Monday wasn't all that entertaining of a day, but it wasn't bad. I woke up early to go to the plasma center at 8:00 for my donation appointment. During the donation I realized that it stinks having to drink so much water, because by the end of the donation process, I felt like I was going to burst!
I took the 13A bus to Skodagasse, which is about two blocks away from the office. I walked from there and got to Theater class on time. We discussed the play that we had read Arturo Ui, a parallelism of Hitler's rise to power set in gangster Chicago.
After class I headed back with the SB 5 and went to Hofer. I decided that I might as well stock up on my lunch supplies so I bought 10 single-serving containers of cottage cheese and 20 containers of yogurt. I carried them back to my dorm in their cardboard carriers. It took a bit to reorganize the fridge, but once I did it looked great!
I worked on homework for Tuesday and cleaned up the room. I spent the rest of the day putzing around the room and getting random bits of work done. Like I had said - not exciting, but not bad.
Monday, March 31, 2014
Day 48
Sunday was once again a follow up day of the opera workshop. I got up in time and got to Alexander's office around 10:00. I was surprised that he wasn't answering on the buzzer, but then I remembered that we weren't supposed to be there until 10:30 so I went for a walk and found a park nearby. I sat down on a bench and listened to my music. All of a sudden a small dog came trotting along and hopped up on the bench that I was on. It proceeded to hop into my lap too. I laughed and then picked it up and put it on the ground. Its owner, a 60-ish woman, said that she was sorry and that she hoped that her dog didn't get me too dirty. I said that it wasn't a problem at all. She and the dog left and I decided to head back to Alexander's office. On the way there I noticed little muddy paw prints on my sports jacket, but I didn't mind.
Once the others got there we started learning about Schönberg who introduced the use of free-tonal music. This meant that he used every note in a scale and every other note in-between. It was interesting listening to his music, not because it necessarily sounded good, but rather that it was a new sound.
After the workshop Alexander gave us our tickets for Wozzeck, the show we were going to see at the Staatsoper and we headed to the Pizzeria next door. We all ordered pizzas and I got mine with mushrooms. We spent the time refueling for the upcoming opera. After we were finished we all took the train to the Staatsoper. We found our assigned seats and settled in.
The opera, whose music was also composed by Schöberg, was very interesting. I'll still say that I'll take a good old musical any day of the week, but it was a good experience for sure. After the performance Janaya, Andy, and I decided that we'd head back to the dorm and cook dinner together so we did just that. We had discussed The Incredibles at some point earlier in the day so I invited them both to my room to watch the movie. We put a mattress on the floor and the three of us watched the movie. It was a blast!
Afterwards, the others headed back to their rooms and I headed to bed.
Once the others got there we started learning about Schönberg who introduced the use of free-tonal music. This meant that he used every note in a scale and every other note in-between. It was interesting listening to his music, not because it necessarily sounded good, but rather that it was a new sound.
After the workshop Alexander gave us our tickets for Wozzeck, the show we were going to see at the Staatsoper and we headed to the Pizzeria next door. We all ordered pizzas and I got mine with mushrooms. We spent the time refueling for the upcoming opera. After we were finished we all took the train to the Staatsoper. We found our assigned seats and settled in.
The opera, whose music was also composed by Schöberg, was very interesting. I'll still say that I'll take a good old musical any day of the week, but it was a good experience for sure. After the performance Janaya, Andy, and I decided that we'd head back to the dorm and cook dinner together so we did just that. We had discussed The Incredibles at some point earlier in the day so I invited them both to my room to watch the movie. We put a mattress on the floor and the three of us watched the movie. It was a blast!
Afterwards, the others headed back to their rooms and I headed to bed.
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Day 47
Saturday I woke up to my 8:00 alarm and started to get ready. I had signed up for a weekend workshop to learn about opera in Vienna. I met Andy in the lobby at 9:15 and we headed to the appropriate stop on the train. When we got off we saw Erica, who having done a workshop last semester, knew exactly where to go.
When we got to the studio Alexander, our teacher, let us in and we saw Jesse and Stephen. It was an interesting day. We learned about Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven and history about each one of them. We took a break half way through around 12:30 to grab lunch and then kept on going until 6:00. Needless to say it was a long day.
When I got home that night, I skyped with Mother and Dad (and Louis). We talked for about an hour about how much time we'll want to spend in Vienna and where we'll be traveling for Easter. In the meantime I helped Dad schedule an appointment at the Apple Store in GR to fix his phone and looked at hotel options here in Vienna. They had to leave for the appointment at the Apple Store so we hung up.
I decided to see if Kels was available. She was. We probably talked for about 2 hours. Eventually we got to the point where we really didn't have that much more to say so we just started whining about being apart. We hung up and I decided to take a shower before I got ready for bed. I set my alarm again for 8:00 and went to sleep.
When we got to the studio Alexander, our teacher, let us in and we saw Jesse and Stephen. It was an interesting day. We learned about Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven and history about each one of them. We took a break half way through around 12:30 to grab lunch and then kept on going until 6:00. Needless to say it was a long day.
When I got home that night, I skyped with Mother and Dad (and Louis). We talked for about an hour about how much time we'll want to spend in Vienna and where we'll be traveling for Easter. In the meantime I helped Dad schedule an appointment at the Apple Store in GR to fix his phone and looked at hotel options here in Vienna. They had to leave for the appointment at the Apple Store so we hung up.
I decided to see if Kels was available. She was. We probably talked for about 2 hours. Eventually we got to the point where we really didn't have that much more to say so we just started whining about being apart. We hung up and I decided to take a shower before I got ready for bed. I set my alarm again for 8:00 and went to sleep.
Day 46
Friday morning I got up at 6:45 and get ready. I headed out to the train station and took the U3 two stops to Neubaugasse. From there I walked to the Plasma center and went inside. My appointment was for 8:00. I was out of there by 9:00 with the satisfaction of waking up early and a mini-sized bar of Rittersport chocolate!
Since it was such a nice day out, I decided that I'd walk to the office. So, I just followed the route that the 13A busses take. It took about 30 minutes or so, but it was wonderful! The sun was shining and I didn't have any academic obligations whatsoever!
When I got to the office I went straight to the piano room and played for a while. I was probably there for about 45 minutes when I decided to head back to my dorm. On the way back I hopped off at an earlier stop and went to DM to buy a pair of sunglasses that I had been looking at earlier that morning. I decided to buy them and then headed home.
I decided to make a plan for the night that included kicking back and relaxing as well as getting homework done. I decided that I would go to Bar Salzburg and take the play that I had to read for Monday with me. So, I got ready and headed out. I stopped at Haus Salzburg on the way to a) use the restroom and b) ask someone if I was going in the right direction. Stephen let me in and we hung out with Jesse, Andy, and Paithan in the kitchen for a while. Stephen had to go see a play and I was still in the mood to go to the bar so we both headed out. Stephen told me that when he was done he'd meet me at the bar. I said that that sounded great.
I walked to the bar and found a nice table in the non-smoking section (another reason why I like the bar). I ordered a Hirtel Morchel (a really good type of dark beer) and German potato salad. I started reading. It actually wasn't too bad. To keep myself going, I rewarded myself with a sip for every page I finished and once I got to page 50, I was allowed to order another beer. That didn't happen for a long time, but by the time Stephen got there, I was already on page 70! He ordered a beer and we just started talking about life. It was really good to talk with him because I hadn't yet had an opportunity to talk with him one on one yet. We talked about future goals from our jobs to our marriages and ended up staying at the bar until 12:30.
We both headed back to our dorms and I had a fun time trying to be like a ninja so as not to wake up Christoph, which I'm fairly certain that I did successfully. I set my alarm for 8:00 and went to bed.
Since it was such a nice day out, I decided that I'd walk to the office. So, I just followed the route that the 13A busses take. It took about 30 minutes or so, but it was wonderful! The sun was shining and I didn't have any academic obligations whatsoever!
When I got to the office I went straight to the piano room and played for a while. I was probably there for about 45 minutes when I decided to head back to my dorm. On the way back I hopped off at an earlier stop and went to DM to buy a pair of sunglasses that I had been looking at earlier that morning. I decided to buy them and then headed home.
I decided to make a plan for the night that included kicking back and relaxing as well as getting homework done. I decided that I would go to Bar Salzburg and take the play that I had to read for Monday with me. So, I got ready and headed out. I stopped at Haus Salzburg on the way to a) use the restroom and b) ask someone if I was going in the right direction. Stephen let me in and we hung out with Jesse, Andy, and Paithan in the kitchen for a while. Stephen had to go see a play and I was still in the mood to go to the bar so we both headed out. Stephen told me that when he was done he'd meet me at the bar. I said that that sounded great.
I walked to the bar and found a nice table in the non-smoking section (another reason why I like the bar). I ordered a Hirtel Morchel (a really good type of dark beer) and German potato salad. I started reading. It actually wasn't too bad. To keep myself going, I rewarded myself with a sip for every page I finished and once I got to page 50, I was allowed to order another beer. That didn't happen for a long time, but by the time Stephen got there, I was already on page 70! He ordered a beer and we just started talking about life. It was really good to talk with him because I hadn't yet had an opportunity to talk with him one on one yet. We talked about future goals from our jobs to our marriages and ended up staying at the bar until 12:30.
We both headed back to our dorms and I had a fun time trying to be like a ninja so as not to wake up Christoph, which I'm fairly certain that I did successfully. I set my alarm for 8:00 and went to bed.
Day 45
Thursday morning I got up and wrote a two page paper on my favorite period in history. It was an assignment for my History class and the prof wanted to see how good everyone's English was. I wrote about the time of the American Revolution. Once I finished my paper, I emailed it to myself and went to the office to print it off.
I got to class early so that I could get a good seat. Dr. Finnbar talked about the WWI and the race to the sea and how it became a war of attrition. It was a very interesting class, but two hour classes are hard to sit through.
After class I headed back to the office and stuck around until it was time to leave for dance class. Janaya, Jesse, Andy, Erica, and I left and eventually found our way to the dance school. Jesse ended up leaving because it was too expensive in his opinion and Stephen and Anneke met us there later. Our class was good. We learned the basic waltz and next week we'll be working on the Viennese waltz which is somehow different though I'm not sure why.
Afterwards we all headed back to our dorms. I got back to my room and decided to journal for a bit. Shortly after making some good progress, I headed to bed.
I got to class early so that I could get a good seat. Dr. Finnbar talked about the WWI and the race to the sea and how it became a war of attrition. It was a very interesting class, but two hour classes are hard to sit through.
After class I headed back to the office and stuck around until it was time to leave for dance class. Janaya, Jesse, Andy, Erica, and I left and eventually found our way to the dance school. Jesse ended up leaving because it was too expensive in his opinion and Stephen and Anneke met us there later. Our class was good. We learned the basic waltz and next week we'll be working on the Viennese waltz which is somehow different though I'm not sure why.
Afterwards we all headed back to our dorms. I got back to my room and decided to journal for a bit. Shortly after making some good progress, I headed to bed.
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Day 44
This last week's worth of posts is all about catching myself up so don't be too surprised if they're a little sparse. Wednesday I got up as usual and got some work done since I didn't have anything until 2:00. When 1:00 rolled around I got dressed and left to get to class. Yes, I got there about 20 minutes early, but I wanted to make sure that I had enough time to account for a possible snafu in my plans. Luckily, that never happened.
Music Theory started off pretty well, but every once in a while I noticed my attention veering off track. To be fair the class was two hours long so it was kind of excusable. I learned that the German way to do music is with the letter h. The example that I was given was C, D, E, F, G, A, H, C. H equals what is normally B and B represents what is normally Bb. That combined with calling a C# cis or an F# fis, I was pretty lost at first.
After music class I headed back to the office and waited there until my literature class. For the first half of the class we talked about the novella we had read throughout the previous week then we eventually transitioned to watching a film adaptation of the same story. I had to leave early to go to choir practice at 7:55, but Dr. Eschenmüller said that that was okay.
