Well here it is...

I cannot believe that in 3 hours I'll be getting in a Taxi to head to the airport.  My luggage is packed and I've said the majority of my goodbyes.  The past 10 days since I've been updated at first were filled with two 10 page papers and getting ready for exams.  But luckily the past week I've seen plenty of museums, churches and performances.  My body is actually pretty exhausted from it all.

My hardest goodbyes?  Call me a dork but...

The churches: I love walking around in the first district and just popping into any church in site.  They all have such a unique beauty that I really enjoy.  Today I said my goodbye to my favorite church Michaelerkirche.

The Opera:  I've calculated that I've spent at least 48 hours just watching operas in the Saatsoper alone while I've been here.  That doesn't even include the time I've waited in line to see something.  My last opera here was Der Rosenkavalier, which was wonderful.  As the curtain closed and the orchestra played their last few notes I was quite overwhelmed with emotion.  Call me a dork, but I love that building and what goes on inside.  Not having it around will be a bit of an adjustment.

Now it just comes to the people.  I've met some amazing friends and teachers here.  At least with the Americans we can still communicate easily back home.  But its the others that make the goodbyes even harder.

I will never forget my semester in Vienna.  Not only have I seen and learned about many things, but I know I have grown as a person and cannot wait to share these growths back home.  I know I'll come back here, for what reason I don't know yet.  But for now, I cannot wait to go home to see my family all together and everyone at Ithaca that I love and miss.

Bis später Wien.  Ich liebe dich.

Happy Birthday Grandma! (Update)

So for my Grandmother's birthday I promised her a new update!  So here we go!

After my sisters left I knew it was time to go full force into exploration mode.  One of my first extra excursions was to Eisenstadt, a town about an hour south of Austria.  Why Eisenstadt?  This was where Haydn lived and worked!  It was so cool to see the palace I've only read and heard about as well as the church that he worked in.  I also happened to run into a beautiful Christmas market where I got some great Austrian food. Another great purchase was an Austrian Cookbook!  So have no fear, I will make Austrian food when I come home...once I translate the German :-/

I actually haven't seen many concerts lately.  The funny thing about going so often is that sometimes they replay everything you've already seen.  However, I did go see Peter Pan in the Burgtheater auf Deutsch!  Of course I couldn't understand everything but it was still enjoyable.  I also got to go to the Albertina.  It is a breathtaking art museum that I have been dying to go to.  It had a lot of modern artists but I really enjoyed it.  The next day I ventured over to Heiligenstadt to visit the house where Beethoven wrote a very famous document called the Heiligenstadt Testament.  It was actually quite a beautiful area!

Also random...I went to a Pakistani Buffet with Rosa today.  It was delectable...AND ONLY 5 EUROS!

For the next day or two I'm trying to focus on getting all my papers and work out of the way.  I'm really hoping to enjoy the last 10 days or so just exploring and soaking up my last bit of time here.  I really can't believe how quickly it's gone.

Oh My Goodness, time flies!

I cannot believe I have just 3 weeks left in Vienna...this is nuts!  I have done so many amazing things lately.  I'm worried I won't be able to get to everything in this city alone!

The Staatsoper has had some amazing operas lately.  I've seen two parts of the Ring Cycle by Wagner, Salome by Strauss, Barber of Seville, and Tännhauser to name a few.  I feel like the opera is probably the place I go the most here.  I love it!  I've also been able to see 2 Vienna Philharmonic concerts and 2 Vienna Boys Choir Masses.  I am living it up here, and loving it!  Did I also mention I saw Sister Act the musical in German?

It is quite cold here, but the Christmas decorations make it all that better.  There are so many Christmas Markets, and punsch stands everywhere you turn.  But the little shops are so cute and the food is to die for.  I have to restrain myself from only eating pastries!

I also had the amazing opportunity to have my sisters here this past weekend for Thanksgiving.  It was so awesome to have our first international exploration together!  We got to see a ton of sights, enjoy some great food (including a Thanksgiving dinner), go to Christmas markets and just spend quality time together.  It was hard to see them go today, but luckily I'll be seeing them and everyone else in a bit.

