The temperature over here at first was really cold with there still being some snow left over however now it’s just cold typically around -1°C everyday but it’s not bad as the houses here are super warm. And as we approach April the weather is warming up with today reaching 18°C.

The Wastewater management talk actually sounds really exciting. I’ve been to two Rotary meetings as they have one every two weeks. The first meeting of the year they were looking over applicants to join the Rotary club and were all having a vote on whether someone should be allowed to join the Ried Rotary Club or not which was interesting to witness but also challenging as I did not understand anything that was happening. I got presented at this meeting but just my name, where I’m from and who I’m staying with so nothing too exciting. I’m hoping to do my presentation in German closer to the 3rd month mark as hopefully I speak a lot better then. The other meeting was last night which was on cybersecurity or Cybersicherheit. This time round however there was another exchange student (total of three, myself included, in my area one American girl and an Argentinian Boy) which made talking really pleasant though I was slightly sad I didn’t have a chance to try talk to the gentleman on my left as there is only time to talk before the meeting then during dinner. We eat at a restaurant in their big mall which is really cool and they have really good food. I ordered the Blunz’n Gröstl (which is their blood sausage with fried potatoes through it, very traditional and extremely tasty) which is really good in my opinion, I’d highly recommend it.

School is definitely different from what I’m used to as my school is Co-ed, starting at 7:30am and then finishing at 1:00pm, with Thursday finishing at 4:30pm due to PE. with no real rules about what you can and can not wear as I’ve seen kids with multiple piercings, guys with heaps of rings and chains on; as well as crop tops which would not have been allowed at my school during mufti days. I think the biggest shock was they still write on blackboards with chalk and that they just switch classes for some subjects like my Spanish, Italian and Ethics classes are just in 7C’s, 8B’s and the workout classroom. They also have grades from 1-8, this does not mean they have less years, it just means that what we consider year 13 is grade 8 now and grade 1 is year 5; and everyone seems to be on their respective floors as grades 6-8 are all on the top floor meanwhile the younger years are lower. PE here is also split, which is good I believe, because it means the boys can do wrestling or football while we play dodgeball and have our respective fun. The kids here have been taught English pretty much as soon as they entered school, so a lot of my classmates do speak English, some definitely better than others. Otherwise, everything besides the language classes (excluding Latin) is spoken in German. On the topic of subjects there were only a few classes I could pick with the majority being compulsory. I take Deutsch, English, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Latin, Geography, History, Psychology (all compulsory) and then I got to pick between Ethics or Religion, Art or Music, and Italian or French, I ended up taking Ethics, Art and Italian plus the additional subject Spanish :D. So yeah quite a lot. All the subjects go for 50 minutes with 5 minute breaks in between but after 3 periods we have a 15 minute break (kind of considered morning tea) otherwise when we finish at 4:30pm we have an hour break after 1:00pm where we can go to SPAR (supermarket nearby) or McDonalds for lunch. We don’t have to sign in or out when we leave campus or come in late from an appointment either which was a bit of a shock to me.

Otherwise, the blanket/sleeping arrangement is good but also different. I have found that the Austrians seem to have duvets that only really cover the person sleeping and not the entire bed so if you move around a lot the duvet comes off pretty easily.

