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Isabella was on an exchange year in Australia

Isabella was on an exchange year in Australia

Hello, my name is Isabella and I’m 18 years old. A few months ago I came home from the Sunshine Coast in Australia. I lived in Australia for 12 months, and now when I’m home again, I can easily say it was the best 12 months of my life. Doing an exchange year is the best decision I’ve ever made, and something I encourage everyone to do. You will not regret it!

Why did I choose to do an exchange year in Australia

The idea of doing an exchange year originally came from my dad telling stories about his high school exchange in the US. It sounded like he had so much fun and he always encouraged me to go as well. I had been thinking about it for years, and after my sister got home from her exchange year in Australia, I decided I also wanted to go. The main reason why I wanted to go was to take a step outside of my comfort zone, experience new things and live in a new country.

How was Australia as an exchange year destination?

I fell in love with Australia the first time I travelled there visiting my sister during her exchange year. I knew the moment I left Australia after visiting her, that I would be back there on my own exchange year, and so I did!

I lived on Australia’s east coast at the Sunshine Coast. The Sunny Coast is known for their amazing beaches, surfing, and as the name suggests, lots of sun! Living there was never boring, there were always things to do. The lifestyle, the beaches, the people and the overall vibe there is a lot different from home, and I loved it! As a person who loves being active and outdoors, the Sunny Coast was the perfect destination for me. I would recommend Australia as an exchange year destination for anyone that loves an active lifestyle, spending time outside, and most importantly, the sun and the beach.

Best things about my exchange

I can easily say that the best thing about my exchange year is all the people I met! My exchange year gave me so many new friends and a second family on the other side of the world.

My exchange year also taught me more than I ever expected. I’ve learned so much from leaving my comfortable and normal life behind, and stepping into a life so new and exciting, but also a bit scary. Creating a new life so far from home made me realise that the world is full of endless places and things to experience, and that life at home is not everything.

Favourite memory

It's hard to choose one, but I would say a trip to the Great Barrier Reef with my exchange friends. My school organised a trip to an island in the Great Barrier Reef, for all the exchange students in my school. The island was surrounded by coral reefs and we snorkelled among colourful fish and corals many times per day. We saw turtles, manta rays and even a reef shark! It was one of the most unique and fun experiences during my exchange year. It is a trip I won't forget.

The trip is a special memory, but I would also say that the small moments are the ones I miss the most now when I’m home again. Hanging out with my friends at the beach, eating dinner with my host family or going surfing on the weekend, are memories that feel so special now when I look back at my exchange year.

My top advice

My main advice for future exchange students is to try to live in the moment and appreciate every day. At first it felt like I was going to be in Australia forever, a year seemed so long, but 12 months have never flown by so fast and now I only wish I could go back. An exchange year is such a special and unique experience in your life and becomes only a memory pretty quickly. I would recommend saying yes to every opportunity you get, and try to appreciate every day as much as possible. Something I would also recommend, and I’m happy I did, is documenting my year. Take a lot of photos, videos, and maybe start a journal! It’s so fun to have your special year documented for the future.

Why I choose STS?

Finally, I want to thank STS for being the best organisation! I could not be happier with choosing STS. They have helped me with my exchange year in all matters, and made me feel like I wasn’t alone on the other side of the world. It felt good knowing that I would always get support and answers to my questions during my year abroad. STS is a trustworthy organisation with lovely people that will help and support you in all situations!

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Australia – our second home

Australia - our second home

Sisters Isabella and Amanda spent their exchange on the Sunshine Coast in Australia.

Amanda who was the first one to leave on her exchange year closely looked at the different schools that STS offered all over Australia. Important for her was to live close to the ocean, in an area with beautiful nature and rather in a smaller town than a big city. Amanda decided to move to the Sunshine Coast, a coastal town an hour away from Brisbane. The Sunshine Coast turned out to be better than she had expected and when it was Isabella's turn to choose her destination she had heard about all the pro’s of the Sunshine Coast.

In order to still get a unique experience she chose another school on the Sunshine Coast. The “Sunny Coast” as it is called in aussie slang feels authentic and it was in our opinion the perfect area to explore the real aussie lifestyle. It’s a family friendly area with a very active lifestyle. The Sunshine Coast has a long coastline with stunning beaches, markets on the weekends, smaller town centers with cafés and stores, cute picnic spots and hiking trails in the hinterland.

