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.