Tomorrow's a new day with more exploring!  Here we go!

Quick Update!

Gosh, I've been a terrible blogger lately!  I can't believe I have almost a month left in Vienna.  This has gone by WAY too quickly, and I have to admit, I've really fallen in love with this city.  I originally thought I'd enjoy myself, but be ready to return when the time came.  I'm starting to realize now that it's not going to be that easy.  I absolutely love this city, and I've made some amazing friends and have learned lifelong lessons....but I don't need to think about this for another month!  So here goes :-)

Two weekends ago I went to Paris!  It's landmarks and monuments are absolutely gorgeous!  I got to see the Eiffel Tower on the first night, as well as the Louvre, Sacre Coeur, L'arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees, and Notre Dame!  I really enjoyed visiting with LAUREN WAY, and love the people we got to hang out with.

After Paris, I'm pretty much residing in Vienna until I leave.  I may take a few day trips and MAYBE a one nighter, but I'm ready to soak up the rest of what this city has to offer.  The past two weeks have been full of operas, which I absolutely love!  My classes have started to get a bit boring, but I'm sure that happens when all you want to do is go out into your beautiful city.  I hope to update after this weekend because tomorrow starts my huge tourism attempt: try to get to at least one new thing a day...let's go!

More exciting things!

Gosh I need to become more consistent at updating this...

Well here I am!  Past the halfway point already.  I can't believe how fast the time has flown by and I know it will only go quicker.

The next exciting thing that happened was....my birthday!  I can't believe I'm 22!  It was a pretty good day!  I first had to go to class and a piano lesson (but not before my RA gave me a cake. We had some for breakfast :-) ).  For lunch I went with my friends Morgan and Kendra at a Musli Bar!  It's essentially like Fruity Yogurt style...but you pick different toppings for your granola!  It was quite good.  We then walked over to the Haus des Meeres, an aquarium...with some random monkeys and birds.  It's a very interesting building, as it was used during World War II as a flak tower.  After that I took a LONG nap.  Then a bunch of my friends went out to eat in the Naschmarkt at a Sushi place.  It was absolutely delectable!  And to top off the evening, my roommate Sara MADE me an ICE CREAM CAKE!  It was absolutely epic and perfect!

That weekend, on Saturday morning, I headed over to Salzburg with 5 friends.  I have to say, it is definitely my favorite trip so far and potentially my favorite European city.  Absolutely gorgeous.  We went there by train and had a pretty nice cheap hostel.  We got to see plenty of Sound of Music sights (for free!) as well as Mozart's Birth House, the Orff Institut, and an awesome fortress.  One of our best meals was at the Augustiner Brewery.  There were beer steins that they filled up straight from the barrel!  The food was also amazing.  But the best thing was definitely the environment.  There were tons of people just having a great time, including a bunch of men drinking lots of beer in lederhosen singing drinking songs.

This week has been full of preparation for midterms...but not without seeing some great concerts!  I saw my students perform in a concert Tuesday, The Magic Flute on Wednesday, DANIEL BARENBOIM (a very very famous pianist and conductor) on Thursday, and Salome last night.  I'm actually headed out to see the opera again as soon as I finish this entry!

Also, one of the great things of this week was a traditional Palatschincken Dinner at my RA's house.  It was so nice to be in a beautiful home with a family again.  Plus, these Austrians knew how to cook.  I was quite satisfied when I left.

So what's coming up this week?  Two finals on Monday, but then I don't have class for a week!  So I'm going to be a tourist in Vienna Tuesday and Wednesday and early Thursday morning I am flying to Paris to meet up with a friend from college!  I am so pumped!

More Vienna!

So here is my attempt to summarize everything up to this point!  Hopefully I'll have something exciting to say for my birthday tomorrow and I won't want to catch up then!

