Ashleigh Qama (Returnee) - VIC to Italy

Mon 09 Jul 2007

Ashleigh Qama from Emmaus College in Victoria, has recently participated on our semester program to Italy. Here is her feedback.

I recently returned back to Australia from spending a semester in Italy. The last five months have flown by (the saying about time flying when you’re having fun really is true) and although I’m across the other side of the world, Italy doesn’t seem so far away.

My adventure really started on the plane, sitting with the other exchange students and finding that we shared the same feelings of excitement and nervousness, the same worries and fears, and the same sense of not knowing what to expect. I was very nervous about meeting my host family- I hadn’t seen a picture of them, and through emails you can only really get a limited amount of knowledge about your new family. However I had no reason to worry; from day one my host family was always very welcoming and made me feel like part of the family.

For me the first month was much of a steep learning curve. I had studied Italian at school for ten years, but within my first few days I discovered I knew the bare basics and not much else- 24 hours in Italy can not even compare with ten years’ worth of lessons. Communicating was hard but my Italian improved greatly without me realizing it. I also was at a separate school to both my host sisters so I had to make my friends on my own. My class at school was described as “vivacious” by one teacher- they hid in closets and jumped out halfway through lessons, yelled across the classroom, as well as many other things that I was not used to, but they were always making sure that I was being included and that I was having fun.

After the first month my nervousness left me and I started to really feel comfortable at home and at school. There were always little milestones that marked my achievements- first time I could completely understand a conversation, first close friend, first party, first time I could read something without needing to ask what a word meant- and I started to feel proud of myself and what I was doing. Every day I would learn something new or do something I’d never done before. These achievements usually came by from trial and error though, which happened almost every day as well - I had to learn very quickly to take this in my stride and not dwell on it.

Within a few months I felt very much a part of the family and community, and gradually I began to start thinking in Italian- a strange experience, yet a good thing- and part of my class. My host sisters and I became really close and I looked forward to going to school just to be around my friends.

Some advice for others going on exchange:
- Don’t hold yourself back from interacting with others.
- Realize that Australia is radically different from where you are/are going, and not “better” or “worse”.
- Try food first, ask what it is later - when you know what it is, you may not want to eat it.
- Always take the opportunity to do something new if it presents itself.
- If you’re going in winter, take as many warm things as you possibly can!
- When things seem too much to handle, take a nap- sleeping helps clear your head.

Overall my experiences on exchange were very positive, and it is something I will never forget. I’m still keeping in touch with my friends and host family, and I hope I can return soon to see them again!

Cheers,

Ashleigh