The First Week's Observations and Activities

Because lots of people have asked for a photo of The Villa, here it is! Evan and Elise are standing outside and you can't even see most of the top floor or roof! It really is quite lovely.

These last few days have been a whirlwind of activity! I still feel so lucky to live in The Villa, but these 9am German Intensive classes have been a bit of a struggle to get to. I'm no expert in the kitchen (meaning I can make eggs, cereal, and maybe pasta), so I've had to get up around 6:15am every day to make myself breakfast to sustain me throughout my morning of intensive language study. 

In order to get to class on time, I have to leave home at 8am on the dot, or else I'll be running after getting off the tram and U-bahn (subway) just to make it to Palais Corbelli. But just looking around at my home for the next four months makes me not so bitter about this commute. Europe is all about commuting, after all. At least the tram and U-Bahn are super easy to navigate here!

Elise on the U-Bahn: "I don't take the subway in NYC." But here, commuting is a breeze!

German Intensive is exactly that: intense. It's a lot but I'm actually rather enjoying it! I haven't learned a new language for more than 10 years after taking Spanish all through school, so I'm finding this exhilarating as well as a bit difficult. I also like going to class because I still can't get over that THIS is where we have lessons! It's so beautiful...

We found our Matheson Reading Room away from Emory in the Palais Corbelli Study Room.

Most of us are in the same boat with German, however, and we can all do our homework together. On Tuesday night, Elise and I went over to Anna's apartment in the 5th district. It was crowded with just 6 people, so when more came over to start a wine and cheese night, it was quite cosy. Let's just say her whole apartment is about the size of mine and Elise's rooms together.

Brian, Elise, Stephanie, and Anna attempt German homework.

We only have German class in the mornings (for the level 1 people), so our afternoons are either free or filled with IES activities we can join. We also get to explore District 1 and all the food options around there. Unfortunately, I haven't been impressed with the food. Actually, I've found nothing appetizing or filling. Like I said before, everything has pork! I can't even find meat in the grocery store that isn't bacon or pork. I'm worried I won't taste decent beef or chicken or turkey until I get back to America. However, I must say that the coffeehouses are wonderful. And they don't mind when you order one drink and sit there doing work for more than three hours. I've already found a favorite right by IES that I intend on frequenting when I get more schoolwork throughout the year!

I've noticed that the Austrians start to drink at a very young age. Yesterday, on Wednesday night, the IES RA's took all the students out to Loca Club for happy hour at 7pm. All the drinks cost 0.50€, and so obviously all us Americans went out to have a good time. However, as the bar was starting to get crowded, I realized that a majority of the people were under 18. In Austria, drinking is legal at 16 and we were told that if we get "pass-out drunk" at the bar, we'd be absolutely pathetic since we're over 16. They do start at an early age here, so they must be able to hold their alcohol by the time they're in their 20s.

Loca Club was popping for Wednesday night Happy Hour.

The club/bar was very full and it was fun to socialize and mingle, though hard to hear, making any communication with Austrians very difficult given the pre-existing language barrier as well. Many of the IES students hung out together, but it was good to start getting to know more people. Apparently, this Friday night is Austria's huge End-of-Summer party where over 50 clubs and nightride transportation are free! Elise and I have our tickets and hopefully that will be another typical Austrian night for us. However, for now we have to study for our first exam tomorrow in German! Bis später!