Amanda Weatherly in an “outbound” exchange student from Wilsonville High School who has been living with a few different host families in Slovakia since last fall. Amanda’s trip was supported by the Rotary Club of Wilsonville, which has an “inbound” and “outbound” exchange program that has been going strong for several years. Jake McMichael, the Youth Exchange Officer in the Rotary Club said, “Amanda is an amazing young woman who has experienced so much over the last several months, including learning one of the toughest languages in the world. The Rotary is pleased to support students like Amanda to expand their learning and engagement as a global citizen.”
“I’ve been on a couple little excursions around Slovakia and neighboring countries however there will be a lot more trips to come in the near future. I’ve gone to Zakopane, Poland which is a lovely tourist town. Extremely beautiful and absolutely wonderful food, the fried cheese with berry jam is to die for. I spent a day there just walking around and enjoying the sights. Polish is an adorable language that reminds me of Slovak with a lisp, it’s easily understandable by fluent Slovak speakers. I’ve also gotten the chance to go to Vienna, Austria, sadly Elizabeth (Biz Harms, another Wilsonville “outbound”) was busy so we didn’t get to meet up but can I just say Austria took my breath away.
The gothic architecture of some buildings and historical monuments were so pleasing to the eye and impactful. I stood below a balcony where Hitler gave one of many speeches and that blew my mind. I spent the day with the inbounds living in Slovakia in Vienna and it was spectacular. We had free time where we were free to roam the streets of Vienna on our own and experience as much as possible. I’d really love to go back there so I can spend even more time exploring the streets in Vienna. It has definitely been my favorite city I’ve visited so far. Soon I plan to go to Prague which is one city I have wanted to visit since I was a little girl and I can’t wait to finally be able to experience it in person. Then in April I will get to go on EuroTour, touring France, Spain and Italy, that will be an amazing trip that I can’t wait to go.
On another note I’ll talk about my language abilities because I think that’s a very large part of exchange. First off I’d like to say Slovak is ranked one of the most difficult languages in the world, so I’m far from fluent. I’ve had Slovak lessons since November that just ended last month. They taught me some things but mostly I’ve picked it up on my own. In my town barely anyone speaks English so I’ve been forced to learn quickly in order to get through my daily life. My family not being able to speak English is very beneficial for me as well because it has gotten me to practice my Slovak more. I don’t understand everything but I understand a very large amount. Speaking is a little bit more difficult but I’m working on it. By the time I leave I’m expecting to understand fully and be able to have a decent conversation. I’m definitely not expecting to be fluent which I’m a little disappointed in but I’m okay with it. In my free time when I want a break from Slovak I have been studying Norwegian too just because I wanted something a little different to learn and my other friend speaks Norwegian so I practice with him. When I get home I’m planning to be conversational in more than just two languages 🙂