AUSTRALIA may not have been the “surfer boy” oasis she had expected but German Rotary Youth Exchange student Laura Bischoff is glad she ended up in Port Lincoln rather than somewhere inland.

“I didn’t know much about (Australia); I thought the same as everyone that there were kangaroos and surfer boys everywhere,” she said.

Laura has gone windsurfing in France since she was 10 but she wanted to try “proper surfing” so she feels lucky to have spent her exchange in Port Lincoln surrounded by beaches, swimming every day before school during summer.

“I just got so used to it.

“When I’m on the beach in Australia I feel like I’m in a postcard.”

Every year Rotary Youth Exchange gives thousands of students worldwide the chance to experience life in another country for 12 months to promote world understanding and peace.

Laura is leaving Australia this weekend and will find it hard to leave the friends she has made.

“I have just met the best friends here; I love them so much.”

She has also met other exchange students from all over the world including Sweden, Norway, Poland, Brazil, Belgium and France.

Apart from the people, her top Australian experiences are going to the Head of Bight to see the whales, the Rock and Reef tour including visits to Uluru and the Great Barrier Reef, and learning to shear sheep.

“I cut the sheep a million times and it was bleeding everywhere, I felt so bad.”

Among her souvenirs to take home will be photographs of the

thermometer showing temperatures over 42 degrees.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever seen that.”

For more information on the Rotary Youth Exchange program go to www.rotary.org or contact local Rotarian David Johnston on

0427 618 997.