When I got to the choir room, which was only a five minute walk away, I had to wait in line to buy my copy of the music and pay the enrollment fee. I hadn't known about this beforehand so I could only pay the €10 for the music. I sat down with the rest of the tenors and we began working and did so until about 10:00. I could almost swear that by the end my throat was either bleeding or I wouldn't have a voice the next day. Needless to say it was a tough rehearsal, especially as it was my first.
At the end of rehearsal Vijay, the director, announced that there would be practice on Saturday. I couldn't do that because of the opera workshop I was doing, so after he was done I told him that if this was going to be a regular thing then I couldn't be a part of the choir. I handed my music back in and got my money back. I felt kind of bad about it, but on my ride home I felt SO relieved. Yes, I had made it into the choir, but I wasn't stuck doing it. Plus, the music selection was classical, which just isn't in my top anything preference-wise other than for study music, in which case it is the only thing that I can listen to.
Despite the late start it had been a long, exhausting day. When I got home, I had an apple for a snack and headed straight to bed. I fell asleep very quickly!
Music Theory started off pretty well, but every once in a while I noticed my attention veering off track. To be fair the class was two hours long so it was kind of excusable. I learned that the German way to do music is with the letter h. The example that I was given was C, D, E, F, G, A, H, C. H equals what is normally B and B represents what is normally Bb. That combined with calling a C# cis or an F# fis, I was pretty lost at first.
After music class I headed back to the office and waited there until my literature class. For the first half of the class we talked about the novella we had read throughout the previous week then we eventually transitioned to watching a film adaptation of the same story. I had to leave early to go to choir practice at 7:55, but Dr. Eschenmüller said that that was okay.
When I got to the choir room, which was only a five minute walk away, I had to wait in line to buy my copy of the music and pay the enrollment fee. I hadn't known about this beforehand so I could only pay the €10 for the music. I sat down with the rest of the tenors and we began working and did so until about 10:00. I could almost swear that by the end my throat was either bleeding or I wouldn't have a voice the next day. Needless to say it was a tough rehearsal, especially as it was my first.
At the end of rehearsal Vijay, the director, announced that there would be practice on Saturday. I couldn't do that because of the opera workshop I was doing, so after he was done I told him that if this was going to be a regular thing then I couldn't be a part of the choir. I handed my music back in and got my money back. I felt kind of bad about it, but on my ride home I felt SO relieved. Yes, I had made it into the choir, but I wasn't stuck doing it. Plus, the music selection was classical, which just isn't in my top anything preference-wise other than for study music, in which case it is the only thing that I can listen to.
Despite the late start it had been a long, exhausting day. When I got home, I had an apple for a snack and headed straight to bed. I fell asleep very quickly!
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Day 43
Tuesday morning I woke up around 9:30 and got busy right away doing homework for my grammar class that afternoon. It included rewriting a few assignments that I had made grammatical mistakes on and reading an article about immigrants living in Germany who try to learn the German language. Pretty interesting stuff. I had a late lunch and then headed to the office for class.
Class was interesting as usual. We started with a game where we picked random letters and Michaela wrote them down on the chalkboard. Then she said that for each set of two letters, we had to think of German words that started and ended with the letters that had been written. We paired up into teams. I worked with Anneke and Stephen worked with Erica. It was a tough game, but it was good to activate the language before we started talking about the grammar lesson for the day.
After class, I went back to my dorm to get changed. As part of Monday’s theater class, we were all going to see Der Streit in a small theater within walking distance from Andy’s and my dorm. Andy came to my room about 15 minutes beforehand and asked if I knew where I was going. I said yes, that I’d be ready in a few, and that I’d meet him in the lobby.
It probably took us 15 minutes at the most to find the theatre. We had gotten there early so we decided to go to a cafe and relax until it came time to meet our professor at the theater. We chit-chatted for about 30 minutes and then headed back to the theater. We met our professor there.
The play itself had been adapted from its original form, but was done in a good way. And, since we had read the script beforehand, everything was really easy to understand. After the performance we got a chance to speak with the director and ask him any questions that we had. It was interesting to hear his opinions on his adaptation of the story.
After all of that Erica, Andy, and I walked back to Mariahilferstraße and headed back to our dorms. I put my nice clothes that I had worn to the play away, took a shower, and went to bed.
Class was interesting as usual. We started with a game where we picked random letters and Michaela wrote them down on the chalkboard. Then she said that for each set of two letters, we had to think of German words that started and ended with the letters that had been written. We paired up into teams. I worked with Anneke and Stephen worked with Erica. It was a tough game, but it was good to activate the language before we started talking about the grammar lesson for the day.
After class, I went back to my dorm to get changed. As part of Monday’s theater class, we were all going to see Der Streit in a small theater within walking distance from Andy’s and my dorm. Andy came to my room about 15 minutes beforehand and asked if I knew where I was going. I said yes, that I’d be ready in a few, and that I’d meet him in the lobby.
It probably took us 15 minutes at the most to find the theatre. We had gotten there early so we decided to go to a cafe and relax until it came time to meet our professor at the theater. We chit-chatted for about 30 minutes and then headed back to the theater. We met our professor there.
The play itself had been adapted from its original form, but was done in a good way. And, since we had read the script beforehand, everything was really easy to understand. After the performance we got a chance to speak with the director and ask him any questions that we had. It was interesting to hear his opinions on his adaptation of the story.
After all of that Erica, Andy, and I walked back to Mariahilferstraße and headed back to our dorms. I put my nice clothes that I had worn to the play away, took a shower, and went to bed.
Day 42
Monday wasn’t all too busy of a day. I woke up around 7:30 and re-read through the play that I had had to read for class. I got to the office five minutes before class started and we spent the entire time talking about the play called Der Streit or the streif.
After class I went back to my dorm and worked on homework for Tuesday. I also went shopping at the Hofer (Austrian Aldi) around the corner and bought bread, butter, apples, and cottage cheese. I spent the afternoon cleaning up, folding clothes, and getting my half of the room to look good again.
Eventually I had to get ready to go to Kiss Me Kate at the Volksoper. Since Stephen hadn’t seen the first act last time, Andy and I had agreed to go with him a second time so that he could see the entire show. I made sure that I got there early enough to reserve good standing places for the three of us. Andy ended up not coming because he had decided to go out with the other guys for St. Patrick’s day festivities.
After the performance was done, I headed back home and went to bed.
After class I went back to my dorm and worked on homework for Tuesday. I also went shopping at the Hofer (Austrian Aldi) around the corner and bought bread, butter, apples, and cottage cheese. I spent the afternoon cleaning up, folding clothes, and getting my half of the room to look good again.
Eventually I had to get ready to go to Kiss Me Kate at the Volksoper. Since Stephen hadn’t seen the first act last time, Andy and I had agreed to go with him a second time so that he could see the entire show. I made sure that I got there early enough to reserve good standing places for the three of us. Andy ended up not coming because he had decided to go out with the other guys for St. Patrick’s day festivities.
After the performance was done, I headed back home and went to bed.
Day 41
Sunday morning I woke up around 7:30, then rolled over and went back to sleep. This happened about 5 times and I eventually got up around 11:00. I had Facebook messaged Anneke the night before asking when church was, but hadn’t gotten a response… So I decided to get some work done and chill for a while. Around 12:30 I got a message from Anneke saying that church was at 1:30 and that we should meet in the lobby at 12:50. That was fine by me.
We met in the lobby then took the U-bahn to the same stop that I had gotten off at the night before. We walked for a few minutes and then ran into Andrew, Anneke’s brother. We walked up a block and then were suddenly at the church. The pastor greeted us, we got name tags, and then we sat down. The church service was all in English and was very well delivered. It was particularly interesting because the pastor had some sort of English accent.
After the service we all mingled for a time and had some tea and cookies. Anneke and I talked with two girls who are also studying here in Vienna. They’re in a different program and will eventually be transferring to Marburg, Germany. As we were about to leave Andrew told Anneke and me that we had been invited to go to someone’s house for a get together / happy almost St. Patrick’s Day party so we, of course, said that we’d love to go.
We took the U-bahn to Hütteldorf with the guy who led the praise team, a missionary living here in Vienna with his family, and the piano player, a fellow student and teacher at an English school in Vienna. The trip took about 30 minutes. When we got to Hüttledorf a guy, the owner of the house, came around with his car and picked the five of us up. We squeezed in a bit, but we made it work.
The guy, sadly I can’t remember his name right now, drove us to his house. He and his wife had just built it and so it still had some finishing touches that needed to be added, but for all intensive purposes it was livable. The house looked like it had been preselected out of an IKEA catalogue because it was very modern and boxy looking and completely white. Initially I didn’t like it very much, but they did win me over when I sat down on their couch.
When we went inside we were introduced to everyone there, probably around 15 people, and we sat down on the couch. Two guys started playing guitar and we all started singing along and giving suggestions for songs. We did this until dinner was ready.
Dinner was buffet style compete with fresh fruits and veggies, potato zucchini soup, shepherds pie, cold cuts, cheese, an olive tray, and beer, wine, sekt (Austrian champagne), or juice. We sat and ate and talked for probably an hour and a half. Luckily all of it was in English!
We all stayed for about three and a half hours total, but it didn’t sen like it was too long. Anneke and I left together since we were going to the same dorm. We talked on the train about the pastor at the church and how studying abroad had/has affected our relationships whether that be with friends, family, or significant others. We chatted all the way until we got to her floor in our dorm. We said goodbye and then I headed upstairs. I was SO pooped, but still had a little bit of homework to do for my class the next day. I eventually got it done and then went to sleep.
We met in the lobby then took the U-bahn to the same stop that I had gotten off at the night before. We walked for a few minutes and then ran into Andrew, Anneke’s brother. We walked up a block and then were suddenly at the church. The pastor greeted us, we got name tags, and then we sat down. The church service was all in English and was very well delivered. It was particularly interesting because the pastor had some sort of English accent.
After the service we all mingled for a time and had some tea and cookies. Anneke and I talked with two girls who are also studying here in Vienna. They’re in a different program and will eventually be transferring to Marburg, Germany. As we were about to leave Andrew told Anneke and me that we had been invited to go to someone’s house for a get together / happy almost St. Patrick’s Day party so we, of course, said that we’d love to go.
We took the U-bahn to Hütteldorf with the guy who led the praise team, a missionary living here in Vienna with his family, and the piano player, a fellow student and teacher at an English school in Vienna. The trip took about 30 minutes. When we got to Hüttledorf a guy, the owner of the house, came around with his car and picked the five of us up. We squeezed in a bit, but we made it work.
The guy, sadly I can’t remember his name right now, drove us to his house. He and his wife had just built it and so it still had some finishing touches that needed to be added, but for all intensive purposes it was livable. The house looked like it had been preselected out of an IKEA catalogue because it was very modern and boxy looking and completely white. Initially I didn’t like it very much, but they did win me over when I sat down on their couch.
When we went inside we were introduced to everyone there, probably around 15 people, and we sat down on the couch. Two guys started playing guitar and we all started singing along and giving suggestions for songs. We did this until dinner was ready.
Dinner was buffet style compete with fresh fruits and veggies, potato zucchini soup, shepherds pie, cold cuts, cheese, an olive tray, and beer, wine, sekt (Austrian champagne), or juice. We sat and ate and talked for probably an hour and a half. Luckily all of it was in English!
We all stayed for about three and a half hours total, but it didn’t sen like it was too long. Anneke and I left together since we were going to the same dorm. We talked on the train about the pastor at the church and how studying abroad had/has affected our relationships whether that be with friends, family, or significant others. We chatted all the way until we got to her floor in our dorm. We said goodbye and then I headed upstairs. I was SO pooped, but still had a little bit of homework to do for my class the next day. I eventually got it done and then went to sleep.
Saturday, March 15, 2014
Day 40
I woke up late this morning recovering from my long day yesterday. When I did get up, I took a shower, got dressed, and met Andy in the lobby. Together we walked to Pilgramgasse where we met Paithan and then went to the Naschmarkt.
Paithan was on a mission to look for a new watch and both he and Andy were looking for cheap sunglasses. By the time we walked to the far end of the market, Andy and Paithan had gotten their sunglasses and we found a little restaurant where we stopped for a light lunch and drinks. It had been windy, but then it really started picking up and raining. We finished up, paid our bills, and headed for the train station. I split off to look at some fresh vegetables then made my way home.
