Why you should do exchange
Today I woke up at 10am, way later than I usually would if I was at Sydney. I stumbled out of bed and went through my morning routine. I practiced gratitude, meditated and did some journalling. After that, feeling a bit more refreshed and awake, I read some of the the book I’m reading called ‘The Prophet’ , an interesting collection of essays by the Lebanese-American poet Kahlil Gibrain. I then sat down to do some study, but It started snowing heavily. Wow, the second time I’ve ever seen snow. The streets looked so beautiful so Sachin and I decided to go outside and walk around in the snow, I took my polaroid camera with me and took some pictures.
We got home after a relaxed walk and a hot chocolate, and in no real rush to study again, I went to cooking the meal I’ve cooked all too many times on exchange- the classic chicken and pasta. While eating this bland but semi-nutritious meal I listened to a Tim Ferriss podcast (someone who I’ve become abnormally obsessed with on exchange). I listened to him talk about how people in Silicon Valley microdose LSD and how he became one of the most successful angel investors in the World. I slowly ate my lunch and devoured this interesting information from Tim.
Later today I’ll go to the gym to train my back, and I’ll have a sauna at the end of it. I’ve developed a love for 15 minute sauna sessions at the end of a gym workout- they make you feel refreshed and focused, its almost like an effortless form of meditation and sometimes some interesting chats will be had with some random Dutch people in the Sauna. At night time I’ll probably have some friends over, and we’ll listen to all different types of music, dance and drink a couple of cheap beers. Before going to bed I’ll pick up my book again and read a couple pages. I won’t go to bed critical at myself that I didn’t really study much today.
My life at the moment is chill. Super chill, and its super fun.
When I say chill, I don’t mean actually chill, your always doing something on exchange…I just mean that your not constrained to many responsibilities so you can pursue what you like. Just last Saturday I had the opportunity to skydive on an Island North of Amsterdam from 9,000 feet. This was a present from one of Sachin’s friends and it was a transcendental experience. Your going so fast you can’t comprehend what is happening, all you can do is revel in the moment. The Saturday before that I raved to Techno music for 10 hours straight with a group of exchange friends. It was the craziest techno festival I’ve ever been to. I’ve traveled to cities in Poland, Belgium, France and Germany and I’ve been to some of the craziest clubs in Europe. I spend most of my time hanging out with friends, reading, talking to Sachin about business idea’s and people we find interesting, listening to podcasts, going on bike adventures, going to techno clubs, gymming, writing, travelling, going to parties or having a coffee with random people to learn from them.
I currently do minimal study and I’m not working at the moment. My commitments are almost nil and my responsibilities are at an all time low. But do I feel guilty about that? Not at all. I’m making so many valuable connections and developing myself to such a large extent, that exchange really just feels like an investment into myself. This is probably going to be a circumstance that I will never experience again. This will be hard to replicate.
Why do I get to Live like this? Because I’m on exchange.
University Exchange is that one opportunity in life where you get to live in another country and basically have complete freedom. Tomorrow I could travel to Berlin at a moments notice. I could frequent the techno clubs there for days on end. Or I could visit my friends in Manchester and Edinburgh, go to to couple parties, visit some historical sites and meet some new people. Or I might just hang out with some mates in Utrecht, hang around the house, do some reading and relaxing.
Exchange is the perfect opportunity to experience an absurd amount of totally different things and to really develop yourself. You can meet friends from all over the world (many of whom will be life long friends), you can travel to destinations all around Europe for such a cheap price, you can experience Uni in a foreign country, you can experience all the partying and clubbing that your heart desires and you can do all the weird little things that you’ve always wanted to try. I’ve made an insane amount of friends and had some beautiful conversations. Many of the friends I’ve made will remain friends for life. Wherever I travel to around the world, I now have places to stay and friendly faces to make me feel welcome.
Hard work, having a personal purpose and a structured life is some of my biggest values, but going on exchange is an opportunity to just have a blank slate for 6 months and do whatever you really want. This is an experience for absolutely everyone, especially if you want to learn about yourself and development your personality so that it is as whole as possible. It forces you into uncomfortable situations and it forces you to make friends with people you might not have anything in common with.
In 10 days I’ll be heading back to Sydney. I’m excited to bring my learnings back and go back into the hustle and bustle of life in Sydney. I’m excited to meet new people and work on projects that are in the back of my mind. I’ll be going back to a life of actually intense studying, working, an intense fitness regime, family and more. In Sydney I probably won’t be able to go for an adventure during the day, then when I get home, to be able to just sit on the couch for hours reading, writing and reflecting. It’s going to be different and it’s going to be a profound change to the life I’m currently living, but I’m keen to bring this fresh perspective I currently have and to live life in Sydney to the full.
Exchange has been my best experience to date, and to reiterate, it is something I would recommend to everybody. You’ll get to experience life with complete freedom and away from all your friends in your home city. This will force you to have new experiences, make new friends and you’ll learn a heck of a lot about yourself. So take the leap, and go on exchange.
