This week has been busy and tiring, but altogether good. Tuesday afternoon we had this long, awfully boring information session about mostly things that we should already know, like how to register. I pity the person trying to register this week, only to find out that all the English classes are full.
The past three days my german classes have been awfully boring. One day we talked about egg donation, yesterday was energy (oil, wind, coal...), and today traffic. Seriously. Can we get any more boring??? I think not. I mean, I love talking about traffic or listening to traffic reports in Austin, but we were talking about increased truck traffic after the iron curtain (soviet empire) fell.
After german on Wednesday was the sign-up for all the trips through the Buddy Network. They had organized trips to Oktoberfest, Budapest, Prague, and two ski trips. There were only limited spots on each, and 450 of us, so... the line went down the stairs and out the front door before the sign-ups officially began. I'm like the sixth person on the Budapest wait list. They said it's very likely that I'll get to go, but it makes me nervous. I just want to go to Budapest! It's October 26-28.
Anyway, that line took forever, so it was like 2:15 before I got down here around Westbahnhof. Since I was *starving* (21 hours without food does that), I went to McDonalds. Whatever they say, I think Europeans like it as much as we do. I got two cheeseburgers for 2€. I never eat cheeseburgers at McDonalds, and I don't like ketchup, but I just scarfed those down.
Wednesday afternoon Tina took me to a mall that's right next to the Burggasse subway stop - which is the closest subway stop, meaning the mall is really close. I probably would have never noticed it, since that side of the street has lots of places like "Erotik Shop" and "Peep Show," so I don't like being over there. At the mall I had to buy a power cord for my laptop. I have a plug adapter, but my plug doesn't fit into the plug adapter. I also had hot chocolate (me) and coffee (Tina) because the high that day was like 60° F.
Thursday afternoon we had a tour through Swarovski crystal shop. I think they expected us to have heard of them before... but I definitely hadn't. Oh well. Then we took a tour of the first district aka the middle of the city. We saw several churches, and it seemed like every other building had a sign that said "Mozart did ____ here." Ok, thanks, we get it - Mozart lived in Vienna. There was also one for Franz Grillparzer, whom I quoted at Robert's memorial service. Most of the churches get to be a drag, but I never tire of looking at the grand organs they have. I've not yet been inside the St. Stephen's Cathedral, but I look forward to it. I bet the organ is beautiful. That tour took two hours and really wore me out, so I spent last night chilling out and watching One Tree Hill on dvd.
Today we had a lecture on government in Austria. I've never been able to understand exactly how these European parliaments are set up, and Austria seems especially confusing to me. President, Chancellor, 5 political parties, equal representation... It's all so confusing. And there was so much swapping of land in the 20th century in central Europe that it's mind-boggling. I also learned that Austria had been split into four the same way Germany had after WWII, and (like Berlin) all four were in Vienna. After the lecture, we went to the Parliament building. It's a beautiful building, with a very very strong Greek influence. If you look at my pictures you'll understand what I mean. The tour wasn't very exciting, but who would expect it to be?
Tomorrow we have the day off and I hope to go to the Albertina gallery. Sunday is Graz.
And, of course, you can look at all of my pictures here. I will work on captioning them, but it's very difficult because I don't know what all of it is. Bis später!
Friday, September 21, 2007
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Intro to Vienna
Yes, yes, I have finally arrived in the (somewhat) beautiful city of Vienna, after waiting only two years.
The flight was rather long, naturally, and I didn't sleep much (of course). My partner from the buddy system, Eva, was also at the same time en route to Vienna from the States, so her mother picked me up. We went to their family home, where I talked to Eva's funny younger brother Andreas and we waited for Eva. Eva and Andreas both attend(ed) the American International School, so their English is almost native, and they understand slang and sayings. After Eva arrived, she drove me to my dorm, Haus Erasmus.
My dorm is not too bad - the beds aren't that small or bad, there's a huge desk along wall with two chairs per person, several shelves and cabinets and a wardrobe, and our own bathroom/shower. Each floor has a kitchen - but no microwave. But that's ok, really, because it's not like they have spaghettios or microwave meals anyway. And my roommate likes to cook and she's made me almost every meal since I've gotten here.
For pictures go here.
The flight was rather long, naturally, and I didn't sleep much (of course). My partner from the buddy system, Eva, was also at the same time en route to Vienna from the States, so her mother picked me up. We went to their family home, where I talked to Eva's funny younger brother Andreas and we waited for Eva. Eva and Andreas both attend(ed) the American International School, so their English is almost native, and they understand slang and sayings. After Eva arrived, she drove me to my dorm, Haus Erasmus.
My dorm is not too bad - the beds aren't that small or bad, there's a huge desk along wall with two chairs per person, several shelves and cabinets and a wardrobe, and our own bathroom/shower. Each floor has a kitchen - but no microwave. But that's ok, really, because it's not like they have spaghettios or microwave meals anyway. And my roommate likes to cook and she's made me almost every meal since I've gotten here.
Speaking of my roommate - her name is Tina. She is 24 and from Georgia the COUNTRY. She's loud and crazy.
We started german class/orientation yesterday. First we took a placement test, and I'm in an advanced class (level 4 out of 5) while I think most people are in beginner or advanced beginner (1&2 of 5). I'm the only American in my class, which makes me embarrassed (for my country) and proud (for me). The professor speaks in german the whole time, of course, and I understand most of it, probably because he is trying to speak clearly. The people on the street, on the other hand... let's just say they're not. It all sounds like garbled up words to me. I catch words and phrases.
