Lots of Work, and Lots of Fun!

I know it has been almost two weeks since I last posted, and I’ve been meaning to, but I’ve just been having too much fun.  So let me break it down now:

 

Tuesday, Austrian National Day:  Shannon and I started the morning by taking a tour of the Austrian Parliament building, followed by a tour of the Chancellor’s building (I shook his hand! :D) and even though I didn’t get my huge Krapfen, I did get my applesauce-topped waffle and Glühwein.  Our new Marine friend Seth met up with us and it was a good holiday to stand around and sip some hot wine and talk to new people.  We ended the afternoon with a hike up to the tippy-top of St. Stephensdom and the view was remarkable.

Wednesday:  All I can say is that I saw how awesome of a role I am playing here even as an intern.  Pretty cool feeling, let me tell you.

Thursday:  I got an opportunity to dog-sit,  which I took of course because I was in need of a good dog-petting and some extra cash to pay off the Marine Ball ticket. 

Friday:  Unfortunately, my Arabic teacher was sick… so, no Arabic class that day.  On the plus side, this gave me more time for hangin’ out fun!  Our new Marine friend came over and the three of us made some of Shannon’s home-made mac’n’cheese; getting the word out about free food got 2 more boys to join us—it was a good time, eating some pasta and watching Ratatouille with some new buddies.  The night ended with some Fussball matches and a few games of pool.

Saturday:  The morning was beautiful bright and sunny so Shannon and I walked along the Danube canal towards the Hundertwasser house.  I felt like I had stepped into a Dr. Suess book, it was so cool.  Then we had enough daylight left to check out the Prater Riesenrad (Ferris Wheel).  As fate would have it, on the tram we ran into the one other intern Shannon  and I hadn’t met yet, and later we came across a young Kentucky guy.  Boy, is it a small world.  Later, as Shannon and I hadn’t eaten out in a while, we decided to go for a few tapas at the Hilton for dinner that night, and Seth joined us.  Afterwards, we met up with a few more people and watched “Knight and Day” (adorable) and “Despicable Me” (even more adorable).  Friends are fabulous.

Sunday, Halloween:  As suited the holiday, Shannon and I went to  Zentralfriedhof and walked among the graves of Austria’s past presidents and musical prodigies.  The October day was perfect and gave an eerie but calm feeling as we passed tombstones that had been bombed in WWII, some of which had been piled up following the war. We got back just in time for trick-or-treating, so I dressed up and handed out candy and advertised that we'd be watching Hocus Pocus but I ended up watching it alone... there were 2 kids who were so funny, they kept coming and going and then they never came back, and Shannon was talking to her boyfriend the whole time on Skype... I'm so good at planning out super fun-filled events in my head only for them to come crashing down on me, and this disappointment was a good reminder at how much i need to stop fantasizing about everything in life... haha.

Monday:  Monday was a lazy day for me.  It was a holiday here, and unusually warm, so I picked up my book (currently reading: Reading Lolitah in Tehran) and went to the park.  My mind was all over the place though, so I gave up on reading and just watched the ducks in the lake.  When it got dark, I did a bit of Skyping with the family, then my roommate and I ended the night with a showing of “The Hangover” (love it!) at the boys’ place.

Tuesday:  My second official Arabic class went pretty well, but the work part of the day is what I’d really been looking forward to for a while now; I was finally interning in Shannon’s office.  However, not even halfway through the day, I knew for certain that I had made the right decision when I had a choice between the internship I am currently doing, and the position my roommate has, which I was also offered.  Love my office.  Love my staff.  Love my job.  Love my life.

Wednesday:  Wednesday was back in the office as normal, which I was just fine with.  Arabic class followed, and while some stuff was review, I actually learned a lot of very new, interesting things about the grammar of the language; it was very cool.  I was pleased to hear that my pronunciation is actually pretty accurate 80% of the time.

Thursday:  Got a look at the Russian Embassy.  It’s absolutely gorgeous.  The day itself was even even more gorgeous; the weather was so warm, I had to go get a little shake from McDonald’s to cool off, which I’d been craving for about 3 weeks now anyway.

Friday:  Today was another beautiful day— I went out to lunch today with a coworker, who I’d been dying to talk to.  We ate outside and even in my skirt and blouse it was a warm (yet unbelievably windy!) afternoon.  For once my evening is free; a perfect opportunity to catch up on my blogging!