A near decade reflection on my Germany Exchange...

 I look back on my past self and in some cases, I feel embarrassed but also sad.

Back then, I was struggling with a lot that I did not quite understand. In addition to me not understanding my issues, my host families and the people around me didn't understand either. I am now diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder/ADHD/Depression and have gone through a lot of therapy and taken medication. 

I am way more stable emotionally now, I am less impulsive and my thoughts are clearer. But I still get emotional, I still cry when I don't even know why. 

My exchange to Germany in 2015 was the most amazing experiences I have had, I don't regret it at all and I sometimes wish to go back. 

Looking back, it makes so much sense why I was feeling the way I was - what a huge change for someone to take on, whether they are a teenager or not. I wish I did take different actions to things. But I also wish others took different actions as well. 

Even though it was quick, I fell for someone then lost them within a month - not only did it make me feel foolish but I felt so alone and isolated for months after.

Even though I could have behaved better, I was constantly being shamed and bullied by people I mostly hung with in my town. For my physical appearance, my mental health and for my skills in speaking German. No matter what they would say now to explain it, it was not fair.

Even though I thought perhaps I have mental health issues, going on exchange and the environment around mental health was incredibly difficult to navigate and I faced a tonne of stigma. Sure, I did receive help and some kindness from the adults, but others around me were not kind. 

Additionally, going back into a high school was the worst idea - throwing myself back into gossip, harsh teachers and with the added "benefit" of a language barrier. 

My exchange made me who I am today and I am grateful for that - even when I felt traumatised by it. 

Let it go on record that society in 2015 had a tonne of stigma towards mental health issues and I am so glad that the stigma is decreasing over time. My exchange was so difficult and I wish I made different decisions when on it, but I am also respectful to my old self as I was tackling a time where I did not understand what I was feeling and going through. 

It was a mixture of cultures and languages where anything would be heightened, made extreme. I forever have respect for anyone who migrates to a new country, especially one without your mother tongue. 

Deutschland Tour 2015

Vom 07.10 bis 17.10 gehe ich mit andere Austauschuelern in Distrikt 1900 ob Deutschland Tour. Hamburg. Berlin. Dresden. Muenchen. Rothenburg ob der Tauber. 53 Austauschueler, 1 Bus, 2 Rotarien und 4 Rotex.

From 07.10 to 17.10 I went on a Deutschland tour with the other exchange students in District 1900. Hamburg. Berlin. Dresden. Muenchen. Rothenburg ob der Tauber. 53 Exchange students, 1 Bus, 2 Rotarians and 4 Rotex members. 

A video was made by Helena Del Bianco from Brazil, you can see below. 

We started in Bielefeld on the 7^th October and then travelled first to Hamburg. We then went to Berlin, through Dresden then Muenchen in Bavarian Germany and then went to Rothenburg ob der Tauber. We made so many photos and I will share some with you in the powerpoint presentation J. My favourite places were Berlin, Muenchen and Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Berlin had so many historic things to see and I would like to go back to see more of the memorials and all. We were able to visit the Olympian Stadion in our free time and I thought it was so cool, it may be just a stadium but it was known as the vision of Hitler. The other exchanges and I spoke about how he was able to so much in such a short amount of time. We concluded that he was a very smart and influential man but sadly he used his abilities to cause destruction instead of promote world peace. Muenchen I found was really cool because it looked typical German everywhere to me. All of the old houses had flowers overhanging on the outside and it was such a beautiful city. We were able to meet up with other rotary exchanges in that district, it was cool to meet new people – my friends and I met a boy whose family was the second richest in France and he has his own castle and everything, it was crazy his family was almost royal. Rothenburg ob der Tauber was such a cute little city, we only had a night and day there but it was a nice way to finish the tour. I learnt on the tour that places that ended with burg are places that have a castle and was established in that location because of this castle. I thought that was also cool. 

Schloss Bueckeburg

I went to Schloss Bueckeburg with my temporary Host mum and my friend from America. It was an amazing experience and I plan to show my mum and grandma when they come. The palace is so heavily decorated and beautiful. It still has people living in the palace as well. I hope to go back there for the Christmas Markets as it is known to be quite beautiful.

