-Study Abroad Vienna, Spring '09-

I will be studying abroad during this Spring semester, '09, in Vienna, Austria. This will be a blog used to keep track of my experiences!

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

- Reflections on Week 1 in Vienna -

          We have been in Vienna for a week now and it has been a great experience. Unfortunately I do not have nearly as much to reflect on as I would like! I have been sick with the flu since I got here and I am just starting to recover. I really enjoyed the evening when we walked around downtown and we got to see St. Stephen's Cathedral. It is really fun to go out and get dessert at cafe's and we always have fun when we just wander around the city and experience the sites.

          I have had a few problems, for example I am definitely not good at speaking German although it has not proved to be that much of a problem since so many people speak English. I also have had some trouble adjusting to some of the different Austrian customs. For example, at the grocery store they move very fast and you have to bag your own groceries. So bagging groceries while trying to figure out how much to pay is fairly difficult.
          In order to find a piece of home in Vienna we went out for pizza one day which was great! The food is pretty good but it is definitely not the same as home. I have been craving a cheeseburger and I am not sure if I will be able to find it here.
          What I am really looking forward to is becoming comfortable in the city so that I will feel comfortable enough traveling. There are so many places that I want to visit and I want to make sure I start planning trips soon so that I do not waste any time. I am really looking forward to a busy semester and I cannot wait to do more exploring in Vienna and outside of Austria! 

Monday, February 2, 2009

- 10 Words to Describe Me -

Book Smart - This basically means intelligent, because I have always gotten good grades and been really involved in learning. But this phrase also hints at the fact that I have always been told I am not "street smart," as in I lack common sense. Logically I can figure things out easily, but I don't have the best common sense. This is important because I have trouble with everyday things, such as directions.


Opinionated - There are quite a few topics that I have very strong opinions on, for example religion and war. When I talk to others about these topics I tend to be very stubborn about my ideas and it takes quite a bit to change my mind. It can really alienate me so I try to be open to other opinions and I think I am getting better at this but it still needs a lot of work.

Kind - I really love being happy and friendly with everyone, and I really have a hard time holding grudges against people or hating anyone. I really dislike violence and I feel that it is a waste of time and energy to be violent or hateful towards people.

Student - I have always loved learning and studying, in and out of school, so being a student is a really important to me. I have no idea what I want to do when I grow up because all I am concerned with know is continuing to learn. Because of this I take school very seriously and I also spend time outside of school learning, for example I am an adamant reader.

Outgoing - I really like to meet new people and do fun things so I tend to be really open and outgoing. I am always willing to try new things and that is why travel is something that I really enjoy.

Liberal - Politically and socially I am very liberal. I am against war, I disagree with organized religion, I do not like the government to have too much control, and I am especially concerned about some of the current controversies including abortion and gay rights which I believe should not be hindered by the government. These ideas really form the basis of my beliefs so I think it is very important.

Busy - When I do not have a lot to do I tend to get lazy and spend my time doing pointless things like watching TV and going online. In order to avoid this I try to keep as busy as possible, because I find that free time gets wasted. This leads to me taking on a lot, like this summer I will be doing an internship, taking a class, and getting a job.

Demanding - I am commonly told that I am "high maintenance" which I tend to disagree with, but I do admit that I can be somewhat demanding. I think this is different than high maintenance because I really love to work and I never expect others to take care of me, I just tend to demand a lot of myself and have high expectations of what I can do.

Optimistic - I used to be very self conscious which really played a big role in my life because I was always feeling like people were judging me or did not like me. I'm still a bit self conscious but as I've gotten older I've tried really hard to see the best in things rather than the worst which really makes me a much happier person.

Sister - I have two sisters, one older and one younger, as well as an older half-brother. Since I have moved a lot in my life we have always been pretty close, and even though we don't get along sometimes we always make the best of the time we spend together now that we do not all live at home anymore.