Youth Exchange program: Johanna from Finland
Youth Exchange Student: “Rock to Reef Safari” Report.
Johanna Pajunen
On the 7th July 1994 Johanna flew into Melbourne from Finland to spend almost 12 months with the Rotary Club of Pascoe Vale as an exchange student. During her stay she was a great ambassador for her country and has had many opportunities to visit many places in Australia.
During the year Johanna lived with four different host families: Alison and Peter Wilson, Lois and Steve Papas, Beryl and Lanny De Almeida and Linda and Grant Jongebloed. Johanna conducted herself with dignity and decorum throughout the year.
– Youth Exchange Counsellor. Ian Davey
Youth Exchange Student’s Diary “Rock to Reef Safari” – Johanna Pajunen
The highlight of my year was the 23-day Exchange Student Rock-to-Reef Safari. There were 37 students from all over the world, 4 leaders and the bus driver. The three-week adventure in Central Australia and Queensland started on 6th May.
The first night was in Renmark. We got to know our home for the next three weeks – tents. We learnt how to put them up and pack them up each morning. From this time, we started getting used to camping life; filling up air mattresses, working in the kitchen, or bus or trailer duty, eating from plastic bowls and plates and washing our own dishes, meeting by the campfire and sleeping in our cosy little tents. Believe it or not we got used to it fairly quickly and everything started to work to a routine.
Most mornings we had to get up early to be on the road in time. Usually wake-up time was 6.00 am, sometimes even 5 am. Occasionally we had a 7 am or 8 am sleep in. As we didn’t usually get to bed early, we had to catch up on our sleep in the bus. This was all quite all right, because when you travelled the whole day, there wasn’t really much else to do than sleep.
As we were Rotary Exchange Students we adapted something from the Rotary Meetings – fine sessions. Everyone had their turn to be sergeant and fine people who had done silly things during the day. We donated the money raised to the Royal Flying Doctor Service. We collected around $180.00.
Our first two-night stop was at the Flinders Ranges, where we went hiking at Wilkawillina Gorge and Wilpena Pound, so we had our share of exercise. I suspect that our four leaders organised these hiking trips to train us for the big task ahead – climbing Ayers Rock. After the Flinders Ranges we headed to Coober Pedy where some of us bought opals for souvenirs. We also visited an underground church and a house.
One of the most interesting days on our trip was the Aboriginal Community Tour Day. We had aboriginal guides taking us around their land and showing us their sacred places That night we had a chance to join in an Inma aboriginal dance. That was a very interesting cultural experience. Then it was time to set our first bush camp. Because the night was so beautiful and not too cold, we decided to sleep under the stars without our tents. It was wonderful.
Soon came the day when we arrived at Ayers Rock. It was amazing to see this huge rock in the middle of flat land. The sunset at Ayers beautiful but the real thing was climbing the Rock. We had an early morning and when we arrived at the rock there were already people like ants climbing on the rock. And the off we went. It was an absolutely incredible experience. I will never forget it. I had to admit I was scared of falling off and it was a lot steeper and harder to climb than I had thought it would be. But to be on to was fantastic. Most of us made it to the top, including me. And I am proud of myself for doing that.
The next couple of days we visited the Olgas and Kings Canyon where we also did some hiking and saw some more rocks but his time they were not as big as Ayers Rock. On our way to Alice Springs we stopped at Orange Creek stations to have a camel ride which was great fun. We explored Alice Springs in two day and went didgeridoo shopping. Even I bought one and now I just have to learn how to play it.
Before arriving in Queensland, we had our second and last bush camp in the middle of nowhere. Then we arrived in the Sunshine State where we had a wonderful week. We explored the Great Barrier Reef Wonderland in Townsville and took a ferry to the outer Barrier Reef where we went snorkelling. That was another fantastic experience. It was so wonderful to swim with those beautiful fish and coral. We also spent three nights at Great Keppel Island simply relaxing, sunbaking and swimming.
It was so nice there and so terrible to leave after those wonderful days. Time to say goodbye got closer. Our last night together we had an International Night where everyone performed something from their country. At the end everyone fell into tears when we started thinking about saying goodbye.
Next day we visited Fraser Isand – the largest sand island in the world. That was our last sight to look at. That night we had to pack our camp and get ready for the long express drive back home. We drove over 24 hours with only short stops. Then it was over, our fabulous trip and it was time to say goodbye. We had all become such good friends during the three weeks and it was awful to say goodbye not knowing if we will ever see each other again.
But life goes on. I think I am so lucky to have this chance to see so much of Australia. I have now less than four weeks left of my year in Australia and I’m so busy doing everything before going home to Finland, it will be good to see my family and friends again, after all it is my home. But I will miss Australia and all my new friends. I will never forget my wonderful year here.