AUSTRALIA - ADELAIDE
The unknown. It always worried me a bit in my past. Even before I started my semester abroad, the unknown and all the uncertainty made me a litle nervous from time to time. Especially since we didn't have a flat when we got on the plane, and we also didn't even have an appointment to view a flat. Of course, I was never alone as there were three of us travelling to Australia, but it is still very nervewracking to travel to a distant, foreign continent without knowing where to rest for this period. Everything was new, the people, the culture, the way of life, everything. In retrospect, the unfamiliarity is the beauty of the experience, not knowing what to expect.
At the beginning of the semester, we tried to find a flat in Adelaide, but gave up atier two weeks and quickly got used to "Airbnb hopping". This meant staying in the same place for a maximum of two weeks and then moving on to the next place. In total, we moved 10 times just in Adelaide alone during those 5 months. I don't think I've ever felt as insecure in my life as I did at the start of this adventure. For two weeks we had certainty and then it was writen in the stars where we would be staying for the next few days. Looking back, I can say that this uncertainty has made me stronger in every aspect in my life and has made me much more relaxed and flexible in a lot of uncertain life events. On the other hand, it also showed me what it means to have a bed that's just yours and a home you can come to whenever you want, and I really appreciate that now that I'm back home. Although it was an incredible experience to see different places in Adelaide and to live in the city and then again on the beach, I really appreciate my home in Vorarlberg and that everything has its own place again.
Apart from our living situation in Adelaide, there was of course a lot more that was unknown. Like the university, but also the people and litle things like going out to eat. It took some time to get used to all these new things, but we had a big help: our good friend Charlie. She was obviously a stranger to us at first, but after a few nice chats at university we soon realized we were all on the same wavelength and the fun began. She lives in Adelaide and knows her way around. She helped us a lot to setle into Australian life, especially in the beginning. Charlie took us surfing, to her Australian farm, wine tasting, and we also had a typical camping adventure with her. All in all, I would say that she made most of the "unfamiliar" things familiar by showing us something new every time. This friendship is what I am most happy about during our time in Australia and I look forward to when she comes to visit, and we can show her all the things that are unfamiliar to her and the most normal things in the world to us.
Before every big trip in Australia I always had a feeling of unfamiliarity and at the beginning of the semester I was also a bit nervous. Now that I'm back home, I'm looking forward to the unknown and the unfamiliar in the future, because if there's one thing I've learnt from my �me in Australia, it's that the best things happen unexpectedly. My favorite memories and moments have come from unfamiliar situa�ons I never imagined happening.