(Sally was in Australia for the 2005 - 2006 exchange year.   She is from Reno, NV.  The follow was her presentation to her sponsoring Rotary Club,  Reno Sunrise.)

Thank You Fellow Rotarians and Guests,

I appreciate you having me as your guest speaker this morning, as you might have already guessed, I was the outbound exchange student you had sent away to Australia last year, and now I’m back.    Hopefully I’ve enlightened you a bit of the great Aussie life, but I still have so much to tell all of you.     

The main topic of my speech this morning is change.    I left here a girl of wonderment, of fascination, of curiosity and a girl who wanted to better understand cultural differences.    I went to Australia not knowing what to expect.    Am I going to meet people who are very much like me, am I going to like them, or better yet, are they going to like me? Those questions were soon answered as I let myself grow and become one with the community.    I made friendships of a lifetime, and had families who I call my own and always will.    I had siblings who I will forever call my brothers and sisters, and parents who stood by my side and gave advice like I was their own.    My life there was unforgettable…  

My life changed the minute I set foot off that plane.    It was time for me to grow and experience an opportunity of a lifetime.    I had 12 months to spend with 3 amazing families and to be converted into an Aussie.    I was taken home to my first host family where my host dad gave me the high eyebrow look when I didn’t know how to make coffee the first time.    What? I didn’t know how to make instant coffee; I’m used to the hard stuff.    When all you do is add boiling water, ya I guess you could say I wasn’t up to speed.    But I spent my first few months observing.    I was a bit quiet and shy and a bit friendless, but the minute I started school I jumped straight into friendships that I will have forever.    I was off every morning in the car, which seemed to be the longest ride to school.    Hey a 25 minute ride to school was ages away.    But school was completely different.    Uniforms? I’ve never had to wear one of them, but it was time for the school polo.    I wore that thing every day.    I only had one shirt so I had to wash it as often as I could while wearing shirts underneath; not to get the polo too dirty.    “Buy another one,” people would say.    Nah, I have better things to spend my money on.    Like in the first few months my account money went dry and there I was ringing up daddy asking for more.    That seemed to happen quite often as account money seemed to deplete with out me knowing it.    Not too much longer and I was off to my 2^nd host family for an adventure.    From mozzie bites to centipede bites, to reality bites.    My new host mum had a huge laugh the first time I ever hung up the washing.    What…? I’ve never done it before! How was I supposed to know that you don’t have to put a peg on every inch of the cloth? But we all got along so well.    From holiday trips, to poolside dips, and great advice tips my time there was well spent.     

It was time for the Roundabout Tour with the other exchange students and we had a ball.    A week long tour through the Outback Australia, this was my domain.    I was living in Roma, Queensland; 6 hours away from any actual civilisation with the grand population of 6,000 people.    A 6 hour drive from the coast and absolutely nothing in-between.    Or so I thought, I got in trouble with my host dad because I wasn’t paying attention to all the cool things to see on our long drives to and from the big smoke, the city of Brisbane, or also known as Brisvegas.      I’m sorry I’m a teenage girl I don’t care about who’s planted what wheat in their fields.    But after that I was pretty used to seeing the brown colour, and then the hopping ones.    There were Kangaroos all over the place.    More dead on the side of the road that I first saw, but then came the moment of actually seeing the real ones.    Now that was amazing.    I got the chance to run along side them when I wasn’t lazy and got up in the morning to have a jog.    It was fantastic.   

 Soon Christmas came and went and wasn’t that a trip? Who spends Christmas on the beach in the blazing hot sun? I sure did last year.    Christmas morning we opened pressies and headed straight for the beach, it was amazing.    But the sun got too harsh in the peak hours of the day so of coarse it was siesta time.    And I have no problems with sleeping.    I didn’t have enough time to surf or even learn, I was living too far from the beach, but I had fun watching those Aussie boys surfing! Man they were hot, I mean the sun was, ya that’s right.    I saw the New Year come in and that was it, 6 months left and I’ll be home, this can’t true.    Oh ok, the glass is half full so time to party on.    Not too much longer and it was my 19^th birthday.    But right before, I was sad to leave, but excited for new, it was time for a new host family.    My 3^rd host family had lots of enthusiasm to have me.    I sheep sheered, netball cheered, and home I feared.    (Netball is a game for women only and it was like basketball without the contact.)   But not too much longer and I would be on that plane again.    Home… what a strange word? I’ve had 3 places I’ve called home in Australia and the thought of going back to the one I grew up in just didn’t seem right.    But home I was there in Roma.    But wait, here come my real parents just to drop in and say g’day and then we were on our way.    I took them as far as I could before I had to be back at dreaded school.    We had a good time, but soon enough 2 weeks flew by and they were on their way back to their home.    It was awesome having them come and visit me, while it was my home, my rules, what a great change that was! Just a few months to go!! I know, I know, don’t remind me I don’t want to go.    I still have so much I want to see and do, but my big Safari tour was coming up.    I saw Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Ayers Rock, Coober Pedy, Alice Springs, The Great Barrier Reef, The Gold Coast and all the places in between.    I picked up some great opals too.    The tour was 25 days and we saw and did so much.    That trip was unbelievable.    Oh how the time flies and I can clearly remember myself getting on that airplane to leave Reno, and I would soon be getting back on that same plane returning back to the United States.    What a drag.    But that’s the way these things go isn’t it? At least I have the memories that will last a lifetime and friendships that will never end.    Soon enough I’ll go back, just you wait; I’ll come knockin [sic] on your door with a big, “You remember me?” I sure hope you’d like to sponsor me again.      

Thank you for helping be change into the person I was always striving to be.    As a great the writer Virginia Woolf once said, “It is all half lights and profound shadows like those serpentine caves where one goes with a candle peering up and down, not knowing where one is stepping.   ” It wasn’t until now where I understand that quote.    Humans take risks and go on adventures not knowing what is going to happen to them, but the curiosity of it all gets the better of them and you just go with it.    Instincts grasp you, and take you on escapades that change your life forever, and that is exactly what I’ve done.     

Just a few photos to show you a few things I saw and did.    

I can’t give you enough thanks and praise for what you’ve all done to help me be such a successful exchange student, but I can sure try, so thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for giving me this amazing opportunity so I could share it with the rest of all of you.     

Thank you!!

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