Nuts about Australia

By Tania Martin
CALLING Australia home for the past nine months has been an opportunity of a lifetime for exchange student Nayara Filgueiras.
The Brazilian teenager has spent the past nine months living in Emerald and experiencing life as an Aussie.
Nayara, 18, says being an exchange student is something she has always wanted to do.
Both her parents and her sister have taken part in exchange programs and now Nayara is following in their footsteps.
“I always wanted to see what it was like.”
Nayara has been given the opportunity to spend this time in Australia through the Rotary International Youth Exchange Program and has been sponsored by the Emerald club.
Each year the exchange program allows more than 8000 students from around the world to learn about new cultures in more than 60 countries.
Since coming to Australia, Nayara has not only learnt all about living in the hills but has seen more of the country than most Australians.
She has just come back from a trip that took her and 25 other exchange students to the Northern Territory, Queensland, Perth, and Sydney.
“I climbed Ayers Rock and it was really hard but once you make it to the top it’s just amazing – it was really beautiful,” she said.
Nayara has also been attending Emerald Secondary College for the past nine months where she has made new friends.
She says the whole experience has been fantastic but at the beginning it wasn’t easy to settle in.
“At the start I really missed my family and friends but now it’s awesome,” she said.
“And my English has improved so much – it’s just been great.”
Nayara says school in Australia is much different to Brazil because there is a choice of what can be studied.
“Here (Australia) you get to choose what subject you want to study but at home they tell you what to do.”
Despite suffering from extreme bouts of homesickness at times, Nayara says she wouldn’t give the experience up for anything in the world.
“I am glad I came and stayed,” she said.
Nayara says that the Rotary Club of Emerald has been fantastic and that she has been to many of the club’s meetings.
“Rotary are awesome, they looked after me when I was really homesick at Christmas time and got me through it,” she said.
Nayara says that it’s important for any exchange student to have really good host families.
“Otherwise it can be really lonely, but my host families have been fantastic.”
Nayara will return home to Brazil in July but says that she has made many friendships that will last a lifetime.