Arriving on August 4th, from Austria, junior Hannah Roth is one of Shadow’s foreign exchange students. Roth stepped into a world very different from her own, one filled with heat, crazy people, and a very packed city. As she adjusts to life in the U.S., Roth has quickly embraced the challenges and opportunities that come with being a student in one of the world’s most iconic cities.
Roth says, “Austria is beautiful, we have many mountains, everything is green, it rains a lot during spring and fall and it snows a lot in the winter. We have many lakes and rivers and public transportation. I live in Salzburg, which is especially famous for the movie The Sound of Music and Mozart who was born there. In my opinion Salzburg is the most beautiful city in all of Austria, because there are many old houses and it is just a comfy little city. My family and I live 20 minutes outside of the city, and when you go on a 10 minute walk you will get to a lake. The “Wallersee.” I am the youngest of three children. My two older brothers’ names are Philipp and Paul. Paul is on his mission in Seattle right now, where I got to see him some weeks ago, and Philipp is at home with my parents, super bored, because his funny sister isn’t there.”
Prom is one of the many things that she is pretty excited about. Traveling and seeing the country, as well as the weekends here are so fun for her.
“My typical days in Austria are kind of boring, because I spend most of my time either being in school, or doing school work. I wake up, and take the bus to school. Our buses are much more comfortable though. Then I’m in school, on short days from 7:50 am. to 1:25 pm. and on long days from 7:50 am. to 5 or 6 pm. I have about two or three of those long days in a week. When I get home on short days, I cook, take a nap then study and do my homework, go running, play on my phone, listen to podcasts or watch movies. When I come home from a long day I just eat, study, do my homework then go to bed,” says Roth.
Roth calls her family once a week, and texts with her friends when something happens. Roth also sends her best friends a weekly vlog, they send her one too. Austria has a crazy tradition and it is called the Krampus Parade, some dread going there and some think it is super fun like Roth.
Roth says, “So the Krampus parade is super fun. We get hit by people in Krampus costumes. The belief is that they chase away the bad spirits and get naughty kids so Nikolaus can bring candy to the nice kids. I love going with my friends, although it is super scary, because nobody wants to be hit; it is soo soo fun. It’s the adrenalin and the fun of running away. You just search for a spot where you can hide. We layer trousers, so it does not hurt that bad, when we get hit. You may think it is a bit weird, it is, but it is also super fun. I think you can only understand it when you have experienced it at least once.”
