I get by... (by with a little help from my friends)

Do you know that song from the Beatles, Paul McCartney and John Lennon?? It's true! What would I do without the fabulous nine other people in my group here at IES in Vienna, studying music? We have done a lot here already, only on our second full day of living here! Tonight, we just spent almost 2 hours sitting in a Gelateria cafe, at a big table in a room all to ourselves (the "non-smoking" room). We ordered delicious tasting Gelato, some even with fruit, made into masterpieces of desserts! What did we DO for two hours? We played getting-to-know-you games! And we made each other laugh until we cried. I prepared myself for a time on this trip when I might feel disconnected, but I don't think that will happen! These 9 people are so fun, interesting, and just great to be with! We're planning lots of group activities, and constantly conversing over what we need to see and do! Six weeks is going to fly by.

You might have noticed that I put "non-smoking" in quotations. As some of you know, I hate cigarette smoke. I just despise the smell of it and how it makes me feel, and less importantly, what it does to the person smoking them. I seem to care more than most people about being around smoke. And, it is not easy to come by a restaurant in Vienna where you can completely get away from smoke. I made a pile of clothes in my room of all my smelly clothes so far. I might be doing laundry soon. I think this will be the hardest thing for me about being here. Everything else is like paradise! Even the pouring rain this morning which left me shivering and wishing I had a bigger umbrella and some rain boots.

Saturday was tour day. First we took a walking tour, then a bus tour. No air conditioning on the bus took away from some of the thrills of the sights we saw, but it all was forgotton when we experienced the Viennese Heuriger, or wine tavern! What a swell idea! The idea is that these wine taverns make all the wine themselves, meaning that when the wine is out, they close for the day. You sit outside amongst the vineyards, and instead of being served by a waiter, you go into the tavern to get your food buffet style when it is ready. So homey! This is a big part of Austrian culture.

Speaking of Austrian culture, I'm getting used to living the life. We close all doors, shut off all the lights, and must be fairly quiet around 10 pm in our apartment! I also got to go on an adventure today to find the practice rooms that our music professors told us were open on Sundays. (Pretty much nothing is open on Sundays) I had to take the U-Bahn and I figured it out quite easily using my handy Wien moleskin with a street map and U-Bahn map. For those of you who don't know, the U-Bahn is like the underground or subway, only safer, cleaner and easier to travel. I found the practice rooms quite amazingly on the top floor of an apartment flat near Schönbrunn park, about 2 U stops away from where I live.

That's all for now, I need to wash up and go to bed. I start class tomorrow morning at 9, so I must be up early!

Pictures of the Meinhartsdorfergasse apartment

Claire, admiring the upstairs kitchen and terrace

My desk, and the window in my room

My Bed in the upstairs room!

The Downstairs Bedroom!

More than I had hoped for...

It's all I ever wanted and needed! Vienna is beautiful, although I have not seen too much of it yet. It seemed like a huge climax to RUN down the streets of Wien, district 1, all to get the the IES center and listen to the people talk about security, safety, and how we need to "get out of the box we're in." Um, excuse me!! I don't think I'm in a box! I just spend the entire two last weeks looking up all the new and different things that I want to do in Vienna. Apparently, the IES abroad center has had students who "don't want to do tourist-y things" because "they live in the city." That's totally the opposite of how I prepared to get here today.

For those of you who didn't know, my roommate, Emily, who plays French horn, simultaneously signed up for this program, so we decided to fly together. Emily and I decided to go for the adventure of using different public transportation modes to get from the airport to Johannesgasse, where we were supposed to be at 2 pm. Considering our plane literally landed at 12:30 pm, we were just able to make it there, without calling a cab for help! Although the transportation here (undergrounds, trains and buses) are quite clean, easy to figure out, and safe, we had a rough time. Emily, with her awkwardly shaped French horn over her shoulder, and me, with two roll alongs probably equaling about 80 pounds all together, took adventures both up and down stairs, and in crowds of people on buses where I literally felt like if the windows weren't open, I would have died!! I guess people (in Rome, especially) are not afraid to get really close to you. Think of what you think of when you think of "really close" in personal space, and then get about 6 inches closer. That's about right.

It wasn't so unpleasant. It was an adventure! Everytime we got closer to our destination, I would say "we made it!" But we always had more to go. I feel funny speaking German to people. It just doesn't roll off my tongue that well. I know what I'm trying to say, but then I go through the thousands of different word orders that could be correct, and I just can't find one that I know is right! So I speak English. For now...

My apartment is wonderful, and I took pictures, which I will post very soon. I am about to go to sleep now, as I am the only one up in my apartment. The girl who shares my room with me is Claire, and she is a voice major from Texas. Seems so sweet!

Look at my "Contact me" page for ALL my contact info! And please email or facebook message me! I would love to hear from you if you are reading this! Look for pictures soon.

Vienna waits for me!

At this time tomorrow, I will be just about to step on a plane going over the Atlantic ocean. I'm incredibly excited and a little bit nervous about this. I'm more nervous about the flight than I am for what unknown experiences await me in Vienna! If only I could step on the plane, and instantly be across the ocean with no time to wait, no ocean to look out over (in the dark), and no jet lag to feel!

I think I'm ready to go. My packing technique is to look around my room, and make sure there is nothing laying around that I will be missing. The next technique is to have paper and pen readily available on my desk so I am constantly adding and subtracting from my list(s). I guess it doesn't matter how I pack, as long as there is nothing I forgot!

Things I'll miss about State College (Yeah, I know it's only 6 weeks)
-CATA busses--guess I'll learn a new transportation system!
-walking to the YMCA to work out
-watching the Price is Right
-watching "What not to wear"
-my puppy
-being able to use my phone with no charge
-girls at Bible study

...I think I'll be just fine! :)