Classes began the day after we got back from our trip. Here's an overview of what I'm taking:

Arts and Cultural Management:  My first entry into a business course!  The professor has been working for Cirque du Soleil for quite some time, so he has some awesome experience to share.  Although the work has been very interesting, it helped me learn that I never really want to do this unless I was only doing educational outreach :-/

Cross-Cultural Psychology: This was my unexpected class of the semester.  I was planning to take The Classical Symphony instead, but something about this course really grabbed my attention.  Not only will it be helpful for my teaching in the future, but it is really interesting to study the interactions I experience every day.

German:  Ja voll!  It's crazy to think how much I've learned in 2 months but how much I still have yet to learn.  It looks like I'll have about the same level as most High Schoolers get by the time I'm done though.  Das macht mir glucklich.

Teaching Internship:  I teach 15-17 year olds English!  Surprise right!  It's really interesting to notice the differences between Austrian and American school systems and teaching English is actually a lot of fun!  I also tutor two 9 year-old girls in English once a week.  Their English is much more limited but they seem to enjoy our time together.

Piano Lessons:  Pretty much same ol', same ol'.  But she's great and definitely helping my playing

Museums and Operas!
I've now been to: Madama Butterfly, Don Giovanni (at the Staatsoper), a ballet at the Staatsoper, and Die Fledermaus at the Volksoper.  Many more to come!

I've also seen the Imperial Crypt of the Habsburgs, and began to Explore the Kunsthistoriches Museum (Art History).

Wachau:

Last weekend I went to the Wachau for the day!  I saw the Melk Monastery (with a beautiful garden) went hiking to castle ruins for lunch, visited a cute town known for Apricots, explored the town of Krems and ended the evening at a Heurigen (wine seller...essentially) for a nice dinner and wine tasting.

Styria:
This past weekend we had an overnight, and I have to say this was one of my favorite places so far.  We first began with an open-air museum (it was COLD) displaying buildings and equipment from farmers all over Austria.  For dinner I had the official Weiner Schnitzel.  It was huge but somehow I managed to finish it.  YUM.  After this we toured the city of Graz, which is pretty cute.  We just barely missed Arnold, apparently he was there the day before for the opening of his museum...?  Dinner was slightly uneventful at the hostel but we ended up finding an Austrian Bachelor Party at an Irish pub later...so that was interesting!

The next day was all about Wine!  Ja voll!  We stopped by our first Heurigen which had a huge vineyard and roasted chestnuts!  I had my first taste and they were quite good.  We then went to a wine festival where I had AMAZING food (fried chicken and potato salad) and the best drink I have ever consumed...Mulled white wine.  AMAZING!!!!  I also had never seen so many people in lederhosen and dirndls!  PS Austrian parades are cute...especially when they march with Wagner tubas.

Well...hopefully this abbreviated blog is satisfactory!  More updates coming soon for the birthday celebration!

Tchuss!

This is waaaay overdue!

Whoops!  I've been so busy I've barely updated this thing.  But that's a good thing I guess!  I'll try to make this as thorough but brief as possible, I've got a lot of ground to cover and so much more coming up!

Krakow (like mid-September)
We arrived in the late afternoon and checked into the hostel.  We had a BEAUTIFUL view of the very center of the city.  That night I went with a few friends and got a NICE meal.  I'm talking salmon and a nice bottle of wine to share.  Definitely more than I would usually spend (I am a bargainer) but I think I can do that once and a while!  That night we took it easy and got ready for a big day coming up.

The next morning we toured the Jewish Quarter as well as other parts of town.  There was a lot to see in Krakow but it was never too crowded or touristy.  The history was also pretty cool.  After a nice traditional meal of perogies (!) we made the one hour drive to Auschwitz.

I really can't describe my experience there in words.  Everything I had read, all the pictures I had seen, and there it was right in front of my eyes.  We first toured Auschwitz I, and I couldn't believe the buildings, layout, the exhibits.  And then they took us over to Auschwitz-Birkenau.  The sheer size of it was what really got me.  It was an experience I will never forget.

Of course we were all pretty emotional and quiet on the bus back.  Luckily the bus driver made a mistake and went around a circle like 3 times which was enough to make us giggle a bit and begin to feel better.  That evening was dinner at a Jewish restaurant with a Klezmer group playing!  Quite fun.

