I Bid You Good Day (Mate)

Two years ago I signed up for a Student Exchange, expecting to have the time of my life. I dreaded having to make a new life in a foreign country. Learning to talk the talk and walk the walk was going to be terrifying but at the same time, the most amazing thing I’d ever do. The next year of my life was going to change me in ways I wouldn’t even be able to explain. I would make friends from all over the world who I would never forget. The experience would broaden my horizons and open my mind to a million possibilities. Learning about another culture and experiencing another ‘language’ would open doors to places I had never imagined and I would love every minute of it. Or that’s what they said. Rotary Youth Exchange was going to be the life changing, challenging experience I had been looking for.

Little did I know I’d be living in a town of 5,000 people in country Australia. A place called Naracoote, South Australia, a minimum four hours drive to the nearest capital city and one hour from the beach. What happened to Australia having a ‘beach culture’? I was excited nevertheless, I was about to spend a year living in Australia.

Australia, I loved the way that word rolled off my tongue. Going to the land down under had been a dream of mine since I was a mere 8 years old. For more than half my life I’d wanted to come. And now it was finally happening. Who knew that at the age of 16 I’d be fulfilling one of my life dreams? Regardless of the fact that I would be living in the middle of nowhere, in a town with a description that read “Naracoorte is nothing special and is best used as an overnight stop along the way” in my guide book, I was over the moon with excitement. Even when I was told that I would be living ‘out of town’ in a place called Kybybolite (also know as ‘two shacks and a footy oval’), my spirits were not weakened.

When the day finally arrived for me to go to the airport and say goodbye to everything that I knew to be familiar, my family, my friends, my hometown and my old life, I made sure I was at the airport two hours before my flight left. Now, Durango Airport is one of those places where you have to walk out onto the tarmac to board the plane. I couldn’t even check in till half an hour before the flight was scheduled to leave . . . so I spent those two hours sitting in the lobby with my family, incredibly stressed and worried about the journey ahead of me, but SO excited. When the time came to finally board the plane, there were hugs and mumbled goodbyes, a few tears, and then, it happened. I was through security and on my way. The adventure of a lifetime had begun.

After about 48 hours of travel, lost luggage and a non existent flight, I was in Australia. The land down under, a place where red soil, the phrase “G’day mate” and kangaroos were easily found. I had just arrived on the other side of the world but all I wanted was a bed to lie down on. I was far too delirious to process where I was or what I was about to experience. Before I knew it, three months flew by. I’d been homesick and happy at the same time. Incredibly lonely yet surrounded by people who took interest in me and my foreign-ness right away. I’d already been to Sydney, Canberra, and Melbourne. I’d even had an invite to go to Tasmania later in the year. A lot had happened, and so far, aside from the traveling, none of it had been what they said. I couldn’t tell if I had changed, I hadn’t made any of those amazing friends and there was no way I was ever going to learn a language. English . . . and well, English, aren’t exactly different. I hadn’t seen any new doors open and my horizons had yet to be broadened. So Australia, was just Australia.

When another month and half had gone by, I realized that I needed to focus on the here and now. On Australia, I had spent so much of my time trying to keep those at home happy and informed that I had forgotten to experience my life here. I had forgotten the purpose of my exchange, I had forgotten that I was an Aussie in training, not just a tourist. It was then that I jumped full heartedly into my exchange. I began to feel like I had made those friends and I could start to see the changes. Australia was no longer just Australia. It was becoming a part of me.

I continued to travel the country, in place of going to school of course. By now I’d seen nearly half the country. Tasmania, tick. Central Australia, two ticks. East coast, tick. Country capital, tick. South Australia, numerous ticks. Six out of eight capital cities, tick. The Riverland, tick. Sydney, three ticks. Victoria, infinity ticks. Outback Queensland, tick. And I met all kinds of people along the way.

Youth Exchange really puts a meaning to that saying “it’s not the places you go, but the people you meet along the way”. I’ve met so many amazing people this year and shared so many amazing memories with each of them that it's hard to remember every detail, but each moment has filled me with joy and will forever be within my heart. My heart breaks a little more as each day passes and I come closer to boarding the plane that will deliver me back home. In less than two weeks time, I'll be sleeping in my own bed, eating from my own kitchen, looking at the faces of people that I haven’t seen in far too long and missing those that I’ve spent the last year loving whole heartedly. I’ll look back on this year and be able to appreciate all the changes I’ve gone through, the confidence I’ve gained from it and my new found awareness of the world.

I speak to you today with gratitude in my heart and tears in my eyes, praying that this is as hard for you as it is for me and thanking you for who I am, Ariel Mallett, 17 years old on the outside and close to 27 on the inside, someone who used to think that the world was a big place. I know realize how small it truly is.

There’s only 2 weeks till I go back to the place that I used to call home. Durango, Colorado USA, with a population of 20,000 it is a small town by US standards. I’ve spent the last year sleeping in other people’s beds, living in someone else’s house and calling strangers my family. Yet, I’ve never felt more at home. I’m happier than I’ve ever been. I’m more in love with the people around me and who I am than I could have ever imagined. I’ve made friends from all over the globe who I’ll never forget. I have 7 new sisters and 4 new brothers. I’ll leave this country with my horizons broadened and my mind open to a million possibilities. Australia is my home. Those strangers are my family and their houses, my homes I’m an honorary Aussie. I can officially talk the talk and walk the walk.



This is me and my Rotary Club on the night of my Farewell Speech, which is printed above. I didn't cry, but I came close.


This is me and Val, the President of the Rotary Club during the bulk of my exchange.