The first weeks

When arriving in Australia, Amanda had decided to put a little extra effort in the beginning. I had decided to try and call friends or family as little as possible during the first month. I said yes to everything that I was invited to and tried to be extra kind and open. I think my effort in the beginning helped to prevent homesickness in the beginning and I jumped straight into the aussie lifestyle.

Isabella particularly remembers that everything felt new and unfamiliar in the beginning. She would like to remind herself to not expect too much from herself the first weeks, everything will eventually fall into place.

The Australian high school

Before going on exchange we had heard a lot about the American high school experience with cheerleading, football games and prom. But the Australian high school was still quite unfamiliar. Differently from the USA and many other exchange destinations, we both wore a school uniform to school everyday. Beside the compulsory subjects we got the opportunity to create our own timetables and choose courses such as Marine Science, Aquatic Practises, Furnishing and Design. We wanted to try everything that isn’t offered in the Finnisch school. For Amanda, the biggest culture chock was that we didn’t eat warm lunch in a cafeteria. Everyone brought their own lunches and ate with their friend groups somewhere around the campus area. The school days usually finished before 2 pm, which meant we always had the afternoon for our free time activities.

The aussie lifestyle – the highlight of the year

Both of us fell in love with the Australian way of living. Taking part of the lifestyle the locals were living was one of our favourite parts of the exchange year. The beach culture was a very central part in life and Australians were very active. The weekends were often spent at the beach, people woke up for early beachwalks and surfing was a common hobby in the area. The sun sets quite early and Australians love their early mornings, so it became quite natural to go to bed early and start the day in the early hours.

How we spent our free time

Both of us joined a sport when we first arrived. Amanda played tennis, and Isabella started swimming. Both sports were familiar to us from back home. After a while we discovered the Australian way of living. Everyone is very spontaneous and adventurous. We both realised that we wanted even more flexibility in our day to day life, so we quit our sports and had time for all our new free time activities. Some days we just chilled at the beach, browsed around in the town and got an acai bowl or something to eat. Other days we chose to do more active activities such as going for a coastal walk, a hike in the hinterland, running or surfing. On the weekends we loved to explore new places by bus with our friends and visit markets. One of our favourite weekend evening activities was to have sunset picnics with our friends or BBQ:s at the beach. We were both open to trying new things so we also joined our schools’ netball teams.

Challenges we faced

What you see online is often a very filtered portrait of an exchange year, and in reality it is common to face challenges. Before leaving we were encouraged to do everything we possibly could. However building a new life and socialising all the time can become exhausting at some point. Therefore we learned that it is more than okay to sometimes stay home and take a break or do something completely by yourself. It’s not only a trip, but a whole life and you need to create a balance that is sustainable to keep up for a year.

Australia is quite a popular destination for exchange students. Therefore our schools’ had quite a few other exchange students. Comparing our own experience with the other exchange students’ sometimes became exhausting and it felt like it took away from our happiness. We both learned how to focus on all that we had instead of what we didn’t.

Our aussie favourites

A song that reminds us of Australia

  • Amanda: Brazil – Declan McKenna
  • Isabella: How To Fly – Sticky Fingers

An Aussie slang word

  • Amanda: Cheers Mate (a way of saying thank you)
  • Isabella: brekkie (breakfast)

Food

  • Amanda: Acai bowl
  • Isabella: Yochi frozen yoghurt

Tradition

  • Isabella: Going to farmers markets on Sundays
  • Amanda: Having BBQ:s at the beach

The best thing our exchange gave us

We can both agree that the people we met is by far the best thing about our exchange year. Not only all the amazing friends who we’re still in contact with, but also all the people we got to have conversations with and learn from during the year.

The very international environment in Australia has given us inspiration for opportunities on what we want to do in the future.

The future

Amanda came home from her exchange year two years ago and has now graduated from high school. She decided to study business in Finland. After experiencing an exchange year she waits for her next opportunity to live abroad. Amanda has plans on doing an exchange semester abroad during University and maybe wants to move abroad to work in her twenties. Isabella on the other hand, has two more years left of high school in Finland before she takes on the next adventure. We have supported each other through the whole journey, which has brought us even closer. We are already planning a trip back to Australia. Our dream has always been to drive around in a van, surf our hearts out and enjoy the Aussie lifestyle together very soon again”.