The next day was a free day.  My friends and I decided to go to an Underground Salt Mine (in a 2 hour tour we only saw 1% of it).  It was pretty awesome but quite tiring as well.  Later in the afternoon we explored the Market area and rest of the town.  Dinner was pretty epic.  We had a massive platter of meat...I'm talking about as long as two laptops put together and stacked up high.  It had everything!  Duck, chicken, sausage, pork, pork knuckle, beef, blood pudding, perogies, and I'm sure I'm forgetting something.  One of the chaperones thought it would be funny to force me to eat a ton of meat.  I have never been so full in my life.  That evening we went out on the town, which was quite fun!

The next day it was time for Budapest!
Now I have to say, Budapest wasn't my favorite.  It was fun and cool, but I think we were starting to get pretty exhausted at this point.  The evening we arrived we had this AMAZING buffet.  Did I mention it had unlimited beer, wine, and champagne?  This was another night where I was sooooo full.

The next day began with a tour in the morning of the center of town and the art museum.  My friends and I struggled with finding lunch (ended up eating in a place that microwaved our food) but I went to the Liszt museum!  it was so awesome to see his old apartment and some old belongings, including 4 pianos, a conducting stick, a traditional Liszt outfit AND A PORCELAIN MOLD OF HIS LEFT HAND!!!!  After that joy was over we headed to one of the best Spas in all of Budapest.  It was so relaxing!  We went in about 4 or 5 different pools (of different temperatures) as well as Saunas and a wave pool.  It was a great way to relax.

The next day consisted of more tours.  We had a great lunch on a boat, but unfortunately at this point my stomach was pretty overwhelmed by the sheer amount of meat and heavy food I had been eating.  By Saturday night I barely ate and had a fever.  Did I mention it took my stomach about 10 days to recover?  Awkward.

But all in all it was an amazing trip to see things I probably wouldn't have thought of right away.  I have many awesome pictures to show as well!

To look forward in my next post:  Life goes on in Vienna!  Hope you all are doing well!

I'm back!

Okeydokey!  I'm finally back!  16 days without an update...whoops!

I'm trying to remember what I did with the week before I left...lots of German, saw the opera opening projected on the Rathaus screen (awesome!), saw the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Musikverein.  Shosty 5 was pretty epic.  On Thursday afternoon I took my final Aural exam for the intensive.  It was not too bad at all!  And my written exam Friday was pretty easy.

At 1:00PM Friday we all headed to the bus to get ready to leave for the first city of Prague.  Of course, I mainly slept the whole way there.  With a group of about 50 people it is hard to be on time for everything.  We were scheduled to arrive at 5:30, but we must have arrived around 7 or so.  We rushed to check in and go to dinner.  We had a lovely meal I believe that night it was meat with dumplings, and then rushed to catch...a boat cruise!  We made it JUST on time.  We got to see all the sights of Prague from the water and dance the night away.

Saturday was our first day of full sightseeing.  I saw tons of old buildings and the inside of a castle...it's hard to remember what is what!  The afternoon we explored Charles Bridge, which is quite awesome because it's lined up with different statues.  After more epic meals we went to the Astronomic Clock.  It's a pretty awesome clock tower with the time, month, year and every Saturday they project a show onto it.  It was so well done!  We viewed a 5 minute overview of the history of the Czech Republic.  At night we went to a Jazz club (they love their Jazz in Prague!) to experience a Cuban band.  Luckily, my friend from Honduras showed me some moves.  Apparently we were doing well because the band leader complimented us!  And then....we went to a 5 story dance club!  Different themes and music on every floor.  It was crazy.  Crowded in places but a lot of fun.  But I did learn how to protect myself by pushing away any aggressive men.  Yay!

