As a person who sunburns easily, dislikes the great outdoors and has an almost crippling fear of all animals, it seemed perfectly logical to me that the absolutely ideal place to spend seven weeks of my summer would be on school exchange in Australia!

The Gold Coast is a coastal city located in southeast Queensland, approximately an hour from Brisbane, known as a major tourist destination. Full of diverse suburbs including the famous Surfers Paradise, it attracts over ten million people each year. Located in Southport, St Hilda's is the only all-girls school on "the coast," a stone's throw from the Pacific Ocean.

Travelling alone for the first time was simultaneously exciting and a little scary, but unexpectedly draining. I underestimated the jetlag I would suffer on arrival, and most of the first day was spent asleep. Many of my friends in the UK had seemed confused when I told them I was going alone. However, there was more to my decision to leave my home for seven weeks and give up my summer to go to school than pure selfishness. In a way, I would not actually be alone, but rather always meeting new people and I would have Izzy, my exchange partner, to bond with, and her family to make sure I was happy and healthy. The purpose of going halfway across the world was to put myself in new situations that forced me to get accustomed to the unfamiliar to develop as a person.

Given that it was the summer, it would have been easy to relax and not give much thought to work, but being a guest in another school proffered the feeling of a need to represent myself and my country in the most positive light I could. Our uniforms being fairly similar, the exchange teacher did not notice me around school as much as the other exchange students, and I consider this testament that I blended in. Conforming to St Hilda's rules, I added a ribbon to my hair and wore white socks, and was consequently for all intents and purposes disguised as a regular pupil. Every student from grade five upwards and every teacher is required to own either an iPad or a MacBook, onto which all textbooks are loaded, to lower the school paper consumption. Although at first slightly bewildering, I soon became used to teachers asking that students open their Shakespeare apps, or telling them that they really must access their email more often during school hours.

One of the main things that attracted me to go on exchange was the chance to make friends from other countries, and in this respect, my experiences in Australia were more than successful. I was fortunate to not only get to know many St Hilda's students, but also some other exchange students from Baltimore, Tokyo, Exeter, Wellington and Paris. As well as making my time endlessly entertaining, they provided a cultural education like no other. Through good humour and being open to trying anything once, I found myself among a group of people I did not want to leave. Making and maintaining relationships across the world could open up any number of opportunities in the future, and these are friends I intend to keep for life. Two months after returning home, I have not forgotten the people I met, and I doubt I ever will.

It is not possible to truly understand a country in seven weeks, but my exchange felt like a more authentic engagement with where I was and its culture than any of my previous holidays to other countries has, and I think part of this comes from the fact that on exchange, you are sharing in the leisure activities of the local culture and participating in the routines of everyday life.

A week after I arrived, I went with Izzy and her father to Sydney, New South Wales, where among many other things, I crossed the Harbour Bridge and visited the Opera House, two sights known worldwide. Over four days, I had a lot of fun visiting places I have always wanted to, as well as those that I had never heard of but loved equally as much. The Jenolan Caves in the Blue Mountains are the oldest discovered open caves in the world, and are visually stunning. From Jenolan, we visited the Three Sisters near Katoomba, a rock formation steeped in Aboriginal and folk legend. The beaches on the Gold Coast were miles long, comprised of golden sands and rocky headlands. The waves were perfect for surfing, in particular at Surfers Paradise, as suggested in the name. On my second day in Australia, we made a trip to the Broadwater, but it was not until near the end of my stay that I took to the waves for a surfing lesson. To put it mildly, I was absolutely awful, but I did manage to stand up once and ride a wave to shore, before promptly falling off and almost drowning! That second day when I first saw the beach was also the day I first tried Vegemite, and while it would be a lie to say I liked it, it was not completely disgusting.

Australia is arguably primarily famed for its wildlife, and it did not disappoint. Most of the one hundred and forty species of marsupial found there are found nowhere else in the world, and there are two thousand kinds of native spiders alone. Fortunately, I did not have any close encounters of the eight legged kind, but I was lucky enough to see many other quintessentially Australian animals. At Dreamworld, a theme park twenty minutes from Surfers Paradise, I met my first kangaroo. I had been expecting to only be able to look at one behind glass, but I was able to interact directly with grey kangaroos, to feed, touch and have a photograph taken right next to them. From Kangaroo Corner, it was onward to the Koala Habitat, where it was possible to get close to one of the notoriously lethargic marsupials. If you hold the koala firmly enough, it grips you less tightly, but it must be said that the sensation was not exactly comfortable. Nevertheless, being able to show a photograph of me and my unlikely new acquaintance to my friends and family made me feel extremely proud. Dingoes, emus, crocodiles, snakes, bilbies, lizards, turtles and frogs completed a very thorough introduction to the fauna of Queensland.

