Elliott Woehler

2004-05 Outbound to Austria

Date of Birth: January 16, 1987

Hometown: Gainesville, Florida

School: Gainesville High School

Sponsor: Gainesville Sunrise Rotary Club, District 6970, Florida USA

Host: Scharding Rotary Club, District 1920, Austria

Bio

Elliott's Bio

I love to go to Gator Football and Basketball games. The excitement of a pumped up crowd is like nothing else, it's almost surreal. Along with going to basketball games, I also love to play basketball. I meet my friends just about every Saturday to play basketball for about two or sometimes three hours. I have been playing basketball since I was about 5 years old. It allows me to clear my mind and exercise in a way that isn't tedious. I played on a couple basketball teams when I was in elementary school, but I haven't since. I also enjoy reading. My favorite book, which I read less than 2 months ago, was A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. Even though I'm not a particularly religious person, the book has many religious themes but in itself is very engaging. It's about a very small boy named Owen Meany (who is a prodigy) and his friend, the narrator, Johnny Wheelwright. Anyway, they grow up together and learn many things. They are great friends and I hope to make a great friend like that during my year abroad in Austria.

I have traveled a lot. I've been to Greece, Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein, Germany, Spain, Italy, France, Gibraltar, Ireland, England, and Canada (Quebec). My favorite country would have to be Ireland because of the friendly people and beautiful rolling hills. However, my favorite individual city would have to be Lucerne in Switzerland because it is located on a river that has a beautiful chapel bridge, and the city is set up so one can walk anywhere (I can't imagine why one would need a car there). I have taken three years of Spanish and am currently in Spanish Honors Society (I'm sure that'll do a lot of good next year, as German isn't a romance language). I have taken very little German, but I am determined to learn some before I go.

I have one dog. He is a Jack Russell Terrier named Nero. He is very hyperactive and I will miss that about him, but he will be here waiting when I get back. I also have a corn snake, but he is more my dad's pet than he is mine. Also, even though I have only two pets currently, I have had a lot more. I used to have three dogs, two goats and many chickens (however I'm glad that I am only responsible for one pet now).

Now I say Auf Wiedersehn because otherwise, if I keep writing, this short biography could quickly turn into a tedious novel.

August 11 Journal and Pictures

September 2 Journal and Pictures

October 12 Journal

Hello all you eager followers of my journal, I know it has been a while since I have written, but I have been really busy here in Austria. I began school on Sept. 15th, which is much later than I begin in America. On my first day of school I only had to go for two hours because it was only an information day. Many of the students were interested to meet me and know who I was, but I wasn't as big of a buzz as I thought I would be. In a way, I was kind of disappointed and in another, I was relieved. I've come to find that that has what my whole exchange has been, ups and downs. I'm slowly learning that you can't expect everything during the exchange year to be perfect, because nothing in life is. You simply have to put the year in perspective and consider the experience as a whole.

Anyway, I have been going to school now for over a month, and overall I'm having mixed feelings about it. I generally get along with the girls in my class, but the males are extremely immature. Thereby, it is difficult to be able to get along with them that well because I am a more reserved and introverted person. My classes are very difficult at times. Most of the time, I can only tell partially what is going on in class, because most of my teachers speak in dialect and not hoch deutsch. However, some of the students are pretty nice about keeping me informed on the class material, and most of the teachers have been patient with me and the other exchange student in my class who is from New York. School is very different here in Austria. The students don't change classes, the teachers do, and we have to wear these funny house shoes while we are in school. Oh and my teachers like to make jokes in the classes, but other than that, they aren't the most interesting people in the world. Ahhh, how I miss the political tirades of my former history teacher last year....

