Two weeks in.. and loving the city

I've been in Vienna for two weeks now and beginning to make this my new home for the next four months. Some days it's so surreal to me that I live here, having Lauren with me has made a big difference. It's not like going to any other college or university for the first time. I find it much harder to meet people, mostly because of the language barrier, but also because of how different the system here is for taking classes. The classes here are very different; The exchange students are placed in regular classes with many of the Austrian locals. This makes it odd as some of their english is not very good and they have to ask the professor to explain what he/she is saying in German to them. When they put you into groups they all start speaking German to one another! It's just something to get used to.. I am very excited for our German Language course to start so that I can start understanding more what people say!

During a student orientation last week we had a chance to meet a lot of the other exchange students. We were surprised to see that we were the only people from Canada, and their are only a few of us from outside of Europe. It's been so great getting to other people and finding more about their families and cultures. Everyone has a story.. and I love stories :)

It is so cold here right now and snowing everyday. The wind reminds me of living in Lethbridge it's so bad! I think once it warms up it will be a lot more fun to go out and explore the city. Getting lost is always fun.. but getting lost in the cold is miserable! We visited the History Museum this week which was lots of fun. We have plans to go see the Imperial Palace tomorrow which I am very excited about. Their are so many wonderful aspects to this city and so much to see and do. I can't wait for it to get warm! This Saturday Lauren and I have tickets to go see the Ballet at the Opera House, which is absolutly beautiful. I will be sure to post pictures as soon as I take them.

We had our first taste of the night life here in Vienna last weekend. Their is a popular place called the Bermuda Triangle which is basically a bunch of bars side by side shaped into a triangle. There is no cover at any of the bars and never a line. It's honestly like making your own pub crawl. Their are people everywhere! We have made some great friends from Australia that joined us that night and it was the most fun I've had in a really long time. Taking the bus home was an adventure and we were so happy to have some friends with us. (don't worry mom and dad.. it was safe :)

I talked to my brother today for the first time in a while; He made me realize what an amazing experience this will be for me. I am so greatful to have had this opportunity and plan to take it all in.

I'm adding some pictures of our hostel, touring the city and a few from the weekend..

The first few days in Vienna ..

I'm sorry to my friends and family for taking so long to write my first post... the trip here was literally one of the worst expirences ever. It took over 3 days to get here as there was a "major" snow strom in London. By snow storm I mean sunny sky and about 3 inches of snow on the ground.. but to them this was the most snow they have ever seen and felt it was nessessary to close down one of the buisiest airports in the world. Our journey only got worse, as we arrived in Vienna we were told our luggage was lost. So 3 days in.. and no luggage, it hasn't been the best start.

My hostel however is wonderful. Lauren and I share a two bedroom place with a bathroom and very small kitchen! The best way to describe our place is Ikea. Ikea things everywhere! Its's very nice, clean and modern. The neigbourhood we live in isn't the nicest, however we were told it is very safe. In fact the whole city of Vienna is very safe. When we walk around our neighbourhood at night I don't feel scared. The subway is the greatest thing... there are 6 lines that take you all around the city, so much different then Calgary. I love it.

After sleeping for for many hours we ventured into the city on Thursday afternoon. The University has a great buddy program and we lucked out emensley to have a wonderful girl. Her name is Conny, and without her I think we would be lost. She has taken us everywhere to do the things we needed and help us get setteled. She took us to the city center on Thursday afternoon and as soon as we arrived I was mezmorized. The city is beautiful, the buildings are something I have never seen before or could have ever imagined. I am in love with the parliment buildings and could go look at City Hall everyday. We walked around for hours and had our first taste of real Austrian food: Schnitzel. It looked a little weird but it was amazing! One serving of it was enough for all three of us to share, if it wasn't so fatning I could eat that everyday!

Not many people here speak English. The language barrier is very difficult. We mostly have to point at what we want or the person will try and find someone in the store who speaks some English. We have noticed a lot of the younger people know at least some as they are being tought it in school. I think once the German course gets going I will feel a lot better about traveling around, the Austrians are not very friendly as is, and when you can't speak German they get very frustrated with you. I try and just smile and play the cute card!!

Today we went to the University and took a tour of where our classes will be. The University is about half the size of Mount Royal and very nice. Everything is new and very different. Instead of taking 5 classes to be full time, here they take between 15-20. The course load is much smaller and some classes only go for a few days. It's hard to know how many classes to register for as I am not familiar with this system. But it will be a nice change.

Overall since our luggage has arrived things have gotten better. I miss my family and friends very much and it almost makes it harder to talk to them because it reminds you how far away you really are. However this city is beautiful, and I can't wait to see more of it. I will post pictures soon!