The idea of going somewhere you have never been before and being surrounded by people you have never met either is quite scary. I never thought that I would have been able to do that and let alone apply for it myself. I am so happy that I got over that fear of going on exchange and I had the experience of a lifetime.

After 20 hours of flying, I finally arrived at the Melbourne airport. I was greeted by a tall family holding signs with my name written on them. It was so welcoming and I felt comfortable with the family immediately. After an hour and a half car ride to a small town called Ballarat, I arrived at their home. After two hours of being home, I experienced culture shock. Not only were there kangaroos in the wild, only a ten minute walk from Lisie’s house, but two donkeys, two alpacas, three chickens, a dog and a cat on their property!

In Ballarat, we went to the Wildlife Park. All animals are in paddocks except for the kangaroos, alpacas and emus that walked around the park freely. It was so cool to be able to feed the kangaroos and pet them. I even saw a joey come out of the pocket of his mother. It was adorable! We also went horseback riding. That is something that I have never done before and it was awesome!

Throughout my time in Australia, I went on three big trips. I went to Apollo Bay, Phillip Island and Melbourne.

On the way to Apollo Bay, we drove on a road called the Great Ocean Road. Soldiers who returned from war between 1919 and 1932 built it. Along the road are the names of soldiers who passed away during World War 1 and it is the largest war memorial in the world. It goes along the ocean and it is absolutely beautiful!

The next morning, we headed off to a zip-line course through trees called Otway Fly. It was a thrilling experience that showed me that my time in Australia was going to be full of adventure. The next day was spent on the beach, boogie boarding in the ocean and playing soccer in the sand.

On Phillip Island, we went boogie boarding down a sand hill into the ocean. It was so enjoyable and it reminded me of tobogganing in the winter. Except for the fact that we were in bathing suits and that it was not -5 C weather. For dinner, we sat by the ocean eating fish and chips. I felt like a true Aussie!

In Melbourne, we visited a couple of chocolate shops and ate lunch on a tramcar that went around the city of Melbourne. We also went to a building call the Eureka Sky Deck. It is the tallest residential building in the Southern Hemisphere. We did something called the edge where you sat in a clear box, which pulled three metres out from the building 300 metres above the ground. That night, Lisie and I also went to go to see a concert. It was amazing! The next morning, we went swimming with dolphins and seals. It was so cool to see them in their natural habitat in the ocean.

Even though I was only there for seven weeks, I feel like I have made friends and memories at Ballarat Grammar which will last a lifetime. I will never forget the friends that I have made and it makes me so sad to realize that I will not see those people for a while. It is insane how close you can become with people in such a short time. I cannot wait to spend more time with my exchange, Lisie, in Montreal! – Annie Wiseman ’17, Exchange Student at Ballarat Grammar