The next day we went over to the Jewish Quarter of Prague.  It was absolutely beautiful.  I enjoyed it so much that my friend and I went back later to explore a well-known Synagogue and cemetery (of course I'm blanking on the name now).  The Synagogue was beautiful.  In order to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust that came from Prague, they painted the names of the people who were killed on the walls.  It was ridiculous to see how much space was covered with names in about 2 rooms. They also had an exhibition displaying children's drawings during the Holocaust.  It was very touching.  We then went to the Spanish Synagogue, which was possibly one of the most ornate places of worship I have ever seen.  It looked like wallpaper on the walls but when you walked up closely it was obvious that everything was hand painted.  In the evening we went to a concert for a memorial of September 11th.  Unfortunately the American ambassador couldn't be there, but two other important politicians got to speak.  Then a hippie rock band played.  It was a bit random but I appreciated their effort to have the memorial concert.  They also had a great display with newspapers from September 11th or 12th from different countries.  The concert was in front of the Prague Castle, which was really beautiful and had a wonderful plushy grassy knoll to nap on.  From there we ate another heavy meaty dinner.  There were so many it is difficult to remember which meat was where!

Well this update was much longer than I thought it would be!  Next post will be about Krakow!

First September Entry!

Hello!  It's harder to update these things than I thought!  Or maybe it's just because I didn't have internet for three days...

I've been having a lot of fun this week!  Still a lot of German, but it's been very helpful (obviously!)

This week I had a few excursions.  On Tuesday...I think, I went to the Prater!  It was a fun amusement park with a large Ferris wheel built in 1897.  So if you know me well, you know I don't like Ferris Wheels, and one that was this old certainly scared me a bit more.  We also found out that because it is old it takes about 20 minutes just to go around once.  But no worries, I went on.  It was actually the most enjoyable Ferris Wheel I've ever been on!  I guess when you're watching the sunset on the entirety of Vienna it can help a bit :-)  Some of my friends went on this massive swing ride...not your average swing ride, it was as tall or taller than the Ferris Wheel.  Laura and Lisa, I took a picture for you because I wondered if you would have gone...I thought probably.  HAHA.

There also were some interesting Austrian twists to your typical American ride.  To me, they seemed a lot more intense!  Plus, most American rides don't include club music, fog, and club lighting.  I have a video of it that is quite funny.  My friend Emily and I found a tamer (or so we thought) "club" ride similar to a Scramber/Tilt-a-Whirl....but it was crazy!  A lot of fun though.

This week I also got to see THE VIENNA PHIL!!! ...on the screen in front of the Rathaus.  But!  They were still awesome, and I found out it may be my only opportunity to see them, as it is near impossible to get seats :-(  But, I really really enjoyed it...so much that at one point I was sitting through the rain with no umbrella!

Yesterday morning I went on a bike tour of the Danube Island.  We biked a bit over 20 km and it was GORGEOUS!  I really enjoyed myself.

I also had a meeting for my first excursion out of Austria!  The school organized a 10 day, 3 city trip that I signed up to be on.  I am going to be seeing some AMAZING things for a very good price.  Our 3 cities our Prague, Krakow, and Budapest.  They have great tours and events planned for us.  In Prague I think we're touring a castle, and I know there will be a September 11th memorial while we're there.  In Krakow I will have the experience of seeing Auschwitz.  I know it's going to be really emotional, but there is no way I can pass up on this opportunity.  In Budapest...I forget what we're doing but I know the tour sounds too good to be true.  Did I mention I think we only pay for 5 meals ourselves out of the whole 10 days.  Good deal!

And on the schedule for today...I slept in till 11, I don't think I've done that since April or so...if that! I may be going on a guided tour at the Secession, but my priority tonight is to try and get Standing Room tickets and the OPENING NIGHT of the Staatsoper...yes please!

A Long but Great Sunday!

Here's a quick update, because I need to go back to German homework!

Yesterday was quite epic.  All of my roommates got up to go to mass at the famous St. Augustine in the Hofburg Palace.  Not all of them (and obviously myself) are Catholic, but we all were excited, as this church is known for having service with mass (as in the music) by well-known composers.  Yesterday, it was Haydn!  It was absolutely beautiful inside and quite crowded.  The music was great as well.  As for the service, for 2 hours I had absolutely no idea what was going on...a service I'm not used to, procedures I wasn't used to (when do you kneel on the bench anyways!) plus the whole thing was in German!  Regardless, my roomies and I are discussing church hopping every week.  There are so many wonderful churches that this seems like a great way to explore them.

