Bethany Merritt

The best part of my secondment was the great people I met from around the world, from San Francisco to Cyprus.

There are a lot of things to do in Melbourne – going to an AFL game at the MCG was a highlight. I always made sure I made a weekly trip to Queen Victoria Market to pick up fresh fruit & veg (passionfruit & mangoes being the essentials).

I obviously didn’t have a culture shock coming across from Wellington, and most of the work wasn’t too dissimilar to what I do here but I found it interesting to see how people from other countries adapted to the work. This gave me confidence knowing that if I were to travel I would be able to easily slot into a role overseas. With this experience, I also made a wide range of contacts, which I know will be useful as I continue along with my career.