Since I have last written, I have traveled to so many places that I simply don't have time to list them all, but I will name a few. I've have been to Vienna a couple times, one to tour the city and another to take the SAT test and meet up with last year's inbound to Florida from Austria, Teresa Lexmüller. She took me to some museums in Vienna, which was fun. And while I think Vienna is a very pretty city, I do not think I would want to live there...however, I am not sure why. I also have been to bad füssing in Germany to go to a health spa with my host mother's father. I was surrounded by senior citizens. And being that I was the only person within a 3 mile radius under 50, I was strangely intimidated by the multitudinous senility. Also, I went to Tauplitz for a Rotary meeting in late September, which is a village on a mountain in Steirmark. It was absolutely gorgeous on the mountain, although somewhat cold (it was snowing there). The Australian inbounds from January simply couldn't help themselves as the inner children in them took over and they had to fling snowballs at the Northern Hemisphereans.

As for me, I'm doing fairly well. I have gone in and out of spells of depression, but I suppose that is just part of the experience. I am in good health though. Amazingly I have not gained that much weight since I've been here, and I eat plenty of cheese and the Nutella that "Will be the Death of Katie's Figure". I think part of that can be attributed to the fact that I am growing some, so it balances out I guess.

Note to future aspiring Rotary outbounds: When Rotary mentions the Cultural shock and spells of depression, don't take it lightly, because some of you will have a tendency to believe that the info doesn't apply to you. I felt the same way, trust me it will, it's part of the experience. Overall, I think the most valuable reward of an opportunity such as this is learning something about yourself that you didn't previously realize.

--Elliott

PS- Good luck Tom. I hope you are doing well in Daytona.

(Photo at right - This is Tauplitz, where we had our last Rotary meeting. Now you all know how captivating Austria is.)

November 20 Journal

Servus,

Elliott

December 30 Journal

Servus!,

Here it is, the long anticipated monthly journal of Mr. Elliott Scott Woehler. And you, the anxious reader, want to know what has happened in my life over the past month here in Austria. Buckle your seatbelts ladies and gentlemen. No, seriously... Lol

Well, what have I been doing? Let's see, I went to a Rotary Meeting in Salzburg earlier this month. I got the privilege to see all of the Rotary inbounds again, and then some. We had some special guests: Rotary inbounds who chose Croatia to spend a monumental year of their life. This spiced up an already exciting weekend. It was interesting to share stories with them about Austria, while also hearing about their ventures in the Balkan heartland. Salzburg was buzzing during this particular weekend because of Advent (the time leading up to Christmas). The markets in the street were booming with people perambulating about in an attempt to find their loved ones some heartwarming gifts for Weinacht (Christmas in Austria). All of the inbounds went on a walk in Salzburg to tour the city, and to see what all the excitement was about. The street market was incredible. You could buy just about anything there. The Christmas cheer and ambience was augmented by the caroling street-singers nearby. A large crowd swarmed about them like flies because they were so good.

While all of that sounds great, the whole weekend wasn't entirely euphoric. Rotary made us practice singing "Oh Happy Day" about 150 million times, wait maybe it was 151. I didn't mind too much because I knew it was practice for our district conference in Osnabrück in January; thereby, while it wasn't the most thrilling activity, I figured it was at least worthwhile in order to put on a good performance for the all of the Rotary members who would be present at the district conference. However, I thought it was an interesting song selection. I know one thing, I will never watch Sister Act again in my life.

Moving on... the celebration leading up to Weinacht in Zell an der Pram was a lot of fun. There were a few performances in the church that I attended, and when I wasn't at church, it seemed like I was singing with my host family, the Haunolds. This is a dangerous combo though. The Haunolds already love to sing, and when you give them an excuse to, you will probably ended going to bed very late. Weinacht came, which was nice also. We, of course, gathered around the tree, and not surprisingly, sang more songs. After that, we opened gifts. I liked all of my gifts, but my host sister played a joke on me by giving me a calendar with pictures of firemen with buff bodies. I then told her it would soon be on EBay. She must have laughed for what seemed like an hour.

