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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 ha fatto uno scambio scolastico in Australia

Amanda, finlandese, è in scambio in Australia.

Come hai deciso di partire?

Ricordo di aver scritto una lista dei pro e dei contro di un anno di scambio prima di iscrivermi al primo colloquio con STS. La decisione di partire o meno mi ha cambiato la vita. Ma sono giunta alla conclusione che le opportunità e gli aspetti positivi superavano quelli negativi. Ora posso confermare che avevo ragione e da allora non ho mai rimpianto la mia decisione. Alla fine sono andata sulla Sunshine Coast, in Australia, dove resterò per 12 mesi. Non avevo molte aspettative su come sarebbe andata a finire, ma vivere sulla Sunshine Coast è stato meglio di quanto avessi mai immaginato. Sto vivendo la vita dei miei sogni!

Com'è l'Australia come destinazione di scambio?

È il luogo perfetto per chi vuole vivere la vera vita da spiaggia australiana. Qui non ci si annoia mai, ci sono sempre cose nuove da fare e posti da vedere. La cosa che preferisco dell'Australia è sicuramente lo stile di vita rilassato. Mi piace svegliarmi presto durante i fine settimana per fare una passeggiata, fare surf, una nuotata mattutina, mangiare un brekkie australiano e andare al mercato per fare shopping e mangiare qualcosa di buono. La vita è lenta e il fatto di vedere canguri per strada mi sembra un sogno. Mi sono innamorata dello stile di vita australiano e non vedo l'ora di tornare e viaggiare dopo il diploma in Finlandia.

Com'è la tua vita quotidiana?

La mia vita quotidiana consiste nel vestirmi con l'uniforme per la scuola e poi con il bikini nel pomeriggio quando vado in spiaggia. Trascorro la maggior parte delle mie giornate con gli amici in spiaggia, facendo grigliate, escursioni, gite di un giorno nei fine settimana alle spiagge, alle cascate o ai mercati e, soprattutto, guardando albe e tramonti il più spesso possibile.

Qual è il suo ricordo più bello finora?

È impossibile dire un solo ricordo preferito! Ma una serata che non dimenticherò mai è un concerto a cui sono andata con tre miei amici. Anche un paio di viaggi in Australia organizzati dalla mia scuola per tutti gli studenti internazionali sono stati fantastici.

Quali sono i tuoi principali insegnamenti?

Un anno di scambio ti fa crescere e cambia la tua mentalità sulla vita in molti modi. Ti cambia molto come persona e ti rende più indipendente. Prima ero molto concentrata sulla scuola, ma vivere in Australia mi ha fatto capire che la scuola è solo una parte della vita e che ciò che conta davvero è vedere posti nuovi, creare ricordi e passare del tempo con le persone che ami.

Sei soddisfatto di STS?

Il personale di STS è stato di grande supporto durante l'intero processo e mi ha aiutato molto a decidere quale area e quale scuola fossero più adatte a me.

Qualche consiglio per chi sta pensando di partire?

Certo:

  1. Tutti possono farlo!
    Non è necessario essere molto estroversi o conoscere perfettamente se stessi.
  2. Non fate paragoni!
    Non paragonate voi stessi e la vostra esperienza con gli studenti di scambio precedenti. Ognuno ha un'esperienza unica e qualsiasi cosa accada, vi cambierà molto come persona, diventerete più indipendenti e vi creerete ricordi e amici per tutta la vita.
  3. Apprezzate le piccole cose!
    Un anno di scambio non sarà sempre perfetto al 100%. Apprezzare ed essere grati per tutte le piccole cose positive della vita quotidiana è molto importante.

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