Bailee Jo Jerger, My host clubs have been the Narromine Rotary Club for the first four months and I will now soon be hosted by Nelson Bay Rotary Club.
School in Gilgandra has been great, I absolutely loved it. It was very small a school of only 300 students but that way I got to know everyone and become very close with many. I was able to try some new subjects like aboriginal studies, cooking, art, and got to experiance a whole new schooling system that I like alot better than the American one. I will be moving to Nelson Bay in a few days, my school there has about 1500 kids. Im pretty excited actually but then a bit nervous too.
Since my host Rotary Club was forty five minutes from where I lived I had only went to one Rotary meeting at my club and that was where I gave my presentation. I have given my presentation to a couple different Rotary Clubs, host family, my class mates, and family friends. I have it memorized and has come together very well, I keep adding to it after every presentation.
I have met so many Rotarians that I have lost count of the number, but they have all been wonderful to me and definately appreciated my presentation.
I don't really have regular contact with my counselor. My first host Club didn't get to know me very much because I only went there once, which was the only time I was invited, also the drive was a problem too.
For my personal experiances, I havent been sick yet so that's a plus. Knock on wood. Haha.
in Gilgandra i sorta just had been hanging out with friends at school, I have managed to make it to a few get togethers after I had moved and they have been a blast! Lots of fun.
Travel-Since I lived in the outback I didnt get to travel all that much, I managed to get to Sydney Australia a few times with school for excursions, and a trip even further in the outback which was definately different we got to see some of the unique wildlife and go yabbying and ride the bikes in all the red mud. One day we went to a koala park where we got to pet the koalas and that was so cute! Me and my host brothers spent a fair bit of time down at the river spear fishing, that was fun. We fit in one weekend of camping which was an absolute blast, where we went to a concert a some mountain. I went to a big concert in Sydney with my classmates and that was one of my best memories. But sadly Due to a sickness of my host father we had to cancel some holidays that were planned, which is understandable though, I know I will have many more opportunities to see Australia. Living outback Oz for four months and the rest of the time on the coast isnt something many students get to do. But I have the privelidge of doing so.
I have had visits with other exchange students, I am currently living with my best friend from Canada, we just met a few months ago and I live with her until I move to Nelson Bay in a a few days, previously I was living on a little alpaca/goat farm up in the hills with a lovely couple from Rotary and that was for about two weeks right after Christmas. It was so good living there I really enjoyed it, I helped out with farm work and then it was only a bit of a drive to the beach and I went there a bit. The beaches here are absolutely gorgeous! And the shopping centres are great! I have bought far too many clothes so I will have to ship some home soon. At my next town I really hope to join some sort of sport, maybe swimming. But also one of my goals before I go is to learn to surf! I will do that soon! Sometime in February me and my best friend from Canada are going sky diving! That's going to be so exciting. Also something that is awesome is that I am picking up on the accent here, the other day I was at a party and someone asked me to speak the hear the accent and they reckoned I was an Aussie! I was so excited. Haha. In May all the exchange students will go on something called "The Capricorn Ramble". Its a safari, and we will travel half way around Australia and see so much of it in three weeks. We will be camping and busssing with one plane trip. I am so excited for that!
The holidays here are like the same back home, except they dont celebrate thanksgiving, so I made dinner that night. Christmas was great, my host family had like twenty people over and the family treated me like family. It was as if I had known them my whole life. Christmas was perfect. I didnt get homesick at all over Christmas and New Years.
Although when I moved from Gilgandra, to six hours away to Newcastle for the summer holidays (Just to spend time on the coast) I got very homesick for Gilgandra and it was a rough couple of days but I just tried to stay busy to get over that as quick as possible and also my mom was a big help with that, since she knew exactly what I was going through just messaging her helped me alot.
I cant believe how fast five months has gone by. It will be five months on Tuesday and then it kind of is the down hill trek of me coming home. My visa expires July 5th so maybe I will come home around the 3rd so I will be able to spend it with all the family at our family get together. I have missed them alot, but then our relationship has definately gotten stronger from me being away. I love Australia that much that I am thinking about coming back for college.
It is going to be so hard to leave this beautiful country, I have made so many friends that I know will stay my life long friends. I have so many memories, so many laughs, I have become such a strong, independent, responsible young lady. I have become more open and bubbly, and talking to people and making friends is easy now and I love doing that kind of stuff. This experiance has been a once in a lifetime opportunity. I am one of the eight people that was lucky enough to get sent to this wonderful country and sometimes I still find myself in shock that I am here. But hey, this is actually reality. I have grown up so much from this exchange. I have learned so much and I have done my best to share as much as I know about America and teach people about my home and where I come from and what I do back home. I have done my absolute best to represent The United States of America. I love Australia. Through the ups and downs I have become such a better person from these past five months. If I were to look back on myself five months ago I dont think I would recognize me, as in my personality, the way I look at life now, the way I look at people and new opportunities.
Smile, cause life is so good. Some people don't realize that. I am so thankful for everything Rotary has done for me! I would not be here without Rotary. Doing an exchange has been the best choice I have ever made in my life.
Best wishes to everyone else! I hope all your exchanges are going as well as mine.
This was my Rotary update of the past five months. Hope you enjoyed reading!
Love you all. Miss you!
Bailee Jo
Xoxo
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