And finally, I also managed to do something extremely exciting just the other day. I climbed a 200 foot windmill. It took about 20 minutes of solid climbing up one long, and what seemed like, perpetual ladder. The view at the top was more than worth it though. I was a little bit scared before attempting it, but afterwards I was immensely proud of myself because I felt like I had added one more notch to my belt of challenges. My whole exchange year has been nothing but small challenges, one after the other. If someone told me a year ago that I would one day climb a 200 foot windmill, I probably would have laughed obnoxiously. The difference now is, I have more confidence in my abilities. I feel like I'm ready for anything. That's my life. Thanks Rotary.

--Elliott

January 30 Journal

Servus!

This is captain Elliott reporting back for yet another inspiring and profound journal entry ... just kidding ... Anyway, cutting out the obnoxiousness, some pretty interesting things have happened to me over the last month, the most important probably being that I changed host families on Jan. 2nd. I switched from the Haunolds (Hey Tom!), to the Mohrs. Basically I moved about 20 km closer to my school. It's been nice not to have to get up so early, but then again I always slept on the bus anyway, because honestly, a 40 min. ride with screaming adolescents with whom 99.9% of them own cell phones, and actually find the show "The Nanny" funny, is not the most fulfilling way to begin your day.

Anyhow, since moving to the Mohrs, I've found that while I miss the Haunold family, I also really like my new family. They are warm and friendly people who seem to be in a perpetual state of family-bonding. It has really impressed me to see peaceful cohesion amongst so many people under one household. Of course, I've only been here three weeks, so who knows J At any rate, I feel extremely comfortable and welcome here, and I would also like to tell everyone to watch out, because I'm taking dance lessons with my host mom (read: her husband is too chicken to do so himself J) I told him he is going to owe me a lot of money by the time I leave ... .

And of course, that hasn't been the only thing that has happened to me over the past month. I went to a Rotary district conference in Osnabrück, Germany with the other Rotary inbounds to Austria. We met in Linz, stayed there for a night, and started out on our arduous ten hour venture the next day to land of the unknown, the place where they actually speak real German ... dun dun dun ... Actually, it was kind of nice hearing people actually speak the language that I am learning in my German class, and not all of that crazy upper Austrian dialect ... .so anyway, after the painful ten hour ride in which I must've heard "Sand in my shoes" a hundred and fifty million times, we arrived at a youth hostel in Osnabrück. I was, of course, exhausted because I don't sleep well on busses. Basically, all I wanted to do was crash on my bed and go to sleep, but lo and behold, there were copious amounts of other exchange students who were anxiously awaiting our arrival. They were inbounds to Germany, with the exception of one random guy who was inbound in Switzerland. Some of the exchange students were from Sam's district, but Sam was unfortunately not there (You're in trouble Mister).

All the exchange students seemed to enjoy getting to know each other. Dancing and talking were the most popular activities it seemed. However, Rotary once again made us practice singing, so we could present our song in front of hundreds of other Rotarians. Luckily, they scrapped Oh Happy Day, because everyone hated it, and no one sang with enthusiasm. I also think Whoopie Goldberg is now the consensus least favorite actress amongst all of the inbounds to Austria. Instead, we decided to sing an Austrian folk song. It's called "Peter's Brundele." It's a lot more fun to sing, and there is no obligation to learn ambiguously passionate gospel choreography (which didn't fly well in our group either). So then the Rotary meeting came, and it was interesting to hear people from all over the world articulate their presentations in either German or English. It wasn't always enticing, but hey I'm still a puerile young man. During the presentations, the Rotary international president from Alabama (of all places) stood up and gave a speech. For some reason, I became strangely intrigued to see a fellow American on stage, and hear his thick southern accent. It seemed as if I was comforted by it. It was also quite comical to hear him say a couple sentences in German. I must admit that I chuckled along with most of the other Rotarians. However, it was okay because the guy read it in a way that emphasized how bad his German was. After the district conference, we made the treacherous ten hour journey back. I was so tired, I almost fell over when I got off of the bus in Linz.

