1978 School Magazine

My Experiences in Australia as a Rotary Exchange Student Diana Charlton, South Africa I came to Australia in the middle of January. After the dry heat of Johannesburg, which is 6000 feet above sea level, the humidity of Brisbane was a shock. That and jet lag caused me to sleep for 16 hours when I first arrived, and it took ages for my system to get accustomed to the different mealtimes. t felt lively when everyone else wanted to go to bed, and hungry in the middle of the night. However, I certainly didn't starve as can be seen f rom the difficulty with which I get into my clothes - pro- bably the result of the large variety of cakes, tarts, pies, biscuits and cookies I was introduced to. Although I was amazed at the quantity of meat Australians eat, the food I missed most was "bittong" - seasoned meat that has been dried in the sun and is very tasty and chewy.

By the time lgot back I'd got used to the Brisbane weatherboard houses - when somebody in South Af rica had told me the houses were up on stilts I'd laugh- ed, and was amazed to find they really are on stilts. The Australian accent had stopped sounding as nasal and drawled, and I'd already picked some of it up - lspoke to my family on the phone last week, and they couldn't understand me because I sounded so Australian. An ac- cent is something original I'll be able to take home with me. I loved the mild Brisbane weather, very different f rom home. I actually spent the coldest month, August, in Sydney and found it a very beautiful city, with the Har- bour Bridge and of course the Opera House, When I first arrived, a year seemed forever and I didn't think I'd ever go home. Now that B months have passed all too quickly, and I know l'll be home before I know what's happened, I don't want to leave. Everyone has been very friendly and I've travelled as much as I possibly could have. I have really enjoyed my year in Australia and I hope l'll be able to be as hopsitable to Australians as they have been to me. . . Jo Drust .Jo Drust, unfortunately, had neither the time nor the in- clination to write this report for herself - she was too busy having a great time. Therefore, the task has fallen to those who were privileged enough to have Jo as a friend for the past year. When she walked into our maths lesson that fateful September day, we little realized what an impact she would create as she threw her whole self (rather large sel{ at that), into all facets of school life; as form captain, she introduced the Pledge of Allegience into 6C's roll call; as resident rabbler, she turned most SRC meetings upside-down, to the ire of many and amusement of a select few: she caused a dramatic drop in her friend Ker- mit's Chemistry results, due to antics like smoking the glowing splint; and labelled everyone with select titles, few of which can be printed.

I was initially disappointed when I found that Brisbane wasn't right on the coast (as it looks on the map). I found that the Gold and Sunshine Coasts more than made up Jor it. The countryside was more tropical than l'd ex- pected. l'll remember especially the birds; lorikeets, galahs and parrots - and sweet Monstereo Delicioso and Custard Apples. From the first time I stepped in Lone Pine lfell in love with Koalas and Kangaroos. l'd love to take a tame Koala home to cuddle. During the May holidays, I went on a 3 week tour of Australia with 40 other Exchange Students from Brazil, U.S.A., Canada, Japan, and West Germany as well as S.A. We travelled right up the Queensland coast as far as Cairns and went out to the Reef, where we snorkelled. We continued up to Damarton on the Gulf of Carpen- taria, and went West to Mt. lsa, Alice Springs and Ayers Rock. The Centre lived up to all my expectations - after all, that's what everyone thinks of when they imagine Australia. However, even I couldn't believe the miles and miles of nothing - no people, no cattle, nothing but f lies and dust. We continued south to Coober Pedy and Port Augusta, and returned through New South Wales. I think we all learned as much about each other and our respec- tive cultures as we did about Australia.