I came back to find that Christoph had already left for the weekend. Since I was cold and wet from my walk back, I decided to take a shower. Afterwards I took time to actually fold all of my clothes and put them away. Just as I was getting done I got a Facebook message from Kels asking if I was able to Skype. Naturally, I said yes. We ended up skyping for two and a half hours, which (as Kels told me) we haven't done since my freshman year at Wabash when she was still a senior in high school.
I got ready in my opera attire and headed to the train station. I took the U6 and the U3 to the Rathaus (the city hall) and walked from there to the Burgtheatre. Tonight they had a special event where stories of six surviving members of the Haulocaust were read. Then at the end, the survivors read one last, short excerpt. It was a truly amazing experience. A haunting experience, but one that I wouldn't trade.
I took the train back home and when I got there decided to keep working in my journal entries. I logged on Facebook and got a chance to catch up with Rob Shook, a fellow fraternity brother. It was a real treat. :) As I worked, I listened to the movie About Time play in the background. It's currently my favorite movie and it's so full of everything potentially perfect about love. Like the thunderstorm earlier today it was another perfect piece of my day slipping into place. Alright. Everything is caught up and good to go. Good night everyone!
Paithan was on a mission to look for a new watch and both he and Andy were looking for cheap sunglasses. By the time we walked to the far end of the market, Andy and Paithan had gotten their sunglasses and we found a little restaurant where we stopped for a light lunch and drinks. It had been windy, but then it really started picking up and raining. We finished up, paid our bills, and headed for the train station. I split off to look at some fresh vegetables then made my way home.
I came back to find that Christoph had already left for the weekend. Since I was cold and wet from my walk back, I decided to take a shower. Afterwards I took time to actually fold all of my clothes and put them away. Just as I was getting done I got a Facebook message from Kels asking if I was able to Skype. Naturally, I said yes. We ended up skyping for two and a half hours, which (as Kels told me) we haven't done since my freshman year at Wabash when she was still a senior in high school.
I got ready in my opera attire and headed to the train station. I took the U6 and the U3 to the Rathaus (the city hall) and walked from there to the Burgtheatre. Tonight they had a special event where stories of six surviving members of the Haulocaust were read. Then at the end, the survivors read one last, short excerpt. It was a truly amazing experience. A haunting experience, but one that I wouldn't trade.
I took the train back home and when I got there decided to keep working in my journal entries. I logged on Facebook and got a chance to catch up with Rob Shook, a fellow fraternity brother. It was a real treat. :) As I worked, I listened to the movie About Time play in the background. It's currently my favorite movie and it's so full of everything potentially perfect about love. Like the thunderstorm earlier today it was another perfect piece of my day slipping into place. Alright. Everything is caught up and good to go. Good night everyone!
Day 39
This morning I woke up at 6:45 and got dressed quietly so that I would wake up Christoph. I took the U3 two stops to the Plasmazentrum and waited until 8:00, their opening time. I went in and registered and met with the doctor who took some blood to test and gave me a basic health exam. Altogether the process took about 45 minutes, but pending on my good blood results, I will be able to donate plasma next Friday at 8:00AM (and get €20 in return)!
Since it was still early when I left the Plasmazentrum I headed across the street to a small cafe where I had a breakfast cappuccino and a glass of water. I thought about what, since it was (technically) the weekend, I should do with my morning. I decided to walk along Mariahilferstraße, which is the major shopping strip in Vienna, and do some window shopping. I walked around for probably an hour and a half going into a few stores and trying some things on, but not actually buying anything.
After that I decided that since I saw a 13A bus that I knew was heading back towards the office, I'd just walk there using the busses as my guides. It was sunny out and eventually I put my jacket in my bag and enjoyed the sunny walk back to the campus. Around 10:30 I got hungry for lunch so I stopped at a Döner restaurant and ordered their vegetarian sandwich. It was so good! In between a really soft roll were grilled onions and mushrooms topped with feta cheese, tomato slices, lettuce, yogurt sauce, and pepper. Once I finished that I kept following the passing busses to the office. I stopped at a Billa to grab some Golden delicious apples too for snacks later on.
I arrived at the Institute about a half of an hour later and went inside. I printed off some sheet music that I had been practicing in my computer and then headed to the piano to start working on it again. I played for about 45 minutes then decided that it'd probably be a goo idea to go back to my dorm and do my laundry. It's tricky doing laundry here because to the (approximately) 220 students living here there are only 2 washing machines and one dryer. It makes for a lot of waiting and passive aggressively moving someone else's laundry due to the fact that they're 10 minutes late to get their laundry.
I took the SB43 to the U6 and got off an the Westbahnhof. I headed up to my room just as Christoph was leaving to go to class. I took my laundry downstairs to the basement only to discover that each of the two washing machines still had about a hour to go on their cycles. So I took my stuff back upstairs and set an alarm on my phone so I would be downstairs right when the other laundry-doers where there to change their loads. I decided to take time working in my blog.
When my alarm went off I grabbed my things and booked it downstairs. One washing machine was already being loaded and the other still had laundry in it, but was finished with its cycle. After about 5 minutes of patiently waiting for the owner to come and claim their laundry, I moved it all out onto the top of the washing machine and put my things in. I stayed around for another 5 minutes once the cycle had started to make sure that I had selected the right program, then went upstairs again and set another alarm.
When my alarm went off and I went downstairs to change the load, I saw that the dryer was currently out of service. (Grumble, grumble, grumble...) So I loaded everything back into my laundry bag and took it all upstairs to dry. I hung my socks out of my desk drawers, jeans on the window, my sheets over my suitcase and anything else where it could dry. Then I had to get ready for the night.
At 5:20 I left my room to get to the same area as the Central College office, because I had an audition for the Vienna University choir. There were seven guys there and the director went around to us individually to hear us sing. The first guy, an Italian studying here, could understand most of what the director was saying, but not all of the technical terms so then the director started speaking (from what I could tell) perfect Italian. When he got to me had asked whether or not I had had singing lessons. I said yes. He then said "Your teacher is a soprano, right?". I was floored. Yup. He told me that I have a habit of singing like a soprano in terms of my muscular techniques and that because of that training I have been vocally castrating myself (Yeesh!). He worked with me for a few minutes on getting a full sound and then moved on to the others in the group. He had me read some music first so that I could go because he knew that I was going to see Die Fledermaus (The Bat) at the Volksoper in less than 30 minutes. He told me that practice was on Wednesday night at 8:00 and that he'd see me there.
After that I ran to the SB 41, about a mile and a half away, and took it to the Volksoper. I got my ticket from the reservation desk and took my place in the standing room in the back of the theatre. The show started and Stephen got there 10 minutes later. After the first act, we both found places to sit for the remaining two acts. After the show we separated and took transit back to our dorms.
When I got back to Haus Bürgenland 3 I went upstairs and got Andy. We knocked on Anneke and Janaya's doors (they weren't there) and walked to Haus Salzburg. We called up to Jesse's room and had him let us in. We headed upstairs to the kitchen on the 5th floor where everyone already was: Janaya, Anneke, Paithan, Tony, and Stephen.
Since I had made dinner last week for Stephen, Andy, and myself, Stephen said he'd do the same for us this week. So while the rest of us were chatting, Stephen was cooking salmon, rice, and mixed vegetables and it was a really good meal! We all hung out until about 2:00AM then I decided to go back to the dorm with Andy. I had to be quiet so as not to wake up Christoph while I made my way through my self-created jungle of dry/ drying clothes and made my bed. Then it was finally off to bed.
Since it was still early when I left the Plasmazentrum I headed across the street to a small cafe where I had a breakfast cappuccino and a glass of water. I thought about what, since it was (technically) the weekend, I should do with my morning. I decided to walk along Mariahilferstraße, which is the major shopping strip in Vienna, and do some window shopping. I walked around for probably an hour and a half going into a few stores and trying some things on, but not actually buying anything.
After that I decided that since I saw a 13A bus that I knew was heading back towards the office, I'd just walk there using the busses as my guides. It was sunny out and eventually I put my jacket in my bag and enjoyed the sunny walk back to the campus. Around 10:30 I got hungry for lunch so I stopped at a Döner restaurant and ordered their vegetarian sandwich. It was so good! In between a really soft roll were grilled onions and mushrooms topped with feta cheese, tomato slices, lettuce, yogurt sauce, and pepper. Once I finished that I kept following the passing busses to the office. I stopped at a Billa to grab some Golden delicious apples too for snacks later on.
I arrived at the Institute about a half of an hour later and went inside. I printed off some sheet music that I had been practicing in my computer and then headed to the piano to start working on it again. I played for about 45 minutes then decided that it'd probably be a goo idea to go back to my dorm and do my laundry. It's tricky doing laundry here because to the (approximately) 220 students living here there are only 2 washing machines and one dryer. It makes for a lot of waiting and passive aggressively moving someone else's laundry due to the fact that they're 10 minutes late to get their laundry.
I took the SB43 to the U6 and got off an the Westbahnhof. I headed up to my room just as Christoph was leaving to go to class. I took my laundry downstairs to the basement only to discover that each of the two washing machines still had about a hour to go on their cycles. So I took my stuff back upstairs and set an alarm on my phone so I would be downstairs right when the other laundry-doers where there to change their loads. I decided to take time working in my blog.
When my alarm went off I grabbed my things and booked it downstairs. One washing machine was already being loaded and the other still had laundry in it, but was finished with its cycle. After about 5 minutes of patiently waiting for the owner to come and claim their laundry, I moved it all out onto the top of the washing machine and put my things in. I stayed around for another 5 minutes once the cycle had started to make sure that I had selected the right program, then went upstairs again and set another alarm.
When my alarm went off and I went downstairs to change the load, I saw that the dryer was currently out of service. (Grumble, grumble, grumble...) So I loaded everything back into my laundry bag and took it all upstairs to dry. I hung my socks out of my desk drawers, jeans on the window, my sheets over my suitcase and anything else where it could dry. Then I had to get ready for the night.
At 5:20 I left my room to get to the same area as the Central College office, because I had an audition for the Vienna University choir. There were seven guys there and the director went around to us individually to hear us sing. The first guy, an Italian studying here, could understand most of what the director was saying, but not all of the technical terms so then the director started speaking (from what I could tell) perfect Italian. When he got to me had asked whether or not I had had singing lessons. I said yes. He then said "Your teacher is a soprano, right?". I was floored. Yup. He told me that I have a habit of singing like a soprano in terms of my muscular techniques and that because of that training I have been vocally castrating myself (Yeesh!). He worked with me for a few minutes on getting a full sound and then moved on to the others in the group. He had me read some music first so that I could go because he knew that I was going to see Die Fledermaus (The Bat) at the Volksoper in less than 30 minutes. He told me that practice was on Wednesday night at 8:00 and that he'd see me there.
After that I ran to the SB 41, about a mile and a half away, and took it to the Volksoper. I got my ticket from the reservation desk and took my place in the standing room in the back of the theatre. The show started and Stephen got there 10 minutes later. After the first act, we both found places to sit for the remaining two acts. After the show we separated and took transit back to our dorms.
When I got back to Haus Bürgenland 3 I went upstairs and got Andy. We knocked on Anneke and Janaya's doors (they weren't there) and walked to Haus Salzburg. We called up to Jesse's room and had him let us in. We headed upstairs to the kitchen on the 5th floor where everyone already was: Janaya, Anneke, Paithan, Tony, and Stephen.
Since I had made dinner last week for Stephen, Andy, and myself, Stephen said he'd do the same for us this week. So while the rest of us were chatting, Stephen was cooking salmon, rice, and mixed vegetables and it was a really good meal! We all hung out until about 2:00AM then I decided to go back to the dorm with Andy. I had to be quiet so as not to wake up Christoph while I made my way through my self-created jungle of dry/ drying clothes and made my bed. Then it was finally off to bed.
Friday, March 14, 2014
Day 38
Yesterday I woke up late, because my first class of the day was at 2:45 - Britain at War. I spent my morning in my room getting everything on my desk finally organized into nice, neat stacks and into drawers. Once I did eventually get out of my room, I went straight to the University to figure out where my class would be. It took me about a half hour to get to the University and then another 15 minutes to figure out where my class was.
