I have been in Austria since 2010. In my first year, I was assigned to BRG Imst and Meinhardinum in Stams. In my second year, I taught at Meinhardinum Stams and at the educational college Edith Stein (Kirchliche Pädagogische Hochschule). I really enjoyed my time in Tyrol, and I did not want to leave. I decided to take advantage of the inexpensive tuition in Austria and enter a master's program in linguistics at the Universität Innsbruck, where I learned to speak Polish, Croatian, Korean, and, of course, German. By forcing myself to hold presentations in German, I was able to significantly improve my command of the German language.

During my studies, I was hired by the English Department and the Institut für Organisation und Lernen (business department) to teach classes at the Universität Innsbruck. Consequently, the educational college in Stams hired me back as a part-time lecturer. Experience led me from one thing to the other. I was asked to produce voice recordings for a Swarovski production documentary, multiple Open Worlds English learning books, and for Bildungsforschung, Innovation & Entwicklung des österreichischen Schulwesens (BEFIE). Upon finishing my master's degree, I was hired by an affiliate of Siemens Healthcare based in Innsbruck where I produce technical documentation for medical software. I still hold three classes per semester at the education college in Stams and occasionally at WIFI Innsbruck (and a six-month course for Tirol Werbung) and at the Volkshochschule Innsbruck.

I spend my time in the mountains. I took up backcountry skiing last year, and I help my colleague photograph Alpine wildlife. I also enjoy traveling around Austria. During that past five years, I have happily become a part of the community. It would be very difficult to leave the friendships I have made here...

Jonathan Komar was a US Teaching Assistant in Tirol from 2010-2012.