A Life Changing Exchange

 

To say that it was a hard decision to come to this country would be a lie. I knew I wanted to come here and I was going to try to get myself here no matter what I had to argue my parents on. After some intense conversations with my mom and dad on if I was ready to spend a whole three months on my own in Australia, I was flying out of the country with one of my good friends, Trevor and his exchange partner, Conor. 

 

It was difficult to figure out how I was going to get here and where I was going to stay because of the fact that I am a boarder at LCS and my partner would have to board also. However with the help of Mr. Bird, we came up with the plan that I would be leaving and Mirrante, my exchange, would take my place in boarding while I was gone. I was lucky in this regard because we got to spend some time together here in Western Australia going on a 10-day hiking and rafting expedition in the bush together. The program is called Outward Bound, and is famous worldwide. I would say that it is famous for a very good reason because it was honestly the best thing that I have ever done in my life. The program is meant to challenge you whilst having fun, learning new skills and bonding with your group which is exactly what my experience was. There is no doubt that I loved every minute of it, even when I literally had ants in my pants.

 

Trevor and I had come to this country at a convenient time because straight after Outward Bound had finished, we were then on a 17-day holiday and I was onto staying with my second out of three host families. This arrangement actually worked out really well because between the three families, I have seen a large amount of the state of Western Australia. I spent the holiday with the Telfer family and they brought me along with them to their house in Bremmer Bay for a week on the south coast. I spent the week fishing on the beaches bright and early, swimming in the ocean and hiking up a mountain called West Mount Barren in the beautiful national park only kilometres from Bremmer Bay. After the week was over, I was taken back to their farm inland and learned different farming skills such as driving a yute (this is what they call a pick-up truck), a tractor, feeding a newborn calf and starting massive bonfires to burn excess wood in the paddocks. 

 

Now I am currently boarding at Bunbury Cathedral Grammar School on the coast of the city of Bunbury. I have taken on a few new classes such as Religion, Humanities, Cooking, Eucharist, Wellbeing, Driving and Aquatics where I go surfing in the ocean once a week. I have even been on my surfboard while a few dolphins swam by! I have also joined the field hockey team here (or as they like to call it, hockey) and I play twice a week. 

 

I don’t stay in boarding all the time because on the weekends I go to the Massey’s, whom I stay with on the coast in a town called Bussleton. When I go to Bussleton, I have taken advantage of the beach by running on it every Saturday morning and possibly trying to surf just a few kilometres down in a town called Margaret River in the future. I have been on some amazing walks through the bush and over rocks on the coast and I feel very lucky to have seen so much. 

 

Although my exchange is coming to an end in just a couple short weeks, I know that I will miss this place because I have made a connection like no other while experiencing the new environment and cultures of this magnificent country. I would not take back this trip for anything because I have learned so much and it has helped me grow as a person. I would recommend an international exchange to anyone because I think it will be one of the best things that I will ever do in my life. I will definitely be sad to leave here so soon.