I ate my lunch that I had bought at the train station: olive bread with feta cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and an olive aioli sauce. After lunch I headed to the reading room in the library and worked there for about an hour and a half translating the play that I had to read for Monday. My alarm went off telling me that there was 30 minutes before my class so I packed up my things and decided to go to my classroom and wait outside.
The classroom was big enough for about 20 people, but when it came time to start the class I would say that about 50 people were there. The professor called off the names of those who were registered to take the course and asked us to go stand in the hall. Anyone left afterwards was told that they didn't have a place in the class and that they would have to leave. After they cleared out, the rest of us filed back in and took our seats.
Our professor introduced himself and told us that for next week we had to write two pages on our favorite period of history so he could see how good our English was. Then he said that by the end of the semester we would be required to write a 10 page paper for the class, but the catch was that it didn't have to be turned in until the Winter Semester a.k.a. November. Hmm...
Even though class was in English, I spent the entire time scribbling notes down. We were going through the history of Britain's army compared to others as well as the British armies of colonial times as well as in World Wars 1 & 2. It was intense! Also, the professor has a very thick Irish accent which didn't help in the general comprehension of his speech.
After class I went back to the Central office and relaxed for a bit. The next class was the historical part of Austria in Context taught by Dr. Eschenmüller. We learned about the beginning of Austria until the time of the Habsburgs. It was a very interesting lecture, but afterwards I was tired! I headed back to my dorm where I made dinner with Anneke, Janaya, and Jesse. Afterwards I headed to bed!
I ate my lunch that I had bought at the train station: olive bread with feta cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and an olive aioli sauce. After lunch I headed to the reading room in the library and worked there for about an hour and a half translating the play that I had to read for Monday. My alarm went off telling me that there was 30 minutes before my class so I packed up my things and decided to go to my classroom and wait outside.
The classroom was big enough for about 20 people, but when it came time to start the class I would say that about 50 people were there. The professor called off the names of those who were registered to take the course and asked us to go stand in the hall. Anyone left afterwards was told that they didn't have a place in the class and that they would have to leave. After they cleared out, the rest of us filed back in and took our seats.
Our professor introduced himself and told us that for next week we had to write two pages on our favorite period of history so he could see how good our English was. Then he said that by the end of the semester we would be required to write a 10 page paper for the class, but the catch was that it didn't have to be turned in until the Winter Semester a.k.a. November. Hmm...
Even though class was in English, I spent the entire time scribbling notes down. We were going through the history of Britain's army compared to others as well as the British armies of colonial times as well as in World Wars 1 & 2. It was intense! Also, the professor has a very thick Irish accent which didn't help in the general comprehension of his speech.
After class I went back to the Central office and relaxed for a bit. The next class was the historical part of Austria in Context taught by Dr. Eschenmüller. We learned about the beginning of Austria until the time of the Habsburgs. It was a very interesting lecture, but afterwards I was tired! I headed back to my dorm where I made dinner with Anneke, Janaya, and Jesse. Afterwards I headed to bed!
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Day 37
This morning I woke up at around 8:00 and got ready to go to Austria in Context. I arrived early but that was in order to be able to make my ritual peppermint tea for class. We reviewed the basic topics that we had gone over in the last week's class and then created posters for out meeting with the students from the Vienna Business school next week. They'll be traveling to America so it's our job as the ones with the insider information to give them a good, accurate view of America.
Class got done around 11:40 and I immediately headed to the Straßenbahn stop. I took it to the U2 and took the U2 to Karlsplatz, because I was meeting a mutual friend Suzanne Preston at the American Institute where she teaches. I was a bit late due to some confusion on the location, but eventually found where the Institute was. I went inside and met Suzanne. She had a quick 10 minutes meeting to attend to so I found a table in the common area and read up about the Institute.
Once her meeting was done, Suzanne and I talked for probably about an hour if not more. It was good to finally establish a connection besides the ones that I have with Ruth and Michaela. Afterwards I headed back to the Institute to get my things ready for the Literature class at 5:30. That meant that I had a little free time on my hands. For a time I played the piano, perused through Facebook, and watched the latest episode of Glee. Yes, I still watch it when I have the chance...
When 5:30 rolled around everyone went into the classroom and we stayed there until 8:00. We got our assignment of reading a short story for next week. My only worry is that it doesn't look very short. Oh well... Afterwards, I headed home and cleaned up my desk. It had become a bit of a mess with disorganized papers and clothes, but I put away the clothes and organized the papers into neat piles and now I am actually using my desk!
Before I head to bed I know that I have to get some homework done so that if I want to go out this weekend I can actually do so without feeling guilty. I think that I'll head to the University library tomorrow around lunch time. I'll have my Britain at War class in the same building so it'll be a good place for me to get some work done and it'll give me time to figure out where my class is! All in all though it should be a good day. Today was good, but near the end I got tired and (sadly) I slipped back into speaking English for a bit, but tomorrow is a fresh new day without any mistakes and I'm excited!
Class got done around 11:40 and I immediately headed to the Straßenbahn stop. I took it to the U2 and took the U2 to Karlsplatz, because I was meeting a mutual friend Suzanne Preston at the American Institute where she teaches. I was a bit late due to some confusion on the location, but eventually found where the Institute was. I went inside and met Suzanne. She had a quick 10 minutes meeting to attend to so I found a table in the common area and read up about the Institute.
Once her meeting was done, Suzanne and I talked for probably about an hour if not more. It was good to finally establish a connection besides the ones that I have with Ruth and Michaela. Afterwards I headed back to the Institute to get my things ready for the Literature class at 5:30. That meant that I had a little free time on my hands. For a time I played the piano, perused through Facebook, and watched the latest episode of Glee. Yes, I still watch it when I have the chance...
When 5:30 rolled around everyone went into the classroom and we stayed there until 8:00. We got our assignment of reading a short story for next week. My only worry is that it doesn't look very short. Oh well... Afterwards, I headed home and cleaned up my desk. It had become a bit of a mess with disorganized papers and clothes, but I put away the clothes and organized the papers into neat piles and now I am actually using my desk!
Before I head to bed I know that I have to get some homework done so that if I want to go out this weekend I can actually do so without feeling guilty. I think that I'll head to the University library tomorrow around lunch time. I'll have my Britain at War class in the same building so it'll be a good place for me to get some work done and it'll give me time to figure out where my class is! All in all though it should be a good day. Today was good, but near the end I got tired and (sadly) I slipped back into speaking English for a bit, but tomorrow is a fresh new day without any mistakes and I'm excited!
Day 36
I woke up this morning at 7:30 and decided that I might as well get ready for the day considering that I still had a little homework to do and that I had class at 10:00.
I took the U6 and the SB43 to the office as usual and sat down in the spare room to do my homework. I picked through the records and listened to Rachmaninov and Vivaldi while I did my work. Eventually 10:00 came around and I realized that I didn't have class until 2:00 so I decided that I would take the Der Streit, a play that I have to read for Monday's theater class, to Gasthaus Heidenkummer with me. Gasthaus Heidenkummer had been recommended to me by a professor at Wabash who had spent a great deal of time in Vienna. It's was only a little more than half a mile away so I decided that I would order a coffee, a light lunch, and do homework until it was time for class. Sadly, when I got there I saw a sign on the door that said that they were closed because of a birthday. So I decided to take a different path home.
I stopped by a bakery and bought a small veggie pizza baguette and then went to Spar and found a veggie and curry meal that I brought back to the office for lunch. After lunch, Stephen arrived at the office. We started working in the spare room and he put on his new Carpenters record. When 2:00 rolled around Michaela came in with Anneke, Erica, and Janaya and we began our grammar, stylistics, and idiomatics class.
After class, I gathered my things and headed home. When I got back to my room I ditched my things, grabbed my dinner supplies, and headed to the kitchen to make one of my salads. Afterwards, as I was heading back to my room, I saw Andy heading up the stairs. I stopped him and we chatted for a while. I went back to my room.
About an hour and a half later he knocked on my door to let me know that there was a party downstairs that started at 9:00. I said that I would be up for it once I got changed. He came back about 10 minutes later. He had spoken with Janaya and Anneke and they had said that they wanted to go to the party at around 9:45. So the four of us met in the lobby at 9:45 and headed down to the basement where the party was taking place.
There were perhaps 10 people there. It was a very chill gathering, but it had great music. Anneke, Andy, Janaya, and I had a chance to catch up on what the others had been doing over the past week or so. Since we all have different class schedules we are never, but a few times a week in class, guaranteed that we'll actually get a chance to talk to each other. I probably stayed until 11:20, then decided that I wanted to get to bed before midnight. I headed upstairs and took a shower and headed to bed.
I took the U6 and the SB43 to the office as usual and sat down in the spare room to do my homework. I picked through the records and listened to Rachmaninov and Vivaldi while I did my work. Eventually 10:00 came around and I realized that I didn't have class until 2:00 so I decided that I would take the Der Streit, a play that I have to read for Monday's theater class, to Gasthaus Heidenkummer with me. Gasthaus Heidenkummer had been recommended to me by a professor at Wabash who had spent a great deal of time in Vienna. It's was only a little more than half a mile away so I decided that I would order a coffee, a light lunch, and do homework until it was time for class. Sadly, when I got there I saw a sign on the door that said that they were closed because of a birthday. So I decided to take a different path home.
I stopped by a bakery and bought a small veggie pizza baguette and then went to Spar and found a veggie and curry meal that I brought back to the office for lunch. After lunch, Stephen arrived at the office. We started working in the spare room and he put on his new Carpenters record. When 2:00 rolled around Michaela came in with Anneke, Erica, and Janaya and we began our grammar, stylistics, and idiomatics class.
After class, I gathered my things and headed home. When I got back to my room I ditched my things, grabbed my dinner supplies, and headed to the kitchen to make one of my salads. Afterwards, as I was heading back to my room, I saw Andy heading up the stairs. I stopped him and we chatted for a while. I went back to my room.
About an hour and a half later he knocked on my door to let me know that there was a party downstairs that started at 9:00. I said that I would be up for it once I got changed. He came back about 10 minutes later. He had spoken with Janaya and Anneke and they had said that they wanted to go to the party at around 9:45. So the four of us met in the lobby at 9:45 and headed down to the basement where the party was taking place.
There were perhaps 10 people there. It was a very chill gathering, but it had great music. Anneke, Andy, Janaya, and I had a chance to catch up on what the others had been doing over the past week or so. Since we all have different class schedules we are never, but a few times a week in class, guaranteed that we'll actually get a chance to talk to each other. I probably stayed until 11:20, then decided that I wanted to get to bed before midnight. I headed upstairs and took a shower and headed to bed.
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Day 35
This morning I woke up to my alarm at 7:30. I took my time getting up and eventually took a shower. After my shower I hopped back into bed for a little while and listened to the noises outside. Christoph came in and said hello. He stayed around for about 15 minutes and then headed off to his class at the technological university. I got up, got dressed, and had breakfast.
Andy and I met in the lobby at 9:45 and walked down Mariahilferstraße to the U3 stop. We rode that to the Volktheater exit and saw the theatre immediately when we got up to the street level. We decided that since we were still 25 minutes early we'd stop in at a cafe and get a little treat. Our professor was there so we exchanged pleasantries and then sat down at a booth. I ordered a hot chocolate and Andy ordered a cafe latte. We left shortly after our professor in order to meet at the Volkstheater at the appropriate time.
When we got there we were led inside where we were taken into an upper level lounge. Some sort of assistant lady gave us an interview about her role in the theatre and how they go about deciding which plays to put on, the struggles in doing so, and everyday goings on in the theater as a whole. After our presentation our professor led us outside where we talked about any confusion that we had had during the interview. Our professor reminded us that we have to read a play for next week and then left.
Andy, Stephen, Erica, and I headed to the office. Once there, Stephen played his new Carpenters record that he had gotten and Andy headed to Billa across the quad. When Andy got back I asked them if they wanted to go see Die Fledermaus on Friday night as well as Kiss Me Kate on Monday. They said yes so I bought our tickets and then collected what they owed me. I decided that I would head back to my dorm to work on my homework and have lunch.
