Being overseas can be stressful. Fun, adventurous, eye opening, sure. But at times it is stressful. And stress can lead us to make decisions we wouldn’t necessarily make under other circumstances.
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I'm finished.
I have officially dropped out of Mansfield Secondary College, and have only 60 more days in Australia this year. It's incredible, knowing how soon my life is going to change, and yet I feel almost apart from it all You know that feeling when you know something is going to happen but you can't even begin to comprehend it? Your brain decides it's easier to accept it will happen, but tries not to think about it too deeply. That's how I feel at the moment.
We were sitting on top of the monkey bars at Merrijig Primary School, the place where we met and almost immediately became inseparable. We were talking about when-we-grow-up, which at that age is not a real part of life, because it's so far away, but a time to fill with dreams of travelling the world.
Our first plan was an exchange to Sweden. I have absolutely no idea why we chose Sweden, but we did, and we had our hearts set on it. The next trip we planned was to Canada. Neither of us had ever been overseas, we didn't know anything about Canada except that it had snow and maple syrup, and yet here we were, less than 10 years old, planning a trip there. I don't think either of us expected it to happen, but here I am, years later. 16 years old, about to leave home and set off for the other side of the world, to Canada. Since getting the incredible news from UWC, I have replayed that conversation in my head a few times, wondering whether it influenced the order of preferred countries I chose in my application. And you know what? I think it did. Since the chat on the monkey bars, I've been to 3 primary schools, visited 5 countries, and made thousands of priceless memories. At the beginning of grade 3, when Lani was starting prep, we moved to Geelong for 6 months. Mum went back to university to study to become a teacher, Lani and I went to her old primary school, and Dad had 6 months off. We came back to Merrijig, and I finished grade 3 at Merrijig Primary School. Lani and I began the next year of school at Mansfield Primary School which was HUGE (about 250 students) !!! At the end of that year (2011) we went to Denmark for the summer holidays. It was absolutely amazing. It was my first time overseas, and I had the time of my life. I think cobbled streets and tiny European towns are somehow a part of my genetic makeup, and I honestly don't know how I survived the first 9 years of my life not knowing they exist. I started high school at Mansfield Secondary College in 2014. Year 7 and 8 were dotted with all sorts of fun adventures and experiences. In year 9 I heard about the Victorian Young Leaders to China Program, which was run through the Schools for Student Leadership. MSC had been offered 6 places for year 9 students to take part, and go to China, so without thinking twice, I applied. My application got me an interview, which was successful, and I was chosen to spend 2 months with 40 other Victorian students who I'd never met, in China. To find out more about my time in China, press the 'My China Blog' button below. I returned from China, having learnt so much about myself, about others, and about how vastly different 'normal life' can be in different countries with different cultures. I was hungry for more, I wanted to travel, to learn, and if I could, to help. It was this that led me to my next big adventure. Towards the end of year 9, I heard about a program MSC offers that takes students to Timor Leste (East Timor) where Mansfield has a sister town called Venilale. I put my name down to express my interest, and discussed it with my family. Mum and Dad were all for it, as long as I could pay for it. I came up with a thousand wonderful schemes before I admitted to myself that the only way to do it was to get a job. So I did. After hours of washing dishes, and some careful saving, I had got myself $700, but that wasn't enough. Talk of deposits and final payment dates became more common, so Dad and I came up with a plan. He was keen to come to Timor Leste too, and so we started planning the adventure that would get us there. My birthday present in December 2016 was a one-way train ticket, and a card that said 'good luck'. Dad and I spent the holidays planning a bike tour from Yass (Central NSW, where our train tickets took us to) back home, a total distance of about 600kms. We planned the trip over the April holidays, because it would take us 8 days to ride that far. The ride was unsupported, so we had no vehicle, had to carry all our gear, and hope our legs could push us all the way. After lots of training, and a little bit of careful packing, we were off. We made the journey in 7 days, one less than we had planned for, and raised $5700 along the way. In July, 8 girls from school and 8 community members from the Mansfield District met at Melbourne airport and flew to Darwin. After a couple of hours there, we flew to Dili, the capital of Timor Leste. We spent 2 weeks in Timor, and it was definitely one of the best experiences of my life. And then finally, Pearson College. The biggest adventure so far. Pearson itself was a bit of an umbrella adventure, with heaps of little adventures stemming from it. To read about all of these adventures, head up to the travel blog tab, and pick which bit you want to read about first!! I hope you enjoy, Love, Bella |
AuthorHey, I'm Bella! I'm a young traveller, writer and tea lover, and here's where I write down a lot of my random thoughts and ideas. Enjoy! :) Archives |