1998 School Magazine

Girls 6rammar girly o01 ;!artsbane 1998

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"ER" from Germany!

ow I'm sitting here in Germany. I have already had the At the Schmidts, my last Australian home, I stayed for the pleasure of a week of school (and I don't understand a final three months and I'm grateful to them for letting me be a

part of the family for such a long time and still providing me with the privileges of a guest. We did a lot in that long time that seemed so short when I had to leave them and I realise now that Ihave found some spare parents on the other side of the planet With Mr Schmidt I shared the same sense of humour, and Mrs Schmidt was at least as caring as a real mother During the winter boil-

word, especially in Maths) and I still dont know whether I am going to miss school uniform or not. I was asked to write a bit about my stay in Brisbane from February 4 to August I. Did you ever have to write "a bit" about half a year? I apologize in advance for anything I might forget to write down but it is simply too much. Maybe I should just start to write About two years ago I

days I had the chance to experience the Outback on the Saunders' property near Longreach, and I had a great time with Kelly and her family out in the pad- docks. it was there that I saw my first kangaroo, apart from the ones in zoos in all the families I had some very special friends my host sisters, Leah, Tammy, Madeline and Kelly, gave me a great time and they are all invited to stay with my family for as long as they wish. Madeline and I will probably meet in December when she is on the BGGS EXchange trip to Essen I made a lot of friends in all my classes and of course Twelve England and they will always be a rea- son for me to come back to Australia. Some major events here at school were the England House Party, the inter house swimming

got the idea of spending a semester overseas, but my parents were quite success- ful at keeping me at home until last year, when a fam- 11y friend offered me an eXchange to Brisbane, AUS- ITalia My reactions weren'I too enthusiastic. I didn't have a clue where Brisbane was, but I saw the chance "to grow as a person" or, if that didn't work, I'd at least learn a bit more English. This and better chances for a suc- cessful career were the rea- sons for me to come. AUS- Iralia, incidentally, is the dream country for Europe- ans, but my fears were big I would have to live with complete strangers and go to school with girls who wouldn't care about me These fears were luckily not realised host-families All my were very friendly, and they made it easy for me to feel

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Christing sunotmded by her BGGS/, tends

carnival and the formal but there were also many small things I can't recall that nTade this stay so good. We shared the best six months I have had so fan. and I have to thank many people for that There are amy and Ien, Suzi and Charlotte, Lis and Trishy, Kate and NICola, Penny and Anna, Claudia (from Brazil) and A1anna, Emma and Satah and Hilary and Georga and Tasha and

at home. The Scholes, my first hosts, showed me Southbank, Mt Coot-tha, the Gold Coast and Dreamworld. The biggest fun was probably ice-sliding, sitting on a block of ice that slides down a fairly steep ITill. Unfortunately, they spoilt me a bit too much Thanks to vanotis desserts and a lot of ice-cream I had put on four kilos by the time I left them With the Baruksopulos I really grew as a person, because having to cope with three brothers, a bird, a cat and a dog wasn't always easy but certainly a lot of fun. We spent the Eastei weekend on Stradbroke Island, watching turtles and dolphins before I had to change families once again. Later they often invited me over for a night and I think I will stay in contact for the next couple of centuries

some more Emmas and Sarahs and. .... and. .... and I will never forget you and my time in Brisbane

CHRISTINA KOHNEN