Lunch happened first, but then I got to work. I was casually listening to the Carpenters through my headphones when I decided that it might be nice to take a nap for a little while. I think I slept for about an hour and a half (maybe two hours). I even had a dream that I met my grandmother Thompson and that she sang to me. I think that I may refrain from listening to the Carpenters when I nap in the future.It was certainly an odd experience!
Afterwards I started to work on my homework again and, for a short time, my blog entries. Once it got later, I set my homework aside and decided to read up on one of my favorite blogs called The Art of Manliness. I read through some on the posts one there for about an hour and then headed to sleep.
Andy and I met in the lobby at 9:45 and walked down Mariahilferstraße to the U3 stop. We rode that to the Volktheater exit and saw the theatre immediately when we got up to the street level. We decided that since we were still 25 minutes early we'd stop in at a cafe and get a little treat. Our professor was there so we exchanged pleasantries and then sat down at a booth. I ordered a hot chocolate and Andy ordered a cafe latte. We left shortly after our professor in order to meet at the Volkstheater at the appropriate time.
When we got there we were led inside where we were taken into an upper level lounge. Some sort of assistant lady gave us an interview about her role in the theatre and how they go about deciding which plays to put on, the struggles in doing so, and everyday goings on in the theater as a whole. After our presentation our professor led us outside where we talked about any confusion that we had had during the interview. Our professor reminded us that we have to read a play for next week and then left.
Andy, Stephen, Erica, and I headed to the office. Once there, Stephen played his new Carpenters record that he had gotten and Andy headed to Billa across the quad. When Andy got back I asked them if they wanted to go see Die Fledermaus on Friday night as well as Kiss Me Kate on Monday. They said yes so I bought our tickets and then collected what they owed me. I decided that I would head back to my dorm to work on my homework and have lunch.
Lunch happened first, but then I got to work. I was casually listening to the Carpenters through my headphones when I decided that it might be nice to take a nap for a little while. I think I slept for about an hour and a half (maybe two hours). I even had a dream that I met my grandmother Thompson and that she sang to me. I think that I may refrain from listening to the Carpenters when I nap in the future.It was certainly an odd experience!
Afterwards I started to work on my homework again and, for a short time, my blog entries. Once it got later, I set my homework aside and decided to read up on one of my favorite blogs called The Art of Manliness. I read through some on the posts one there for about an hour and then headed to sleep.
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Day 34
Today was a lazy, but good day. When I came home last night I found out that Christoph had already left to go back home so I slept the entire night with the window open (nice and chilly)! When I woke up I had a pickle of a time trying to figure out what time it actually was. I was trying to figure out whether I was supposed to be adding or subtracting an hour from the time. Eventually I just went back to sleep. When I woke up for real I checked Facebook and read that Austria won't have its daylight-savings time for about 3 weeks. I decided to take a shower and have a slow morning.
I looked up movies in German on Youtube and eventually found The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe on there in German. I watched that and listened to the sounds from the street outside. When my movie was done I switched to German music on Spotify and cleaned up the room a little.
For lunch I decided to make some gourmet spaghetti. I sliced up an onion, a few potatoes, a few mushrooms, and a red pepper that had to go soon and sautéed them in some olive oil. Since I only have a pan right now I emptied the veggies into a spare bowl and put water in the pan to boil for my spaghetti. However, while the spaghetti was cooking, I ate the veggies. So, once the noodles were done I put a a little pesto on them instead.
I went back to my room and did some homework. Kelsey called via Skype and we talked for over an hour. At one point we were laughing so hard that we both were tearing up. It felt good to be that kind of happy again. It's the same feeling of waking up to a perfect day after a good sleep; it's just so purifying.
I decided to work on my blog again, since I was a few days behind. Ally and I chatted via Viber and talked about how she was starting to notice how close Easter was getting on her calendar. She was also told me about how she had worked with the Spring Break groups last week, how cold it was, and how she was grateful that she would be working at the office this week. We hung up and I called Mother via FaceTime. We talked for about 10 minutes then I got back to work on my blog with the help of my German playlist.
I finished just after midnight and then went to bed.
Day 33
I got up around 8:50 and made my way to the U6 platform at the train station by 9:30. I met Stephen and Andy there and we hopped on a train to Karlsplatz. Once we hopped off at the station it took us a little while to find the Naschmarkt, but eventually we did! It was probably about a mile long, filled with fresh food stalls, spice stores, and clothing shops.
We meandered from the start all the way to the end. Andy and I lost Stephen about ¾ of the way through due to a guy selling old records. He probably spent a good 45 minutes there, but walked away as the proud owner of a Carpenters record and a Chicago record.
I accidentally haggled for a belt. The guy at the stall saw that I was eyeing a belt and said that I could buy it for €15. I told him that I would walk around the market and then see him later, but then he kept on insisting. Thinking that I only had €9 with me, I told him that I didn't have enough and would need to come back. He kept on insisting and when I told him that I had €9, he said that he'd sell it to me to that price. Sadly (but not sadly), I had forgotten that I had also brought along about €6 more in change. So when I was paying him and selecting coins from my hand to give him, he clearly saw that I was lying (oops!).
When we got hungry we ended up stopping at a stand and getting a box of noodles (with veggies for me and meat for Andy and Stephen). We sat down on the overpass of the U-bahn and ate our lunches. Afterwards we took the U-bahn to Haus Salzburg where Stephen dropped off his groceries. We went to his room and he started listening to music and farting around on his computer. Andy was busying himself with his phone so I laid down on the floor and napped for a bit. We ended up staying there for an hour. I woke up when I heard one of them mention my name. We got ready to go.
We took the U4 to the U1 and took that to the Belvedere Palace. Stephen had read that the alpine garden there was the oldest in Europe and very beautiful on a sunny day. When we got to the palace we sat on the steps of upper Belvedere looking out over the courtyard (which had to be at least a ¾ of a mile long) towards lower Belevedere. We sat there and talked about how much nicer it'll all look when it's actually spring and how much we'd like to take our families there.
After about 15 minutes there we looked around for the alpine garden. Sadly it was closed, but we did get to take a peek inside before we left. We ended up taking the 13A bus back towards the office. On the way we stopped at Bar Salzburg to ask where to buy a specific beer that they had. We got directions to a local grocery store and found the same brand there but sadly not the specific beer. :-(
We headed to the office and watched Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark in German. Andy had to answer a phone call at one point so Stephen and I played darts and switched to watching The Sound of Music. Once Andy came back, we finished the movie and then headed home.
We meandered from the start all the way to the end. Andy and I lost Stephen about ¾ of the way through due to a guy selling old records. He probably spent a good 45 minutes there, but walked away as the proud owner of a Carpenters record and a Chicago record.
I accidentally haggled for a belt. The guy at the stall saw that I was eyeing a belt and said that I could buy it for €15. I told him that I would walk around the market and then see him later, but then he kept on insisting. Thinking that I only had €9 with me, I told him that I didn't have enough and would need to come back. He kept on insisting and when I told him that I had €9, he said that he'd sell it to me to that price. Sadly (but not sadly), I had forgotten that I had also brought along about €6 more in change. So when I was paying him and selecting coins from my hand to give him, he clearly saw that I was lying (oops!).
When we got hungry we ended up stopping at a stand and getting a box of noodles (with veggies for me and meat for Andy and Stephen). We sat down on the overpass of the U-bahn and ate our lunches. Afterwards we took the U-bahn to Haus Salzburg where Stephen dropped off his groceries. We went to his room and he started listening to music and farting around on his computer. Andy was busying himself with his phone so I laid down on the floor and napped for a bit. We ended up staying there for an hour. I woke up when I heard one of them mention my name. We got ready to go.
We took the U4 to the U1 and took that to the Belvedere Palace. Stephen had read that the alpine garden there was the oldest in Europe and very beautiful on a sunny day. When we got to the palace we sat on the steps of upper Belvedere looking out over the courtyard (which had to be at least a ¾ of a mile long) towards lower Belevedere. We sat there and talked about how much nicer it'll all look when it's actually spring and how much we'd like to take our families there.
After about 15 minutes there we looked around for the alpine garden. Sadly it was closed, but we did get to take a peek inside before we left. We ended up taking the 13A bus back towards the office. On the way we stopped at Bar Salzburg to ask where to buy a specific beer that they had. We got directions to a local grocery store and found the same brand there but sadly not the specific beer. :-(
We headed to the office and watched Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark in German. Andy had to answer a phone call at one point so Stephen and I played darts and switched to watching The Sound of Music. Once Andy came back, we finished the movie and then headed home.
Day 32
Friday morning I slept in again. I am lucky because I don't have classes on Fridays so I didn't actually leave my dorm until noon. Once I got to the office I made a late lunch and played the piano for a while. Eventually I got out my homework and started watching the rest of Frühstück bei Tiffany.
At around 3:00 Michaela said that she was leaving. She said that she was happy to see that I had found a comfortable sofa and that I was watching a German film. She also wished me a happy weekend and a good time at Carmen! She left and I finished the movie. I cleaned up my dishes and then headed back to my dorm.
I took a shower, shaved, brushed my teeth, and got dressed for the show. The plan was to meet Stephen and Andy at the Westbahnhof U6 platform. Stephen was a few minutes late, but that was due to a train delay. We took the U6 up to the Volksoper stop and walked to the opera house.
Stephen picked up our tickets and we headed up to the balcony. We spent the first act in our standing places and then were able to find seats for the second act. All in all I didn't enjoy the performance as much as I thought I would because it had a much more modern feel to it. However, given the opportunity I would go again. But first I'd rather go see Kiss Me Kate again! I think I just like comedies better than dramas.
After that opera, we headed back to Haus Bürgenland (Andy's and my dorm) to make some late dinner. Kels had sent me an email full of meat-free easy to make recipes so I had decided to make a frittata. I started out by caramelizing an onion with some potato chunks, a yellow pepper, and spinach. Then while that was all simmering I mixed 10 eggs with a bag of shredded cheese. Once the veggies were ready, I poured the egg-cheese mix over top and let it cook for two minutes. Then I put it into the preheated oven to cook for another 15 minutes. Once it was ready we cut it up like a pie and ate it all! And boy was it good!
It was about midnight when we were finished. Stephen headed back to Haus Salzburg and Andy and I said goodnight and headed to our rooms. We had made plans to meet up the next day at the U6 platform to go to the Naschmarkt, the open air market.
Day 31
I had a lazy morning getting up slow as I didn’t have anything planned for the day, because my Thursday class at the University won’t start until the 13th.
I got to the office at around noon. I spent a good hour or so playing around on the piano there. For lunch I made another salad and then suddenly my phone started working.
I started watching "Früstück bei Tiffany" before I went to the Rathaus. I got there around 6:30 and Stephen and Andy got there around 7:00 which gave me time to run to the bank to get some cash. Admission plus skate rentals rang up to €13 with a €2 deposit that we would get back once we gave back our admission card.
We put on our skates and headed out onto the rink directly in front of the Rathaus. I hadn't been skating since I was probably 7 years old (10 at the most) so it was pretty slow going at first. However, after a while of arm flailing, I somewhat got the hang of it. The big rink was connected to a second by a set of circular trails that went throughout the park in front of the Rathaus. It took some getting used to, but by the end of the night I was actually feeling somewhat confidant.
Halfway through our time there, they staff closed one of the rinks so that the Zamboni could smooth out the ice again. During this time Andy, Stephen, and I got crepes from the stand next to the rink. Mine was with cinnamon and sugar!
Once the rink opened up again, we headed back out. I headed into the trails with Andy while Stephen was going around the rink. We found out that the other rink had closed so we headed back to the first rink. After a while, we walked out and sat down. Stephen and Andy got punch which packed a punch and I tried a little of theirs. We decided that since my things were still at the office (and since it closes at 9:00 every night) we'd better make our way back. We headed back to the skate rental place and I got my student ID (which I had put down as collateral) back. We turned in our admission cards for the deposit, got our €2 back and headed back towards the office.