My friend Tyler

My Host Mum, Me and Tyler

Tyler and I

Umzüge

Old House

New House

So for the whole week this week my family and I were preparing to move houses. The new house is only 1 km away up on a hill and it is very peaceful there. Both houses are very big, the new one is more modern of course. I am very happy here :).

Spazieren gehen (30th June)

So the next day that I changed families I went for a short walk with my host siblings through the German country. By this time the summer heat was becoming dehydrating and oh so humid. So yeah I guess you could say that there was a lot of sweat (eeww).

Spazieren gehen is the verb in German for "to talk a walk" in case you didn't know.

But as we were walking around my host brother and I would take photos. It is really cool because I have been talking to my host brother a lot since before my exchange even started. We happen to have similar interests such as photography. He knows more about cameras and so on, it makes me feel dumb but I am hoping to learn from him - possibly the terminology in German too. I really like my host siblings actually, my sister is a very friendly girl, she is actually so easy to become comfortable and joke around with. My brother is also cool as well, usually we just spend hours engrossed in a neverending conversation about many things like film directors, photography, horror movies, his exchange in Chile, languages and other similar interests, it is really cool. My other host sister who wasn't with us on the walk because she is like 1 year old, is so cute and always so happy.

I really enjoy being with this family, I feel so comfortable with them.

I did take a few photos, I haven't been taking many photos lately and I probably should because my photos are starting to suck just a bit. But here are like my favourite ones below :).

Change of Families

I have now officially changed families and I am quite excited to start my second half of my exchange year.

Because I am a Winter inbound, like all Australians, I get two groups of Summer inbounds. So the exchange students living in Minden right now are leaving and new ones are coming.

I don't know why but it feels like a fresh new start again, and I am incredibly excited.

I am living with the Sensmeiers now and they have the cutest baby I have ever seen! Perhaps I could post a photo if allowed. Of course, it isn't my baby.

Rotary Praesentation (auf Deutsch mit Englisch Uebersetzung)

Hallo mein Name ist Gabrielle Burey, ich bin eine Austauschulerin aus Australien und seit Januar in Minden. Ich bin 18 jahre alt und ich habe die Schule in Australien bereits beendet.

Hello my name is Gabrielle Burey, I am an exchange student from Australia. I have been here since January living in Minden. I am 18 and I have already finished school in Australia. 

Meine Eltern leben noch in Moree, NSW und meine beiden Brueder leben in Brisbane und Gold Coast. Seit ich 12 Jahre war, habe ich in einem Internat gelebt. Meine Brueder waren auch dort, denn meine Eltern wollten die beste Ausbildung fuer uns. Ich liebte mein Leben im Internat und ich habe dort viele Freunde gefunden. Ich konnte nur in den Ferien nach Hause fahren, denn die Schule war 6 Stunden entfernt. Meine Schule hat eine Schuluniform, die bequem für das Wetter war. Letztes Jahr habe ich in Australien meinen Fuehrerschien gemacht und ich liebe es, Auto zu fahren! Ich vermisse meine Freunde und Familie in Australien, aber ein Jahr in einem fremden Land zu leben, ist es wert.

My parents still live in Moree, NSW and both of my brothers live in Brisbane and Gold Coast. Since I was a 12 I have gone to a boarding school. My Brothers also went to boarding school because my parents wanted us to get the best opportunities. I loved my life in boardings school and I have had made so many friends there. Only on the holidays do I come back to Moree, it is 6 hours from my boarding school. My school had a school uniform which was comfortable for the weather. Last year I did my driving test and so I love to drive a lot in cars! I miss my friends and framily in Australia, but to live a year in a different country is so worth it.

Meine Heimatstadt, Moree ist in New South Wales, im gleichen Gebiet wie Sydney.

Moree hat asiatische Einfluesse und ist auch gepraegt von den Aboriginies. Der Sommer ist sehr heiss und der Winter ist waermer als in Minden. Und wir kennen keinen Schnee.

Durch Moree fliesst auch ein Fluss, aber er ist nicht sehr be eutend. Es fahren keine Schiffe auf den Mehi – Fluss. Und die Menschen in meiner Heimat fahren nicht mit dem Fahrrad und auch nicht mit dem Zug, und im Moment fahren die Deutschen auch nicht mit dem Zug – die Bahn streikt mal wieder. In Australien faehrt jeder Auto, der 16 ist.

