Didgeridoo at Surfer's Paradise - Simply Amazing!!!

The Sea World Experience

Tuesday, 8th April 2014

written by Tom Sternmann

Today it was a perfect day for me. I was with Tassilo, my exchange student Chase, Hayden and Ramon in Sea World. It was really fun. First of all we went on a rollercoaster where we got really wet. We saw a lot of different animals shows. The best ones were the dolphin and sealion shows. In the dolphin show you can see some guys who made stunts with the dolphins like backflips and frontflips. After that we made more rollercoaster and saw some special fishes and pinguins too. You can swim with the dolphins if you want but this is really expensive. 

After the nice experience in Sea World we went with lots of other guys to the beach and swam in the really nice ocean. There were so beautiful waves and the weather was also well. We also went to surfers paradise's city and bought some things and food. Here is erverything more expensive than in Germany. After a really nice day with new experience everybody drove with the exchange parents home. 

Word of the week

We are constantly learning new words during our stay in Australia - vote for YOUR word of the first two weeks now! This week you've got the choice between "Fair dinkum" (ein typisch australischer Ausdruck, der in etwa so viel bedeutet wie "Zweifellos"), "sticky beak" (bezeichnet u.a. eine Person, die seine Nase in die Angelegenheiten anderer steckt), "shenanigans" (zu Deutsch "Blödsinn", "Unsinn") und "No worries" ("Keine Sorge", "kein Problem" - das australische Motto schlechthin). 

Hiking at Springbrook

Monday, 7th April 2014

written by Shadi Safari

Today is Monday. The holidays have started so we didn't have to go to school and we could sleep longer.

After a stormy Sunday everyone was hoping for good weather because we went on a hike in Springbrook. The track we actually wanted to go on was closed because of the storm yesterday so we had to go on another one. 

On our way up to the waterfall we stopped and took a lot of photos. Everyone was amazed by the view we had. We saw a waterfall but unfortunately we couldn't go behind it because the way was closed.

Up there most of the Australians were cold while the most of us Germans said it wasn't cold. After we went back the same way we had a nice picnic. Some of us were just sitting and talking and others were playing things like rugby. At about 3 pm everyone got picked up by their hosts. 

After we arrived at home we went to Bill's house which is just up the road. Later a few other guys came over and we all played soccer, tennis, rugby and basketball. Jessica, my exchange student, had to leave soon because she had a netball match but I stayed with the boys and we played poker. After Duncan, Linus and I went home we had dinner and spent the rest of the evening with Jessica playing Darts. 

All in all it was a very nice day. I spent a lot of time with my German friends but also with the Australians. 

It's getting Wet 'n' Wild

Sunday, 6th April
written by Marcel Schnieber

Today me, Lukas, Linus, Shadi, Bill, Duncan and Jessica went to the “Wet ’n’ Wild” waterpark at 10 am. The Wet ’n’ Wild waterpark has a big choice of water rollercoasters. First we tested an eight-meter free fall rollercoaster, which is very intense because of its speed. Today many people visited the waterpark; we had to wait a long time for every attraction. After 2 hours I met my favorite: “The Black Hole”, it’s completely dark and full of curves and little loopings. Furthermore it has a nice speed and it’s also pretty long.

At 2 pm it suddenly began to rain as we finished all the attractions of Wet ’n’ Wild, which was pretty lucky. So we went to Bill’s house and played a lot of games like football, basketball and tennis and we also ordered some pizza. At last we played a long game of poker. Well, I was the first one who lost and Linus was the winner. 

So at 6 pm Linus, Shadi, Jessica and Duncan went home and a wonderful day in Australia was over.

First day in the holidays

Saturday, 5th April 2014
written by Tim Gymnich

My first day in the holidays started with a traditional Australien breakie. We had bacon and eggs on toast. After having breakfast, my host family and I prepared for the beach. We put the beach gear and the surfboards in the car. On our way to Greenmount Beach they showed me Burleigh Heads. We took the scenic route so I saw lots of nice beaches and places on the Gold Coast. At the beach I tried surfing but I didn't do very well as it is very difficult to catch the wave and then stand up. After I tried surfing, my billet and I went swimming. When we were done we stepped back into the car and went to New South Wales to see the Captain Cook Memorial overlooking Duranbah Beach. The memorial was just on the border between Queensland and New South Wales. Here they have a system that pumps sand to every beach on the Gold Coast through pipelines. After this short stop we drove back to Mermaid Beach and we got ourselves some pies at the bakery. I had a chunky steak pie which was delightful and also the first pie of my life. In the afternoon we played xbox. For dinner we had chicken and rice. After having lunch we watched a movie on TV and afterwards I went to bed. I am really enjoying my time in Australia and am excited for the rest of our time here.

Tim Giving his Welcome Speech

After having officially been welcomed by the students of Somerset College, Tim gives his impressive welcome speech at assembly 

NB [Dwertmann] I have to apologize for the bad sound quality. If possible, you may use speakers or headphones or simply read the following transcript of the speech,  

"Good Morning, 

my name is Tim and I am from Comenius-Gymnasium in Germany. We arrived in Brisbane yesterday morning at 7 am. After 22 hours of flying we were very exhausted but very excited to meet our billets (= Austauschpartner) at Somerset College. After a tour of the school we had our first lesson of the day and even though we were very tired we managed to learn a lot about Australian schooling. I am very excited for my time in Australia, especially for our time at the Gold Coast. And thank you very much to the teachers and parents who had made this trip possible."

- Tim Gymnich, Comenius-Gymnasium Düsseldorf (At assembly  at Somerset College, Mudgeeraba, Australia)