Incase anyone still cares, here’s my first Australian speech.

Presentation for Rotary International District 9670.
Gabby Brand, RYE 2012, D9670 Australia – D1810 Germany

Beer, sausages, bread, Oktoberfest, beer, punctuality, Lederhosen, schnitzel, beer, soccer, smoking, Hitler, and beer. While these may be a few of the most well-known German things, I discovered in my exchange year that there is a lot more to the country I now call my home. Germany is a wonderland which, I quickly realised, is one of the best countries in the world.

I spent my year in a city called Remscheid, with a population of about 110 000 people. Classified by the Germans as a “small-big city”, because it only just reaches the benchmark of 100 000, I was asked an unbelievable amount of times how I could possibly enjoy living in such a small place. Little did the Germans know, my town here in Australia has about 550 people – so Remscheid was definitely on the opposite end of the scale. It was the complete opposite of everything I had ever known, and that was exactly how I wanted it to be.

I had four host families over the year, each for about three months. I had host families without children, host families with only boys, and host families with only girls. I must admit I enjoyed having sisters more than anything, especially as they were nearly exactly my age. However I am also glad that I got to experience all sorts of different family types, as I quickly learnt that every family has both advantages and disadvantages, positives and negatives.

I experienced so much in my year in Germany, as I’m sure the other rebounds also did in their own host countries. At the start everything was new – from not being able to open the window, to wondering why my pillow was so big, to not understanding a single word of what was being said around me. I guess the language was my biggest problem – German is as ridiculously hard as everyone says, or at least it seems it at the start. Now, however, I wonder how it’s possible for people NOT to understand it, and I think learning German was one of the greatest things I got out of my exchange.

Now I’m supposed to talk to you about the highlights of my exchange, so here goes. I did get to travel a fair bit, which I wasn’t really expecting. I went on a two-week Rotary tour of Germany, plus have now been to Prague, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Salzburg and a few other cities in France, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium and The Netherlands. I also did another week-long trip in December, which again took me to a lot of Germany cities and ended with skiing in Austria.

However it’s the day-to-day things that I would say were the highlights of my year. Like running outside in my pyjamas the first time it snowed, and having to go back for shoes when I realised I couldn’t feel my feet anymore. Or the time that I was on an island up the top of Germany when my host dad casually pointed out Denmark in the distance. Simply spending time with my friends, who I now miss every second, or the European soccer cup, which sent the entire country crazy in a frenzy of nationalism that you will not see in Germany any other time of year.

It’s these little things, the tiny, insignificant moments and inside jokes, that really made my year so special, and which are the things I will never forget. I wasn’t just a tourist, and by the end of the year I didn’t feel as if I was away from home at all. Germany IS my home now, and I think coming back to Australia was a lot harder than leaving for Germany all those months ago. I really can’t explain how amazing my year was, so I’ll leave you instead with the six words that describe it the best.

(travel, discovery, pride, unbelievable, friendship, family)

“The Call”, by Regina Spektor

It started out as a feeling
Which then grew into a hope
Which then turned into a quiet thought
Which then turned into a quiet word
And then that word grew louder and louder
‘Til it was a battle cry
I’ll come back when you call me
No need to say goodbye

Just because everything’s changing
Doesn’t mean it’s never been this way before
All you can do is try to know who your friends are
As you head off to the war
Pick a star on the dark horizon and follow the light
You’ll come back when it’s over
No need to say goodbye
You’ll come back when it’s over
No need to say goodbye

Now we’re back to the beginning
It’s just a feeling and no one knows yet
But just because they can’t feel it too
Doesn’t mean that you have to forget
Let your memories grow stronger and stronger
‘Til they’re before your eyes
You’ll come back when they call you
No need to say goodbye
You’ll come back when they call you
No need to say goodbye

This is REALLY it.

I am now officially dressed in the clothes that I will be wearing when I arrive in Australia. How weird is that?

So, this is it. Thankyou for reading my blog over the year, and bis gleich!