After a grueling 15 hour flight (a total of 30 hours in transit) to Adelaide, Australia, I had had it. I was tired, hungry, and generally looked certifiably crazy. Was it worth it? Definitely.

During the weekend before school started, I went with my exchange student Mikayla and her mom to a wildlife park where we saw tons of amazing Australian animals, such as kangaroos, wallabies, emus, and Tasmanian  devils. I even got to hold a koala, which was awesome!

On my first day, I was pretty freaked out. I’ve been a student at LCC for practically my whole life, and now I had to start all over. What was I thinking? When we arrived at the Westminster School, I saw that all the lockers and hallways were outside, just like in the movies! Once I had met some of the people in my grade, I started to feel more at ease and enjoyed the lessons. The great thing about Westminster is that you get to be outside all the time between classes, at snack, at lunch, and recess.

All my classmates have been really friendly and curious about my foreign Canadian lifestyle, and all the teachers and students are really great. Australia has been an fantastic experience so far and I can’t wait for the new things to come. – Katina Gardilcic ’16