Yesterday, June 7th, was my 10 month marker of being
in Austria, as well as the District 1920 Rotary Conference. In the morning we
had a brief rehearsal of the song we ended up singing and the program. We had
lunch and then afterwards was lunch, and then we had to get ready to drive to
the conference in Bregenz. Once we arrived we took some pictures, chatted, and
in the mid afternoon the program began. A few of our exchange students were
selected to perform by dancing and singing. We sang our group song and then had
free time for a while to take pictures with each other in our Rotary blazers.
In the evening after dinner we went on a boat cruise on the Bodensee for at
least 2 hours. This was also our last evening all together as exchange students.
I feel the boat ride was a good way to conclude our experience together
throughout the year as international ambassadors. The last half hour of our
boat ride was tough because we sang songs together and not too much later
almost everyone was crying and hugging. In moments like those it feels
impossible that our year abroad in Austria is just about over.
Today we left the hotel at 8:30, but we had to say
goodbye to the students in Vorarlberg. We made a stop in Innsbruck so those
students could get out, but it was so rushed we missed several goodbyes. That
is an awful feeling. For lunch we stopped in Kufstein at McDonalds and that is
where a good friend of mine, Seth, had to leave us. I then got out at Salzburg
with about half of the remaining students. That goodbye was the hardest yet
because we had so little time and so many people I wouldn’t see ever again. I had to
wait about 4 hours for my train, so I saw the other Graz students and the Kärnten
ones leave. Because of the flooding the train and bus rides took a total of
about 4 hours, and I got to Knittelfeld at 22:00. I am staying one night with
my first host family, the Knauseders again. It was a very sad day, but the
train ride gave me a chance to reflect of great exchange really is. I ended up
not feeling sadness, but joy instead. Mumford and Sons and Pink Floyd may have
helped that cause too…
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