Since my weekend
in Graz, I am now settled into my home in Knittelfeld, with my first host
family: Justine, Wolfgang, and Julia Knauseder. I love it here and it feels
especially good to not be living out of a suitcase and to be situated with a
great family like this! Knittelfeld is a small town in the Steiermark of
Austria with about 12000 people. It is a very newly built town because the Allies
completely bombed it during World War II due to its railroad industry. Since
then, it has been newly built again and I like it very much! Everything is very
central to itself; I can ride my bike or walk to school, the swimming pool,
grocery stores, shopping, and the bank. The countryside is also very nearby,
making it easy to go running or ride my bike.
Since my arrival
here on Tuesday, I have been able to relax a bit before I begin school on the
10th. I have gone running with my host dad and ridden bikes, met
some of the Knauseder’s family, seen more of the nearby landscape, and got to
know my 2nd host sister and a lot of her friends. This gives me some
peace of mind to begin school at least having met and seen a few familiar
faces!
Yesterday was
very exciting because my family and I went on a morning-long hike up a 1822
meter mountain! We woke up fairly early to get an early start. 2 friends came
with us for the hike. The hike up was steep but really fun to see more of the mountain
range each time we got a higher view! It took the 6 of us about 90 minutes to
reach the summit but the trek up wasn’t too bad. At the top was a neat church
overlooking the Alps. People were also preparing to paraglide off the mountain,
and that was cool to see their jump off and the wind take them away. We took
pictures at the top and ate a snack. The way down was actually harder for me
than going up because I am not accustomed to the steep descent! Halfway down we
stopped at a house in the Alps that served as a kind of restaurant for another break and drinks. I was really tired
afterwards, but I had a great time climbing my first real mountain!
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