Well here I am, I've been in Austria for a whole week... wait what?! Crazy!!! I posted a few pictures. The first are my friends Bella, Robert, and Four. We're at a pub at a party for the international students. There are students from all over the world, and so many languages were being spoken at that pub!! If I closed my eyes, I would have thought it was the day of Pentecost!
The second picture is just a random Jesus that I saw while walking to the store yesterday. They are EVERYWHERE. There are statues of angels and saints, crosses, Catholic churches and cathedrals, it's really neat. Although you would think by the looks of the town that it the people are very strong in their faith, it is the exact opposite. Almost no one goes to church, although most would claim to be "Catholic" because their parents are.
The third picture is of my university, Karl Franzens Universitat. Amazing or what?! It looks so beautiful with the snow. I love it. I feel like I walk into a castle when I go to class.
The last picture is just the street that is outside my apartment. The streets are narrow, and many of them are cobblestone. The buildings are tall, and all connect. The architecture is amazing too! I love just walking down the streets, as they're so different from home.
The first week as a whole has been really good. I've made quite a few friends, and from so many different places! Here is a list of some of them, and the places they're from:
Austria- Robert, Hannah, Christina, Sophie
Croatia- Egor
Kosovo- Tony
China- Bayou, Four
Australia- Kat
Scotland- Alan
Italy- Mara
Greece- Dimitra
France- Phillipe
Hungary- Esther
Russia- Daniel, Kate
Catalonia- Francina
Mexico- Saria, Tipita, Juan, Miguel
Canada- Colin, Marko
Finland- Eva
India- Uupma
USA- Stina, Rachel, Bella, Shelby
I love getting to talk with everyone about what it's like at home! All of the international students are like a little group. It's pretty funny when we try to communicate sometimes. Last night, we were trying to play cards. Daniel, from Russia, hardly speaks English or German. He was trying to teach us the rules to this card game, but no one had any idea what was going on. We were all just putting down cards when he said to! Eventually, we played a game of cards that everyone could understand. You throw the pile down, and make a "teepee" on top by balancing two cards. You go in a circle and try to grab a card from the pile without knocking over the "teepee." Whoever gets the most cards at the end wins. Gotta keep it simple, hahaaa :)
I've been running twice, which isn't very much for being here for a whole week! But it's been hard to run because it's so dang cold. The first time I went by myself, and explored some mountain trails. It was unbelievable! I had to cross frozen rivers, and ran through ice and snow, up and down hills alongside a mountain. Awesome. Yesterday, Stina and I went on the other side of town. We stumbled upon a little trail that runs parallel to the Mur River. It was so cool! We eventually came to this famous clock tower, which you can go to the top of and view the entire city. It was closed, but we decided to hop the fence and climb the million stairs to the top as part of our workout. As we were climbing, we would get higher and higher, and couldn't help but be in complete awe of the view. It happened to be about 5:00 and the sun was setting. You could see the snowy rooftops of the entire city, the mountains in the background, and the pink and orange sky as the sun was setting. I wish I'd had my camera so bad, but I will just have to go back again. Maybe tonight! On the way down, the I started to notice how icy the stairs were. The thought of slipping on the ice and tumbling down the stairs crossed my mind about two seconds before it actually happened. Stina looked back, and there I was, crashing down. Typical. My butt's a little sore, but the bruises remind me of how beautiful the view was! Hahaa. So I walked down the rest of the steps at the pace of a two-year-old, holding onto the railing for dear life. Good times.
I registered with the city of Graz yesterday, so I'm an official resident! Woo hoooo!!! German class is very hard. We have our first test tomorrow, and I really have to study. There are so many people in my class who speak 3-4 languages, so it's a lot easier for them to learn a new one I think. I feel like the dummy in class who has no idea what's going on, but I think it'll start to get better. Just gotta practice.
Well that's all for now.
Love always,
Lyndsey
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