When we got there I grabbed my things and we all headed back to Haus Bürgenland where I dropped off my things. We then headed to Haus Salzburg with Anneke and Janaya. From there we walked to Bar Salzburg, the same bar that we had been searching for the previous weekend and had not found. When we got there we went to the non-smoking section and sat down. Stephen, Andy, and I ordered Hirtel Morchels. We chatted for about 45 minutes in German and then decided that it was time to head back to our dorms. Anneke, Janaya, and I were ahead of Stephen and Andy. When we passed Haus Salzburg (where Stephen lives) Andy had to run to catch up with us. We got back to Haus Bürgenland in record time. I headed straight to my room. My feet were sore so I fell asleep very quickly!
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Day 30
I woke up this morning a little before 7:30. I had class at 9:45 and didn't want to take a chance with the trains just in case they were still out of order (they weren't). I got to the office at about 8:40, having left my dorm at 8:20. I sat down at the piano and practiced a few songs that I have on my computer.
At 9:45 we started our Austria In Context class. Ruth, the program director explained the basic overview of the class. Throughout the semester we will taking a historical, political, and geographical look at the country of Austria and specifically the city of Vienna. We took a quiz to see which information concerning Vienna and Austria we actually knew. I didn't know much.
After class I walked with Paithan to the registration office so that he could officially become a temporary citizen of Vienna. It only took him about 5 minutes to go through. Meanwhile I read a newspaper that had been handed to me on the way. I went through underlining words that I didn't know and then translated them with my phone. We headed back to campus and I decided to make lunch. Since I gave up meat for Lent I made a salad with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, peanuts, salt, and pepper and it was surprisingly satisfying! After lunch I watched 500 Days of Summer and rested for a while. I hadn't slept well last night, so I needed a little time to recuperate.
At around 4:00 I went with Andy to Billa and bought supplies for my upcoming meals this weekend including roasted red peppers, grated cheese, eggs, spinach, and mushrooms. We took our things back to the office and then I decided to walk to Handys King (handy is another word for cellphone) to buy a simcard. They had leftover phones from last semester at the office so I decided to use one of them. I bought a card for €15 that gave me 100 minutes or 100 texts to start out. I figured that I could last on that for a long while. I headed back to the office to get myself ready for the German Lit class that started at 5:45.
Our professor gave us out syllabi and went over what we will be expected to do throughout the semester. It sounds like it's going to be a tough class... Tough, but good. After class was over I took the bus to Haus Salzburg with Erica, Paithan, and Jesse because my phone wasn't working and Erica had an extra phone that her old roommate had left behind. She helped me set it up. It still can't call out, but I'll take it to Handys King tomorrow and have the guy there help me with it.
I walked home from Haus Salzburg to Haus Burgenland. It was about a 12 minute walk. The only problem was that since it was dark out I had a pickle of a time trying to be sure that I actually heading the right way. However, after a few second guesses, I eventually found my street again.
I don't really have anything to do tonight because tomorrow I don't have any classes. My University classes begin next week and the history portion of Austria In Context is every other week English and German. Therefore my only plans for tomorrow are to go ice skating in front of the Rathaus (the city hall) at 6:00PM... And yes I checked. They have big enough sakes for me!
Well, that's it! Gute Nacht!
At 9:45 we started our Austria In Context class. Ruth, the program director explained the basic overview of the class. Throughout the semester we will taking a historical, political, and geographical look at the country of Austria and specifically the city of Vienna. We took a quiz to see which information concerning Vienna and Austria we actually knew. I didn't know much.
After class I walked with Paithan to the registration office so that he could officially become a temporary citizen of Vienna. It only took him about 5 minutes to go through. Meanwhile I read a newspaper that had been handed to me on the way. I went through underlining words that I didn't know and then translated them with my phone. We headed back to campus and I decided to make lunch. Since I gave up meat for Lent I made a salad with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, peanuts, salt, and pepper and it was surprisingly satisfying! After lunch I watched 500 Days of Summer and rested for a while. I hadn't slept well last night, so I needed a little time to recuperate.
At around 4:00 I went with Andy to Billa and bought supplies for my upcoming meals this weekend including roasted red peppers, grated cheese, eggs, spinach, and mushrooms. We took our things back to the office and then I decided to walk to Handys King (handy is another word for cellphone) to buy a simcard. They had leftover phones from last semester at the office so I decided to use one of them. I bought a card for €15 that gave me 100 minutes or 100 texts to start out. I figured that I could last on that for a long while. I headed back to the office to get myself ready for the German Lit class that started at 5:45.
Our professor gave us out syllabi and went over what we will be expected to do throughout the semester. It sounds like it's going to be a tough class... Tough, but good. After class was over I took the bus to Haus Salzburg with Erica, Paithan, and Jesse because my phone wasn't working and Erica had an extra phone that her old roommate had left behind. She helped me set it up. It still can't call out, but I'll take it to Handys King tomorrow and have the guy there help me with it.
I walked home from Haus Salzburg to Haus Burgenland. It was about a 12 minute walk. The only problem was that since it was dark out I had a pickle of a time trying to be sure that I actually heading the right way. However, after a few second guesses, I eventually found my street again.
I don't really have anything to do tonight because tomorrow I don't have any classes. My University classes begin next week and the history portion of Austria In Context is every other week English and German. Therefore my only plans for tomorrow are to go ice skating in front of the Rathaus (the city hall) at 6:00PM... And yes I checked. They have big enough sakes for me!
Well, that's it! Gute Nacht!
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Day 29
This morning I woke up as usual around 7:30 and laid in bed while Christoph was taking a shower. I decided to get ready. Stephen, Andy, and I had planned on meeting at the Central office at 9:30 so that we could go register with the city of Vienna.
I grabbed my lunch supplies and headed out the door and walked to the Westbahnhof. I took the U2 to Alserstrasse and took the SB43 to the office. When I got there I went to the piano and played for a while. Stephen was the first to arrive and Andy came a little bit later. I was playing All Of Me on the piano and Stephen joined in singing while I played. There's also a guitar in the office so a little bit later Andy picked it up and started playing Puff the Magic Dragon. It was great!
We ended up leaving the office at around 11:00 to go to the registration office which was about a 10 minute walk away. Once we got there we took numbers and waited to be called. When I was called in, I went to the office and handed the man there my paperwork and my passport. He entered my information into the system and then printed off my confirmation of residency. Andy and Stephen were after me and got through within 10 minutes. Afterwards we left and hopped on the SB5 to head back to the office.
We got off two stops later and went to a restaurant called Asia World that Ruth and Michaela had recommended yesterday. You can buy a 500ml to go container and fill it up with stuff from the buffet and it's only €4! So that's exactly what we did. I filled my container with some fish, rice, fried chicken, curry chicken, sweet and sour sauce, and a beef dish! We took our containers back to the office and ate our meals. With that as a meal option once a week I can say that I will be getting better at using chopsticks soon!
After lunch I walked over to the University Library to get my student library card. I handed the worker my student ID along with the verification of residency and he put a barcode sticker on my student ID. I walked around looking for my classrooms. I'll have my history class there starting next week. I couldn't find the classroom, but it wasn't that big of a deal so I walked back to the Central office.
Back at the office I made peppermint tea and got ready for the Grammar, Stylistics, and Idiomatics class with Michaela. The class lasted two and a half hours, but I didn't want it to end. We discussed the differences between written and spoken German, the difference between dialects and where they originally came from as well as fun phrases. At the end I told Michaela that I had an English joke for her. It went as follows:
Knock, knock
Who's there?
To
To who?
No... To whom!
Right as she said "to who" she got the joke! I didn't even have to deliver the punch line. I was so impressed and happy that she had understood the joke. She assigned a lot of homework, but I decided that really that was more than okay because I want to learn as much as possible here and this week, being the introductory week, shouldn't be all that bad.
After class I waited around for Andy to get done with his class. Charlotte asked if I would d go with her to the Westbahnhof to register for a discount coupon valid for all trains in Austria. I said that I was going there anyway so we took the SB43 to Alserstrasse and walked to the U6 platform where we waited for the train to come. It didn't. Something had happened which was causing the trains to not work so she and I hopped back on the SB43 (we had to skip the first strassenbahn because it was so full) and took it back to Langegasse where the Central office is. Then we took the SB5 all the way to the Westbahnhof. It was SO crowded, but we eventually made it.
When we got off I told her where to go to get her discount processed then I sprinted off towards the Raimann Theatre. It isn't far from my dormitory so it wasn't too hard to find. I had tickets waiting for me and Jesse to go see Der Besuch Der Alten Dame the musical. I had read the play last year in German class so I was excited to see an adaptation of a story that I already knew so well. However, when I got to the theatre I found out that Der Besuch Der Alten Dame was not playing there. It was back in the first district near Karlsplatz and the Ubahn trains were still down so I walked back to my dorm and went to Andy's room. We decided that since it was my last night of eating meat (I'm giving up English and meat for lent) we might as well go crazy and get a good last meal. We went to KFC! Yeah... Who would have ever thought that there would be a KFC in Vienna a world famous capitol city of Europe? Not me for sure.
We walked to Mariahilferstrasse, which is only 3 minutes away from our dorm, and found KFC. We split a bucket with fries and cokes to drink. It was so delicious, but I had forgotten that gross sticky feeling your fingers get when you're finally done eating the chicken that no amount of dry napkins can fix. Yuck! Afterwards we thought we might get lucky with the Ubahn and that the trains might be running again so we went to the nearest U3 stop. Still not working... So we headed home. I headed to my room to take a shower and got ready for bed.
Even though I am bummed that I wasn't able to make it to see Der Besuch Der Alten Dame tonight I know that I can see it at some other time. Plus, Stephen wasn't able to join us tonight due to the conflict of one of his classes. We'll be going to see Carmen on Friday evening at the Volksoper and I already know where that is. So all is well.
Goodnight all!
I grabbed my lunch supplies and headed out the door and walked to the Westbahnhof. I took the U2 to Alserstrasse and took the SB43 to the office. When I got there I went to the piano and played for a while. Stephen was the first to arrive and Andy came a little bit later. I was playing All Of Me on the piano and Stephen joined in singing while I played. There's also a guitar in the office so a little bit later Andy picked it up and started playing Puff the Magic Dragon. It was great!
We ended up leaving the office at around 11:00 to go to the registration office which was about a 10 minute walk away. Once we got there we took numbers and waited to be called. When I was called in, I went to the office and handed the man there my paperwork and my passport. He entered my information into the system and then printed off my confirmation of residency. Andy and Stephen were after me and got through within 10 minutes. Afterwards we left and hopped on the SB5 to head back to the office.
We got off two stops later and went to a restaurant called Asia World that Ruth and Michaela had recommended yesterday. You can buy a 500ml to go container and fill it up with stuff from the buffet and it's only €4! So that's exactly what we did. I filled my container with some fish, rice, fried chicken, curry chicken, sweet and sour sauce, and a beef dish! We took our containers back to the office and ate our meals. With that as a meal option once a week I can say that I will be getting better at using chopsticks soon!
After lunch I walked over to the University Library to get my student library card. I handed the worker my student ID along with the verification of residency and he put a barcode sticker on my student ID. I walked around looking for my classrooms. I'll have my history class there starting next week. I couldn't find the classroom, but it wasn't that big of a deal so I walked back to the Central office.
Back at the office I made peppermint tea and got ready for the Grammar, Stylistics, and Idiomatics class with Michaela. The class lasted two and a half hours, but I didn't want it to end. We discussed the differences between written and spoken German, the difference between dialects and where they originally came from as well as fun phrases. At the end I told Michaela that I had an English joke for her. It went as follows:
Knock, knock
Who's there?
To
To who?
No... To whom!
Right as she said "to who" she got the joke! I didn't even have to deliver the punch line. I was so impressed and happy that she had understood the joke. She assigned a lot of homework, but I decided that really that was more than okay because I want to learn as much as possible here and this week, being the introductory week, shouldn't be all that bad.
After class I waited around for Andy to get done with his class. Charlotte asked if I would d go with her to the Westbahnhof to register for a discount coupon valid for all trains in Austria. I said that I was going there anyway so we took the SB43 to Alserstrasse and walked to the U6 platform where we waited for the train to come. It didn't. Something had happened which was causing the trains to not work so she and I hopped back on the SB43 (we had to skip the first strassenbahn because it was so full) and took it back to Langegasse where the Central office is. Then we took the SB5 all the way to the Westbahnhof. It was SO crowded, but we eventually made it.
