What No One Tells You About Moving Abroad
Moving abroad isn’t always the dream it’s made out to be. In this third edition of Diaspora Diaries, one Kenyan shares a deeply personal account of her early years in Australia — from near deportation and culture shock to the quiet strength that came from surviving it all.
Early life as an international student
At just 19, I landed in Adelaide to begin my international student journey — alone, wide-eyed, and utterly unprepared for Australia’s winter and independence. From figuring out laundry machines to surviving on Hungry Jack’s, those first weeks were a crash course in adulthood, culture shock, and self-discovery.