Rotary

Am 22.7.2002 war ich zu Gast beim oertlichen Verein von Rotary International in Katoomba. Im Vorfeld wurde ich gebeten, eine kleine Rede zu einem Thema meiner Wahl zu halten, die ihr hier lessen koennt.

Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a real pleasure for me being with you tonight, I appreciate that.

I have made so many good experiences so far of which I want to tell you some.

First you have a unique vegetation in Australia with eucalyptus trees for example and famous landmarks like Ayers Rock which is really worth to be seen. When I was on a four weeks holiday I adopted a koala at koala hospital on the East Coast because they are so cute animals and helpless when bushfire is coming around them or they are hit by a vehicle. I really appreciate the work of the volunteers in those hospitals! And I had fun watching some kangaroos in the wilderness beside the road. Once in a caravan park of Katherine there were lots of them jumping around after sunset. I was amazed when someone told me that kangaroo meat has not been popular for a long time because we European think that you often eat kangoroo. When we stopped in Mount Gambier on our travel we visited the popular sinkhole where we fed some possums at night. It was a real experience for me.

Second I have had many good experiences in my job becoming a lawyer because there are common ideas in both legal systems. When I had my first visit of Penrith Local Court it was confusing what people were talking about but sometimes I could understand because of my legal background.

Third and at last I have had many good meetings with people who had an open mind and were interested in strangers like me from Germany. What I really appreciate is that Australians are so easy to handle with. It was one Saturday when I was sitting in a restaurant to have dinner. I looked around and to the other people on the next tables waiting for my meal. After a while one of two woman from nextdoor approached my table and asked me if I am on my own. When I replied yes she invited me to join their table for dinner and we had very interesting conversations. Unfortunately in Germany such a thing would never happen. I could give you lots of more examples like this but time is runnig out.

Thank you very much for your attention!

Stand: 19.8.2002