A Note From a Friend in Austria
Posted by Kevin Hilgers
Dear Rotarians,
How are you all in the (cold) Grande Prairie? Is it snowing there already? I remember my arrival on August the 26th 2004 and one week later there was snow falling from the sky. I only thought, “Oh my god, where am I?” But I enjoyed every second of my exchange year there, because you all made it such a great experience for me. THANK YOU sooooo much for that!
For those who don´t know/remember me: I´m Tanja from Austria. I was the exchange student from August 2004 until July 2005. I went to the Composite High School and I have always enjoyed playing the flute and the drum. (image - Tanja harvesting grapes)
When I came back from Canada, I finished school and started
to study business at the Vienna university of economics and business. I`m
almost done (JIPPIE) and my plans are to get a good job somewhere out of
Vienna. I grew up in a small village and I´m not the person, who enjoys living
in a big city together with almost 2 million other people.But that´s only me.
:-)
My parents and siblings (1brother, 1sister) are fine too. I
help my parents a lot in the cellar and in the restaurant. We have a restaurant
that we call “Heuriger” in German. People go there in the evening and eat
mainly cold food there. But we also offer some warm food, especially when
someone is celebrating his/her birthday or so. (Have a look:
www.dworzakweine.at)
Right now, the grape harvest is going on. So we are busy
getting all our grapes into the cellar to make some good wine out of it. We use
machines, so it doesn´t take very long anymore.
Next weekend, the wine festival takes place in Retz, where
you can drink red and white wine out of a fountain. Does someone want to drop
by..?
I hope you all are fine in Grande Prairie and enjoying the
last warm summer days. I wish you all the best and especially Daniela a great
year in Grande Prairie. I´m sure she will enjoy it as much as I did. She has
wonderful Rotarians around her. Thank you again for the great experience!
Best wishes from Austria, Tanja