Lastly our best piece of advice for exchange students

  • Don’t always think about the future and highlights, such as bigger events, because then you will easily miss out on enjoying the small, but still unique everyday moments that will create the best memories.
  • So much will happen during your year abroad, so document it through photos, videos or maybe a journal or memory box.
  • Try not to compare what you see on social media or with other exchange students. Often what you see is still not the whole reality, so it just takes away from your own happiness and gratitude for what you have.
  • Be open and kind to people, because often joining one activity can lead to many more opportunities.

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Amanda war Austauschschülerin in Australien

Amanda aus Finnland ist als Austauschschülerin in Australien.

Wie hast du dich für Australien entschieden?

Ich weiss noch, dass ich eine Liste mit den Vor- und Nachteilen eines Austauschjahres geschrieben hatte, bevor ich mich für mein Interview mit STS angemeldet habe. Ich wusste, die Entscheidung zu gehen oder nicht könnte mein Leben verändern. Ich kam zu dem Schluss, dass die Chancen und positiven Dinge die negativen überwogen. Heute weiss ich, dass ich richtig lag, und ich habe meine Entscheidung kein einziges Mal bereut. Ich bin für 12 Monate an die Sunshine Coast in Australien gegangen, anfangs ohne bestimmte Erwartungen. Das Leben an der Sunshine Coast war besser, als ich es mir je vorgestellt hatte. Ein Leben wie in einem Traum!

Beschreib uns Australien als Austauschziel

Es ist der perfekte Ort für alle, die ein echtes australisches Strandleben führen wollen. Das Leben wird hier nie langweilig, es gibt immer neue Dinge zu tun und Orte zu sehen. Was mir an Australien am besten gefällt, ist der entspannte Lebensstil. Ich liebe es, an den Wochenenden früh aufzustehen, um spazieren zu gehen, zu surfen, morgens zu schwimmen, ein australisches Frühstück zu essen und auf einem Markt einzukaufen und lecker zu essen. Das Leben ist langsam und dass ich Kängurus auf der Strasse sehe, ist ein Traum. Ich habe mich in die australische Lebensart verliebt und kann es kaum erwarten, nach meinem Highschool-Abschluss in Finnland zurückzukommen und herumzureisen.

Wie sieht dein Alltag aus?

In der Schule trage ich eine Uniform und nachmittags gehe ich im Bikini an den Strand. Die meisten Tage verbringe ich mit Freunden am Strand, beim Grillen, beim Wandern, bei Wochenendausflügen zu Stränden, Wasserfällen oder Märkten, und am liebsten schaue ich mir so oft wie möglich Sonnenauf- und -untergänge an.

Was ist deine schönste Erinnerung?

Es ist unmöglich, eine Lieblingserinnerung zu nennen! Aber eine Nacht, die ich nie vergessen werde, ist ein Konzert, das ich mit drei Freunden besucht habe. Ein paar Reisen durch Australien, die meine Schule für alle internationalen Studenten organisiert hat, waren auch toll.

Was hast du gelernt?

Ein Austauschjahr verändert die Einstellung zum Leben. Es verändert dich als Person und macht dich unabhängiger. Früher war ich sehr auf die Schule fokussiert, aber das Leben in Australien hat mir gezeigt, dass die Schule nur ein Teil des Lebens ist. Wirklich wichtig ist, neue Orte zu sehen, Erinnerungen zu schaffen und Zeit mit Menschen zu verbringen, die man liebt.

Bist du mit STS zufrieden?

Das Team von STS hat mich während des gesamten Prozesses sehr unterstützt und mir bei der Entscheidung, welche Gegend und welche Schule am besten zu mir passen, sehr geholfen.

Hast du Tipps für zukünftige Austauschschüler?

  1. Jeder kann es machen!
    Man muss nicht sehr kontaktfreudig sein oder sich selbst perfekt kennen.
  2. Vergleiche nicht!
    Vergleiche dich und deine Erfahrungen nicht mit denen anderer Austauschschüler. Jeder macht eine einzigartige Erfahrung, und was auch immer passiert, es wird dich als Person sehr verändern, du wirst unabhängiger werden und Erinnerungen und Freunde fürs Leben finden.
  3. Schätze die kleinen Dinge!
    Ein Austauschjahr wird nicht immer 100%ig perfekt sein. Wertschätzung und Dankbarkeit für all die kleinen und positiven Dinge im Alltag sind sehr wichtig.

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