Avon Rotary Youth Exchange
2010-2011 Inbound Sandra Holzer
October 10, 2010
Time is flying by... I am now here since two months and so many things happened in this short time. Impressions of a normal High School day:
Yellow school buses, extraordinarily nice teachers, lockers, juniors, football teams, homecoming -- I never thought that there would be such a great difference between American highschools and my good old austrian "Gymnasium" (that is what we use to call our highschools). My first day of High School was an adventure, everything was new and I got late and lost a million times. In Austria I used to sit in the same classroom every day with the same kids and the teachers would switch classes. Moving around and meeting new people every period seemed like so much more fun. But soon I realized it was no fun anymore if you get lost every time because you can't open or even find your locker or if you are sitting in the wrong classroom until you realize that those kids sitting next to you are definitely not your classmates. Before I came here I could never imagine being friends with a teacher. Avon high school's teachers are honestly some of the nicest people I've ever met.
So after having the same classes, meeting the same people, getting to my classes in time and almost being able to unlock my locker by myself (still have problems though), I finally feel like a real 11th grader.
Who would have thought that ending up in New Your State was the best thing that ever happened to me. After 8 weeks in this beautiful state I have not been bored once. Unsurprisingly -- because otherwise it would probably be called "Same York".
* Sandra
August 29, 2010
America - land of the free and home of the brave, fast food, Coca cola, Bill Gates, Bruce Springsteen and a great patriotism. After almost three weeks in the United States I realized that America has a lot more to offer.
I arrived in Avon on August 12 which was a great date, because after one day of resting, the Rotary Corn festival was waiting for me. It was a good opportunity to meet lots of new people. So after meeting about 200 new faces I recognized how warm, friendly and interested in other cultures the Americans are. Everyone wanted to know where I am from, how I like Avon etc.
Since Austria is such a small country, many people didn't know where it is. The fact that AUSTRALIA owns only two more letters made many people think I was an Aussie. Funny questions about my home country followed, such as: "Why don't you speak Spanish? Everyone in Europe does" or "Austria is a big continent, right?"
Many people were wondering about my English knowledge. I've had five years of English class before, but there's quite a big difference between the British English I was taught at school and the familiar American English. At the beginning it was hard to deal with the "Rochester accent" but I am on the way of getting used to it.
On August 16 soccer pre-season started at high school and I met some wonderful girls. I've never really played soccer before, because there are no teams for girls in Austria. So after two weeks of exhausting, tiring but also funny double sessions (they took 5 hours every day!) I really enjoy it.
I've already made great experiences and lots of acquaintances and I am proud to say that it's not the nice houses or the yellow school buses that make an impression, it's the marvelous people and the way they let me be part of their life – the American way of life.
Thanks to everyone that made this unforgettable year possible for me!
* Sandra