The Australian national identity is arguably slightly more complex than that of the United Kingdom. Australia has a huge population of immigrants and is also home to many indigenous peoples who are constant in their efforts to obtain social reforms against the injustices they have suffered, especially with regards to land ownership, reclamation of their cultural heritage and greater legal protection. Before visiting Australia, I had not known very much about these issues, but through a variety of experiences, the perspective I gained, although not complete, helped me to have a greater understanding of the importance of acceptance. This included seeing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander exhibit at Brisbane Museum, the NAIDOC chapel service at St Hilda’s, watching ceremonial dances and visiting the Three Sisters, a natural phenomenon steeped in traditional legend. A broadened knowledge of foreign cultures and their relationship with our own can only help us to show more respect and sensitivity to the problems they face, and to avoid stereotyping.

Living with a family who I had never met before was a daunting prospect, but the kindness and good humour extended by my hosts was such that I integrated quickly to Australian daily life, from the very early wakeup call by the local cockatoo, to needing to wear sun cream and a hat to school every day. Australians spend the majority of their time outside, something that took a little getting used to, however, being in a new, wildly different environment made me want to explore nature, usually a foreign concept.

The tidal creek running through the Franiches' back garden played home to a number of colourful fish, bordered by tropical plants, and it was possible if you so desired to follow the creek by boat out to the Pacific Ocean. The ability to be on mile long golden sands by walking three minutes from school was one that was particularly hard to give up. The winter weather on the Gold Coast had to truly be seen to be believed, only raining once and rarely dipping below twenty four degrees. The looks of horror I received when donning shorts and a t-shirt for PE whilst my classmates wrapped themselves up in scarves, jumpers and tracksuit trousers were priceless evidence of the incontrovertible fact that Australians are simply not built for what they consider cold. Queensland is known as the Sunshine State, averaging three hundred sunny days each year. Being able to spend seven weeks in a place with such good weather was amazing, and definitely a pleasant change from the UK!

There are certainly aspects of my personality that have been improved from my experiences abroad. I have gained more independence, and being responsible for my own wellbeing fast developed my facility to make decisions and solve problems. I learned how to deal with my fears to avoid the regret of missing opportunities because of them. To a lesser extent, I also had to adapt my eating habits and for the sake of politeness, eat things that I would not normally or did not want to. I loved my trip and I would not have changed it for the world, nor was I homesick, but I found myself excited to go home and share what I had seen and done with my family. I have become more flexible, and now say yes to everything within reason. Things will not be the same as you are used to all the time when on exchange, but you cannot be constantly complaining and thinking of things as "better" back home. If you do this, nobody will want to be around you.

Challenges were inevitable, and although some of them may not have seemed very difficult, they presented a significant test for my ability to confront and address my worries. The opportunity to view a rainforest environment from above, twenty five feet above the ground over an assault course in the treetops at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, was unmissable, however, it took a large amount of my self-control to stay motivated throughout the experience, being as it was quite physically demanding. The feeling of defying the previous expectations of others in being able to finish the course, if only so that I could enjoy the view, was very satisfying.

In my opinion, a study exchange experience is very valuable. I learned something from each mistake I made and each obstacle I encountered. I could explore my talents and interests by almost starting up again and having to reintroduce myself at a new school, to new friends and to a new family, and in the process, identify my faults and weaknesses. The most important thing is to act, and not be afraid of making mistakes. It is impossible to take every opportunity, but those that we do change us and make us both a little wiser and a lot braver. You can either wait to be given those chances, or you can go out and create them yourself. If Australia taught me one thing, it is that I am able to do whatever or be whoever I want. I now stand confident that I can and will achieve my dreams - and that the journey will be just as beautiful.

Written by Ellie Warner, Year 11

Holding a koala

Sydney Opera House

10/10/11