I also wanted to announce that I celebrated my 18th b-day with the Haunold family. However, I was a little melancholy during the days leading up to my Birthday as the song "Have you seen my childhood?" endlessly replayed itself over and over in my head. I also had numerous flashbacks to random scenes that I remember while growing up, and in a way, they were comforting to me. That, along with the fact that I'm doing something that has already propelled me into adulthood, has made the transition easier. As I grow older, my exchange year will help keep me younger, because I can reflect on all of the wonderful things I have accomplished this year. I will always be able to envision in my mind how truly amazing this year was. Whether I'm 20 or 60, I will always have that at least that much.

Life? Where are you? Show yourself! You don't scare me ...

February 28 Journal

Hallo!

Wow! As usual, it has been about a month since the last time I updated you on my life. I hope all of you, my readers, are interested in this next update. However, I don't want you to be disappointed simply because not really all that much has happened to me in February. Actually, February has been probably my most normal month here. I did have semester holidays for a week. It was nice to have a few days where I could either veg-out or go outside to go bobsledding. But now that I'm back in school, my mind seems to be a bit behind due to the layoff, but I enjoyed seeing my friends nevertheless. One of my friends actually went to Bratislava during his Ferien and took pictures of President Bush and Russian President Putin while they were having a conference in Bush's attempt to call for a reunited Europe and US. What's funny is that the Austrians don't see it as that. Considering just about everyone here hates Bush, they see it as a phony attempt to appear genuine, or a very belated attempt to do something he should have done years ago.

Now that I have hit the half-year mark, the passage of time hit me with full force this month. The speed at which time moves when you are away from home is something I'll never be able to explain. Sometimes it feels like the time won't go fast enough, and yet it feels like I just wrote my Jan. entry the other day. Along with that, I have been pondering quite a number of things. Like, what I was most surprised about when I came to Austria (just how tall Austrian people are), and what I have noticed simply from living here so long (that so many people either own many of the same things and/or behave with similar mannerisms). A lot of Austrians are very much alike, and they are a people who are very stuck in their ways. But those ways work for them, and that's why it seems like everyone is alike in one way or another, because they share a common bond in thinking that their way of life is the best, and most efficient way to live. One year ago, had I known this, I probably would have called these people nothing more than a bunch of sheep. But what I now realize is that they are a people that value structure and continuity, so everyone being alike in one way or another is almost vital to their way of life. It's just different, but not wrong.

Also, as a side note to my small diatribe above, I would like to note I will be going skiing for a week soon and I also have a Rotary function in Linz on the 11th of March, in which I will be celebrating 100 years of Rotary. All I have to say is Rotary has impacted the world in a positive way for one hundred years. Which if you think about it, is impressive and overwhelming at the same time. Keep up the good work guys!

Ciao,

Elliott

March 31 Journal

Servus everyone,

This is Elliott, catching up again. Since the last time I wrote, I have gone skiing in Schladming. It was a nice resort. It wasn't too touristy, and the view was incredible (right). It took me a while to get the hang of skiing, but once I did, it was a lot of fun. I think the main reason that I had problems at first though was that I was expected to make these pinpoint turns on skis that had no wax on them to speak of. I realized this by the second day, and got this problem fixed, and immediately improved. I also did some sledding down a track that was all the way at the top of the mountain. It was so thrilling. Even though the sleds don't really go that fast, it feels like flying, because of all the hairpin turns and perilous stretches of ice that send you careening all over the track.

Since I last wrote, I have changed to my third and final host family. My host father is the president of my Rotary Club. He's a really nice guy. Now that I mentioned it, everyone in my host family is a pleasant person. I like all of them. So far, I have had no problems.

