I had to return to Austria because of the strange situation the world is faced with right now. I am not going to call it by its name because this article isn’t supposed to be about what happens in the world right now. It is about my almost eight months in America.

It is strange to be back “Home”. I have two homes now and I can’t say what I prefer. In America I lived on a farm in a small town but I am actually a big city girl. 

The reason I wanted to go to America was mostly because of the High School. I hoped I would enjoy an american school more than an austrian school. And what can: I say I definitely prefer High School. I had my best school year ever. It wasn’t only the own chosen schedule that I enjoyed so much, it was especially the people I met. In Austria I always had the feeling of not fitting in but in America I didn’t have any problems with fitting in. I was accepted immediately by mostly everyone and I loved it. The easiest thing was to find friends. Everyone was curious and wanted to know how it is in Austria and what I think about America. 

So, what do I think about America? It is not perfect! There are things like the political system, health insurance and the complete ignorance of climate problems that made it hard for me to imagine a life in America. If America was all about school, there would be no doubt that I would stay there forever. 

Since I’ve got on the airplane, America seemed like a dream. Just as if I was never there. I fall back in my daily Austrian routines and I am not sure wether I like it or not. The only thing that makes it seem real to me are my daily textes I get from friends and my host family. One of my friends helps a lot. He texts me every morning and every night. I know that he will listen when I need him and I will listen to him. I miss him a lot especially when I think I will have to go back to school and he won’t be there. But it’s not only he who won’t be there. My best friend from Italy, my twin sister from Moldova, my host sister, the two boys that always tried to get me in their conversation about movies and books where I never really understood what they were talking about but loved to listen, the girls I spent my lunch time with, the man who helped with the musicals who was watching over all the cast members and all the others I was able to meet that made my year seem like a dream, but still unforgettable.

I am thankful for the opportunity I had and even though it ended in a big chaos, that wasn’t only because of the strange situation right now, I would do it all over again, exactly like it was. I wouldn’t change a thing. I had the best year in my whole life, so why change it?