When we got off I told her where to go to get her discount processed then I sprinted off towards the Raimann Theatre. It isn't far from my dormitory so it wasn't too hard to find. I had tickets waiting for me and Jesse to go see Der Besuch Der Alten Dame the musical. I had read the play last year in German class so I was excited to see an adaptation of a story that I already knew so well. However, when I got to the theatre I found out that Der Besuch Der Alten Dame was not playing there. It was back in the first district near Karlsplatz and the Ubahn trains were still down so I walked back to my dorm and went to Andy's room. We decided that since it was my last night of eating meat (I'm giving up English and meat for lent) we might as well go crazy and get a good last meal. We went to KFC! Yeah... Who would have ever thought that there would be a KFC in Vienna a world famous capitol city of Europe? Not me for sure.
We walked to Mariahilferstrasse, which is only 3 minutes away from our dorm, and found KFC. We split a bucket with fries and cokes to drink. It was so delicious, but I had forgotten that gross sticky feeling your fingers get when you're finally done eating the chicken that no amount of dry napkins can fix. Yuck! Afterwards we thought we might get lucky with the Ubahn and that the trains might be running again so we went to the nearest U3 stop. Still not working... So we headed home. I headed to my room to take a shower and got ready for bed.
Even though I am bummed that I wasn't able to make it to see Der Besuch Der Alten Dame tonight I know that I can see it at some other time. Plus, Stephen wasn't able to join us tonight due to the conflict of one of his classes. We'll be going to see Carmen on Friday evening at the Volksoper and I already know where that is. So all is well.
Goodnight all!
Monday, March 3, 2014
Day 28
This morning I got up at 7:30 and got dressed. Andy and I had planned on meeting at the Hausleiterin’s office at 8:00 to ask about some paperwork that we had to fill out. I went upstairs and saw that the office opened at 9:00 so I went to Andy’s room and told him that about the opening time for the office. So I went back to my room and started watching Skyfall.
30 minutes in, my roommate walked in. His name is Christoph and he goes away on the weekends back home which is an hour away in Bürgenland. We talked for a bit then I started to get my things packed for class. I met Andy upstairs at 9:00 and we got our papers turned in to the Hausleiterin. Afterwards we headed back to our rooms and agreed to meet at the Central office. I packed a few things for lunch, put them in my bag, then walked to the train station.
When I got to the office, I made some tea, put my things in the fridge and took a seat in our theatre classroom. The class is on theatre in theory and in practice. During the whole thing I was writing down new words that I wanted to remember. I filled up a good page and a half, but despite that I understood everything fairly well.
After class I had lunch and then had an academic advising meeting with Ruth. We looked at my class schedule and then the possibility of me volunteering at a local vineyard. Since an internship wouldn’t transfer back to Wabash and since I already have so many possible classes it wouldn’t be smart for me to do that anyway.
After our advising session I waited for Stephen to be done with his. Then walked around campus looking for where our classes would be held. We both found our within 20 minutes and then we headed to Billa (a grocery store) to do some shopping. We saw Charlotte and Max there. We said goodbye and then took the public transit to the Westbahnhof where I got off. I headed to Hofer to buy some tin foil and rolls. Then I headed for my dorm.
Once I got there I realized that instead of buying tuna I had bought some sort of beef paste so I brought it back to the local Billa and exchanged it for tuna, salad greens, and cream of mushroom soup. I headed back to the dorm and made dinner. I took a hollowed out green pepper and stuffed it with garlic pesto spaghetti and sausage. It tasted great! After that I headed back to my room, took my shower, finished Skyfall, and my journal! It’ll be time for bed soon!
Guten Abend!
Day 27
Sunday I woke up, got dressed, and met Andy in the lobby. From there we walked to the Westbahnhof and met Stephen at the U4 platform. We switched to the U3 towards Stephansplatz. We got off of the train there and then preceded to go inside the St. Stephansdom (or St. Stephen’s church) and found seats. We were a bit early, but it was good because that meant that we actually got decent seats.
When the service was underway all I could think about was how confused I was. It was a nice service, but it seemed like there was a lot of standing up, sitting down, and burning incense. The service was about an hour and fifteen minutes long. Afterwards Stephen, Andy and I took the U-bahn to the Volkstheatre. We got Döner-boxes and walked around looking for the Volksoper. We ended up wandering for about an hour without any luck. After a while we got an address and we agreed that we’d meet there later. I told Andy and Stephen that I needed to actually see the Volksoper to be able to feel easy so I went on without them.
We separated at Karlsplatz and I took the train to Stadtpark where the address was supposed to be near. I asked around for a where the Volksoper was and everyone kept saying that it was in the 9th district. Eventually I went to the opera house nearby and asked again where the Volksoper was. The man there once again directed me to the 9th district. So I headed to the U-bahn stop.
I took the U4 to the U6 and saw on the train map that one of the points on the map was labeled as Volksoper. I went there and found the building. I asked the man there when I could get my tickets. He said that I could pick them up an hour before the performance. Since I finally felt good I headed back to the Westbahnhof and made my way to my dorm. I immediately Facebooked Stephen and told him that the Volkoper was on the U6 stop. Then I went to tell the same thing to Andy.
Andy and I met about 20 minutes later in the lobby and walked to the Westbahnhof where we boarded the U6, took it to the U4, and stopped at Pilgramsgasse. We waited there for about 10 minutes then decided to go to the theatre anyway. We got there around 3:50 and I claimed the tickets that had been held in my name. Andy and I walked around looking for free wifi (a rarity in Europe) and found some by a Chinese restaurant. We messaged Stephen and Jesse and gave them specific directions for when they finally got wifi.
When it was about 15 minutes until showtime, we headed in and took our spots at a rail behind the seats in the back of the theatre. We watched the first act and then exited to the lobby at intermission. Jesse, Stephen, and Paithan were there. They had eventually gotten to wifi and gotten our directions. They had arrived only five minutes before the intermission.
We all went inside and Stephen and I went to the left side of the theatre. After the second song, we grabbed two empty seats and watched the rest of the play from there. Once the show was done we took the U6 back to the Westbahnhof and grabbed a bite to eat there. Almost all shops are closed on Sundays except for those at the train station. We stopped at an Italian restaurant and I had a carbonara dish. Afterwards we all separated and went back to our dorms.
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Day 26
Saturday morning I got up at 7:30. Stephen, Andy, Jesse, and I had planned on touring the city via the public transit. Since I was up early I passed the time by watching Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. I got to about 20 minutes from the end when I had to leave. I walked over to the U6 line where we were all going to meet. Eventually Andy showed up and then Stephen and Jesse arrived on the U6 about 10 minutes later.
We toured around eventually ending at Schwedenplatz near the first district. We walked a bit and then started asking for Cafe Central. We had learned about it the day before on our city tour. It is a famous cafe where such people as Adolf Hitler, Vladimir Lenin, and Sigmund Freud. So, naturally we wanted to go. I ended up asking a store manager for directions, which he gladly (and clearly) gave and we headed on our way.
Once we got to the Cafe we were seated immediately. I ordered potato cream soup and a glass of tap water. We sat and ate for about an hour and a half. When we did end up leaving there was a line out the door to get in for lunch!
We followed lunch by walking over to the Rathaus (city hall). In front they had a big ice skating park with three rinks that were all connected by frozen over trails. We walked around there for a bit then decided that we’d go home to grab our grocery bags (you have to bring your own) and then meet back at the Westbahnhof to go grocery shopping. We started at Hofer (the Austrian Aldi) and I stocked up on the essentials being yogurt, rice, ham, bread, and breakfast bars.
Once our shopping was done we all headed back home to put stuff away before we met at the Central College office. I went there with Andy and he and I had dinner. I had a ham sandwich and then a raspberry jam sandwich. We went into the main room and I fiddled around with the TV to see how it worked. Stephen, Jesse, and Paithan came about 15 minutes later and we started watching Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl in German. I made peppermint tea and popcorn and worked on my journal.
Halfway through the movie Jesse and Paithan left with Andy to go to a party outside of the city. I stayed and ended up skyping with Kels for about an hour. Stephen left when the movie was done to go home to Skype with his parents. I cleaned up my dishes, packed up, and left. When I got home I took my usual shower and headed to bed.
Day 25
On Friday morning, I met Anneke, Janaya (another girl in the program), and Andy in the lobby and we walked together to the U6 subway at the Westbahnhof. There I bought a 3-day pass for the transit system and we headed on our way to Alserstrasse, where we hopped in a bus that took us to the Central University office. Once we got there we waited. We were supposed to arrive at 9:30, but wanted badly to be early because there was a whole bunch of free things that we wanted to get.
Ruth, the program director, arrived at around 9:10 and let us in. She showed us a table just flowing with things that past students had left behind. We scoured the mess and took whatever we felt that we might need. I walked away with utensils, a plate, a bowl, a frying pan, laundry detergent, a towel, and a mug! Ruth offered us all coffee, tea, and cake which we accepted graciously.
Everyone else arrived and we all had our breakfast together. Afterwards we headed into the other room and Ruth led us through the orientation. It took about 2 hours total. Afterwards Michaela arrived and we walked together to the University of Vienna campus so that we could go have lunch in the cafeteria there. We ate to the view of the sun shining on the Votive-church across the street. It was so cool!
Afterwards we toured the University where some of us would be taking classes. The University is the second oldest German university in the world beaten only by the University in Prague. Once our tour was done we headed back to the office and had free time. Stephen, Jesse, and I decided that we’d head back to their dorm to get the things we needed to register for the city of Vienna. Our shot plan ended up taking us a lot longer of a time, because of our lack of knowledge of the public transit system. Eventually we got back to the University right before our city tour was supposed to begin.
Our tour guide showed us around the first district of Vienna, which is HUGE considering that it took us two hours to do the tour. Once of the coolest things that I learned on the tour was about the Hapsburgs who ruled over Vienna for 600 years: the sun never set on their empire, because at the time they controlled what today is Spain, Arizona, and Texas so at anytime if the day, the sun was always shining on their land.
After the tour we headed back to the campus where Ruth helped Stephen, Anneke, and myself register for semester cards for the transit system. This allowed us to pay €75 for an entire semester’s worth of free rides throughout the city whether it be with the U-bahn, the Strassenbahn, or the local trains! Ruth and Michaela led us to the Unibräu (no, not unibrow… this one means University breweries) for dinner. There we met our professor of literature and our theater professor.
I sat in between Charlotte and Paithan. Charlotte and I agreed that we’d both order something different and and switch plates half way through. I ordered lam goulash with polenta. I was really good. Charlotte ordered some sort of surf and turf minus the surf which was also really good. For dessert I had fried apple slices dusted with powdered sugar and cinnamon.
Once dinner was done we grouped back at the office to get our stuff ready to go home. Janaya and I headed back together and I was back in my room within 20 minutes. I had just put away my clothes from the day when I heard Paithan’s voice coming from the street. Stephen, Andy, Jesse, and Paithan were coming down the street. I called to them and they said that they were coming to my room. I put on a shirt and then answered the door. They were planning to go out and wanted me to come with them, because they had heard about a cool bar not too far from Haus Salzburg, the dorm that Jesse, Paithan, and Stephen were in.
While I got ready, Jesse went to Janaya’s room to invite her. Once we were all ready we walked over to Haus Salzburg and then started wandering from there. We were pretty lost, but eventually we somehow met up with Daniel, Charlotte, and her boyfriend Max. The guys couldn’t find the specific bar that we had been searching for so we went into random bars looking for free tables. Once bar we went into looked like it was full of 16 year old, which was just unnerving. Then we passed a bar full of partying 30+ year olds. It felt like an adult version of Goldielocks and the Three Bears.
Since we couldn’t find anything Janaya said that she was going home. I went with her. I got back into my room and immediately took my shower and got ready for bed. My poor feet were so sore. I gladly slipped under the covers and went to sleep.