After that we headed over to the wonderful Schonbrunn Palace.  My gosh is that thing huge and absolutely gorgeous.  My roommate Emily and I spent at least 3 hours walking around and there was still some things I'm sure we didn't see.  Afterwords, we headed over to the Rathaus to see a broadcasted performance of CARMEN!  Unfortunately I was so tired after a long day that I left after Act 2 (I tried so hard to stay for the whole thing!)  But after viewing that I cannot wait for the Oper to open!

Well back to homework.  Hopefully many more exciting things ahead!

Heute ist Samstag!

It's Saturday and boy do I have a lot to update on!

On Wednesday I attempted to go to the art museum for a tour led by one of the center's art history professors.  Unfortunately, I got quite lost and didn't make it.  But I did see many more important buildings and exciting streets, although I had no idea what they were.

I've already completed one and a half chapters of German in one week!  It can get quite intense sometimes but it is so interesting how practical it is.  Every day we walk out of class and I immediately hear or see what we learned.

Thursday I finally had my first outing into the city!  I went with a few friends to the Danube Island (smack dab in the middle of the Danube River).  Once we figured out which side was the Island, we started walking over to find a good swimming spot (on the side with a calmer current).  We got some delicious gelato in the area that somewhat resembled a board walk.  I can't say I've ever swam in natural water besides the ocean, so this was a new experience for me.  The water at first was quite cold.  But in 96 degrees in a city, we got used to it quite quickly and swam towards the center of the river.  After spending about an hour in the water we dried off and headed to my friends' Susan and Titi's house for dinner.  It was DELICIOUS!  But I had to run out quickly to see....MAHLER!

During the summer Vienna hosts an Outdoor Film Festival at the Rathaus (city center), where they broadcast several pre-recorded concerts, ballets, and operas so the public has something to see while the theaters and orchestras are off-season.  It is projected on a massive screen with tons of chairs set up.  It was almost full.  So awesome to see how many members of the community appreciate good music, and the wonderful food nearby.  Nutella crepes were DELICIOUS!  So Thursday I saw Mahler 8 and last night I saw Cinderella (Prokoviev).  Both were breathtaking.

Today I went to a lecture about the history of Vienna and then took a bus tour where I saw the Belvedere, Hundertwasser's apartment community, a beautiful overlook on foot, and drove past a ton of places that I can't wait to see.  After that I had a hearing for my piano lessons, and headed home to cook myself a dinner with MEAT!  I haven't had that as much lately for whatever reason.

And tomorrow....the roomies and I are venturing to St. Augustine's Chapel to hear a Haydn mass, head over to the Schönbrunn Palace and ZOO, and end the evening at the Rathaus with Carmen!

Last time I updated to say stay safe in the earthquake...Now stay safe in the hurricane!

Ich bin recht gut.

Hallo!  Things are going well here.  Conquered my commute to the school, visit to the bakery, drug store and supermarket.  It's busy and quite honestly a bit stressful but I'm getting through it.

Sunday we left Mariazell to head to Vienna.  When we got there I got to retrieve my lost luggage and move into my apartment.  It is on the 5th floor (American 6th floor) in the 5th district.  It's a pretty cute area and considering we have 8 people in my apartment there is a good amount of room.  There is a toilet room(which is arranged with the hole in the front), shower room, cute little kitchen, and 4 bedrooms.  We also have an RA in our room who is nothing like an American RA.  She's basically given housing to be our friend and help us get around.  Did I mention her mom brought us homemade apple strudel today?

German intensive started yesterday...and boy is it intense.  I know about a marking period's worth of German from yesterday and even more today.  It will certainly be amazing to see how much I learn.

After a little event this evening I went to practice and eventually got frustrated so I walked around the city for about 45 minutes (before it was dark of course).  I found a concert of Mozart and Strauss but it was too much money.  But it was still nice to see that I could find music so easily.

