"I miss my maid" -Titi
"I think moths sometimes land on me cuz I'm so pale they think I'm a light" -me
"DU BIST MEIN HUND!" -Titi

I feel like my life in Vienna is stairs. Lots of stairs.

The Prater

As much as I want to keep track of everything that's happening in my life in Vienna, I must say that this blogging business is starting to become a bit of a nuisance. But I will stop being lazy and will write down things as they happen.

Yesterday was awesome. After having done homework all day, Titi, Emily, Donna, Lisa and I went to the Vienna Prater, which is an amusement park. It was kinda funny seeing how much carnivals in America have influenced the park, but the rides had their own twists (like being really politically incorrect for starters...). We came to the park mostly for the famous Vienna Riesenrad (ferris wheel), which was originally erected in 1897 for Emperor Franz Josef I. I was a little hesitant about going on the Riesenrad when I discovered it cost 8.50 euros, but when in Rome...Besides the cost to get on the Riesenrad, I was immediately struck by how large it is. Each gondola resembles a small barn. They're even big enough that if you're willing to pay, you can reserve a gondola for a romantic, candle-lit dinner (show-offs...). We timed getting on the ride perfectly (okay, I admit it was planned just to get the best pictures) and it made the cost entirely worth it. Vienna just sparkled as dusk fell and the city lights began burning brightly. I felt so happy up that high, gazing at the splendor of my new home.

After the Riesenrad we just wandered around the park taking pictures and dancing to the loud techno music blasting from the rides. We went on one last ride (which was also expensive at 5 euros), and it turned out to be even more spectacular than the Riesenrad. As it's called, the Starflyer is a spinning swing ride that stands 236 feet tall. I imagine it would be a worst nightmare for someone scared of heights, but it was probably the best ride I've ever been on. It's so tall that you get the absolute feeling of flying over Vienna. It doesn't go too fast either so I never felt sick, it was just pure fun. I could only imagine what it would be like to go on high...

First Weekend in Vienna

I know I'm supposed to be blogging about what's been happening in Vienna up until now, but I figure if I don't start blogging day-to-day then there's no way I'm going to keep track of everything.

My first weekend in Vienna came and went quickly as all weekends do. Friday was the last hot day (and perhaps end to summer?) and after class Titi and I grabbed crepes for lunch at this cute Italian restaurant that also had sidewalk seating. Sometimes I have to pull back for a second to realize how lucky I am: warm summer days, open air cafes, in the heart of Vienna. I feel so comfortable in this city already that it's really starting to feel like "home." I'm really grateful to have Titi as a roommate, we literally spend all day every day together and so far we don't seem to be tiring of each other's company. After lunch we headed back home and hung out there for the rest of the day until going out that night. We took the U-Bahn and the Strassenbahn to our friend Lisa's house, and I was literally dying because of the heat. I'm really sick of sweating and being hot in Vienna. We got to Lisa's house after what seemed like forever (and funny enough a guy we passed on the street told us in German where the party was...guess it was too loud, oopsi), only to discover what seemed like all of the IES students. It felt a little awkward seeing as I didn't know most of the people (aka "popular kids" lol) and honestly being around them didn't make me wanna be their friends any more strongly. I don't know what it is, but for some reason I always feel a little awkward around American guys. I think it's my own insecurity, but I just assume none of them really have any interest in talking to me and vice versa I guess. Traveling with all these people too was a little embarrassing as we took up a whole street car and Americans in general are SO. LOUD. I'd much rather spend my time in Austria trying to fit in than speak English loudly everywhere we go like a big sign that reads: "I'M NOT FROM HERE." We eventually made it to the club, and I was surprised by how aggressive the guys were. As usual, I feel like my weight keeps me from being attractive to any guys. I did have one funny exchange with a half-Japanese Austrian (who was actually pretty cute) and even though he didn't really speak any English and my German isn't the best we were still able to communicate for the most part. We danced for a little bit and ended up kissing (mostly because he was pushy and I didn't feel much like resisting...typical me -_-) but then he disappeared and I never saw him for the rest of the night. Not surprising, but for once I just wish a guy would maybe be interested in actually talking to me after. It doesn't exactly boost my self-esteem. Besides that, I had a lot of fun at the club. They played really good music and we just danced for hours. We ended up getting home at around 2.30am which isn't really bad at all.

Saturday we didn't really do much. Titi, Alexa, and I checked out Mariahilfer Strasse (the best place for shopping) and despite not wanting to spend any money I ended up buying one of those popular bondage skirts from H&M that everyone wears out clubbing. I always assumed they would look just horrible on me but it actually looks pretty cute. Alexa can be a little bit difficult sometimes, but I think the problem is mostly that I've kind of already made up my mind about her so even when she's being completely fine something about her can still irk me sometimes. It doesn't help that Titi feels the same way. But everything went well and it was nice to have a day out with the roomies. By the time we were heading home a storm was blowing in and it felt great outside for once (yay cold!). We didn't end up going out that night because we were too lazy to deal with the thunder, lightning, and rain. It was pretty funny though because we literally had nothing to eat in the fridge besides the pasta we had been eating for days. I decided to attempt to make vegan pancakes (just because we were out of eggs) and with bananas, nuts, and nutella they actually ended up being quite delicious.

