Brisbane International Student Ambassador does Straddie

'Brisbane International Student Ambassador - Afghanistan'. This is a title that I will always be proud of.

I attended Lord Mayor Graham Quirk's City Welcome festival for international students 2 weeks ago, where the new international student ambassadors were appointed (I still need to get used to the term "Former BISA"). I remember our first official trip as BISAs to Stradbroke Island last year. It was an opportunity for us to get to know each other and make some lifelong friendships. This was a great experience and a trip to remember.

The island is one of Australia's premier natural treasures, largest stone island in the world and a #perfectdestination, conveniently located on Brisbane's doorstep.

Straddie: #perfectdestination

Straddie, as we call it here in our Aussie slang, is rich in Aboriginal culture. We met the eldest member of the local Aboriginal family who was 90 years old. She told us some stories of her childhood and school days.

In the afternoon we went bush walking and had some more exposure to the aboriginal culture, traditions and fishing techniques they used in the past.

Serene water surrounded by beautiful bushland

I don’t think I could call myself a true Aussie and a Queenslander before my surfing experience. It is like the very last ritual of being an Australian. We had 3 people to look after us in our surfing lesson where everyone else knew how to swim. I had all the attention of the life guards :)

I managed to surf, even though it was for a very short period of time but I did it. It is when my other fellow Ambassadors were still struggling to surf.

I think that our trip would have been incomplete without surfing. I did not know how to swim at that time and I was going to surf. YES!! I was very much convinced that I will not be able to enjoy a bit of it and that this can be the last day of my life after having two failed attempts of swimming at the beach earlier that year.

Shab and fellow BISA's on the Straddie coastline

Tired and exhausted we went to our rooms, which were right in front of the beach. You could sleep listening to the waves and wake up to the beautiful sunrise. Our trip last year was definitely one of the best events of my BISA journey and it always brings a smile on my face remembering all the fun moments we spent together.

Make sure you visit Straddie and do all the fun activities that they offer over there.

Shabnam Ahmadzada.