Seventeen-year-olds Lilith, from Germany, and Giorgia, from Italy, have been living with Daniel and his wife in Seymour since August last year.
While both have been captivated by the unique nature Australia boasts, they agree that it’s the people that really make the country, and the town.
“Here, you kind of all know each other, and we’ve really been involved in the community since the beginning, thanks to Daniel because he knows everyone,” Giorgia said.
“We’ve been to the football club and helped people there, we also helped at the carols.
“We got to meet a lot of people that we wouldn’t normally have. I feel like I know Seymour better than my own village.”
During their exchange, they’ve travelled across the country, visiting the Gold Coast, Cairns, Canberra, Adelaide, Melbourne, Phillip Island, Ballarat — and the list goes on.
Lilith also attended last year’s AFL grand final.
She said, with all she had experienced, the small things in life didn’t seem as significant as they once did.
“In school, I got really upset sometimes when I didn’t get great marks, and now it’s a bit easier because that’s not everything — school’s not everything,” Lilith said.
“We’ve experienced some crazy things, and I think those experiences are way more worth it than school and marks.
“I’ll definitely take that home with me.”
Giorgia, who said it was great to learn that she could navigate life independently, agreed that taking each day as it came lessened the stress of everyday life — a lesson she planned to keep.
“When I go back home, I think I’m going to be less stressed about life in general, but here, life’s good because I’m living day by day mostly: in the moment,” she said.
“I’m going to be here once, there might not be an opportunity to come back, so I may as well say yes to everything.”
While the pair made strong friendships in town, through attending Seymour College and being involved in community events, the most lasting relationship they formed was with each other.
“I would say I’ve got a sister now,” Lilith said.
Both have plans to meet in their respective countries for each other's birthdays.
For Daniel, after the ninth year of hosting exchange students from across the globe with his wife, being involved in teenagers’ development never gets old.
“Of everything, when they talk about what they’ve learnt about themselves and what they’ll take home, and the personal development they’ve had while they’re here, I know that we’ve been part of that,” he said.
“We’ve often said that it’s like finishing school. These kids have been raised by their parents, their parents have done amazing jobs … But we get to do the final shaping of helping them understand who they are.
“To be able to go on that journey with them both and to feel like we’ve been a part of that final stage of development is really honouring, it’s a real privilege.”
