Language Camp at Altmünster

       After my first week in Austria, we packed up the car and headed to Lake Traunsee for a two week language course with all of the other Rotary Youth Exchange students in Austria. In all, there were around 75 kids there. We spent morning, day, and night together and became incredibly close. I learned a lot of German, and I also practiced my Spanish quite a bit while I was there. The camp definitely made me more confident in my German skills, and I am looking forward to using what I have learned with my family and friends.
       Although it rained several evenings, the days were hot and beautiful. It got so warm on some days that afternoon classes got cancelled and we could spend some time down by the lake. The water was freezing, but very refreshing on a hot day! There was also internet and ice cream down by the lake, so several of us gathered together and worked on our tans!

 

On Saturday, we all piled into a tour bus and drove for about an hour to the small town of Hallstatt. There we took a tour of the famous salt mine! We went through the mine in really attractive outfits and took slides to get to the bottom. This mine has been supplying Austria with salt for hundreds of years!

 

 

After the mine, we had a few hours to tour the beautiful town of Hallstatt! We wander through the streets, ate some ice cream and took thousands of pictures!

 

 

There was a museum there with skulls inside from hundereds of years ago. The feeling was sort of eerie, but it felt like I was looking into the past. It was so incredible to stare face to face with what once was a human being. It was easy to let my imagination wander, and wonder about what kind of life this person might have had.



 

We all went on a "small walk" as the Rotarians called it. It ended up being a pretty legit hike uphill for some better views of lake Traunsee. All of the rebounds (exchange students who have returned home to Austria) came with us, and we took several group photos. I reunited with Elisa, the Austrian girl who came to my district last year. She is the person who inspired me to come to Austria in the first place, and it was really nice to see a familiar face.

 

I made some very close friends at language camp, and it was hard to say goodbye. Some of my closest friends are living in/near Vienna, so I will see them often. And the others I will see at are next Rotary meeting in September. I am so fortunate to have made so many close friends. It is nice to have someone to trust in such a foreign world!