The city is really amazing, though. And different. So different! For example:
>>On the Ubahn (subway) to the Uni, I pass at least 6 sex shops & strip clubs. Meaning there are at least 6 of these on a MAIN STREET, with nice BIG signs reading "Erotik Shop" or "Peep Show." Um, ew.
>>People here smoke. All. The. Time. I see like 14 year old kids walking down the street smoking.
>>U-bahn (subway). Strassenbahn (trams). Bus. That's just if you're going around in the city. The trams are kinda scary, though. I really feel like I'm going to get run down. It's also weird, because it's different from both Munich and Berlin, where the Ubahn is (duh) underground, while the Sbahn is on the ground but kinda like a train in America (not a tram).
>>People here smoke. All. The. Time. I see like 14 year old kids walking down the street smoking.
>>U-bahn (subway). Strassenbahn (trams). Bus. That's just if you're going around in the city. The trams are kinda scary, though. I really feel like I'm going to get run down. It's also weird, because it's different from both Munich and Berlin, where the Ubahn is (duh) underground, while the Sbahn is on the ground but kinda like a train in America (not a tram).
>>In Texas, sometimes you just smile at a person you walk past on the street. We're friendly. But here? Nuh uh! I've been told that the Viennese are cold people, where old ladies yell at kids on the bus.
>>Everything is closed all the time. Things close really early, like 4-6ish. And stores are closed on Sundays. People go strolling all down the shopping avenues and just look in the windows. Seriously! Restaurants are mostly open (thank God), and so is the gas station. The food stands on the street (Imbiss) and some of the stores in the larger train stations (like the Westbahnhof by my dorm) are also open, but for limited hours.
>>All the buildings are connected. You tell one building from the next by the change in color or even architecture. And I pass two huge gothic churches on my way to school, and there's another at the end of my street. Huge gothic churches, like the kind you visit when you want to be touristy - three of them! And that's not including St. Stephen's, which is the main one people visit. Actually, the churches are not connected to other buildings, so there's something.
>>Everything is closed all the time. Things close really early, like 4-6ish. And stores are closed on Sundays. People go strolling all down the shopping avenues and just look in the windows. Seriously! Restaurants are mostly open (thank God), and so is the gas station. The food stands on the street (Imbiss) and some of the stores in the larger train stations (like the Westbahnhof by my dorm) are also open, but for limited hours.
>>All the buildings are connected. You tell one building from the next by the change in color or even architecture. And I pass two huge gothic churches on my way to school, and there's another at the end of my street. Huge gothic churches, like the kind you visit when you want to be touristy - three of them! And that's not including St. Stephen's, which is the main one people visit. Actually, the churches are not connected to other buildings, so there's something.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Packing
Packing is difficult.
I know anybody who has ever traveled somewhere for longer than two days knows that, but it's especially hard when you're going to be gone for four months. And if your destination has a cooler climate than where you're coming from? Hopeless. I have no clue how many sweaters and jackets I should bring! If I bring too few, I'll wear the same clothes over and over, but if I bring too many, then they're just taking up space in my (already crammed) suitcase.
I could get along perfectly well in an Austin winter with two sweaters, six long-sleeved shirts, and a few hoodies. But Vienna? It actually snows there - more than once every three years. How absurd!
My shirts have made this nice, tall pile in my suitcase. Is this really going to work? I tried out some travel space bags. It's quite impressive when you roll out all the air and everything's all squished in there. That is, until you look at the bag 30 seconds later and notice that the bag has filled with air again and your clothes shifted around and expanded. Spectacular. I can at least use them like giant ziplock bags so I don't have security guards pawing through my underwear.
Actually, I think shirts are all I can handle tonight. I'll try for more (shoes, jammies, socks, etc) later.
I know anybody who has ever traveled somewhere for longer than two days knows that, but it's especially hard when you're going to be gone for four months. And if your destination has a cooler climate than where you're coming from? Hopeless. I have no clue how many sweaters and jackets I should bring! If I bring too few, I'll wear the same clothes over and over, but if I bring too many, then they're just taking up space in my (already crammed) suitcase.
I could get along perfectly well in an Austin winter with two sweaters, six long-sleeved shirts, and a few hoodies. But Vienna? It actually snows there - more than once every three years. How absurd!
My shirts have made this nice, tall pile in my suitcase. Is this really going to work? I tried out some travel space bags. It's quite impressive when you roll out all the air and everything's all squished in there. That is, until you look at the bag 30 seconds later and notice that the bag has filled with air again and your clothes shifted around and expanded. Spectacular. I can at least use them like giant ziplock bags so I don't have security guards pawing through my underwear.
Actually, I think shirts are all I can handle tonight. I'll try for more (shoes, jammies, socks, etc) later.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Pre-Departure
Hello, friend! I have created this blog here so I can tell everyone about my comings and goings as I spend the Fall 2007 semester abroad in Vienna, Austria, studying at the Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien (Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration).
I have not yet arrived in (or left for) Vienna. I depart on September 14 (at 1 p.m. CST) and arrive September 15 (at 10:05 a.m. CET).
Ok, I don't have much more to say yet, so I'm going to go work on my packing!
I have not yet arrived in (or left for) Vienna. I depart on September 14 (at 1 p.m. CST) and arrive September 15 (at 10:05 a.m. CET).
Ok, I don't have much more to say yet, so I'm going to go work on my packing!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
