Once in a lifetime

A funny thing happened at the post office the other day when I mailed a package for my sister's 21st birthday.

I told the clerk where my parcel needed to go and she asked for identification. As I handed over my Illinois driver's license she got quite confused. I insisted that "Yes, I'm an exchange student from a suburb of Chicago. In the United States."

She'd had an American in the post office earlier that day -- with a famous Yank twang -- but she said I sounded just like a fair-dinkum Australian with no trace of an accent.

So, to all of my mates who will see me in a few months' time, I hope you can understand me because sometime in the last eight months I've become completely fluent in Aussie.

Quite a lot in my exchange has changed since the start of the year. I was living on a farm in the tiny, 3,000-person country town of St. Arnaud, Victoria. That's all changed.

A year-long exchange program isn't a holiday, and it certainly isn't a smooth ride. Sometimes there are problems, and I ran into a few back in sunny St. Arnaud.

Without going into too much detail, the inner-workings of a tight-knit, isolated, rural community can be difficult for an outsider -- especially one from another country.

Not only did I have difficulties getting used to certain elements of life in a town like St. Arnaud, but some people in town found it difficult to accept a foreigner coming into an otherwise relatively unchanging environment.

Fortunately, the Rotary runs a very strong exchange program. I have an amazing support network and I've since been relocated to the "big city" of Horsham, Victoria, with a staggering population around 15,000.

Now that I've moved, a few people asked what I got out of the St. Arnaud experience and whether I regret my time there.

It's not easy to give up a year with family and friends to travel to the other side of the globe only to be met with trouble. However, the answer I give is: I wouldn't give up my time in St. Arnaud for the world.

I learned there are good people everywhere. I found the most amazing friends who I will never forget in St. Arnaud. But I also met a few of the not-so-good ones. It's the skills to cope with the second group that I really gained, and those skills will last me just as long as the good memories.

Since all of that cleared up in mid-January it's mainly been nothing but good memories in the making.

Shortly before moving, I spent four days with my host mom in Melbourne. The two of us saw "Priscilla," which is a very popular musical here about three drag queens traveling from Sydney to the center of Australia on a bus. It's adapted from the 1994 movie "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert."

Toward the end of January, I went on a "mini safari" with about 14 other exchange students. I traveled around the coastal Australian towns of Mt. Gambier, Portland, and Warnambool for 10 days with young people from Japan, Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, Denmark, Finland, France and Brazil.

I got my first view of Australian beaches after spending six months in drought-stricken rural Victoria. We went along the landmark Great Ocean Road and saw the famous jagged rocks named the 12 Apostles (which nature has reduced to nine or so).

We were taken to the massive sand dunes in Portland, and the Warnambool Rotarians took us to the gun ranges to learn how to shoot at targets.

Imagine 15 foreigners, including two very tiny Japanese girls, talking with nine different accents while trying to learn how to use a shotgun. I'll never forget it. The scenery was breathtaking, the water was lovely (but cold), the shopping left my wallet empty but my suitcase full, and the company was unforgettable.

Things have only gotten better.

My new town, Horsham, is only about an hour away from St. Arnaud, so I can go back and visit every once in a while.

The size here is comfortable. I'm attending Horsham College, which has about 1,000 students between seventh and 12th grades. While most people know who I am, they don't know too much about me. I can still meet new people after living here for over two months, but I've also made a pretty strong group of friends.

I've joined forces with an exchange student from Wyoming, Chase, and a Finnish exchange student, Johanna, who are also in Horsham. They really helped me get settled, especially by repeating all the names about 100 times until I could finally remember them.

With a bigger community comes more opportunities. While the 15 or so stores in Horsham Plaza are no match for Stratford Square Mall in Bloomingdale, it is refreshing to have more than one clothes store.

And while the movie theater may only show a few films at a time and may not seat that many people, it's nice to be in a town where there's at least an option for entertainment.

After being in a small town like St. Arnaud, you learn to appreciate things like that. A lot.

The Horsham East Rotary is my new host club. They have 67 members, which means there are more people to take me places and help me experience new things.

One of the Rotarians took me to Melbourne to see a Jewish synagogue. Because so many Jews came to Australia after the Holocaust, Melbourne has a fairly large Jewish population.

I saw a professional Australian-Rules footy match, which was an unbeatable experience. Another Rotarian is taking me to Phillip Island to see the penguins there.

My last set of host parents took me to the Otway Treetop Walk near Portland a few weeks ago. We walked up a steel ramp-like structure that took us to the height of a forest. We stood at the very top of 300-year-old trees that don't exist back in the United States. The colors and the size of it all was stunning.

The diverse and interesting wildlife here in Australia is something that I never get over. As we walked, it began drizzling and everything turned more green and vibrant. Because it's rare to experience rain here, it was so refreshing to see.

Anzac Day, April 25, is a day to commemorate all Australian soldiers, and all businesses and schools close. My host family took me to the dawn service where military veterans marched into the shivering gathering of people at Horsham's war memorial at a very dark, very cold 6 a.m.

Many military men and women attended in uniform. After a short service, the bugle played at sunrise. Don't get me wrong. I'd be the last person to support waking before 9 a.m., but I have to say it was a very moving service and even worth the early rise.

As I'm preparing for another Aussie winter by finally putting away my thong sandals and pulling out my warm socks, I'm also preparing for my exchange to come to a close.

These last two months of my year have already started to fly, and with our monthlong trip around the country coming up, I know it will only get faster. I'm digging my heels in because I'm not ready yet. I can't believe time has flown so quickly. I have had such a life-changing, unbelievable year so far.

And, yes, here's the point where I'll include my shameless plug for Rotary Youth Exchange. If you're a high school student that's in a foreign language class and want to tackle the world, go for it.

A year isn't as long as you think. It's nothing compared to the entire lifetime of change that exchange will produce. I can guarantee it won't be easy, but I can also guarantee it won't be like anything you've done before.

Why spend another year doing the same thing you've always done when you can explore foreign cities, learn a new language, make lifelong bonds with new people and maybe even see a kangaroo or two.

And, on that note, to all of you yanks up there: cheers, from a Sheila down under. See you soon.

Anyone interested in Rotary Youth Exchange can visit www.rye6440.org.