Annalina Christern

2006-07 Inbound from Austria

Hometown: Schwarzach, Austrua

Sponsor: Bregenz Rotary Club, District 1920, Austria

Host: Edgewater Rotary Club, District 6970, USA

School: Spruce Creek High School

Bio

Annalina's Bio

I hope you're doing fine.... and if you have a little bit time take a look on my bio... (and maybe you could write me a mail...:o)

At first I would introduce me as one of the luckiest persons in the world ... lucky to be here in the U.S. ... lucky to have a host family who loves me how I love them ... lucky that Rotary made it possible for me to meet all these wonderful people \=>friends from all over the world ... lucky to make one of the best and most fabulous experiences in my life _THANK YOU_

My name is Annalina Christern, 15 year old => the "baby" of all exchange students in Florida. Actually I'm from Germany but since a few years I live in Austria. For all these guys who never have been in Austria before, if you know "The Sound of Music" that will help you to get a picture of my country because that is exactly the way Austria looks like. Our wildlife consists out of foxes, rabbits, cows, horses, pigs and every kind of animal you can usually find in mountains and surrounding...

My residence is in Schwarzach, a little village with 3400 citizens (and nothing which is similar with Walmart, Publix or any other kind of shopping malls:-) in near surrounding). I share my home with Dr. Hans-Albrecht Christern, who is my dad, and a very funny and outgoing person who works as a nurse a housewife and as mother of four children, Kristin Christern. Me .... my great brothers Franz 14, and Josef 11, and my wonderful sister Maria who is 12 ... all of them are in the very successful business of being a student. I would describe me as a very independent person, that is what I thought but now I am very dependent on the people in my surrounding, if it comes to transportation and similar things. So ... you can see in America everything is different. But what is still the same is I love to laugh (and I do it a lot). I love to try new things out, to meet new people and to make so completely different and new experience than I was used to...:). My interest if it comes to school are...woman's soccer, art, photography, drama, French and since I'm in the USA math (and what is very surprising because actually I'm allergic against everything what belongs to math)....and I still love the break..:)

I wanted to go to the USA since I was ten years of age, for a year or longer...but unhappily there was no exchange program for little primary students ... Then two yeas ago my cousin did an exchange year in California ... and we had a conversation, which motivated even more to go to the US, about his experience, all the good and the bad ones. Which brings me to an other reason: I heard so many interesting things, positive but also negative, from so many different people (actually everybody is talking about America) that I wanted to come over here to make my own picture of the county who seemed to be, and really is, so important for our economy and cultural development.

And here I am and I would thank all the wonderful people who support me in this part of my life and made it possible for me to make such a great experience, specially my mum and dad, and of course Rotary...:)

Bis bald.... eure Annalina

October 19 Journal

Hello guys I’m back……?……..to tell you what’s going on here in my life in the beautiful New Smyrna Beach. It’s incredible how fast the time is passing since I’m enjoying the wonderful life here on the other part of the world! It feels like, maybe a couple of weeks that I have been here, but it’s already two months that I haven’t seen my family and friends in Austria.

I also passed the first homesick period, and what a surprise - it was not that horrible how I expected it, because all my friends and my great host family supported me all the time and kept me busy.

With for example Homecoming shopping….what brings me to the subject home coming - it’ll be next weekend and everybody in my school drives crazy about it…. I thought that it’s just a dance but it’s a whole entire week of dressing up…..it’s so much fun!!!

A few weekends ago our district counselor, Bill Griffin, took us, my friends Audrey…Belgium, Helene…..France and me to the house of blues in Downtown Disney to see “Hootie and the Blowfish” that was like the experience of the months..!!!!!!!!! For everybody who comes here to Florida (from another country) and wants to see the USA like we get to know it over TV, go to Downtown Disney …!!!!:)

School is going better and better. I have a lot of friends now and my grades are becoming better too. I was very busy with drama the last two weeks, 7days a week from 7am until 10pm but the effect of being around all these different and really interesting people was very positive. We are all like a big family and I was so happy to finally find people who have the same interests and accept me totally in their community... That was the biggest challenge at the beginning of the school year, to get into a clique or to find the right people to hang around with, until now and it makes me fell a lot more comfortable to go to school and know that there are people who are waiting for me….I just really needed a social background to hold on to…..and than suddenly I had a whole great bunch of friends…..:???

I’m glad looking forward to meet all my other exchange students (I love you guys) on our Daytona Beach weekend……..bis bald eure Annalina

February 13 Journal

Hey guys, What’s up??

I know that I haven’t written my journal in a long time and I am sorry for being so selfish and not letting people know who are also interested in my being in America but unfortunately at another continent, what’s going on. But there is just so much going on in my life right now that it is difficult for me to get myself together, sit on the computer, and concentrate on my world and what happens around and with me and actually write about it. Don’t get me wrong! I am not complaining about anything, there isn’t any reason for me (besides that Americans don’t know how to make chocolate) to be irritated, disappointed or homesick!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:):):)

The probably biggest change that I have lived through since I have been here is the family change! For the first five and a half months I lived with a couple that I am able to say consists of two of the most wonderful people that I have ever known. I was well known for being foreign in my a beautiful city called New Smyrna Beach, right on the ocean, I met and learned from people of all different kinds and actually I can say that every single one of those past strangers is now a friend! Well, when I was little… I was taught that the less I judge and categorize others the easier will it be to accept those as individuals in my life. What I always knew was that they were right with what they meant and said… what I’ve never done was listen! I might still be small/little at 5ft 2, but now that I don’t have people that are telling me about my personal do's and don’ts, I am listening!!!! And this has been the most effective and amazing experience I have until now, I think in my whole life!

And the best example to tell you about it is to bring you all up to date with my school change. That all happened about three weeks ago, when I moved in with my 2nd host family, Diane and Bill Griffin. At first when I was told that I need to change school if I wanted to have the opportunity to explore and experience two totally different American homes/lifestyles, I was quiet curious how the whole project was going to work out. All the other exchange students had one full school year to get used to their school community, spend two semesters with people that they think are very interesting and spend time with them to get to know them better, basically to make a solid foundation for a life long friendship. So I just have half of the time to do what everybody else does in one year. At the beginning in New Smyrna Beach High School I had struggles to get into the social structure, there were so many people, that I didn’t know where to start, and then there were so many different kind of cliques that I didn’t want to choose which one I want to belong to, until I realized that I don’t have to choose between groups to have friends from everywhere and every kind.

The reason why I am telling you that is because I was afraid that I would have to go through the whole thing again if I would change school. I ended up switching from my old school to Spruce Creek High School, home of the Hawks, and within the 50 best high schools of the U.S., to have the chance to live with two totally individual American families!

Well, I ended up having more fun in Spruce Creek than in New Smyrna just because I just went, or actually I am still doing it, up to the kids and introduced myself as who I am. I didn’t sit alone at lunch ever. I had friends from the first day. I found people there that I am considering as a few of my best friends I ever had in my life, and that after such a short time. And I think it turned out that way because I already had that experience in NSB and because of my exchange year here in Florida… I can’t say thank you enough Rotary for giving me such a great time and opportunity here in America to learn about Rotary, the language and culture, and about myself.

Bis bald eure Annalina