Student Exchange Australia: Challenging Experiences

Posted on February 25, 2014 by admin

The first two weeks in Australia have been amazing and I am already enjoying myself. After a long 20-hour flight via Vancouver, I was really excited to finally arrive in Australia. The weather has been amazing; it has been sunny every single day. Everyone was very welcoming when I got here and they all tried to make me feel included. I have made some new friends that are very nice and caring.

The family I am staying with is one of the nicest and funniest families I have ever met. Dinner is something I look forward to during the day because I know it will be filled with laughter and enjoyment. My exchange partner Clare, has a little brother Angus, who is 11 years old and is very energetic and has a passion for the Olympics, so he has been keeping me updated on how Canada is doing and I even watch some of it with him. Clare also has an older brother named Jack who is very kind and intelligent. Both parents are extremely nice and welcoming.

My exchange family lives in Ballarat, Victoria that is a small town about an hour and half from Melbourne. Every day we pack our own lunch and either bike to school or Clare’s mom drives us. It’s about a 3-minute drive and an 8-minute bike ride. Right in front of Clare’s house, across the street, is a beautiful lake. There is a nice pathway that goes all around the lake that is about six-kilometres long. I sometimes take this route to get to school.

My first weekend in Victoria, we drove down to Clare’s beach house in Anglesea. The beach was beautiful and different from any other beach I have been to. Her house was a street away from Great Ocean Road, a famous road along the coast of Southern Australia, which has a beautiful view of all the different beaches. We spent the first day at the beach relaxing, tanning, swimming and boogie boarding. On Sunday, we had a surfing lesson in the morning, which was a blast. Even though I was probably the worst in the group I still had tons of fun. It was a tough and challenging experience especially since everyone was better than me and it was sometimes embarrassing but you will never succeed if you don’t try new things and I can’t wait to go surfing next weekend!

This past weekend we went to the Ballarat Wildlife Park. I saw so many different animals I such as kangaroos, koalas, Tasmanian devils, wombats, echidnas and emus. It was so cool to see all these different animals. On Sunday, we went to Sovereign Hill, which is an open-air museum and a historical park. We travelled in a small train underground into a mine and learned how the miners back in the day worked. There is a street with many small stores, which makes you feel as if you have just stepped into the 1850s. It was very interesting and fun to learn about Australian history.

My first few weeks here have been great and I am looking forward to spending the next couple of weeks in this wonderful place. – Clara MacIntosh ’14 (LCC Exchange Student @ Ballarat Grammar in Melbourne, Australia)

Student Exchange Australia: Memories That Will Last a Lifetime

Posted on February 21, 2014 by admin

For the last few weeks, I have been attending Carey Baptist Grammar School. Carey is a co-ed private school located in the suburb of Kew. The school runs through prep (k) to grade 12 and there are about 200 students in each grade. The girls’ summer uniform is a yellow dress.

School here isn’t much different from LCC, they use laptops and have projector screens but one big difference is that our lockers and corridors are outside and the campus is huge. It took me over a week to find my way around because there are so many buildings but everyone was really nice by helping me find my classes. Something I love about Carey is that they have heaps of electives from total sports to CSI; it’s easy to find a class that suits your interests.

Melbourne is about the size of our downtown with the Yarra River running straight through it. The city center is where all of the big buildings and shops are located, with many suburbs surrounding the city.

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve gone to loads of shops and had the wonderful opportunity to try pizza in a cone made out of dough! I’ve also visited a beautiful beach called Inverloch, which is about an hour away from the suburb I’m staying in called Canterbury. I have visited the Queen Victoria Market, the Eureka sky deck and the relaxing hot springs.

Time has flown by, tomorrow is Friday when yesterday only felt like Sunday. I’m having an amazing time and making tons of new friends and I can’t imagine ever leaving this place. I’m super excited to continue exploring the different experiences Melbourne has to offer in my last few weeks because these are memories that will last a lifetime. – Aiyana Kaplan ’16

Australia Student Exchange: Whales, Views and Football!

