News From Our Outbound Student Nicole Johnston in Austria
Here's a newsy note from Nicole. Check out her video blog at http://www.youtube.com/user/nicoleonexchange?feature=watch
another part of me feels as though I have lived in these mountains forever.
Trying to put this past month into words is not something that I think I am
capable of. There is no way to adequately describe the first time I walked
through Innsbruck's streets built in the middle ages or the heart racing
anxiety I felt stepping into my school for the first time. However, I will
try.
Italy. Many people speak German there and, as it was the end of summer, it
was flooded with German tourists. We spent our days browsing through small
towns and swimming in the pool at the converted farm house we were staying
in. As though the dream could not get anymore surreal- we spent an evening
in Verona. The city was alive with history and culture in a way that
constantly left my mouth open in awe.
After all of the fun and culture came the day I dreaded most: the first day
of school. As excited as I have always been to go to a new school, make new
friends and start a new life; I would be lying if I said that the thought of
walking into a room of strangers I can't communicate with didn't terrify me.
I don't think that being a good ambassador and exchange student is about not
being afraid, I think that it's about being absolutely terrified to do
something and then doing it anyways. Bravery isn't about the absence of
fear, it's about being able to face what you are afraid of and letting the
experience better you as a person. With that in mind, I took a deep breath
and walked into my first day of school. My school here is too beautiful to
be a school. It looks like it should be a museum with it's large statues,
murals and stone staircases. I am constantly in awe of the fact that I can
actually spend each day there. School here works differently than in Canada.
I have a class of about 25 students that I am with almost all day. For the
most part, we stay in our classroom and the teachers come to us. That was a
shock coming from a school of 1800 where I rarely have the same person in
more than one class. However, it makes it very easy to make friends.
When I first arrived at school, my host mother and I waited with the other
students outside of the classroom before the teacher came. They all stared
at me awkwardly so I put on my friendly "I wish that I could talk to you,
but I don't speak German well enough" smile. That night we also
went to a movie and suddenly my anxiety melted away. School that week was
only 1-3 hours each day with no real classes and each day I did something
with some of the girls in my class after school. I was starting to feel
confident and happy within my class.
The next week was a little more challenging. I had not been informed prior
to the first day of school, but my second week of school was a class trip.
We all headed out to one of the more rural provinces of Austria for a sport
week! We took the train out which everybody else seemed pretty comfortable
with although I was beyond excited to take my first European train ride. I
stayed in a room with three other girls and each day we did a new (somewhat)
intense sport. We did archery, rafting, high ropes, raft building and
Geo-caching.
I went straight from that week of intense physical activity to the Rotary
hiking weekend! I hadn't seen any of the exchange students for a month and
after two weeks of surviving culture shock, home sickness and German
learning together; we had become a huge family. We all took a
bus up to the Alm we were staying in and the adventure began. I love
exchange students. I was able to talk openly (and fluently) about all of my
problems to people who could completely relate. Of course, the hiking was
also a highlight of the weekend. I have said it before, but when an Austrian
says "small walk" that is Canadian for "huge hike." So, when they say
"fairly long hike," brace yourself. It was beautiful and incredible. It is always
amazing getting together with the exchange students. Everyone has so much to
bring from their host country and it feels like I am able to absorb so much
more than just the Austrian way of life. The goodbyes were sad, but I was
excited to get home and rest my exhausted body.
September wasn't a month for me, it was a year. Thinking about how my
language has progressed, the new things I have done and the friends I have
made puts me in disbelief. I hope that this update was a good glimpse into
my life here, but if you would like to hear more, my video blog is almost
always updated. The link to it is
here: http://www.youtube.com/user/nicoleonexchange?feature=watch. I hope all
is well in Canada and I can't wait to share more updates soon!
Again, thank you all for this opportunity. I will never be able to express
enough how grateful I am for everything that I have right now in my life.
Thank you for every oppertunity, every word of encouragement and all of the
support that I have recieved over the past year. Now, I am an international sudent living an
unbelievable and meaningful life. There may be struggles on exchange, but I
am so happy everyday that I am here and that I have Rotary to support me.
Please send on my words of gratitude to the entire club as I cannot thank
them enough for their support of this program that has completely changed my
life.