Oliver Gamson writes "This will be my final update of the year. I am flying home on July 11th and am now spending my final full week at a music camp in the mountains.
June was definitely full of many goodbyes, and a lot of reflecting on the past 11 months of my life. The exchange students have begun to fly home, including some very close friends of mine, and I have also said goodbye to my friends at school. Despite all the melancholic feelings, there were also some exciting events throughout the month. The exchange students took a part in the Rotary District Conferences, where we made a skit and gave a speech, thanking the two Austrian Rotary districts for hosting us. That same weekend was also the final get-together for us inbounds, where we celebrated our year together — our successes, what we have learned, the friendships we built, and the challenges we all overcame. It was, needless to say, very emotional to say goodbye, but I think we all realized how lucky we were to be part of this beautiful experience.
Just last week I was also able to visit Leonard, who just came back from Minnesota from his exchange. It was very fun to spend some time with him and talk about stories from Minnesota. His home in Austria is very beautiful!
I get back from my music camp on July 5th, and I’ll spend the next 6 days continuing to explore Vienna and spending some time with my family and friends. I want to thank you all once More for making this year possible for me. It is hard to describe the amount of beauty I’ve had the chance to experience here, and I know this exchange year will continue to inspire me well into the future."
Austrian inbounds 2024-2025.
Leonard and I eating ice cream on the lake near his house.
