5,5o6. That’s the number of miles foreign exchange student, Alina Mikosch, traveled to get from her home, Graz, Austria, to Argyle, TX. Graz is the second biggest city in Austria, located in the region Styria. It is known for the surrounding mountains and being the home town of Arnold Schwarzeneggar. It is where Mikosch decided to leave her family and travel to America.

“I had been to America two times before,” Mikosch said. “I loved it, so I decided to join the foreign exchange program to come here.”

Back home, Mikosch lived with her parents and her twin sister, who after much consideration, decided to stay in Austria, leaving Mikosch to travel alone.

“It was hard to leave them,” Mikosch said. “I get to Skype with them every week though, so it makes it easier.”

In Austria, Mikosch was involved in numerous activities outside of her schooling, including dance, roller-skating, trampoline, and the modern pentathlon which includes fencing, running, swimming, horseback riding, and shooting. In Argyle, Mikosch is still very involved and runs hurdles on the track team. It is a big difference for her to participate in school sports though.

“In Austria, once classes are over, we do whatever we want,” Mikosch said. “So, if you played sports, you would go play on teams away from school, which is different than playing during school hours for the school’s team.”

This isn’t the only difference Mikosch has noticed between the two countries though; the school itself also has different environment.

“You guys go to every class everyday, where in Austria, we stay in one class and the teachers come to us, and we won’t have the same class everyday,” Mikosch said. “But, it’s nice because I’m able to get to know my teachers better, and they know me better as well. Some of them even call me ‘Ali’.”

Though being a foreign exchange student can be difficult, Mikosch has made friends with many Argyle students.

“I really like being in a smaller school like Argyle,” Mikosch said. “Everyone is so nice. I really look forward to making more friends here.”