My host father wants to take me on a few trips around Austria, which seems like a fulfilling way to finish out my year. I know, it's here already, the final quarter of my year. It's incredible how fast time moves when you are away from home. And because of this rapid movement of time, I am basically facing a dichotomy in my emotions. This may sound clichéd, but the feeling is inevitable I think. While my departure is imminent, I am not that scared or nervous. I mean, sure, I will miss my friends here and all, but I'm excited to see how things are going back at home. I was recently accepted to Emory University, and am thrilled about beginning college life, but terrified at the same time. Looking back though, I can only be fully grateful to Rotary for giving me the chance to bring my life in a different direction, so that I could dabble into something new, and discover something about myself that my life at home wouldn't allow me to. I now understand Elliott more because I have been an exchange student. And while I still have some enigmatic qualities about myself, I am at least more ready to accept them as something that makes me unique.

So until next month,

Elliott

May 4 Journal

Hello all.

Well here it is, my April journal. April has been a pretty calm month for me. The weather has finally warmed up to a comfortable amount here in Austria. Therefore, the basketball court has been taking a lot of punishment from me. It has been great to get outside and shoot some hoops, and get some exercise. I love the feeling of coming home with sweat dripping off of my face.

Other than that, the only thing out of the ordinary that happened in April was me taking a trip with my class to a University in Salzburg. It was interesting to take a look at the University system here and compare it with that in the US. The University was very spread out, but much more austere than what I am used to. There are few extracurricular facilities for the students, who are more or less on their own to accommodate themselves in that department. However, I met some of the teachers, and even got to sit in on some of the classes, and it seemed as if the students at this particular University were in good hands.

Also, I have to begin University in America soon, and I am getting really excited. I have to get my school here in Austria to send in my final report card and hopefully that will go through and I will be on track to graduate. As of right now though, nothing is guaranteed. I also hope that Emory University understands my situation here in Austria and that the grading system is a bit different. So they have to consider me a special case.

Well, that is all for now, Good luck to the rest of you finishing out your years wherever you may be. Spend lots of time with your host family as this is the last time you may ever see them...

Until next time,

Elliott

May 30 Journal

Hello everyone,

This will be my second to last journal. Wow, the time is almost gone. I'm feeling a little melancholy right now about my imminent departure, but am excited at the prospect of showing my dad around Austria for a few weeks.

The season changed here with a whip, and it is quite warm now, if not hot some days. I find myself sweating in mid to upper 80 degree weather as I think to myself, wow I'm going to die when I land in Gainesville. Okay, so maybe Matt the converted Siberian will die before I do, but nevertheless, I can't believe how accustomed I have become to this cooler weather and abounding rain. But there is hardly ever any lightning here. One of my host sisters in my second family, Myriam Mohrs, apparently loves lighting. I should tell her that there is a lot of amusement beckoning for her in the sunshine state.

Since my last journal, I took a trip to Salzburger land with my current and final host father. We visited a large bird sanctuary, Hitler's city of birth (including his house), and a fortress on a mountain in Germany where Hitler used to spend his holidays. I found it quite amusing that Hitler's birth house is nothing more than a yellow book store with nothing but a stone with a quote about fascism engraved on it to indicate that that was where Hitler was born. The lady who owns the bookstore must be somewhat of a prude. I also took a day trip the other day with a friend of mine to a water park, which was nice but expensive.

Also, my report card was sent in from my school here in Austria and I am just waiting for it to be processed by GHS so I can successfully graduate. It's nice to be finished with school and not to have to worry about doing homework anymore. It's funny though, because I didn't really have to take tests but in two classes this year, I actually missed having to study with my friends for a big test. I must say that I learned this year that life is more ironic that I could have ever imagined.

Finally, I visited my first family, the Haunolds, this past weekend just to see how they were doing and to catch up a little bit. I biked a total of 12 miles to do so. It was all in all a good way to get exercise and socialize a little bit. I am also going to Linz this weekend for my final Rotary meeting. I am excited to see the exchange students again, but I am somewhat despondent in realizing that many of them will be flying home soon thereafter.

--Elliott

PS-- I wish nothing but the best of luck to all of the district 6970 04-05 inbounds and outbounds for the remainder of their year.