The Little Things

There are so many little things that I forgot about this country.  Like the Öko recycling boxes.  And the candy-cane color poles leaning against the buildings so people don’t walk right where snow and rain falls off the roofs.  And the Brötchens (how could I forget about Brötchens???).  It's like a new adventure all over again. It's exciting.

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Allmählich lerne ich mehr und mehr Deutsch; es ist voll cool, ich kann nicht warten bis ich es super verstehen kann.  Zu leben in ein Ort wo die Leute ein anders Sprache sprechen, ist wie in einer anderen Welt zu leben.  Ich will ein Teil von so einer neuen Welt sein—ich muss Österreichisches Deutsch lernern!  (Zum Glück kenne ich schön der Steiermarkischesdialekt—danke, Freundinnen!)

1st Weekend Filled with Old Friends

It turned out to be absolute fate that my class would have its first year reunion the first whole weekend I’m here.  And how nice it was to see them all again!  Everyone’s gone on to do such amazing things but they all seem the same as when I left a few years ago.  It’s such a wonderful feeling having 25+ friends in a whole different country.  And what friends they are!

 

Klemens, Magdalena, and Martina were there waiting for me at the train station just as Caro had arranged for me.  Klemens drove up the narrow streets that criss-crossed up the mountains and I got so excited just thinking about how beautiful it would all look the next morning!  We got to our hut in the mountains at about 10:30 that night after asking for directions like 3 times, and over 20 of us were able to make it for the Klassentreffen.  The hut was adorable and just perfect for all of us; I felt right asleep that night, all snug as a bug and knowing where I was and who I was with.  :-)  I was excited for the next morning, too, but I woke up to this:

Fortunately, the second morning I woke up to THIS!

Now that’s the Austria I know and love!  :-)  Except for the hour or so when I took this shot, it rained most the rest of the time I was there, but that was alright as we kept the stove fueled nonstop and there were a lot of us cramped in the little dining room. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, what a lovely time it was, and what a great chance to brush up on my German and Styrian dialect! :-)  After helping to clean up a bit, I was dropped back off at the train station but decided that since the weather was holding up and I was in the mood, I would walk around my lovely second hometown of Graz!  Climbing up to the Uhrturm was all the energy I had for this visit, and I refueled once I got back down with some fruity icecream.  Because it was mostly overcast, I didn’t bother taking that many pictures because I’ve taken them all before, but the flowers are still in bloom in the garden, which made this shot exceptionally beautiful:

 

And so, that was my first weekend, and I already have plans for the next few to come!

Dear Vienna,

You are too big.  You are pretty and full of incredible history, but you are too big.  Instead of taking the bus home, I picked a random tram and rode it all the way to the end.  It took me to the Underground so I rode that, too.  I rode that to the ÖBB train station  but fortunately I didn’t ride one of your trains just yet.  Instead, I rode back the way I came on the Underground and picked another tram to ride.  That one didn’t seem to go anywhere so I got off and took another tram until it took me to St. Stephensdom. I would love to have walked around the church, but it was getting dark at this point, which does not make very fun exploring. So instead I picked another tram because I recognized the name of its destination.  Turned out the street I know that goes by the destination name is also the name of a town, because that's where the tram took me. At about that time, I realized I was lost. I also realized that I must be someone who looks quite approachable, because I have been asked for directions by a dozen people so far and it has only been my 5th day here. See, even your own people think you are too big.

A Rough Start…

So as I was flying over the ocean, I kept thinking to myself, “What is the first entry I’m going to put in my blog?” because I had thought through everything else way too much already.  (And I don’t even know why I let myself get carried away like that when everything is never as I thought it would be).

First I thought maybe I'd write about how everytime I fly over the ocean, the 8 hours keep seem to be getting shorter and shorter (mostly thanks to Lufthansa and the much in-flight entertainment it offers: for me, it was Iron Man 2, Letters to Juliet, and Glee), and then when a baby started wailing, I thought that maybe I'd write about how I miss the luxuries of riding in Business Class where you can stretch out all you want without having to wonder what that funky smell is only to turn your head to the side and find the bare foot of the person sitting behind you right in your face.

No!--I was going to talk about how packing those new black (and incredibly comfortable, I found out) slippers I bought before I left and decided to put in my carry-on was one of the best packing decisions I have made in my entire life.

And yet, once I had gotten on the Austrian Airlines plane, I thought I might digress on the complexities and complications of public transportation as, shortly before the departure of my flight to Vienna, I really noticed that there were extremely few people at the terminal only to find out and inform 2 other of my fellow flyers that the terminal had been changed at the last minute--thanks "Fraport" (as the Frankfurt Airport calls itself).

