AUSTRALIA - ADELAIDE

Living abroad thousands of kilometres away from my little place in the mountains of Austria was a scary and exciting idea before this whole chapter started. Going down under to the other half of our planet and getting the chance to explore the fantastic places, exotic nature and different lifestyle around Australia has always been a big item on my bucket list. So the exchange semester was the perfect opportunity for me to challenge myself by living so far away from home for such a long time and to see this exciting country.

Before I came here, I hadn't even heard of Adelaide. I also only had a picture in my head of what life in Australia would be like - the chilled, easy going, living in the moment kind of life by the ocean. I always thought that the culture in general was not that different from Europe, but maybe the attitude of the people here could be freer and more peaceful.

So when the other two girls and I arrived at the airport in Adelaide in the middle of July, we were tired and exhausted and just wanted to go to bed. We were annoyed that we had to go through all the controls at the airport, but right at the first stop the officer was so welcoming and friendly and chatted to us for a while. We were all a bit shocked because we were expecting it to be more strict, controlled and formal like back home. And after that we experienced how nice and friendly people are everywhere in Australia. People here are so welcoming and open to everyone. It doesn't matter where you come from, whether you're a foreigner or a tourist, or whether you speak the language perfectly or not. If you're just buying something in a shop, the workers will ask you how you are, where you're from, and start small conversations with you while you're just paying for your stuff. Random people start telling you stories about their lives. I think being so open and friendly to strangers is just a nice and easy way to become more open and happier for yourself and make other people's days a little bit nicer. Since I have been here, I have been trying to be more open to strangers and I have to say that it also helps a lot to boost your confidence.

Compared to the behaviour you see in Austria and Europe, I think we could all have a bigger smile and nicer gestures towards other people we don't even know. Everyone is in their own little bubble and we stay there because it's the easy way. But since I've been here, I've experienced that if you get out of that bubble and allow yourself to express a little more happiness, you become happier.

The other thing I wanted to mention is that people in Australia do so much more of their everyday life with love. They really love what they do and you can see and feel it. Back home, if you go to a bakery to get a coffee, you will usually find a stressed situation and an even more stressed barista. Everyone is rushing and stressing each other out and the whole atmosphere is down. In Australia, on the opposite, people don’t rush that much, they take their time and accept others to do that too if they need it.

Otherwise, the culture in Australia is very similar to modern cultures in Europe and America. With people moving here from all over the world, there is a great mix of many different cultures. Unfortunately, there is no longer a typical Australian culture. They don't really have a typical food culture either. You can get everything from everywhere, but nothing from here. Compared to the European situation, where you have a whole culture change within two hours of travelling, it's quite shocking.

All in all, I have learnt some good behaviours that I want to adapt more and more to improve my own happiness and that of the people around me. But with each passing week I am also more grateful to live in Austria and to have grown up in a unique culture where I have the chance to experience different cultures so close to each other.