21/05/2020
What a wonderful testimonial from Christian-Joy, she did our Australian Gap Year Program. We are glad that you enjoyed your program!
Never would I have thought that I would be straight out of school and next thing on a plane on my way to a total new adventure!
I was blessed enough to get the opportunity to do a gap year in Queensland Australia and man, oh man, was it a journey!
I worked at one of the most amazing boarding schools in Queensland as a gap assistant where I did simple jobs like scanning documents, copying papers, class supervision, helping out with schoolwork and helping out in drama and art class. Working in school was great, of course it had it's challenges, but without challenges it wouldn't really be as much fun!
My main job was boarding duty. Boarding duty was fun, tiring, amazing, sometimes frustrating and just simply magical. Almost every morning we would walk through dorms and knock on each and every cubicle and yell out in the most happiest tone "Good morning, It's time to wake up! " (it gets quite catchy after a while). We would see to it that the girls would follow the routine of washing up, brushing teeth, ironing uniforms, tidying their rooms and seeing to it that they have everything they need for the day.
Every day would be filled with the smell of vanilla shampoo, marking rolls,endless laughter, funny conversations (sometimes deep ones ), tears, a footy injury here and there, rushing to actually be on time for dinner, bonding in the most beautiful way possible, chocolate, tea and just plain good old chats!
On weekends we would do small activities like having a game of basketball, dancing, playing touch, talking, watching movies, drinking coffee and exchanging accents, which was really fun!
During the December Holidays, I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Cairns, Perth and Esperance. There I discovered more of Australia's beautiful scenery, diversity and just beautiful people with beautiful hearts! I met so many wonderful people, saw so many things, ate so much food and had the absolute best experience! I'd say that it was probably the most exciting time for me and I don't regret a single moment!
While working in boarding, I learnt so much about myself and I won't lie, it was not easy at first - It was very challenging and there were times where I didn't exactly know how to handle situations, but that's how I grew and that's how I learnt,but I wouldn't exchange that experience for anything! There'll always be obstacles, but we've got to learn to overcome those obstacles and move forward!
I had no idea what was waiting on me at first, but I sure am glad that it was waiting for me, because right now, I can definitely say that I've learnt, I've grown, I'm stronger and I am stoked for whatever's coming next!
Epic Exchange gave me a chance to shoot for the stars and I am super grateful for that. Their organizing and effort that they put in was exceptional. I most certainly could not have done it without them! Thank you so much Epic Exchange! Thank you for making dreams into reality!
God bless!
Christian-Joy :)
