I'll Punsch You

To update is to show weakness!

Eh, or not really, more laziness, actually. I've been so busy... eating kebab. Not really, but kinda. Oh, I've been drinking too.

Zuzana, Angélique, Raphaëlle, and I had a girls' night/dance party a while ago. You know what's sad? When a French girl teaches you how to dance to Cotton Eye Joe. Especially when you're a good ol' fashioned hick Texan. I was also introduced to the greatness that is Le Papa Pingouin. Click on it. You know you want to. It's so catchy, it'll be stuck in your head for days... weeks...

I had my exams in int'l financial markets and business german. IFM made me want to cry. I consoled myself with kebab. German was not as awful, but still made me want to binge drink. Not that I did. AND I didn't eat kebab (you should be proud).

I did, however, eat kebab on Saturday. It was cold and snowing and windy and snowing and I braved the elements for my kebab. Yummmm. Totally worth that numb feeling in my face/fingers/toes/ears/etc. etc., because my tongue was dancing in joy. That night, Angélique, Raphaëlle, and I went to the Spittelberg Christmas market. Not, however, before Raphaëlle attempted to tackle me to the ground... in public! Unpredictable and scary, those French people. Anywho, the market was similar to the others (ie. cold), but I got a Kinderpunsch so that I could continue my mug collection. We also took a bunch of pictures with this Santa that was absolutely meant for kids under the age of 4, and people were definitely staring. They're just jealous that we actually enjoy the Christmas markets, whereas the sparkle was gone from their eyes long ago.

Then Raphaëlle was cold (imagine that, in the snow?!), so Angélique and I continued the Christmas market quest alone. I was the direction-giver, and we definitely got lost. But, luckily for us, there are several landmarks in Vienna that help us find our way (like our own North star) - namely, the Hofburg (imperial palace, which is flippin huge and you'd be blind to miss it) and the Rathaus (really tall, and well lit at night aka 4 pm). There are others (Stephansdom, the opera), but those aren't useful at this time. Back to the point, it went something like this:
Me: Where are we?!
Angélique: I don't know, you're the idiot with the directions.
Me: Oh look, the Hofburg! OH! And the Rathaus! Don't fret, my dear, I have found the way!
Or something like that. We eventually found the Freyung Christmas market (another mug collected), and came across the Am Hof market, where the night's true trickery lay.

I, being the silly mug-collecting girl I am, ordered an orangenpunsch (please tell me I don't have to translate that. too easy) to get another mug. With or without alcohol? Oh, what the heck, let's get with! Forget that I already had a Glühwein. It's not like wine actually counts! Then, at the other end of the market, we realize another punch stand has better mugs. GASP. But I've already got this full mug of hot, alcoholic-y orange punch! What do I do?

Why, you drink the punch as quickly as you can now, and ask to switch mugs, says Angélique. Oh, how clever you are, Angélique, I say. I sip the punch, and then feel like I'm going to vomit, or die, but hopefully die because it's that awful. Ok, so I just have to drink this like normal alcohol then - as quickly as possible. Nevermind that this punch is practically boiling hot. Drink it quickly, Angélique says, while snatching my camera to take a video. Two minutes later the mug is empty, but my insides are crawling, boiling, doing backflips, my gag reflex is in overdrive, and my tongue is a little burnt. Mission successful. That is, if the mission was to get me drunk at a Christmas market... a Christmas market! Of all things holy, consumerist, familial, and sacred, a Christmas market! Now that's embarrassing. Of course, I can't move on without adding that I did, in fact, successfully exchange the mug. And you know what? It really wasn't that much better than the one I had before. But it's orange, which will forever remind me of my orangenpunsch.

I'll probably give the mug away. Gag.

So Angélique, seeing as she was the devil's advocate in this situation, was left to drag my drunken self back to the dorm. We got lost again. Finally, we were directed towards the greatest of all Viennese directional beacons - Stephansdom! After finally returning to Haus Erasmus, instead of being led to my room, I was taken to Zuzana's room to be fully mocked. Bah!

Sunday was, of course, church, and then I met Monica, Christine, Christine's boyfriend, Stephan, & Max to go to the Rapid Vienna vs. Linz soccer game. If you don't recall, the girls are UT students, and the two Austrian lads will be exchange students next semester. So, it's like... you know, 32 degrees or so outside, which is quite cold to be expected to sit outside for hours. I, quite cleverly, was wearing long underwear, jeans, AND khackis, and two shirts, a sweater, a coat, with my big woolly scarf (made by Emily Stuifbergen!) and thick ski gloves. Not that I've ever been skiing. My toes were cold, but I survived without getting hypothermia.

What was good was the fact that I was able to enjoy watching the game. I hadn't really expected that, for some reason, even though I usually enjoy watching sports (at least the ones that have action). There's a section for the die-hard fans, and they LITERALLY sing, clap, and shout the entire game. Entire game! These crazy people were not wearing gloves. My hands got sympathy shivers. It made for a very entertaining experience though, only enhanced by the crazed men around me that would yell incomprehensible German at the opposing team and referees. I once asked Max to translate, and he reported that the man behind us had said he wanted to cut the referee's head off. Nice imagery, sir. And, like in all sports, the game was made fully enjoyable by the fact that our team (look how quick I am to claim them as my own!) won 2-0. Afterwards, we Texans showed our enthusiasm by buying green and white Rapid Vienna scarves, which we are apparently not allowed to wear in the city due to rivalry with the other Vienna soccer club.

Yesterday and today I was engaged in my last course - Intercultural Business Communications - with the Emphasis on the Role of Women in Business. That's a mouthful! You might be surprised, but about 1/3 of the class is guys! The class began Monday afternoon, and we were assigned a 5-8 page report and 15-20 minute presentation in groups due on Thursday. Woa. That's like 3 days... In my group are Sophie from New Zealand (with a delightful accent), Marie from Sweden, Maria from Spain, and Ricardo from Spain. Nice group. I'm glad I didn't get stuck with the other Americans - a girl with an awful Boston accent, and another girl who somewhat bothers me. I love listening to Sophie talk. Maybe I should just move to New Zealand to listen to the people there talk.

That's all folks! Hope you enjoyed my ramblings this time.

PS. EEK! How could I forget? Tina left last week. I'm all alone here, sitting in the dark, blasting my music, and acting in ways that would be fully obnoxious if someone else were in the room. HA.