Emily in Austria: My Exchange Year :D

Wow! It’s been a long time since I’ve sat down to write about what’s been going on! I’m not even sure where to begin to describe what’s happened in the last 4 months. Well last time I wrote, I was getting ready to head out on a trip with all of the other Austrian Inbounds. It was amazing! We traveled to the cities of Prague in the Czech Republic, and Dresden and Berlin in Germany. All three of these cities were absolutely stunning and beautiful! I can’t even begin to describe the amount of fun we had all together as an Inbound group of probably 100.

There is one special tradition that I of course brought to Austria: THANKSGIVING! I cooked an entire American Thanksgiving dinner with my host mom for the whole family! We cooked turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, green beans, pumpkin pie, and so much more! It was such a great night, getting to bring something special to me and my family at home to my family here in Austria!

Then December came around and that meant Christmas Season! Christmas in Austria is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever experienced. It was definitely a different Christmas than I had ever experienced but it was interesting to celebrate it in a different culture with different traditions and events that I was used to. All of the Inbounds took a trip to Salzburg about 2 weeks before Christmas. It was so much fun. We got visit a castle and had a breathtaking view of all of Salzburg, covered in a blanket of snow, from the top. The Rotary weekends are always so much fun and a blessing because we all come together as a huge family and get to see and experience so many new things! Throughout the whole month of December, there are Christmas Markets everywhere, in almost every town and village. You can go and enjoy food, sweets, small shops and much more. One of the most typical Christmas Market drinks in Austria is Glühwein. This is warm wine cooked with many spices and served in a traditional Christmas mug. Another traditional food is Maroni! These are roasted chestnuts that you crack open and eat. Normally you go with your family and stand around, order glühwein, enjoy the lights and much more. On the 6^th of December is the day of St. Nicholas. It’s tradition that Nicholas comes to the home of the children dressed like a bishop with his staff and tall hat bringing, small goods like chocolate, nuts, and fruit to those who have been good. Along with Nicholas comes Krampus, a beastlike creature who is supposed to punish those who have been bad. We also put up our Christmas tree the day before Christmas. It was real too! At home we have a plastic one, so this was new for me. Also in Austria, there is no Santa Claus! Instead on Christmas Eve, the “Christchild” comes into the house and puts the presents under the tree when the children are out of the room. The bigger celebration is also done on Christmas Eve as apposed to Christmas day with family at home in Florida. We enjoyed a nice family dinner together, than sang Christmas songs and prayers and then opened the gifts. Later in the evening, the whole family went to Mass. Christmas Day was very relaxed. We had a large meal with the family and just hung out. Even though the Christmas traditions were different, I couldn’t have asked for it any other way! I also love family events here because it’s quite similar to my life in Florida. Here all of the family is basically neighbors! So when we are all together it includes, immediate family, grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles…..pretty much everyone!

I decided to spend New Year’s with my host family. We enjoyed dinner and just hanging out until it got dark and then it was time for the fireworks! We live on a hill known as Oberfeldgasse, which was the absolute best location ever! Not only could we shoot off our fireworks but also we are higher up than most people and so for miles all you could see was hundreds of fireworks being shot up and lighting up the night sky! I could see them all the way into the mountains of Switzerland. It was absolutely one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen in my life!

In the first week of January, our entire family and some friends took a day trip to Innsbruck for the International Ski Jumping tournament! That day was so much fun because there was so much Country pride and spirit. We all had our Austrian Flags and hats and were waving them around and yelling and cheering and what not! Every time an Austrian skier jumped, the crowd was crazy! And of course an Austrian skier won the tournament!

Yesterday I actually just returned from my family’s ski trip in the Montafon. We stayed in Gargellen, a ski village in the mountains. We spent the week there because it was our school’s semester break! It was such an amazing time! I learned so much especially about skiing because coming from Florida, I had never done it before! I’m much better than I was on my first day. I’m still the slowest and always come in last but I enjoying skiing so much! I actually accomplished my first black slope too, which is the most difficult! The red slopes, which are intermediate, aren’t even a problem anymore! My host family taught me and everyday it was better! It was such a fun vacation because when we weren’t skiing, we just hung out, played games, sometimes went out at night and just had a good time! This time last year I would have never even pictured my self -going down a black slope in the mountains of Austria, nevertheless even learning how to ski at all!

Wow there is just so much to talk about! These are only the big events that have happened! It so hard to talk about all the small fun things like going out with friends on the weekends and basically just enjoying life here!

I can’t even begin to describe the amount of ways that I’ve changed as a person since being here. I’ve learned to be independent, open minded and so much more. All of the things that seemed so foreign to me 6 months ago are like second nature! I remember going to school the first day and it was like a maze. I was so confused and had no idea what to think. Now everything is so familiar! The roads, villages, towns, faces, traditions are all a huge part of my life now. Instead of them being things I once resisted, I now accept them all and couldn’t be happier!

I just recently, in the last week, reached my 6 month mark of my exchange! I can’t even wrap my mind around the fact that my exchange year is more than half way over. While that though makes me sad, I’ve decided to embrace everything that comes my way from now until July, because that’s all the time I have left, which doesn’t seem like enough in this new country I can call home! In one week I will be switching to my second host family. I couldn’t be more thankful for everything that my first host family has done for me and they will always be considered family in my heart! Also in one month my Mom will be visiting Austria! I can’t wait for her to share this wonderful experience with me, even if it is only for 2 weeks out of a whole year! These next couple months will be crazy! Full of excitement and many other emotions, but I can’t wait to just live out every moment that this wonderful opportunity has brought and will bring :)