Posted on February 18, 2014 by admin

Over the weekend my exchange partner, Brandon, and I took a trip down to a small community on the beach called Victor Harbour. There we went to eat at a little German restaurant where I had a delicious and traditional German grill breakfast. After we filled our stomachs, we made our way down to the South Australian Whale Centre, where we learned about whale history, whale anatomy and the use of all these different whale parts in our modern society.

Once educated on the wonders of whales, we got in the car and started to make our way back towards the boarding house, only to stop at another small town close by called Port Elliot. There we stopped at the Commodore Reserve with a beautiful view over the incredibly turquoise Horseshoe Bay. After taking in the sights and ripping my shorts on a metal post, we headed back to Adelaide.

Now the second part of our day had begun: Brandon’s parents dropped us off at the Richmond Oval, where I was about to witness my very first AFL game. It was a classic showdown between the two rival teams, the Port Adelaide Power and the Adelaide Crows. Although it was just a pre-season game, the intensity was still pretty high and the violence (as always) was over the top.

Unfortunately, besides the sheer brutality and incredibly fast-pace aspects of the game, it was pretty boring due to it being a huge blowout. By the end of the first half the Crows were up 76-16. Brandon and I ended up leaving during the 3rd quarter because of this and at this point I had been burnt to a crisp! – Charlie Joy ’14 (LCC exchange student at Westminster School in Adelaide, Australia)

Australia Student Exchange: Nothing Less than Extraordinary

Posted on February 17, 2014 by admin

After twenty-two long and strenuous hours, I had finally arrived in Melbourne on Saturday, January 8, 2014, two days after I had departed Montreal. My exchange partner Matthew, and his family live in Ballarat, located an hour out of Melbourne. Ballarat Grammar, the school I will be attending for the next seven weeks is situated in the heart of the city.

The past few days have been nothing less than extraordinary. The first day I arrived the weather was blazing hot! This was a shock to me as I left Montreal at a temperature of approximately -20 Celsius. As I disembarked the plane, I immediately felt a sense of freedom and independence. I was excited to experience a new country and yet, ecstatic to finally be exposed to an independent lifestyle for the first time.

When I arrived at Ballarat Grammar on Monday, I was greeted with hundreds of happy faces and immediately made friends. Matthew and his family have been so welcoming. I am only seven days into my exchange and it already feels like home.

On Tuesday, Matthew’s parents, brother and I attended Matthew’s rowing tournament. I had never watched a rowing regatta before, so this was an entirely new experience for me and I enjoyed it quite a lot. On Wednesday, classes were suspended as the entire school was transported to a large community pool for a swimming sports day full of events ranging from 50 meter backstrokes to water polo.

This weekend we are going to explore the Great Ocean Road, a long 91 km route that circles around the coast of Victoria and is known for its scenic views. All in all, I have had an excellent first week and can’t wait to continue exploring Australia and soaking in all it has to offer. – Ryan Hawa ’16

Australian Student Exchange: Adventures I’ll Always Remember

Posted on February 12, 2014 by admin

Choosing to visit Australia was definitely one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Though I am not even halfway through my stay here, I have already had many new experiences and have made lots of lasting memories.

Before I tell you about my amazing experiences here, I would like to say that the main reason my exchange trip has been so amazing is because of my host family. They are lovely and full of Aussie friendliness, and Stella, my exchange partner, is the best friend I could have hoped for! One thing I especially love about my host family is that they’re so caring and laid back. They’re so easygoing that they wouldn’t even mind if I happened to get hungry and made myself waffles in the middle of the night, not that I did that…

Here in Australia I have certainly made memories that will last a lifetime. After many long flights and delays I finally arrived in Pomona, Queensland on January 25th. The heat struck me the moment I stepped off the plane; it was definitely a change from Canada!

After settling in with my host family they took me on many outings. I’ve been surfing on the beach, saw dolphins at Seaworld and went horseback riding. One of my favorite activities so far was finally getting to meet a kangaroo. I had been looking forward to seeing my first kangaroo and these lovable furry creatures did not disappoint! The kangaroos were very sweet and had soft fur and big doe eyes. I will never forget how much fun it was to get to hug and pet some of the most adorable animals ever!

Australia is amazing, everyone is so friendly and welcoming, I wish my stay were longer! – Danova Gardilcic ’16 (LCC exchange student @ St Philip’s College, Australia)