Prague, Czech Republic

Prague gave me a feeling. I think it gave the whole group a feeling. A feeling that we belonged. A feeling of welcome. Maybe it was the fact that we actually had time to learn the city, and take advantage of its attributes, unlike the last whirlwind tour. Maybe it was the people of the city or its historic spirit.

Halloween in Hungary

Halloween this year was to be spent in Dracula’s castle, not exactly Halloween in Hungary, but the alliteration sounds better than Halloween in Romania!

Our plans, as life would know it, didn’t quite turn out as expected but we still had a blast!

Election 2008

Salzburg is rejoicing. The sun shone through my window this morning and the temperature reached almost 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Barrak Obama is the next president of the United States of America and Salzburg is rejoicing.

Sunny Salzburg

October weather in Salzburg has been magnificent. Often sunny and highs in the 60s, I’ve been trying to get outside as much as I can before the Alpen winter sneaks in to the city. Though several days have been cursed with clouds, drizzle and a slight chill, we’ve been blessed this October. A couple of weeks ago I even packed away the few short-sleeve shirts I brought. I neatly folded them and placed them in my suitcase under my bed to let them hibernate through the winter and wake them in the spring. I immediately unpacked them a couple days later.

Classes have begun

Salzburg is becoming more and more familiar to me. Last week I successfully voyaged my way to the Germanistik building, where my German classes are, and then to the international office without a map. This is no small feat.

Day trip to Linz

I’ve been here 12 days… long enough to go an adventure. Right?

Burned

Today I had planned on a lone adventure into Aldstadt (old Salzburg) to figure my way around a little better and take some photos of this beautiful city on a beautiful day. The sun is finally shining and the weather is nice. It’s been rainy pretty much since I got here so today was to be a glorious day of exploration. Until I burned my hand. I went to the kitchen to have a snack before I left and set my hand on the hot burner I hadn’t completely turned off when I made my eggs this morning. The knob is a little hard to turn so I had thought it was completely turned off. Damn.

Ich bin hier! I am here!

Ich bin hier! I am here… in Salzburg, Austria. It took me a while to get to these beautiful green mountains, but I’m finally here with my room set up. The plane ride wasn’t so bad after conquering the 24 hour journey to China three years ago. The trip to Vienna, where I flew in, took about 12 hours. Then a three hour car ride to Salzburg. I wasn’t nervous. Perhaps because I’ve both traveled outside the country and by myself a couple times in the states. Maybe it’s because family was picking me up, though I’ve met them less than five times in my life. I think I was just excited to get here. The only setbacks were a late flight departing from Chicago causing a late arrival in Frankfurt. This gave me 30 minutes to make my flight to Vienna. I boarded the plane at 7:58 a.m. The departure time was 8:00. My bags didn’t arrive in Vienna, which is what I expected, but they delivered them later in the day. I made it though. I traveled to a foreign country by myself and am here.

two days

I’m stressed. I’m exhilarated. I’m anxious. I’m excited. I’m scared. I’m sad… did I mention I’m stressed? I’ve spent the last week packing and a whole summer preparing to live outside the country for nine months. It’s taken it’s toll on me. Today especially, I feel the tension in my shoulders and the sharp pain throbbing in my brain.

the application

It’s two weeks before I leave and it seems so trivial and so long ago that I completed my ISEP application. I had prepared for the application process for so long, years. It was all the other stuff I hadn’t prepared for and I can’t believe I’m finally leaving soon. Though the application was probably the easiest and smallest part of my preparation, it was most certainly one of the most important. Without it, I wouldn’t be in this position – two weeks from take off.