By Sophie Ainsworth
Loreto does the impossible by taking the entire cohort of Year 9 to Far North Queensland for a life changing experience. Over the years many Normo girls have had all kinds of experiences while away, both good and bad. This interview demonstrates the genuine feelings of a current Year 9 and her opinions on the trip.
Prior to departure:
1. What experience are you most excited for when you depart for the FNQ trip?
I’m probably most excited for Michaelmas Cay as I am eager to go snorkelling and look at all the different types of aquatic life. I’m also looking forward to experiencing the different types of community service as I would like to step out of my comfort zone and meet new people.
2. What feelings do you have in anticipation for the trip?
I am feeling a bit apprehensive going into the Far North Queensland Experience but I am getting more and more excited as we get closer to departing for our trip.
3. What are your fears/worries going into such a major trip?
I’m mainly worried about friendship groups changing as well as not being able to travel with my closest friends.
4. Are there any activities you are scared to try?
I’m not really scared of any of the activities and I’m willing to give all of them a good try but I am a bit hesitant to do community service because I have never done anything like that before.
5. Would you use this experience to meet new people in your year group?
I would like to try and talk to people who I may not always necessarily talk to.
6. Is there anything you know you’re going to do on this trip that you haven’t done before?
I don’t really know what exactly we are doing on the trip but I am going to guess that I probably haven’t done half the activities we are going to do.
7. Finally, do you like this year’s FNQ shirt?
I actually do like my FNQ shirt, it is a bit big for me but it’s very comfortable.
After the trip:
8. Was FNQ as good as you expected?
FNQ for me was glorified and I felt like it was going to be exactly what people told me it would be. So that made it a bit different as I had so many expectations in which I didn’t necessarily get to live out.
9. What was your favourite activity and why?
My favourite activity was when we went to Michaelmas Cay as we went there for the entire day and didn’t have to travel around. I was in the second group to go to the national park but it lived up to its reputation and was fun. I definitely want to go there with my family.
10. How was community service?
I went to Ozcare Malanda, it was quite harsh as it was very confronting and I kind of got a bit upset with the new challenges that I facing. It got better over the two days as at first, I stayed in my comfort zone with my friends but the second day was much better in that I was able to communicate and meet many new people.
11. Which hotels did you stay in and did you enjoy the food?
I stayed in Genazzano first, then Undara, back to Genazanno, Cape Tribulation and then Park Royale. The food was okay, definitely not as good as home but it was pretty good. My favourite would have to be the ice cream in the Daintree!
12. Did you see any animals that are native to Far North Queensland?
Not really, I only really saw some crocodiles in the Daintree which were cool and then some turtles in The Great Barrier Reef but I didn’t see any cassowaries which was a bit disappointing.
This year nine student did enjoy the Far North Queensland experience and embraced the new challenges in which she faced. Although she faced some hardships, she said that she needed this experience and it has somewhat changed her outlook on some aspects of her life. Hopefully this honest interview of this girls’ experience will give you some insight on the trip without spoiling too much.