Shana Imfeld was told to be prepared for bad news about her hopes of doing an exchange program in Australia.
With the COVID-19 travel restrictions making it hard to reach Australia even for some of its own citizens last year, the 16-year-old from Switzerland was prepared for an experience somewhere closer to home in Europe.
But three weeks ago, Shana arrived in Rockhampton, central Queensland, as part of the first cohort of Rotary Youth Exchange students to return to Australia since the start of the pandemic.
Shana said she was excited about reaching her destination through the program, one of many to resume in recent weeks across the country.
"It's totally amazing and it's also kind of weird because … so many new things come towards me," Shana said.
"I'm having a great time so far."
Exchange programs across Australia were thrown into turmoil when COVID-19 created uncertainty about international travel.
Universities, farms, and high schools all run programs that send students overseas to experience different cultures and bring their international counterparts to experience Australia. All of these programs had to be suspended.
"A lot of kids have missed out because they can't go out when they've turned 18," said Heather Sugget, Rotary Youth Exchange chairperson for District 9506, which brought Shana and four other students to Queensland this year.
But while some programs have recently resumed, others are still in stasis.
WA schools yet to allow exchange students
WA's Education Department has not started accepting forms from exchange students to join its classrooms, meaning Rotary students will not return to the state until July 2023.
"Arrangements have begun to resume student exchange programs in Western Australia as soon as possible, in a safe way and based on current health advice," said Lisa Rodgers, the WA Education Department director-general.
Outgoing exchanges will resume even later, in July 2024.
Linda Bilney, WA's southern district chair for Rotary Youth Exchange, and vice-chair of the program nationally said there were long delays in issuing passports and visas.
"And even the ones from overseas who are exchanging over east, there have been delays," she said.
Ms Bilney said the merging of Rotary divisions in WA was also a factor in the delay in that state.
She said some students in the eastern states, who should have arrived in mid-July, had been forced to postpone the start of their exchange due to visa delays.
Exchange programs for university students have also resumed in recent weeks.
Sneha Karri, a student in Korean studies and international relations at the University of Sydney, recently started an exchange program at the Seoul National University in South Korea.
Her previous two applications to go on exchange fell through due to COVID-19-related travel bans.
"Until I was on the plane I didn't actually fully accept that I was going overseas because I was like, 'Oh, you know, it's been delayed three times'," Ms Karri said.
"I really did doubt it at one point."
Ms Karri is in South Korea on a New Colombo Plan Scholarship through the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Although she was able to fulfil her hopes of studying overseas, she said some of her peers who graduated during the pandemic missed out.
Virtual programs created during pandemic
The University of Sydney said it had created new "global experiences" virtually for students who were unable to travel in 2020 and 2021.
More than 2,800 students participated in those programs before the university resumed its exchange program and sent 350 students overseas in June this year.
"We're seeing renewed interest in semester exchange as well, with over 450 students studying overseas in Semester 2, 2022, and over 650 applications for Semester 1, 2023 exchange," a university spokesperson said.
Other schools, such as Curtin University in Perth, are preparing to resume their programs this semester.
International Rural Exchange has also restarted exchange programs for agricultural placements.