Day 24
Thursday morning I woke up at around 7:30. I was determined that I be ready to go as soon as possible so that I could have a relaxing morning. I got dressed then went around to everyone’s rooms, knocking on their doors to make sure that they would be getting up eventually. I walked up the hill to Andy’s dorm and knocked there too. Luckily he was already awake. I told him that I was going to get some things packed myself, but that I would deb back later to help him since he still had only one arm to be packing with.
I headed back down to my dorm and proceeded to get myself completely packed. It was about 8:20 when I walked back up the hill to help Andy. I organized things and folded while he packed. I helped him out for about 30 minutes.
I walked back down the hill to go back to my dorm and make oatmeal for myself before the bus came. Since the bus was coming at 9:30 I had to rush myself in order to be ready. However, my meal was finished before the bus came.
Once I was finished, I started talking to Nina and told her that she could have all of the baking supplies that I would be leaving behind. She was grateful. The bus pulled into the drive way so I had to get my stuff outside. I gave Nina a hug goodbye and brought my luggage outside.
Our driver loaded our things into the bus and I sent Jesse up the hill to make sure that Andy was going to be on time. Stephen was in the kitchen scarfing down a breakfast meal of meat, potatoes, and scrambled eggs. Andy came down the hill and got onto the bus. We waited for about 10 minutes for Stephen who apparently was not ready. Meanwhile I asked everyone if they A) had their passports, B) had their train tickets, and C) had their basics (wallet and phone). Once I heard that everyone was ready, including Stephen, (I also got a „yes Dad“) we headed on our way to Nurnberg.
Charlotte had brought along a half-drunk bottle of wine but didn’t feel like wasting it. Therefore after careful consideration as to how much water I also had with me I agreed to help her get rid of it before the train station 2 hours down the road.
After that was done, Charlotte and I went to the back of the bus where Stephen and Paithan were and watched The Adventures of TinTin on my iPad. Sadly we got to the train station about 30 minutes from the end of the movie.
We unloaded our things, headed inside, and looked for a place to spend the hour that we had before our train left for Vienna. I ended up eating at a little restaurant called Mr. Clou and ordered a rice box. Once our hour was almost up, we all headed to the platform to wait for our train. Once it came, we hopped on and went to our reserved seats.
Jesse and I had seats in car 21. We found our seats and settled in. Eventually Stephen came by wanting to chat. Eventually he went back to his car to grab his backpack so that he could work on his journal. I pulled out my computer and did the same. After we were both bored of that Stephen pulled out his computer and we watched Newsies. It’s Stephen’s favorite musical of all time so he was super pumped for me to watch it with him. I will say that I did enjoy it a lot and that it had an excellent score!
Once we finished the movie, we discovered that we were only 8 minutes away from Vienna so naturally we listened to Vienna by Billy Joel and sang it to Jesse who just gave us a tired look. Once the train stopped we hopped off and walked down the platform until we saw Michaela. She greeted us all, asked how Andy and Paithan hurt themselves, and brought us to the street where she sent Stephen, Jesse, and Paithan with Erica, a girl who has already been in Vienna for a semester. Then Michaela walked the rest of us (Anneke, Andy, and me) to our dorm which was only 5 minutes away from the train station.
Once we got to our dorm, Michaela told us goodbye and we headed upstairs to the office where we met the Hausleiterin (the house leader) to get our keys and information packets. We all headed to our respective rooms. I couldn’t get my key to work, but then realized that I had been given a blank key so I went upstairs to get it exchanged for another.
I unpacked then Andy came to my room. He asked if I had been able to connect to the internet yet and I said no. I called the Hausleiterin and said that we’d be upstairs to get the lowdown in the internet situation. Once we got to her office she told us that there was an ethernet cable in each room and that we needed to register with her to use it first. We registered and headed back to my room. I got my internet connection to work and then we hatched a plan to get in touch with Stephen, Jesse, and Paithan.
We Facebook messaged Stephen and asked if they were still up for going out to a bar. We had discussed such a plan on the train. I searched for their dorm on google maps and then got directions from our dorm to theirs. Andy took a picture of the map with his phone, then we headed out. It took us about 12 minutes to get to their dorm. We tried calling their rooms with the PA, but no one answered.
Andy and I decided that we’d go out for dinner and a beer anyway so we started wandering. As we were walking past a bar, I happened to look in and recognize the sweater that Paithan had bought when we were in Schwäbisch Hall. I knocked on the window excitedly and then Andy and I went inside and joined them at their table. They were with Erica and Benjamin (Jesse’s roommate) and had already ordered beers. Andy and I followed suit and we also both got the cheapest soup on the menu which was goulash soup.
We sat and talked for a while then headed back to our dorm using another way. On our way back we saw Anneke walking with her brother who is currently teaching English in Vienna. We all introduced ourselves and then Anneke came back to the dorm with us. Everyone wanted to see my room so we all headed upstairs. We talked for a while, then the people from Haus Salzburg left. Anneke, Andy and I talked for about 30 minutes until we all decided that it would be a good idea to go to bed. They left and I decided to take a shower. Sadly I hadn’t packed a towel so I had to drip dry, but since my roommate wasn’t yet in, it wasn’t a problem. After getting on my sleeping clothes, I headed straight to bed.
Day 23
Wednesday morning was like any other, but everyone was really excited that it was the last day of class. In class I gave my presentation on throwing events, how one competes in the events, and even included Youtube examples from the 1936 Berlin Olympics. It was well received.
After my presentation came the presentation of a Turkish woman named Gamsa. Her presentation was about a traditional Turkish dancing group called the Fire of Anatolia. It was an interesting presentation to say the least.
After Gamsa came Remi from Benin. He talked about his home in Southern Benin and what normal life was like in Benin. It was so interesting to hear what his life was like in Benin. He talked about the percentages of religions the highest being Voodoo, with Christianity in the middle, and the lowest being Islam. He said that in Afrika he would never need to carry a passport because he had all of the identification he needed via the scars on his face. When he was 11 his father had given him his markings and although at the time he had been against it, he was now very proud of his identity. It was so interesting to learn about the perspective from someone so clearly not like me. It was really eye-opening.
After the second break, instead of going to class, everyone headed to the meeting room where we were on the day of arrival. We had our farewell meeting there. There was a woman who had decided that she wanted to sing for the group. She first sang a song about the victims of the earthquake in Japan and then changed things up by singing a heavy metal song. To say that I was out of my comfort zone on that one would be an understatement.
After the final farewells, we all headed to the cafeteria. We had a good lunch of some sort of Hawaiian stir fry with pineapple, chicken, and rice. After lunch I headed back to the dorms and took a nap on and off for about an hour and a half, because I had to check on my laundry.
Once the laundry was done, I started packing. I actually got all of my clothes packed in one fell swoop. Though it took a bit, the Carpenters kept me moving along. While I was packing Ana Paula came to my room to tell me that there was going to be a party at 8:00 in the kitchen. She asked me to come, so I told her that I would once that time rolled around.
At some point Stephen asked me if I wanted to go along with Paithan, Andy, Jesse, and him to have our last Döner-kebab in Schwäbisch Hall. I went with them and none of us regretted our decision. It was all so good and we had such a great time talking about the next days trip to Vienna.
Once we got back to the dorms, everyone found their way to the kitchen where the Brazilians were starting up the party. I talked with Marion (from UofM) for about 30 minutes before she had to go to catch her bus. Our topics ranged from future jobs to Detroit and the Porcupine Mountains. All in all it was a good conversation.
We had gone shopping earlier in the day to get booze for the party, but I hadn’t gotten anything because I neither wanted to pay for anything nor did I really want to drink because of the semi-early departure the next day. Well, Jesse offered me a beer and I said yes. Not 10 minutes later I was handed a cosmo by Cecile and not 10 minutes after that I received a Brazilian drink from Ana Paula. It wasn’t that there was a problem. It was just that it had all come so quickly!
At one point Ana Paula was practically begging me to come dance with her so I did. She taught me the dance steps and I did my best to follow along. I got cheers from the guys, so I definitely think that I didn’t look that bad.
Once I had had enough I headed upstairs to take a shower and get ready for bed. It was going to be hectic morning the next day so I worked on my journal for a bit and headed to bed.
Saturday, March 1, 2014
Day 22
Tuesday morning I woke up and had breakfast without coffee. I’d had had quite a lot in the past few weeks so I was kind of coffee’d out. In class we worked on the topics from Monday which included Vegetarianism and the Olympic Games.
During the first and second break I worked on learning the second verse to La Vie En Rose from Cecile. I had only ever learned the first verse for my singing lessons at Wabash, but the only karaoke tracks I could find on Youtube included both verses.
Right before class ended I sang for the class. Carmen said that she bet that everyone in the class would be singing that song in their heads for the rest of the day.
After lunch Charlotte went with me to C&A so that I could get another onion on the awesome camel-colored pants. After another good review I bought them! We headed back to the dorms and I went to my room to put on my new pants.
I had the balcony doors open because it was such a nice day. I was listening to music when I heard Paithan calling my name. I looked out the window and saw that he was leaning out of Stephen’s window on the first floor. He said that Stephen, Jesse, and he were going to go for a run and he wanted to know if I’d like to come along. Naïvely I said yes.
I got ready and met them all outside of the dorm. The plan was to run to palace near Comburg that Jesse and Paithan had discovered a few days previous. I had stupidly assumed that nearby meant that the cool spot would be closer than Comburg. I was wrong.
We started out at a pretty fast pace and even though I was behind the others I was still keeping a decent pace. Sadly there is one thing that I’ve come to hate about Germany: hills! Each time we went down a hill I kept thinking about how I would have to go back up it when I came back and how much more tired I would be when that happened.
We eventually reached Comburg. The guys had stopped because they were waiting for me, but as soon as I caught up with them they started going again. We ran for a while longer through a little village and started up a curved hill near a forest. We stopped there and took a little path to a stone cliff. Jesse, Paithan, and Stephen climbed into a cave there and I, still being out of breath, stayed on the knoll watching them.
We threw rock around for a while, then they said that they were ready to keep going. KEEP GOING?!?! I was under the impression that we were going to run to the place near Comburg and then turn around, not keep going!
We ran up a hill to a green pasture. We made our way through a small subdivision (well, as subdivision-y as Germany can get) and as we were getting close to the main road I told the guys that I was going to turn back because I had to prep for the presentation that I would be giving the next day. They waved goodbye and I headed on my way back to the dorm.
It was really interesting going back because I hardly recognized anything. I realized that on my way there I had been running so fast („fast“) that I hadn’t time to see much more than the others running ahead of me. Really all I remembered was my vision bouncing as I ran along to keep up with the guys.
I got back to the dorm and immediately went up to Charlotte’s room to complain about how dead tired I was and how stupid it was of me to take Paithan up on his offer. I headed back to my room and took a shower. I took my sweet time and then put on comfy clothes.
A little later I got a Facebook message from Andy. He said that Anneke and he were going to get burgers for dinner and that I should invite Yoann too. I did and we got ready for dinner. Charlotte, Stephen, and Jesse were in the kitchen with their class. They were making sushi for dinner. I was offered some so I tried it and it actually tasted pretty good!
When the four of us were all ready, we walked to Big Russel, the burger restaurant and ordered Big Russel burgers which consisted of two patties, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and a really good bun. We could all tell that they were really good burgers because after the first bite our plates were covered in grease. Somehow we got onto the topic of pets and Anneke told us about her general dislike of house pets. We headed back to the dorms listening to a horror story about Anneke and a family whose demon dog she had nannied for.
When we got back we had a little time before we had our last Stammtisch. It was at the same bar as the first Stammtisch so we headed over there as a group. Stephen and I sat at a table with Lauren (from UofM) and Nina. We ordered banana beers. Since we had run earlier it seemed quite logical that we have something with such good post-run ingredients as banana juice (don’t ask me how they juice a banana… I don’t know) and beer. Stephen had discovered them at the last Stammtisch and had me try it.
After a while I decided to head home to work on my presentation for the following day. Since I hadn’t really settled on a subject, I spent a good deal of time figuring out what that would be. I eventually settled on throwing events: Hammerwurf, Discuswurf, & Kugelstoß. (Pretty easy translation, no?). After getting most of the presentation done, I headed to bed.
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