Marjanovic embraces time in United States

Aurora High School senior Sofija Marjanovic has been pleasantly surprised during her time in Nebraska after arriving from Vienna, Austria.
Living in a capital city of 2.2 million people, going abroad wasn’t on the exchange student’s mind until she found an organization offering an exchange program.
“I saw an advertisement of an organization and there was a picture of a girl and she looked like me,” Marjanovic said. “I went there to search for the picture and then I saw they’re making an exchange and then I showed it to my parents.”
With the help of her parents, Miki and Jelena, she was able to set up her student profile as well as get her student visa.
“When I found out I’m coming to Aurora, Nebraska, my parents searched up some videos on YouTube,” she said. 
At the end of July, Marjanovic said goodbye to her parents and her brother, Stefan, and arrived in New York City on Aug. 1.
“We stayed three days in New York,” she explained. “They had some activities with us, like how to be with your class, family, if there’s any problems, who you can reach and stuff like that.”
Outside of their activities, Marjanovic and other exchange students were able to sightsee around the Big Apple, enjoying venues such as Central Park and Times Square.
“It was a fun experience being it was just really hot,” she commented.
On Aug. 3, Marjanovic flew to Nebraska anxiously waiting to meet her host family, host parents Jeremy and Dawn Brandt and their children, Maggie and Cody.
“I was really, really nervous, but my flight was nice because I was sitting with a guy who lives in Omaha and asked him some questions about Nebraska,” Marjanovic said. “Then when I arrived at the airport, I wasn’t sure if I’m going to hug them or give them a handshake, but my host mom just hugs me.”
When she had enrolled at Aurora High School, one of the first things that surprised Marjanovic was the variety of choices students could take for classes.
“I was shocked that I’m allowed to choose what classes I’m taking,” she said. “Because back home, I can’t choose the classes. We have a schedule and that’s it.”
Taking classes to fulfill her requirements back home, Marjanovic noted that the teaching style of the teachers was not what she expected.
“They have a lot more homework here than back home,” Marjanovic said. “The teachers and the grading is also different... You can do a lot of things during class that can get your grade up.”
Compared to being part of Aurora’s senior class of 99 students, Marjanovic attends a private school of 150 students in total with only 25 in her class.
Since she will only be staying in the United States for a semester, the senior joined the volleyball team.
“I wanted to do volleyball, because I wanted to try it,” she said.
Back home at her school in Vienna, activities that students participate in operate outside of the school.
“It’s everyone’s choice if they want to go to the gym,” Marjanovic said. “I did ballet and some defense, but I stopped two years ago.”
While Marjanovic had been enjoying her time in Aurora, it had been a challenging for her when it came to adjusting to the seven-hour difference in time zones.
“It’s hard to call my parents, but I call them every morning,” she said. 
The difficulty with the time difference extends to keeping in touch with best friend Nina back home.
“When I come home from practice, it’s already 2 a.m.,” she commented. “I talked to her on Wednesday, because on early out Wednesdays I’m home at 2 p.m. so I can call her (then) and on the weekends.”
While she expressed some struggle with communication, Marjanovic credits her language to several years of studying English.
“We start learning English in the first grade,” she stated. “When I was 6 and in first grade, we did songs and I had a teacher. He was really focused on irregular words, so I know them all.”
Marjanovic commented that she has had a fun experience in America with her new friends and the unique activities she had partaken here.
“I have made friends here, thankfully,” she commented. “And Homecoming was great...We normally don’t have a school dance. Last year, we had one with three other schools from Vienna and it was fun.”
Away from school, Marjanovic had recently helped her host family with the Hamilton County Haunted Fairgrounds, getting visitors admitted or even helping out in the scare maze herself.
“I did the tractor thing, with the flashlights and I was opening the door and closing it,” she said. “Just helping out.”
Compared to the haunted houses in Austria, the horror attractions are more like buggy rides that visitors are strapped in for rather than having to walk through it themselves.
“I definitely had expectations, but I think it was scarier without reason,” she observed. 
After graduating from Aurora in December, Marjanovic has two more years before she will graduate from her school in Austria.
“Honestly, I’m scared of graduating,” she commented. “Because graduating is a lot different.”
At the end of her senior year in Vienna, Marjanovic along with her classmates will have to face The Matura, a qualification students are required to take in order to attend colleges or universities.
“You have to take a four-hour test in German, you have to write two or three essays with 800 words each. The same for math and English.”
The senior also spoke about oral exams where they have to speak and communicate in a foreign language. Should she pass, she desires to attend college outside of Austria, such as Sweden or Germany, to study medicine and become a surgeon.
“You have to speak for eight minutes, you get a picture or a theme you have to talk about, but I think that’s going to be easy for me now after being here.”