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Did you know that as a young man Matthew McConaughey spent a year abroad in Australia? That’s right. After high school, the Rotary Club sponsored him to live ‘down under’ with a host family. You can listen to the full story in his interview on Armchair Expert Podcast (starts about 50 minutes in).

In the interview, Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club, Interstellar, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days) describes how he had the choice to live abroad between Australia and Switzerland. He chose Australia. Unlike our Travelers who participate in our Australia program, McConaughey didn’t get to video chat his host family before he arrived. He also didn’t get to see where exactly they lived. He was told his host family lived near Sydney. When he landed however, he discovered that his host family lived quite far from the city. And far from the beach. And far from civilization in general. He was in quite a rural town. More than that though, he discovered that he and his host family didn’t quite see eye to eye. This led to quite a few difficulties for him. As you can hear in the interview, he did eventually end up staying with some other host families and had a life-changing experience living in Australia.

“I wouldn’t be sitting here talking to you right now if I didn’t have that year [abroad in Australia]. In high school, I was rolling — popular, had money in my pocket…And all the sudden I [ran] into a great amount of resistance and [was] forced to go inward. Because I had no crutches. I had no friends, no cars, no girlfriends. But it was good overall. I would not be sitting here right now if I did not have that year over there [in Australia].”

Matthew McConaughey, on his year abroad in Australia

It’s quite entertaining to hear his stories. And it’s a great way to illustrate some of the things we avoid in our programs. Unlike McConaughey’s experience, all of our Travelers who are placed with host families get to:

• Read a host family’s profile before meeting them
• Video chat (multiple times) before selecting a host family
• Talk with a previous Rome Abroad Traveler about the experience
• Continue to text, video chat, etc. before arriving at the host family’s home
• Have full support and mediation available in case any disagreements or incompatibility arise
• Have a network of friends, both within and outside of the program

Have you wondered what it would be like to live in Australia? Check out our reviews to see what Rome Abroad grads have to say. And if it seems like the Land Down Under is right for you, apply today!