- Name Olivia Milnes
- Destination Great Britain
- Home State Victoria
- School year 2007 / 2008
My adventures in the UK
When I first arrived in England, I was instantly captivated by a country of excitement and culture. All my nervous thoughts and unsure feelings towards exchange seemed to immediately disappear. I could not have asked for a more welcoming and exciting first week in England that the EF Culture Camp in Winchester had provided me with. I had one of the best weeks of my life there, meeting friends from all over the world including Mexico, Brazil, Norway, Germany, New Zealand and Netherlands who I still keep in contact with now. We had such a great experience, visiting town, participating in camp activities and of course going to London for the very first time.
The next 6 months fell in place perfectly. I arrived at my host families house in Birmingham, the second biggest city in England, still buzzing from camp and the excitement and experiences just kept coming. My host family were great, welcoming me into their home and exposing me to British culture and life. As much as I was so interested in learning about the UK, they were also interested in learning about Australia. I had the greatest pleasure in having another host sister from Brazil who I got along with from the very start and we ended up being best friends. I still talk to her all the time now.
I was slightly nervous about starting school. However I wasn’t alone as there were a number of other exchange students going to my school. At first it was daunting, but the excitement of choosing subjects and meeting new people put everything else in the back of my mind. I settled in immediately. I met so many new people in all my subjects and made some really, really good friends that I know I will keep for life. My friends were one of the many things that made my exchange trip so brilliant. It felt like I had known them for years and I know I will see them again.
I did many exciting things while in England. I went on the EF Discovery Tour to Edinburgh, Scotland. This was one of the highlights of my trip to England. It is the most beautiful city I have ever seen. We went for 4 days and it was a great chance to see all my friends from camp again and hear about how they are going with their new families and at their new schools. We visited Edinburgh castle and went on a shuttle bus tour as well as a Witchery tour learning about all the mysterious history of Edinburgh. I went to London 3 times during my stay. London is one of my favourite cities in the world. The atmosphere and excitement of it was so amazing. I visited the Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, went on the London eye, visited Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar square, Buckingham Palace not to mention ride on the red Double Decker busses and the London tube! And how could I forget the amazing shopping down Oxford Street! I was fortunate enough to experience snow while in England and also go to an EPL football game and support my team Aston Villa. I also went to the theatre at Stratford apon Avon, the birth place of William Shakespeare which was only about 45 minutes from where I was living.
The end of my exchange was by far the hardest part. It was so difficult to leave my host family and friends who I had developed such strong relationships with. I did not want to leave one bit. My Exchange trip had taught me so much and made me grow so much as a person, learning from experiences and experiencing such a different lifestyle. As much as I was sad it was over, I was also excited about the future ahead, hopefully including England in it.
