Diana Gaiden is always smiling and kindness is her second name.
Diana has been in Australia for the last 2 and a half years. With the clear idea of coming to have a family adventure, she landed in Brisbane because of her husband’s job. Her daughter and son are part of this experience, which has enriched this family with more memories and stories to tell and as she said … “The best thing is that we did it as a family and it is a different experience, but we did it together, supporting each other”
She is a professional social worker, employed as a supervisor for many years in Germany. Her role over there was to provide counselling and advice for therapists that attended to patients. In addition, she provided services to companies implementing new processes and procedures to avoid changes and resistance and to achieve smooth adaptation.
“I haven’t worked here in my field because I realized my position as a supervisor counsellor assisting therapists, doesn’t actually exist in Australia .”
She loves her profession and misses working in it. However, in the meantime she is gathering all the documentation, which must be presented to get the recognition of her career in Australia. she is enjoying her time here meeting people from other nationalities and studying the Cambridge CAE Course as part of her preparation to certify her English level. In addition, during this time, she has found new skills that she would like to learn for fun, such as becoming a barista, so she will be able to make ‘artistic coffee’.
“I like the Australian mentality, because I realized that people here are warm, more chatty, outgoing and patient, so I feel that it is a bit more relaxing.”
Diana points out the multiculturalism of Australia and that there are people from many different nationalities that make up the diverse Australian culture.
“where all different cultures mix together and that’s nice!... because that is part of the Australian culture.”
Now, she and her family do not know if they will stay in Australia or return to Germany. So far, they just want to enjoy the country, learn as much as they can and let themselves be surprised by the unexpected. Both are fine for them.
At this time, she has visited the Whitsundays, Cairns, Perth and some beaches and National Parks across Queensland. However, for Diana there are no specific places in Australia that she marks as her favourite, because in general she enjoys contact with nature. So for her, beaches and forests are the best places to visit. The fresh air in the mountains and the good vibes of beaches make her feel at peace.
Nevertheless, on her bucket list there are some places that she would like to go, such as Tasmania and the pink lake in Perth.
“I love travelling. It is an amazing experience that undoubtedly people should live, if they have the chance to do it.”
In Brisbane and In contrast to her home town, she misses the seasonal changes that always bring something special in all of its colours. “I like all 4 seasons because everyone has something good”.
How are people from Germany?
She said with a smile. Germans are kind of serious. They are punctual, correct, sometimes strict and stick to the rules. (hahaha …she finished with a sweet laugh). However, “When you have a relationship with a German person, you can be sure that it will be deep and long-lasting” Friendship is important for them, so relationships are built on a real and strong base. This is a really significant characteristic from German people.
Her advice for those people who are thinking of travelling abroad to live in another culture for a period is: Absolutely TRY, try in different ways, do it and do not think a lot. Just try. And stay focused.
You will learn, you will have new perspectives about people abroad. You will realize that you should change. You will feel different when you are in another country. You will have good times and difficult times and you will learn how to deal with it and manage it to achieve your goals. But in the end, you will understand, that when you push yourself out of your comfort zone, you open your eyes to new opportunities and options.
“People who decide to live overseas are brave, as they need to adapt to many things if they want to enjoy the experience”.
Sometimes we want to wait until we are ready to try something new but sometimes it is much better to jump in the deep end and for sure we will figure it out.
If I have the opportunity to live in another country, I would like to go to Canada.
And in terms of language I would like to learn Arabic, I think that culture is really interesting.
