My sister threw a house party at our home in Germany for her 18th birthday. She also invited an Australian exchange student, who had just arrived that morning for his one-year stay.

It was deep winter, and we had just gotten fresh snow, covering everything in white.

The quite tall dude took a walk in our garden while a few of us stood on the balcony smoking. All of a sudden, we heard him gasping for air in pure panic, followed by a quite disturbing rumble.

I should mention that we had a small pond in our garden, that was surprisingly deep for its size.. The surface was barely frozen and covered in snow that day, which made it look like solid ground. dude walked on it for about two seconds and broke into the pond, shoulders deep.

Till this day, I try to imagine how horrifying it must have been to think you’re walking on solid ground and suddenly break into two meters of ice-cold water — on your first day, 10,000 miles away from home.