Today (Sunday) Titi and I had plans to meet up with Emily (the girl I shared the hotel room with) to go to the Tiergarten Schönbrunn to see the baby panda, but because Emily & co. ended up taking so long Titi, Alexa and I headed over around 2pm. The zoo was a little pricey at 14 euros, but it's just one of those things I feel you have to do once. It's actually quite close to our apartment and it was just a lovely day. Something about zoos still seems very depressing to me, but overall it was pretty nice. After that we headed over to the Rathaus to see one of the free concerts which ended up being AWESOME. The Rathaus is just gorgeous and they set up all these chairs in front of the big screen for people to watch the opera Carmen for free. I couldn't help but think of my dad and how much he would've loved it. I really wish he were still here with me. I miss him so incredibly much and just wish I could share my adventures with him. It's really nice to have friends who are interested in this type of music. I always feel closer to him when listening to it.

It's hard to believe that I've been in Austria for more than a week now. So much has happened I don't even know where to begin. So I guess I might as well take it from the top!

After a full year of mentally preparing and a day of packing and unpacking, Tuesday, August 16th finally came and ready or not it was time to fly from San Francisco -> Düsseldorf -> Vienna. I had spent more than a year thinking about my year abroad, but once the day actually swung around I couldn't help but feel so nervous and excited at the same time. Luckily my trip to India prepared me for going abroad, but there's still something so nerve-wracking about flying across the world alone. I ended up sitting next to a really sweet German girl, and despite the difficulty falling asleep, the flight to Germany went well. It ain't no business class though. I landed in Germany really tired, only to find out that I'd be killing the next seven hours there. I walked around and then eventually got lunch (my first time speaking German in real life, woohoo!) and then passed out on the airport benches. By the time I made it to Vienna I was beyond tired and I must say it was a bit of a struggle hauling all my luggage around. And I thought I had packed lightly! I made it to my hotel room at around 11pm and met my roommate for the night, Emily. I had posted on the IES Vienna facebook page to see if anyone was interested in sharing a room (it was pretty costly at €95) and Emily was the first one to respond. We hit it off really well right off the bat, so I was relieved to share a room with someone I actually liked!

The next morning we woke up and went to meet the rest of the IES group in the baggage area of the airport. We then took a bus to Mariazell (a small town in the Austrian Alps) to spend the next three nights for orientation. I was so grateful I had gotten to spend the night in the hotel, I would've been dying otherwise. I was struck immediately by how beautiful the Austrian landscape was. The first day felt surreal--I kept having to remind myself that, yes, I was actually in Austria--and I couldn't help but keep thinking that Austria looked just like the fairy tale I had imagined it would. Beautiful green landscape, full of trees and mountains, and the most picturesque houses and cottages spread throughout. It took about two hours to get to our youth & family hostel, where we would be staying. Everyone in the program was really friendly, although I must admit I find large groups to be quite intimidating. I feel much more comfortable approaching one as long as I have a friend by my side, so it actually worked out really well that I had met Emily because I'm pretty sure she felt the same way too!

I don't want to spend too much time talking about orientation since it seems quite distant now, but overall it went really well. It was filled with lots of info sessions but luckily they gave us plenty of free time as well. The first day we took the bus into downtown Mariazell, which was just adorable. I couldn't help but be shocked by how clean all the streets were--the exact opposite of India. We were quite the spectacle to the local Austrians; an older man approached me and asked where we were from (auf Deutsch natürlich), so I was happy I wasn't one of the others who had zero experience speaking German. I was actually shocked by the number of students who were beginners, having taken German for two years put me in the minority of students. But back to Mariazell--we went to a museum filled with information about how they used to live in the older days in log cabins and all. It was interesting but also slightly boring. One thing I noticed though was that two of the videos we watched about Mariazell completely skipped over any mention of WWII.

Dreams of Vienna

While I could tell you I chose to study abroad for an academic year, first in Vienna, Austria and then in Freiburg, Germany, for the obvious reasons–the music, art, history, and culture of these respective cities, the honest answer is that I chose to study in both because of my dad. Vienna was one of his favorite cities in the world and I sort of fell in love with the German-language culture because of him. He was stationed in the army in Austria in the 50s (a trick of fate that he didn’t get sent to fight in the Korean War), and there cultivated his life-long love for the Germanic culture, with its history, classical music and opera, bratwurst and beer.

As a kid, I poured over my dad’s army photos, fascinated by pictures of my youthful, confident father and his army friends taking on Europe. These pictures showed my dad as a young man I never knew (my dad was grandpa-age by the time I was born) and a very interesting Europe that was in the process of rebuilding itself after the war. My dad never became fluent in German, but fifty years later he still studied his German books, teaching me such useful phrases as: Der Ball ist rot (“The ball is red”) and Schweinhund (A pretty bad insult that literally translates to “pig dog”).

And so when my dad passed away during the spring of my senior year of high school, I returned to his army photos and felt this incredible urge, maybe even compulsion, to visit the places in the photographs. I didn’t start taking German, however, until the fall of my first year at Scripps and found myself drawn to German more than I had ever been to Spanish (which I had taken for three years in high school). I can attribute part of this interest to Scripps’ awesome German professors, but also to the language itself, which I liked, honestly, because I thought it sounded funny. And the fact that most people think it sounds ugly, as opposed to romantic languages like French, makes me like it even more. And so this is the path that has led me here–an eager student three weeks away from flying to Vienna for my first time ever in Europe. I’m curious to see if it holds the same magic for me that it did for my dad. I can’t wait.