One week ago, I knew exactly two things about Austria: that it’s in Europe and it’s not Australia. But now I know three things, with the third being Flo. On Thursday, Oct. 16 at 11:15 p.m. my mother and I drove to the school parking lot towards the white charter bus. Twenty-four Austrian students flocked around the parents and children that would be hosting them for the next two weeks, carrying their luggage along with the weight of an 18-hour flight on their back. I would like to say Flo looked excited to be here, but in actuality he wanted nothing more than to crawl into a bed and fall asleep.

Day one at school, Friday Oct. 17, was quite the day for someone who attends a quiet, one-building school in the heart of Austria. We already know how nontraditional SDA is; however, you can really get to appreciate this when you have a student like Flo commenting on every little spectacle, things that have become seemingly casual to the rest of the populace. Things like cotton candy wigs, capes, even high socks caught his eye as he told me he wouldn’t ever see this back home.

Then came the Homecoming assembly. Austrian students all around were bewildered by the utter randomness of this school event, saying his school felt almost boring in comparison, as Flo remarked.

Back at this home that Flo tells me about, students attend up to 15 classes a day which are not chosen by the students themselves. These courses consist of the basics, like math and sciences; however they are also required to take English and French at very young age. One interesting thing, at least I thought, was the fact that teachers come to you in Austria, so the children stay in the same room all day long.

For those who don’t know, Austria sits in the middle of Europe, completely land-locked. This means no beach, not unless you’re willing to drive six hours to the nearest shore in Italy. At the first sight of water, Flo whipped out his phone and took photo after photo followed by a continuous stream of panoramas and maybe even some videos for the heck of it. The ocean was so much of a luxury for him, I almost felt bad for being bored.

With only two weeks in California, Saturday and Sunday are jam-packed with day trips and adventuring. This weekend Flo came to witness the glory of Downtown, from Balboa Park to the Sunset Cliffs. We walked for miles all throughout town, taking in the sights of a foreign country.

So far, I think Flo finds San Diego crazy. But still, he’s having fun and needs to be outside of the house and around town whenever possible!