My hometown, Moree is in New South Wales in the same state as Sydney. Moree has Asian and Aboriginal influence. The summer is very hot and the winter is warmer than in Minden and we also don't have any snow. Through Moree runs a river but it is not so important. We don't drive ships on the Mehi River. The people at home don't bike ride or normally take the trains, and in moment the Germans are also not travelling by train - the train continues to strike. Australians usually travel by car starting when we are 16. 

Hier kann man sehen wie gross Australien ist – im Vergleich zu Europa.

Und wie groß ist Australien Im Vergleich zu Deutschland?

Australien ist 21 mal größer als Deutschland. In Deutschland gibt es 16 Bundesländer und Australien besteht aus sechs Bundesländern und zwei Territorien. In Deutschland leben etwa neunzig Millionen und in Australien nur etwa 23 Millionen Menschen.

Das ist die Flagge vom Australien und zuletzt die Flagge der Aboriginies.

Here you can see how big Australia is in comparison to Europe.

And how big is Australia in comparison to Germany?
Australia is 21 times bigger than Germany. In Germany there are 16 states whilst in Australia there are 6 states and 2 territories. In Germany there is a population of 90 million people whilst in Australia only 23 Million people live there.

That is the Australian Flag and below is the Aboriginal Flag.

Meine Ankunft in Hannover am Flughafen. Meine Gastfamilie, die “Quarders” holen mich ab. ich war so aufgeregt. Und das sind meine esrten Fotos vom Minden.

My arrival in Hannover and I was picked up by my host family the "Quarders", I was so excited and those are my first photos of Minden.

Im Januar habe ich zum ersten mal Schnee in meinem Leben gesehen und gefuehlt.

Ein Ausflug mit meiner Familie und Miru nach Bremen. Ich bin beindruckt von Bremen – eine sehr schoene Stadt.

I went on a trip to Bremen with my host family and an Argentinian exchange student, Miru. I was so impressed of Bremen it is a very beautiful city. 

Karneval in Koeln mit den Mindener Inbounds. Das war ein tolles Erlebmis. So etwas gibt es in Australien nicht.

I also went to carnival in Cologne with the other inbounds from Minden. I was an amazing experience, there are no carnivals like this in Australia. 

Mit den Inbounds ging es auf Europatour im März . Wir waren in 8 Ländern und 14 Städten in 23 Tagen mit 53 Austauschschülern. Es hat so viel Spaß gemacht und es war erstaunlich , so viele Städte zu sehen. Meine Lieblings-städte sind Barcelona, ​​Rom und Paris.

I went on Europtour in March with the other inbounds in the district. We went to 8 different countries, 14 cities in 23 days with 53 exchange students. It was so much fun and it was amazing to see so many cities. My favourite cities are Barcelona, Rome and Paris. 

Die Osterferien habe ich mit Familie Gruebbel verbracht. Ueber die Feiertage waren wir in Ploen. Dort habe ich mein erstes Buch auf Deutsch gelesen “Der kleine Schmetterling”.

I had my Easter Holidays with the Gruebbel's. Over the labour-free days we were in Ploen, there I had read my first book in German called "The Small Butterfly".

Warum habe ich Rotary gewaehlt und warum wollte ich nach Deutschland?

Ich liebe Herausforderungen, ich mag es zu reisen und mache gern neue Erfahrungen. Ausserdem wollte ich deutsch lernen. Dieses Austauschjahr wird meim Leben nachhaltig beeinflussen, es wird mich staerken und mich fuer neue Dinge oeffnen.

Ich moechte mich bei Rotary, meinem Eltern, meinem Gasteltern, den Quarders, und bei Jutta ganz herzlich bedanken, dass sie dieses Jahr fuer mich zu einem ganz besonderen Jahr gemacht haben und hoffentlich auch weiterhin machen werden.

Why did I go with Rotary and why did I want to go to Germany?
I love challenges, I like to travel and to make new experiences. Also because I wanted to learn the German language. This exchange year will influence my life by making me stronger and more open-minded.

I would like to thank Rotary, my Parents, my Host Parents - the "Quarders", and Jutta because they have made this year for me such a special and I really hope it will continue to be so.