Rotary Conference
Door: Eva
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Eva
30 April 2011 | Australië, Gayndah
Van vrijdag 15 tot en met zondag 17 april 2011 was ik aanwezig op de jaarlijkse 'Rotary Conference'. Zoals ik in mijn vorige blogverslag al vertelde, werd ik uitgekozen om op vrijdagavond als uitwisselingsstudent te speechen over het 'Rotary Youth Exchange Program'. Ik hoop dat het voor jullie toch enigszins interessant is om te lezen. Veel leesplezier!
Good evening everyone. My name is Eva Clerix and I am an exchange student from Belgium. I’m standing here in front of you tonight to talk about my experience as a Rotary exchange student.
Being an exchange student gives you heaps of opportunities. I think we all have already seen a fair bit of places in Australia. Some of us have probably seen more than others, but that doesn’t really matter, because in two weeks, we will all be leaving for our safari tour. During three weeks, we will travel together with the exchange students from district 9550 to Alice Springs, Ayers Rock, Gladstone, Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney and all the other places I can’t remember. I’ve been looking forward to this trip since the beginning of my exchange. However, the thought of having only two months left after what will definitely be one of the most important highlights in my exchange is pretty scary.
Enough about travelling, since that’s not the only thing we, exchange students, do. I bet all the others would agree with me if I tell you that we’ve all met lots and lots of lovely people. Those people don’t only include host families and school friends, but also other exchange students, some other Rotarians and their families and random people living in the same town you got to know a bit better. For example: a week ago, I met a wonderful young couple at the Gayndah Show. The funny bit is that they actually live in my hometown in Belgium, but I saw them for the first time last Saturday in Gayndah.
There’s one thing related to meeting new people that really attracted my attention: the meaning of the word ‘home’. It doesn’t matter when or where I use it, it’s always confusing. ‘Home’ can be my real home in Belgium with my parents and sisters, but it can also be my host family’s place or even another place where I’m staying for a little while. I reckon it’s a good thing to feel comfortable enough to call all these different places ‘home’, and I hope all other exchange students feel the same about the meaning of the word ‘home’.
Tonight, on behalf of all the exchange students, I would like to say ‘thank you’ to Rotary International, not only for giving us, exchange students, the chance to travel or to meet new people, but especially for giving us the opportunity to learn about life. For twelve months, a whole year, we’ve all lived in a foreign country with new families, which isn’t always very easy. This made us more tolerant and able to adapt more easily to new situations or new surroundings. We matured, we are more self-confident, more positive, more tolerant and maybe even more social, we learnt to speak in another language, we learnt a lot about the Australian culture and different cultures in general. For me, appreciation is the most important quality I gained. I learnt to appreciate the little things in life that can make you happy, but most important, I learnt to appreciate and respect my family and friends a lot more. I never realised how important my parents and my sisters are for me, until I lived away from them for such a long time.
So thank you, Rotary International, for giving us the chance to grow and become better people. Thank you for giving us the time of our lives!
Good evening everyone. My name is Eva Clerix and I am an exchange student from Belgium. I’m standing here in front of you tonight to talk about my experience as a Rotary exchange student.
Being an exchange student gives you heaps of opportunities. I think we all have already seen a fair bit of places in Australia. Some of us have probably seen more than others, but that doesn’t really matter, because in two weeks, we will all be leaving for our safari tour. During three weeks, we will travel together with the exchange students from district 9550 to Alice Springs, Ayers Rock, Gladstone, Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney and all the other places I can’t remember. I’ve been looking forward to this trip since the beginning of my exchange. However, the thought of having only two months left after what will definitely be one of the most important highlights in my exchange is pretty scary.
Enough about travelling, since that’s not the only thing we, exchange students, do. I bet all the others would agree with me if I tell you that we’ve all met lots and lots of lovely people. Those people don’t only include host families and school friends, but also other exchange students, some other Rotarians and their families and random people living in the same town you got to know a bit better. For example: a week ago, I met a wonderful young couple at the Gayndah Show. The funny bit is that they actually live in my hometown in Belgium, but I saw them for the first time last Saturday in Gayndah.
There’s one thing related to meeting new people that really attracted my attention: the meaning of the word ‘home’. It doesn’t matter when or where I use it, it’s always confusing. ‘Home’ can be my real home in Belgium with my parents and sisters, but it can also be my host family’s place or even another place where I’m staying for a little while. I reckon it’s a good thing to feel comfortable enough to call all these different places ‘home’, and I hope all other exchange students feel the same about the meaning of the word ‘home’.
Tonight, on behalf of all the exchange students, I would like to say ‘thank you’ to Rotary International, not only for giving us, exchange students, the chance to travel or to meet new people, but especially for giving us the opportunity to learn about life. For twelve months, a whole year, we’ve all lived in a foreign country with new families, which isn’t always very easy. This made us more tolerant and able to adapt more easily to new situations or new surroundings. We matured, we are more self-confident, more positive, more tolerant and maybe even more social, we learnt to speak in another language, we learnt a lot about the Australian culture and different cultures in general. For me, appreciation is the most important quality I gained. I learnt to appreciate the little things in life that can make you happy, but most important, I learnt to appreciate and respect my family and friends a lot more. I never realised how important my parents and my sisters are for me, until I lived away from them for such a long time.
So thank you, Rotary International, for giving us the chance to grow and become better people. Thank you for giving us the time of our lives!
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30 April 2011 - 07:56
Rotary Zonhoven:
Very moving...and very proud of you!
We too are thankful that tx to Rotary International 'all these good things' are happening. Because 'alone one can do so little, but together one can do so much more...
Have a nice day! manuelle -
01 Mei 2011 - 15:49
Willy En Noëlla:
Potverdorie Eva ,nu moet ik toch alweer een traantje laten en die mensen daar ook denk ik.Wat kan je dat toch mooi verwoorden, je hebt echt schrijverstalent.De rotary had niemand beter kunnen sturen !
Groetjes Tante Noëlla alweer. -
04 Mei 2011 - 16:22
Tante Rosa:
Dag Eva, 't is lang geleden dat je nog iets van mij gehoord hebt, want ik ben niet zo'n computermens! Maar vandaag was ik bij Noëlla en die was zo geëmotioneerd door al je mooie verhalen dat ik dadelijk ben gaan lezen en ze heeft gelijk! Ik merk dat zo'n jaar weg zijn toch enorm ingrijpend is, maar je hebt dat tot nu toe fantastisch overleefd! Het allerbeste voor de laatste maanden! Groetjes van onze hele familie (we zijn bijna met 10)! -
06 Mei 2011 - 23:34
Buurvrouw Nicole:
Mooi gezegd, meisje! Ik begrijp waarom ze jou uitgekozen hebben om zo'n speech te geven.
Het was weer leuk om je blogs te lezen. Zoveel lieve mensen, zoveel avontuur en uitstappen, zoveel te zien en te beleven, met als kers op de taart het bezoek van je mama en papa. Nu kan je nog volop genieten van je laatste maanden down under. Veel plezier nog! -
12 Mei 2011 - 21:16
Diane En Marcel:
Eva,
Proficiat voor deze mooie en aangrijpende speech. Prachtig gedaan.
Tot binnenkort....Maar geniet nog voluit van de enkele maanden die je nog resten in je 2de "HOME".
Veel groetjes van ons allemaal.
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