My name is Michael and I am the exchange student from Rundle College in Calgary, Alberta Canada. My experience here in Australia has been nothing short of amazing. Visiting the Sunshine Coast’s copious amount of perfect beaches, Caloundra has sure shown its attraction to the world. When I first got here, I was astounded by the amount of tropical forests this area has to offer. I was able to visit some of the forests near the spectacular Glass House Mountains, and was still able to see miles of beach during every moment of it.

Luka’s family was very welcoming even though they had never met me before and made my stay here in Caloundra truly special. We got to go and visit the world famous Australia Zoo and see what Steve Irwin’s legacy truly meant to him and his family. Feeding the kangaroos and holding a koala were for sure some once in a life time opportunities I will never forget. Luka’s family took me to an Island off the shore of the Gold Coast where I saw some of Australia’s sea life first hand. Sting rays swimming over our feet and crabs biting them was something I’m not sure I want to experience again.

CCPS has been astonishing, from your beautiful campus to the astounding work ethic I see in every student at the school. When I heard some history reports were 12,000 words I couldn’t believe it until I saw some of the assignments turned in by the Grade 12 class. This is an opportunity and experience that has for sure changed my life. From Calgary to Vancouver to Sydney to Brisbane to your beautiful Caloundra, the trip has been truly amazing and I am very grateful to all of those who made it so special.

“Cieran returned from Scotland early this morning and has gone to school for the last couple of lessons this afternoon. The trip was a wonderful experience for Cieran. He stayed with a lovely family and enjoyed family and school life very much. He really enjoyed playing rugby for the Lathallan U16s, although his old footy boots only just survived the last match. Cieran sent an email to say he’d suffered no major injuries, which is what every rugby Mum wants to hear. It was also interesting for him to attend classes in Biology, which he doesn’t study at CCPS, and History (learning about Scottish migration from the Scottish viewpoint). News stories about African migrants trying to reach Europe have given him a different perspective on the asylum seeker ‘issue’.

Stephen and I were able to catch up with Cieran and the Foster family one evening while we were in the UK for a conference. Karen and Anderson gave us an interesting guided tour of Aberdeen (including the 500 year old university) and we enjoyed a family dinner with them. Meeting Cieran’s host family and seeing Aberdeen and Johnshaven, where Lathallan is located, will be helpful when we come to plan some different experiences for Janet Foster when she visits us in return next year.
Thank you for making this exchange possible, and for encouraging students to make the most of this opportunity.”