PAGE A8, KEIZERTIMES, JULY 6, 2018
KeizerCommunity
KEIZERTIMES.COM
Rotary exchange student lives dream
By DEREK WILEY
Of the Keizertimes
From his home in Austria,
Emil Salmhofer dreamed of
living in the United States.
So when he arrived as
a Keizer Rotary Club Ex-
change Student last August,
Salmhofer made sure to see as
much as possible, visiting Port-
land, Crater Lake, the Oregon
Coast, Seattle, Los Angeles, San
Francisco and Phoenix.
“I’m really glad that I could
travel this much during my
year here and pretty much saw
most of the major cities at the
west coast,” Salmhofer said.
“It’s just something I dream
of back in Austria. Everything
here seems so far away but
I’m really here and I’m going
through all these cities and liv-
ing this life. It’s so awesome.”
Salmhofer, age 16, is from
Salzburg, Austria, a city of
more than 150,000 people,
best known in America as the
setting for the musical and fi lm
The Sound of Music.
“It’s really pretty. There’s
a river (Salzach) fl oating
through downtown Salzburg
and there’s a castle (Hohen-
salzburg Fortress) and lots of
tourists from mostly Asian
countries but some American
tourists too. It’s just a beautiful
city and I love living there but
I really enjoyed my year here,
too.”
Salmhofer, who speaks
three languages, began learn-
ing English in the fi fth grade.
His father introduced him
to American bands like AC/
DC. Now he listens to more
R&B and rap.
“I always had this interest in
learning English,” Salmhofer
said. “I feel like my English
improved a lot during my year
here.”
Salmhofer felt lucky to be
placed in Oregon and Keizer.
“I’m just super glad that I
got to go to McNary,” Salm-
hofer said.
“It’s a really good school
and I made a lot of friends. It’s
going to be sad once I really
leave.”
Salmhofer immediately got
involved at McNary, joining
KEIZERTIMES/Derek Wiley
Emil Salmhofer, a Keizer Rotary exchange student from Salzburg, Austria, played soccer and tennis for McNary High School.
the soccer team.
Salmhofer began playing
soccer when he was 4 but
quit two years ago to focus on
school.
“Coach (Miguel) Camare-
na treated me super nice and
I really appreciate him being
my coach,” Salmhofer said. “I
had lots of fun with the soccer
team and I made lots of friends
there, too. It was just so much
fun and I wish I could play
one more season. I’ll probably
play soccer when I return to
Austria because I just re-dis-
covered my love for soccer.”
In the winter, Salmhofer
enjoyed cheering on the bas-
ketball team.
“I pretty much went to
every game,” Salmhofer said.
“They were so entertaining
for me and it was so cool to see
us win the GVC in basketball.
That was probably one of the
highlights of my exchange.”
In the spring, Salmhofer
tried a sport he’d never played
before, tennis, and even won
his fi rst match with doubles
partner Brayden Lyda.
To be with kids his own age,
Salmhofer took junior classes
like algebra and chemistry as
well as electives like weights.
“I enjoyed working out
in school,” Salmhofer said.
“That’s something that we
don’t have in Europe.
“Everyone’s talking down
the American education sys-
tem but I don’t feel like it’s
bad. I liked that you mix sport
and school together. That’s re-
ally nice. I wish we would so
something like that in Europe.
I feel like most people are
pretty smart here, too.”
Salmhofer was also able to
participate in McNary’s grad-
uation ceremony, even though
he’ll have three years of high
school remaining when he re-
turns to Austria.
“That was so cool that I
got to have the experience
of graduating even though I
didn’t really get a diploma,”
Salmhofer said. “I’m glad I got
to do that because I feel like
that’s something that I won’t
forget my entire life.”
For Rotary, Salmhofer at-
tended meetings each Thurs-
day and participated in
community service projects—
planting trees at Keizer Rapids
Park and cleaning up at City
Hall.
“In the beginning it’s not
that hard,” Salmhofer said of
being an exchange student.
“The fi rst few months go by
easy and then around Christ-
mas time, you slowly start re-
alizing how far you really are
away from your parents. You’re
not alone but you’ve known
$
most people for not more
than two or three months. I’m
glad I had friends who helped
me through darker times of
my exchange even though
they weren’t really dark. They
helped me when I missed my
family or my dog.”
Salmhofer returned to Aus-
tria on July 1.
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