Jaqueline was on an exchange year in Austria

Jaqueline from Mexico went on an exchange to Austria.

I hope this story can inspire someone to make an exchange year and have an experience as amazing as I did. I have been in Austria as an exchange student for 11 months.

Why did you decide to go on a high school exchange?

I did it because I have always wanted to learn German, and live in another country, and my parents were always supportive with that. At first it may be scary, but it is 100% worth taking the risk to do it.

Life abroad

Living in another country may sound difficult, because it’s not your language, you don’t know anybody, and literally everything is different. But everybody will be nice. They all understand that you don’t speak the language, and it is perfectly fine. You will make friends quickly and get used to the place. And it is fine to make mistakes, I lost two trains and got in three wrong buses at the beginning, and I still survived, it’s just part of the process.

Favorite memories

If anything, I loved discovering new things by myself. It felt great to achieve little things like being in the city alone or understanding somebody in the language I was learning. And for this I am most grateful to my friends. They were always patient with me, and always inspired me to keep learning. Today, I can communicate perfectly and fluently in their language, which I couldn’t at the beginning at all. It was also great to do and distract myself with activities. I loved going for a run, even just a walk through the city, and there are infinite options of activities or ways to spend time in. For example, I loved just taking a book and reading in a park or getting lunch with friends.

Being away from your family

It will always be hard to be away from family, but with the right people you will always feel at home. This is way getting to the end is the hardest. There are a lot of encountered feelings, being excited to see your family again, but knowing you must leave everything behind. And leaving the people I have the privilege to call my family now, is the hardest thing ever, after all their love and support. But I am happy I lived it and enjoyed it while I could.

So, if this can help anyone with deciding whether to make an exchange year or not, I hope you do. Because it is a time full of new things that you will never in your life live again. You will meet people who will always have you in their hearts. It is a time where you can experience everything, the good, the bad, the fun and the scary, and it is all part of it. So yes, I would recommend for everyone with the opportunity to do an exchange year and make as many memories as possible.

Find out more

• Read more student stories from Austria
• Read more about a high school exchange in Austria
• See all our high school exchange destinations