When Joanna’s school in Worcestershire planned an exchange trip to the US in 1989, she had no idea what to expect. “I was in the lower sixth form, and a group of us went for a month to Columbus in rural Georgia,” she says. “It was a culture shock. You had to recite the pledge of allegiance at the start of every day and all the kids seemed more confident and outgoing.”
She was being hosted by one of the teachers at the school, who had a daughter a few years younger than Joanna. For the first few days of her stay, the girls didn’t click. “I wasn’t convinced that Julie was happy I was staying with them,” she laughs. “I think her mum thought it would be good for her but she didn’t seem sure.”
