along a theme. One was about police brutality.

“Since my final project I have done a few gigs with Chewstick and the Bermuda Folk Club.”

She hopes to keep up her music in Italy.

She has attended Somersfield Academy since she was a toddler and will definitely miss her school friends.

“We have an amazing bond and have become like family,” she said.

“But I am extremely excited about what is to come for all of us in the next two years. This is a prime time for new beginnings.”

She wants more people to support UWC programmes.

“Please donate to it,” she said. “It promotes global awareness and intercultural understanding. It is a way to get to know the world around you.”

Hailey Quig had to make a tough choice.

Two years in China or two years in India?

Either one meant spending time somewhere far away from home.

But it was exactly why she’d signed up with UWC.

The 15-year-old selected the Changshu campus, in the northwestern part of China.

“I’m so excited,” she said. “I have a Rosetta Stone computer programme on the way, and I also hope to pick up a few words from a friend who speaks the language, before I go.”

Bermuda was offered spots in three different UWC campuses.

“They chose four students though,” Hailey said. “We were ranked and I had fourth choice.

“That meant it was quite a lengthy process for me, because the selection committee had to reach out to the other campuses to find out which would take me and had space. I was offered a spot in either India or China and I took the China spot.”

Winter temperatures can be brutal in some parts of China, but Hailey was unconcerned. “Changshu is quite temperate,” she said. “The average winter temperature is about 30F.”

Going all the way to China means she may not be able to come home as frequently as students at other UWC schools.

“I’m not worried about it,” she said. “I will make friends. I am just excited at the moment. The nervousness hasn’t set in.”

The Bermuda High School graduate loves to travel and spent last August on a cultural exchange in Peru.

“It was arranged through the Round Square programme that my school belongs to,” she said.

“I stayed with a host family and went to school there. I really think it was a test run for going to China.

“The experience helped me to become more independent.”

She will be part of a pioneer group in Changshu.

“UWC have a school in Hong Kong, but they have just opened up the one in Changshu,” she said. “I am really excited to be a part of the first group.

“I’ll be helping to start something new there.”

Her passions are classical guitar and squash.

“I hope to keep pursuing them in China,” she said.

She is not yet sure what she wants to do as a career, but thinks it might be in the economics or business arena.

Wales may not be as far away as China or Italy, but it’s far enough for Padraig O’Shaughnessy.

He’s headed to the UWC Atlantic campus in Llantwit Major, Wales this autumn.

“I like the United Kingdom so I thought it would be a good fit,” said the 15-year-old.

The Somersfield Academy graduate applied for UWC because he liked the emphasis on service and action.

“It will also be a big academic challenge,” he said.

He has a diverse cultural background. His father, James, is from Ireland and his maternal grandmother, Elena Van-Beelen, is from Peru.

“I love having different cultures in the family,” he said.

“I think that has helped to open up the world for me. I have been to Ireland many times and we are hoping to visit Peru soon.”

Through his Peruvian ties he is almost fluent in Spanish.

“I could have gone to Costa Rica,” he said.

Padraig’s passion is rugby and he has played for the Bermuda National Team. Rugby has taken him to the Cayman Islands, the Bahamas and Ireland and he is looking forward to continuing in Wales.

“The school doesn’t have a rugby team, but I have been reaching out to teams in the area so I will definitely be able to keep playing,” he said.

He isn’t quite sure what he wants to do as a career but he thinks it might be in public relations or marketing.

“I think going to UWC will teach me how to connect with lots of different kinds of people,” he said. “That would be useful in marketing.”