SUSANNA Garbo felt so welcomed by Brisbane Catholics as part of Days in the Diocese before World Youth Day 2008 she always knew a return was on the cards.
The environmental engineering student took “a gap year” from normal work and study routines in Padua, northern Italy, last year to rediscover that experience.
“I felt really welcomed (in Brisbane) … I didn’t expect it to be so cosy,” she said.
“When I arrived home I talked about Australia at least once a day so my friends and family expected me to go back.”
Susanna, 25, was part of a WYD08 pilgrimage group of almost 50 young people from her diocese of Padua.
They were hosted in Sunnybank parish on Brisbane’s southside.
“Sunnybank parish did so much to welcome us,” she said.
“There was so much hospitality … (and) people guided us through the city.
“We felt really accompanied everywhere we went.
“It couldn’t have been better.”
Susanna’s English skills were particularly helpful in navigating the group’s stay.
She was relied on daily to help the priests of her pilgrimage group – “who didn’t speak a word of English” – to understand and be understood.
“I was the interpreter,” Susanna said.
“It was such a happy experience.”
Enlivened in her faith by the WYD08 as a whole and more conscious she is “part of the family of the Catholic Church”, Susanna returned home with another voyage in mind.
It took three years and she returned full of enthusiasm and adventure.
In Brisbane on a working visa and reconnecting with old friends, many new ties have formed.
“I have felt welcomed again,” Susanna said, referring particularly to the hospitality offered by Lyn and Wayne Catchlove, of Sunnybank.
“A lot of people have been happy to see me.”
Plus she’s feeling “a bit more Aussie now”.
“I’ve learnt a few ‘slang’ words that they don’t teach you,” Susanna said.
“This is a new aspect of English for me.”
The word “hotel”, for example, had her puzzled before attending last month’s Faith on Tap event.
“Normally, ‘hotel’ is a place you stay in with many rooms,” she said.
“But when I was looking for the Pineapple Hotel (for Faith on Tap) I was surprised to realise I was looking for a pub.
“I didn’t expect for a hotel to be where you can buy a beer.”
During the six months since her Brisbane return Susanna said she had enjoyed the opportunity to ponder her future and purpose.
“I needed to take a gap year to take a break,” she said.
“It sounds a bit ‘hippy’ but I needed to ‘find myself’ … to find out who I am away from my normal environment.”
With exceptional English-speaking skills, Susanna is looking forward to “making the most of” the four months remaining.
“I could have gone to Great Britain (for the gap year) but the fact is I received such a welcome in Brisbane and that really stayed in my heart and my mind,” she said.
“In Sunnybank parish I felt part of a family and going to World Youth Day really helped me understand as Catholics we have a different kind of family (to our own).
“It’s a family you can rely on.
“People here have supported me beyond my expectations.”
Susanna said Brisbane was “more modern” than most European cities she had experienced and it “is impressive by night” especially.
“Brisbane is charming,” she said.
“It has a wonderful ‘net’ of infrastructures.
“I love the fact you can be beside the pool at South Bank in the middle of the city.
“Brisbane gives a lot of attention to families.”
Meantime Susanna’s family remains in touch and more than anything she has realised, from afar, her connectedness to them.
“Being independent has helped me question a few things,” she said.
“When you are alone you are compelled to be with yourself.
“I didn’t think I relied on my family as much as I do.
“(And) I’ve also found out that my faith is a real reference point for my life.”
