What does it take to fly across the world? We asked our recent Round Square participants why they took the leap!

From the furthest corners of the world, two bold young women found themselves stepping onto a plane in their home countries, and out again in hot, sunny Western Australia. Payton, a student at Rothesay Netherwood School in New Brunswick, Canada, and Lena, a student at Stiftung Louisenlund in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, both had a desire to shed familiarity and explore the unknown which led them to put their hands up to participate in the Round Square International Exchange Program.

Payton, with a curiosity for new experiences and a deep-rooted fascination with Australia, set her sights on the land down under. “I live in a small town, so I really just wanted to get out of my comfort zone and go somewhere I had never been,” she shared. Lena said she yearned for adventure beyond what she knew, with an interest in travel and meeting new people. Reflecting on her motivation to participate, she said it was straightforward. “I always liked Australia a lot, and then just decided on that!”

Their initial perception of Australia was, of course, shaped by tales of terrifying spiders and majestic landscapes. However, as they settled into their new environment, they discovered that reality differed from their expectations. “It is not as scary as people say it is going to be,” Payton confessed. “Everyone says it is beautiful and that’s true!” Her sentiments were echoed by Lena, who added, “I find people are more relaxed here, more easygoing.”

Payton and Lena have been hosted by Róisín and lndi. Grammar students who invited the girls into their lives and homes, with the excitement of a reciprocal visit to Canada and Germany meaning all four would get to experience a new place and culture. For the Australian host families, the addition of a new ‘sister’ has been a welcome one and an opportunity to play tourist in their own state. “It has always just been me and my brother,” said lndi. “Lena and I have done a lot more together than I would normally do on my own. We play board games and things like that – and when we took her to Perth, we actually explored it.” Róisín, whose family hosted Payton, was able to take the Canadian to Rottnest Island to see our famous quokkas. “It was so nice to just bike around and talk,” said Róisín.

In navigating a new culture and adjusting to their host families’ routines, the exchange students found that while life was pretty similar to home, there were some key differences. “People in Australia go to sleep way earlier than in Germany,” said Lena. “But they wake up earlier!” added Payton, saying that “people have more energy to go to the beach, to do things outside.” All the girls joked about having to explain Australian slang to their international counterparts.

For Róisín and lndi, the excitement is building for their own visit to their host sisters’ homelands. “I am counting down the days to visiting Germany,” said lndi. “I will be there in November so I am excited to go to the Christmas markets and experience winter.” Both Aussie girls will also get to immerse themselves in schools which function quite differently to BCGS. “The rules are really different at Payton’s school in Canada,” said Róisín, in relation to things like phones, jewellery and hair styles. “In Germany they have Saturday school – that is going to be so weird!” added lndi.

So what would Lena and Payton say to anyone considering going on exchange? Emphatically, they agreed, “Just do it! Even if it seems scary, just take the risk because it always works out.”