Sprechen sie Deutch?

Miscommunication is a given for me in Austria, I don’t speak German! Sometimes it is frustrating but mostly it is just really funny. Take for example, the time, just last Friday morning, that I went downstairs to talk to Oma and Opa. I was there to set up a day of the week for my roommate and I to eat dinner with them. Oma speaks more English than her husband, but she was in the shower. So I was telling him “We would like to come to dinner on Tuesdays. Is that ok?” He seemed confused and kept telling me his wife would be out of the shower soon… It was a little awkward so I kept talking to him about it. Finally he sits down at the table beside me and says, “ My English is not so good but you say you want two steaks for dinner?” I didn’t laugh then but I giggled the entire three flights walk up to my room…

Super Saturday Austrian Chapter

In downtown Vienna there is a fresh air food market, the naschmarkt, and on Saturdays they have a flea market behind it. So we began our day by tasting fresh fruits and the many sugar coated-candied fruits that they sell at the naschmarkt and scouring for gems at the flea market. I found one! I bought a typewriter for about 15 dollars. It works really well, and I was really excited because they are about 50 on EBay ( I just got one for my birthday but this one has the option to use German letters, which will be helpful when I’m fluent, right?) Anyways it came in a really cute case, so I will have a fun time lugging it through the airport on my way home.

After we dropped our things off at home we (my roommate and I) went to the secession building.

It’s beautiful! Secession was an art movement in the late 1890’s by artists like Gustav Klimt (he painted “The Kiss”… you’ve seen it) Anyways, the building is basically the first art exhibition house devoted to contemporary art. I love their motto “To everytime it’s art and to art its freedom” My roommate didn’t really like the exhibits… it reminded me of the time I took GrannyBird, My Parents, and Jake and Jamie to the Modern Art Museum in London . While we were going around the museum we came upon a painting that was all blue by . GrannyBird looked at it and said, “ They forgot to put up a painting here…” Ok, so not a lot of people like modern art. MY favorite exhibit was by an American woman named Frances Stark , you will like this one! It is really playful and pretty. I broke down and bought the book.

After the Secession building we ran into some guys on our study, Blake and Bryce. The four of us decided to get on the U Bahn (the train), get of in 3 stops, turn right and then go and find somewhere to eat. On the way we went into a small church, it is amazing how many beautiful buildings there are here. We got sandwiches at a grocery store and some fresh squeezed orange juice (it was really cool there was a machine, like the ones that squish your pennies into souvenirs, but it squished oranges into a bottle. Oh those crafty Austrians) Then we went to the Stephansdom…

It is amazing how big this church is. There you are just waltzing down the karntner strasse, shopping at H&M and eating at McDonalds, and BAM a giant church that was built in the 14th century. After this I got a great Hot Dog, it was a roll with a bratwurst slid inside of it, and got in line for the opera. The performances at the Opera House start at 7:00 but if you get in line at 4 you can buy what is called a standing room ticket. You wait until 6 and buy a cheap ticket (3 Euro as compared to 25) and then you get to stand in these really narrow rows for the 3 hour opera. Sounds great, huh. I think the next time I go to the opera it will not be after a day of walking! My legs were really tired. However, the opera was very good. It was Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro. It was in Italian so they had these little screens in front of every seat (or standing space) with enough translations to understand it. I really enjoyed it, but like I said I was real tired, so I got a piece of Chocolate mousse Cake afterwards…

Oh, Austria…

She and Him

http://www.sheandhim.com/sheandhim.php
I have had this stuck in my head since I listened to the CD on the plane! I love it. It is a guy named M. Ward and Zooey DeChanel (the actress from ELF). Loved her voice in elf… love her… love them…

WEIN!

I am Finally here, after a whole day of traveling! It is wonderful! My school is right across from The Opera House In Vienna (wein) right in the heart of downtown.

I don't speak very much German but I successfully bought a clock all on my own speaking only German. It doesn't sound that hard, but it was, ok! just be proud of me... My jet-lag hasn't been too bad. although I did wake up at 5 this morning (which is pretty amazing for me). I moved into my house with my roommate Taryn, our host parents are oma and opa (grandma and grandpa) they are really great. their shower, however, is not. it is a seat, with no shower curtain, and a hand held sprayer. It really wasn't that bad. It just made me feel really ridiculous ( I laughed my whole shower).

I can't Believe I'm here! I will have a longer post later, I have a big day planned tomorrow!

Expat Status

I am leaving for Austria tomorrow! I will be an expat for three months... but I love America and I can prove it.

Haiku for America
The Stars and The Stripes
Watermelon (spit the seeds)
sparkler, in your eye.

The End of An Era.

(2006)

or is it...


(2008)

The prime of the Vegas House

If you lived in Hawaii last semester, you probably noticed that the Vegas House was real great. I'm not just tooting my own horn... I am serious. I mean there have been other great people that have lived in this house, but never in such high concentration. Let me prove it, here is a list of things on the vegas house's repertoire
1- great parties. saloon theme ones, funerals, breakfast birthday bashes, all roommate late night parties, secret dance parties. We really lived out the semester in ecstasy.
2- pac man
3- tons of cookies. sometimes two batches in one day.
4- communal closets
5- very informative childrens books checked out from the school library.
6- netflix
7- sunday dinner
8- bathrobes
9- pillow talk

It was real great. you should all be jealous!