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

AbenteuerZeit (AdventureTime)

My newbies and I went on an adventure to the Kaiser Wilhelm (The Minden Monument) on Thursday. The newbies are Tyler from the USA and May from Thailand.

We rode our bikes to Porta Westfalica and then hiked up the hill to get to the monument. It was so exhausting but refreshing as well - seeming that the way down gave us a fresh cool breeze.

On the way we saw a lake that we have decided to visit more often - maybe swim. We met a lady with a cute dog who spoke with us and showed us the way, listened to a guy on the bagpipes, ate sausage, Hanutas and Tim Tams. We all decided that Thursdays will now be a day where all of us meet up and go and ride around Minden and Bad Oeynhausen exploring places we have never seen and learning new things (also to get a bit of exercise in there).

We took so many selfies and I felt so happy being with them and doing this with them.

Change of Families (09.08)

So today I have changed families again, I am now with the Rademacher's. I don't really know what to think like I am upset because I really like my second family but I was also excited as it is a new family and lastly I feel sort of happy about it as it will make it easier on my old family. With the baby and the moving of house, of course an exchange student on top of that would be very stressful.

It is not normally planned for my exchange, I had to change for certain reasons mostly because it was too much for my old family. However I am really happy with this family. My host father is an absolute film nerd and we watched two movies that night. He has a whole library of movies, in blu ray and 3D, a great sound system and a projector.

My room is in the keller and to be honest I like it, I get my own bathroom which has a sauna and I can do a lot of things by myself like dance like crazy, pretending to act in a zombie apocalypse, paint and basically it is like my own sanctuary. It is good to have a sanctuary in places unfamiliar, places that are not necessarily your home. It helps me think and get reacquainted with my old self back in Australia, opposed to this new person I am living with in Germany.

I would say that I feel like I am a whole different person here, it is not necessarily bad nor good - it is just ... unique? special maybe? I can't quite pinpoint it.

However I am happy with my family: I have two brothers, one older and younger than me and they have a cute dog called Lena but she is a bit shy - I need to spend some time to gain more of her trust.

Baltic Sea (29.06-08.07)

My second host family and I went to the Baltic Sea for the rest of the holidays. It was so great I really enjoyed my time there. We did Stand-up Paddleboarding, Windsurfing, watched movies every night (most of them were in german), ate a lot of snickers ice cream, drank a lot of fritz kaffee and cola and admired the amazing sunsets that nature gave us every night (okay that was a bit corny but I thought it suit well).

I got to spend a lot of time with my host siblings also and I started to become good friends with my host sister and I was really happy about that. I was starting to feel very comfortable with my new family and I was always enjoying myself. Sometimes I would feel a bit ill to do some of the things and sometimes I would feel a bit off, but they were always understanding and gave me time to get into the day.

I enjoyed playing with Charlotte (my baby host sister) a lot and was starting to become very quaint with her. It was a really good holiday and it was fun to take photographs with my host brother.

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 :).

Hamburg (25th June)

I was given the awesome opportunity to go to Hamburg for the day with my German school friends and a Chilean exchange. Of course it is a far trip from Minden to go to Hamburg for just a day, it is about 3 hours or so on the train so we didn't get a whole lot of time to do many things.

But we visited the beautiful Rathaus, walk around the city, go to the docks and eat pommes with mayo (hot chips/fries). I was able to buy some postcards from a souvenir shop - it is a thing that I do that every city I go to (if I get the opportunity) to buy postcards and I don't know I think I can compile them all together and make a frame or something of them. I buy extras so I can send some home to my best friends and my family.

Hamburg really is a beautiful city and I have actually been there once before with my Counscellor's family during Easter Holidays. I think I might actually have some photos from then to show you what it is like. I remember then that in the part of the city where we were, it was like Venice because there were rivers flowing through the city. There were actually swans on the rivers too.

However this experience was really cool and I got to spend time with my great friend from Chile who was flying back home the next week or so. Hopefully I will get to spend more time there on the Rotex Deutschland Tour (if I get on the list) and take some awesome photos.

Weekend in Holland

With my first host family (my mother and sister), another family and two other exchanges in Minden from Argentina and the U.S. we all went to Holland for the long weekend. Little did I know that it would be one of the greatest highlights of my exchange.

We had an apartment that actually was really cool, placed above an automotive workhouse, in Zanoort an Zee. Zanoort an Zee in Holland is a wonderful holiday destination where you can have a delicious dinner on the beach side. It was so nice because I was actually missing the beach - it is not common for me to do this as in Australia I loath the beach, too much salt and sand for me. The other exchanges and I enjoyed taking a load of photos on the beach it was really fun.


The first night we just had dinner on the beach then went for a walk around the city - which is so beautiful may I add.

We went to Harlem the next day which was only a 30 minute train ride. Harlem is literally my favourite city so far in Holland. I was actually considering living there in the future. It such a beautiful place and the people were so friendly.

The next day we got the opportunity to go to Amsterdam and boy was that something. We got to visit the Anne Frank house and that was so interesting. I didn't cry, I don't seem to know why but I just don't cry in those types of situations, especially in public. I also didn't feel as sad as I felt interested. I just felt so engrossed in the information about Anne's family and the relationships within the house. I read a little bit of the book before but I didn't get to finish it so I didn't know as much but it was just so interesting and so smart on how they did all these things to survive and how hard it must have been - creeping around the house silently to not make a single noise. I really wanted to get something from the shop but we had to go then.

The other exchanges and I just walked around in the city, we got some shorts because it ended up being so hot that day - it was terrible, like Australia in the summer with horrible horrible humidity. Although it was a beautiful day and I have missed a nice summer day since I came to Germany actually.

On our last day in Holland, the exchanges and I just chilled at the apartment, did some shopping and hanged out in Zanoort.

It was such a nice weekend and I owe my host mother everything for it and it was even better because I got to spend it with my friends also. Hopefully I will get to visit Holland again soon sometime, maybe even get the chance to live there.

Driving to Holland

Zanoort sunset

Restaurant on the beach that we went to on the first night

Zanoort

Zanoort Strand (beach)

Zanoort Strand (beach)

Harlem

Harlem

Harlem

Harlem

Harlem

Harlem

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. 

Europatour Maerz (March)

I went on Europatour 2015 for 22 days with 53 other exchanges from my district in Germany. The first night was hard as I didn’t know many people because I was unable to meet them all at the Rotex Wochenende in Paderborn but like always I was accepted into this new family with diverse people. I have became friends with a majority of the english native speakers first and then I became really good friends with some of the Spanish/Japanese/Thai/etc. speakers. I had so much fun and I am sort of sad at the moment because it is over but I know that I will have more experiences like this in the near future :).

The Rotex Europatour '15 Distrikt 1900

made by Rafaela Saragiotto (Brazil)