By Sarah Smith

I have learned so much over my last few months on exchange, but I think the hardest thing I’ll have to learn now is when to stop talking about it all. Otherwise I will absolutely fall into the “When I studied abroad…” stereotype.

There are so many things I could say about my exchange, and I’ve certainly learned why some of the clichés are so true. So to get those out of the way first; yes it was life changing, yes I am more confident than when I left and yes I am absolutely a different person now.

I have always been a very cautious person, I tend to stay on the overly-safe side of things and I’ve often wished I could be more spontaneous. Going on exchange allowed me to actually do that, but also to realise that I can live my life at home differently as well. I definitely considered myself a very ambiverted person, but I’ve realised that deep down I am far more extroverted than I have ever realised. I am at my best and at my happiest when I’m with people and learning new things about them. Returning home I know that I want to continue seeking environments where I can do that.

One of my favourite parts of being on exchange was having a friend group where almost everyone is from different parts of the world. I will really miss the conversations like “Do you guys do cross country and athletics at school?” “What’s it like having a roommate in your university dorm?” or even “What age did you start drinking?”. Those little insights into how different our lives and childhoods are were endlessly interesting to me.

I still cannot believe the amount of travel we were able to do in the span of just five and a half months. It’s easy to feel isolated in New Zealand but being based in the U.K meant that travelling around Europe was so accessible with the money we had all saved for our exchange. The budget airlines and overnight trains made all the difference which in the end allowed me to visit 14 countries in our time. Once, at the airport my friends and I saw a Ryanair model aeroplane for sale with a £26 price tag on it. We all laughed because we had bought Ryanair flights that were cheaper than that.

Appropriately, one of the highlights of our adventures was actually within Wales. We decided that we wanted to explore beyond Cardiff and surrounding southern Wales and see what was up north. We took a train up to Rhyl as a home base and did day trips around North Wales for a few days. We went to a beautiful cove in Anglesea, explored Conwy Castle and did a beautiful walk around Llyn Idwal in Eryri National Park. This was a favourite for so many reasons; we had stunning weather the whole time, it was the first time that our whole friend group was able to travel together plus the scenery and the sights are amazing. I have never seen anything like Llyn Idwal and there’s truly nothing like exploring the ruins of a castle like Conwy. The whole trip felt undeniably magical.

I was really fortunate that I didn’t struggle with homesickness at all, but I credit that mostly with how often I talked to my family and stayed in touch with friends at home. The distance feels much smaller when you can still be with your people in one way or another. I did however run into a few logistic issues with IRD and my enrolment status at Waikato getting a bit lost. But both of those issues were pretty easily resolved with the help of the Global Experiences team.

Looking into the future, my main hope is that I get to see the amazing friends I made again soon. One of the biggest gifts that my exchange has given me is that I will have travel buddies all over the world for life. I cannot wait to go visit them, to explore more of the world with them, and to be their tour guide of New Zealand someday. I know that one day I’ll be 60-something and still figuring out what the next trip with my exchange friends should be.

My exchange has drastically improved my communication skills, my cultural awareness, my ability to cope with unfamiliarity and my ability to connect with new people. My exchange has given me so much. This was truly the best way for me to see the world while I’m young without interrupting my study. It’s funny to me that I started researching and going to the global experience info sessions mostly to keep my options open. My mindset was “I’ll just apply, and if I change my mind, it’s easier to say no than to wish I’d applied in the first place.” But somewhere along the line I realised it would be one of the biggest regrets of my life to let this opportunity pass me by. Choosing to take the leap is potentially the best decision I have ever made.