Tomorrow I am getting a brief tour of an art museum and back to German.  I'm hoping to start seeing some of the sites once I get into a routine.

Hope everyone's doing well after the earthquake!

So far so good!

Gruβ Gott!  I've been having an amazing time at orientation so far!  The town is absolutely gorgeous and I am actually pretty excited for my time here.  The fact that I am here for four months is still a bit scary but I am definitely ready for the first couple of weeks.  I'm sure once I get to Vienna I'll be totally pumped!  And good news!  My lost luggage was recovered and is waiting for me in Vienna :-)

Yesterday we had our share of meetings in the morning.  The academics here seem pretty awesome.  There's a lot of exploration into the city, which is really unique.  They also seem to plan a lot of great activities for us while we're in Vienna, so that will be really exciting.  I also had my first German Survival Session.  I now can say hello, goodbye, I don't know, the alphabet and count up to 99!

After lunch I went into the town of Mariazell with a large group. It was absolutely gorgeous.  I have plenty of pictures that I can't wait to upload once I'm in Vienna.  I first went to the folklore museum, which was quite interesting.  The building was built about 500 years ago and had many neat artifacts inside.  We then went into the Basilika, which is one of the most popular pilgramage points.  It was absolutely gorgeous.  I had never been so moved by one building.  The bone storage in the building near by....not so much.  But I really can't wait to show these pictures, it is so difficult to describe such beauty in words.

At night we had some more meetings and then....a traditional Austrian evening!  Complete with traditional dancers in lederhosen.  We got to learn two of the dances!  The older accordion player's wife also made us delicious biscuits...and one of the dancers brought honey schnapps which he served to everyone, except me because of the whole honey thing.  haha.

This morning it was time for some business.  I had a teaching interview for a teaching internship here.  It went quite well if I do say so myself!  It looks like I'll either be doing middle school or elementary school which will be awesome.  I also had a housing interview, which was more like an informational session.  My roommates all seem great (all 6, plus an RA), and our apartment is apparently really big. (I guess it has to be in order to house 8 people) Only one bathroom (with two sinks) but a TERRACE!  Nice.

Later I'll have lunch and be headed over to the lake for some hiking, swimming, and relaxing.  So far so good, and tomorrow I'll be ready to move into my apartment...and start German!

Miss you all!

Day 1...ish

So here I am!  Not Vienna actually, but in Mariazell for our orientation session.  The flight went well, my transfer was a bit rushed but I made it.  One of my checked bags didn’t make it to Vienna though.  But if that’s the only complication it’s not too bad.  I didn’t sleep the entire flight to Berlin, but I probably fell asleep for about an hour 4 times or so.  I was pretty awake for the ride to Vienna, which was awesome because I got to see the beautiful change in the landscape.  There were plenty of fields and all of the sudden mountains started to appear in the horizon.  It was beautiful!

Once we were all gathered we loaded ourselves onto a bus to Mariazell.  Apparently the scenery was gorgeous but I couldn’t even keep my eyes open.  We did stop at a rest stop where I had my first experience with Euros and plenty of German food that I didn’t recognize.  But whatever I ended up eating was quite good!  After about a 3 hour ride, of which 30 minutes was up a winding hill, we got to this beautiful little town.  I plan to explore tomorrow and take lots of pictures.

We also had dinner in the cafeteria that was also good.  I had my first helping of wiener schnitzel as well as some cappuccino mousse.  Tonight we have a welcome meeting and then I will finally get to sleep in a bed.

3 days and Counting!

Well, here is my test entry for the blog! I got home from finishing the Wedding Singer at Villagers about an hour ago and tomorrow begins the packing extravaganza! I pretty much have everything I need purchased, just need to dry clean my pea coat, get new batteries for my watches and do little things. Otherwise, it'll be an experiment to see how many things I can fit into a suitcase and to see if it can be under 50 pounds. We shall see!

My flight leaves JFK at 5:25PM on Wednesday, and then we go straight to an orientation until Sunday. Hopefully I can do a first official update then to let everyone know what's been going on already!

Keep watching for my next update!