I have had multiple trips already as in my first week I passed through Germany three times already. Due to my village being so close I've walked over a bridge to get into Germany and the other time to travelled through Germany to get to Kitzbuhel where the skiing championships are being held; and a Kiwi won one of the races recently too for the womans :D. I explored their town, saw where the races were being held as well as walked up the mountain. Also saw their military or a small group of their army as they were all dressed in their winter khaki green camo uniforms being neatly presented and waiting, as I believe they were about to do an exercise. It was hard to believe they are around my age as military service is compulsory here, or else you have to do 9 months of social service. Otherwise I have had my language course 45 min outside of Vienna, in Neudölf. I did my very first long trip via public transport as it was a 4 hour train ride to get there and then ended up a 6 hour train ride back (the same amount of time it took me to go from Dubai to Vienna). It was definitely nerve racking as my train got delayed and I had to figure out what to do next but it turned out alright. They also have something called a Klimaticket where people between 18-25 can use a ticket for one year where all public transport with OBB services are completely free. So lucky for me I didn’t have to worry about any of that. The language course was 10 days long with the other January Inbounds (there are only 4 of us, two Aussies and one Argentinian girl plus me). We are all girls from 15-18; everyones a different age so that definitely makes it interesting. The first couple days we just stayed at our accomodation which was a mix of a hostel, Tennis center (as there were 4 indoor tennis courts 4 outdoor courts and what seemed like one outdoor observatory tennis court), badminton courts, a gym, sauna, restaurant and dance room (which was our classroom). So definitely not your typical language course set up. For 6 days learning German for 6 hours a day. Some days would drag on but others went quickly as we filled the day with study, entertainment and sleep. We visited Österreich's Parliament in Wien where we met up with some of the other exchange students as well for the first time. Their parliament was significantly different from ours as it was built in 1883 when there was still an Emperor of Austria. I found it fascinating that there was a room full of significant Roman senators and Augustus was included. I find this fascinating because sure he was a great Consul he was also the first Emperor, which made me giggle as I interpret that as the parliament still saying it’s under an Emperor's rule even if they do not believe it is; and of course I could be very wrong in this way of thinking but it is how I viewed it. Not only that but inside the parliament there is a part that replicates the Pantheon (I believe, my memory could be a little fuzzy) with 24 Corinthian columns with each one weighing 16 tones constructed from one solid slab of marble. Requiring 32 horses to pull one column from the mine to a train station in Salzburg to then get transported to Vienna. After the tour we had 3 hours to explore the city for ourselves. Taking our time wandering around Wien exploring the inner district and the St. Stephen's Cathedral made me truly marvel at their architecture as well as how much copper they used during its Empirical rule to showcase its power as they would have had to import it. We then all met up and went ice skating which was two stories, making it fun for participants as they would go up and down the levels. Sadly I did not skate as my wrist is still not 100%  and I would have hated to have broken it and not be able to go on the upcoming ski trip. Another night out we met up with some local Rotarians and went bowling with them and their children. I sadly did not win BUT I didn't come last either!!! So a win there. They were all lovely people to socialize and get to know. With one lady trying to help me get tickets for the last Austria ball of the season as they hold stunning balls during January which sadly I was unable to attend due to my late arrival but she tried to help which was very kind of her. I also went to Semmering with some of the other exchange students. Rotary seems to host multiple meetup/day trips the biggest deciding factor is one if your school allows the meet up (if on a school day) as well as your host family otherwise you just have to figure out how you are getting to the destination and just enjoy the trip and hanging out with the other exchange students. Semmering was beautiful (I’ve included some photos down below). Other than this I had my semester break 2 weeks ago and my host family went skiing and took me along. I had no knowledge of how to ski at all so I took lessons while they went down the mountain. I would say I’ve made progress and since then I also went skiing again with the American exchange student in my town as her host family had passes and gear for me to borrow on the last day the ski slope was open. Skiing is not for the faint of heart. Whoever said it was easy… take it back please my legs killed me causing me to struggle to walk after those first three days and the last day was a trip down the mountain from the top… scariest thing ever I must say OMG was it a challenge. My legs felt like they were giving out with them at one point actually giving out, making me struggle to stop as I was approaching the cliff, so yeah not great there but overall fun and I look forward to the ski trip with Rotary. 

Last week was Carnival in Austria so there were lots of parties or situations for people to get dressed up. Everyone in my school dressed up on Tuesday (I’ve sent a photo) with each class having a different theme. My classes theme was first day of school sadly we placed ⅚ with the winners having the theme of around the world which was really cool to see. They even had one guy (my host brother's friend) in the girls traditional wear lol. I’ve tried lots of different food all with hard to remember names but it was really tasty nonetheless and I’ve gone to 2 parties already (of course no drinking as I do not want to be sent home) however it was a new and interesting experience. Also they have mayo and mustard in tubes (photo included) which I find weird. 

I’ve spent lots of time with my host family playing cards. I have taught them Scum, Dutch, Bullshit, Last card, Speed and Old maid so we sometimes play that after ‘dinner’. Otherwise I played ping pong with my host father today and played Mühler and connected four with my host father and sister too. Also I do not have a counsellor here yet, so I will need to mention that but otherwise everyone I’ve met has seemed super nice and helpful.

I think that is all. I will definitely be on time regarding email in the future. I sincerely apologise for the late email and will get better at giving updates. 

Having a wonderful time over here and hope you are too back home,

Amelia W