SAGSE 50th Anniversary 1967-2017

Queensland students’ experiences Gabriella Blundell, Brisbane School of Distance Education

“My trip to Germany, with 10 others, was one of the most memorable experiences of my life. The five-week homestay, along with the six-day tour with the other Australian students, was the perfect mix of experiencing the German culture with a family and sightseeing in the southern part of Germany and Austria. “The opportunity to go to school with my host sister was a special experience which allowed me to fully understand the differences between the Australian and German school systems and provided me with the opportunity to meet many other German students. “As we stayed with our host family over Christmas, I was also able to partake in many German traditions, such as finding and chopping down our own Christmas tree. This was quite an ordeal as every tree was either the wrong shade of green, too dense, too sparse or the height wasn’t exactly right, but after two hours, we finally found a suitable specimen to take home! The German food was also delicious, especially the homemade Christmas cookies!

“My host family, including the entire extended family, were extremely kind and generous, making me feel right at home. “The six-day tour was one of the highlights of my trip. Although I didn’t know any of the other Australian students prior to the trip, I quickly became extremely close to all of them and we are still all great friends even after returning home. We saw so many different sites in southern Germany and Austria and took part in multiple guided tours. “Most afternoons we had free time to explore the towns in which we were staying, which usually included walking the local Christmas Markets and making a few too many souvenir purchases! “Overall, I would definitely recommend this trip to every student of German. Even over the relatively short time period of six weeks, my German language skills improved immensely as a result of being immersed and surrounded by the language and its culture. The friendships I’ve made during that trip will undoubtedly last a lifetime.”

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Gabriella and friends on the chute ride at the salt mine at Hallein near Salzburg