My Experience Since Arriving In Australia

My name is Monserrat Rico Jiménez, I am 19 years old Mexican girl and this is my experience since I arrived to Australia.

I won’t lie to you. This has been the most crazier and exciting thing that I have ever lived.

My very first time in Australia, without my family, without friends, and totally out from my comfort zone. It is inescapable creating huge images of what is your life going to be in a place where you have never been before and which the only things that you knew were that eight out of ten most lethal animals and insects are found in Australia.

Well, here I go. Preparing myself in every single aspect to face my biggest fear. Get split apart from my parents and brother but, I was sure that this was the best thing I could do to find my happiness, chasing my passion and become the best Personal Trainer ever known in history.

Once I arrived to Australia, I thought – What did I just do? This got real. I am all by myself. – I was wrong. Fortunately, AHN really dedicates their time to find the best homestays families for overseas students or any student. The service since you arrive to the airport is amazing. The guy who took me from the Brisbane City Airport to my future homestay family was very friendly. Thanks to his nice humor I felt relieved and once I arrived to the place where I am actually living, everything became easier.

My “host parents”, Ben and Kelsey…This is hilarious, “host parents.” I mean, they have nearly my brothers age!! A lovely young Australian couple. They didn’t leave me alone on my first day. I was tired, sure I was. I took a 36 hours flight all the way from Mexico City to the Gold Coast, Australia. Kelsey, my “host mother”. She had EVERY SINGLE THING extremely organized. When she arrived from work, they both took me to the mall so I could open my savings account and get my money in. They’ve got me a SIM card and told me which plan would suit me better. They bought me a GoCard, so I could go where ever I wanted to and when we arrived home late at night they told me – Look! We have got a bike for you. So if you feel like having a ride bike through the beach, you just grab it and go. –

Everything was amazing. I was loving my homestay family. I was loving the place where I was going to spend my next two and a half years of my life, but still missing family in Mexico. Thank God AHN found me an amazing family to live with.

 “ I can’t wait to go to school and make new friends!!!!” “This is going to be amazing!!” “I am going to become the best PT because I am going to study with the best ones in the world!”

It is valid to get that excited. Unfortunately, the school where I was enrolled happened to be a total “lie.” Why? They promised a lot of things in their website. They publish great photos and texts saying that it is a “fulltime” school and you are going to be instructed by the best staff. No, no, no. It wasn’t a fulltime school, and they barely had teachers. This could not be possible. All my excitement was going down. All I wanted to do was go back to México but you know what? I was already in Australia, I already spent my money on a flight ticket, on my visa and on my homestay. I decided that all that spent money was going to be worth it. Next step, changing of school. I just went two days to that school and I did not want to go back. I talked with my host parents and tell them how I was feeling. They supported my in every aspect. I wanted to move to Brisbane City to another school but they told me about this awesome school called HPC (human performance center).  Now I think what would have happened if they wouldn’t talked me about HPC. But changing from my first college to HPC wasn’t easy. I asked for a refund. I was sure I was going to get my money back because I just went to “classes” for two days. No kidding. What did they told me? – Sorry, no refund. And If you want to get enrolled in another college, you have to pay us two hundred dollars so we can get your CoE freed – WHAT??

This, of course, turned me down. I didn’t knew how I was going to tell my parents about this situation but lucky me, I have the most wonderful parents in the world. They supported me and helped to get out from that place.

I might not be the first student who faced through that situation but, I want to be the last one. A common mistake we tend to make is think that we are all alone. We are not. We have our real family and our homestay family. It has been difficult. But, I like to think it this way…

It is like a life chain. Imagine, if I wasn’t enrolled with the first college, I wouldn’t had my Student Visa. If I had found a college in Brisbane city, I would not have meet Kelsey and Ben, and without meeting them, I would not have known about HPC.

Things happen for a reason. Don’t think you are alone and that life is going against you. And while you are giving those small steps towards what you want and towards you really came for, you will find amazing people. Friends, family, even a couple. Nothing is absolute. It is okay not to be okay, sometimes.

I can tell you this. Those who we are living in another countries and out from our comfort zone, we are very… VERY lucky! And this will bring us huge life opportunities.

My name is Monserrat Rico Jiménez but my Australian friends call me “Mon” (easier for them).

I am from Mexico and I can’t thank enough to AHN for their wonderful job. Thanks for finding me an amazing family. Thanks for asking me every week how do I feel. Thanks for been my friends.