Or maybe I could talk about how I flagged down a (you'll be proud of me, Grandma) trustworthy Taxi and was pleased to find that I could, if a bit clumsily, exchange an in-depth conversation with the driver that extended past requesting applejuice over red wine as my gratis drink, as I did with the flight attendants earlier that day.

But, no, instead I decided to unpack and sleep.

This was, of course, after I (finally) found my apartment in the complex (thanks again for your help, cute anonymous American boy from a window of the next complex over), plunked my 70+ lb. bags down, rubbed the feeling back into my aching, blistered fingers, pulled out my computer to try to get that wireless going (Oh, how do I love wireless!), was interrupted in the process by the entrance of my new roommate, Shannon, and another intern (Adam), and the exploration of my and Shannon's new home for the next 3 months.

So, had I not been so exhausted from my personal +24 hour day, I would have gotten my blog up and running with one of those above topics. Instead, I pushed the blogging off for a day (or two, considering that I was too busy the next day because Shannon and I didn't wake up until the afternoon on Saturday and we were frantic to get something we could call breakfast before the grocery store closed).

And now you know how this 3-month adventure began...

Aubrey's First Adventures

So, if it's possible for an adventure to be a partial success, well then, that is what my adventure was this afternoon.  I found the train station where I was supposed to meet my friend and missed her by, oh, a minute?  Figures... it's incredible how difficult it is to function in modern society these days without posessing the full array of technology.  If only I could have found a payphone that actually worked to let her know I was there!!  Ah, well, I will see her soon enough next weekend if I have any more luck getting myself to my class reunion.

On the otherhand, because I had plenty of freetime with noone to meet anymore, I took my good sweet time exploring this huge, GIGANTIC city and I've discovered that my apartment is in an absolutely perfect location.  I am about 15 minutes away from work and only need to take one bus to get there, and if I take another bus going in the opposite direction from my house, I'm only about 15 minutes from... hold your breath... Schönbrunn Palace!!!  Ah-mazing!  And there are only about two dozen parks between both of these personally-popular destinations so I hope it stays nice for a few weeks longer so I can enjoy them to their fullest (the closest one includes a doggy-park!).  And the best thing that I've discovered on my adventure today is that the language school I found on Google Maps where I can take some Arabic classes is just 2 bus stops and a block away from work on my way home!  So immediately after work, I am stopping there on my way home. 

Everything seems to be falling into place perfectly--tomorrow will be my first day at work and I will learn what's in store for me for the next 3 months--I can't wait to find out!

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(Entschuldigung wenn es 1.000 Fehler gibt aber ich glaube, dass es sehr gut Übung ist, wenn ich manchmal auch auf Deutsch schriebe.)

Also, heute fühle ich mich viels besser als gestern; ich habe den ganzen Nacht geschlafen (nicht um 2 Uhr gewacht wie meinem ersten Tag hier) und heute hab ich so viel von Wien gesehen!  Ich habe alle die alte Lebensmittelgeschäfte und andere Gebäude, der ich von meinem Lieblingsstadt des Graz, erkenne und ich habe jetzt nur MediaMarkt und Saturn zu finden!  Sehr beruhigend... 

Und dann später heute hat die Caro mich angerufen zu über unser Klassentreffen reden.  Ich hoffe, dass alles klappt wird... wir werden sehen, ich nehme an...

Mehr Morgen!  Bis dann!

:-)

Back in Austria at Last!

I always knew I would be back here someday--I just didn't realize that it would be so soon!  Although Vienna does not even compare to my lovely second-hometown of Graz, I recognize the same stores, the same customs, and (thank goodness) the same language.  Even in the first minutes of ascending out of the underground airport tram and onto the twisty streets of Vienna, I knew that learning my way around Austria's capital city would not be a piece of cake.  Still, I have three months yet to learn my way around and I know I'll start becoming familiar with tram lines and landmarks real soon.

Speaking of, I am going to explore one of the three bus routes that stop by my apartment, in the hope that it will take me to the train station where I planned to meet my old friend Hannah, who is coming in from Graz.  I'm only going to see her off to the airport, but it's going to be a nice little reunion and I hope that I don't have any trouble finding my way to where we said we were going to meet up.  After that, well I don't know what, because most all the stores are closed seeing that it's Sunday but it's a beautiful clear, sunny day so maybe I'll just take a walk around Schönbrunn Palace and the other parks or become familiar with more of the tram lines.  I'll let you know how my first few adventures go when I get back!

Tchüss!

~Aubrey