Friday, October 29, 2010

Another Long Weekend

So, this will be the second long weekend we've had in a row. Luke is currently sitting two seats down from me trying to figure out what to do this weekend, but I don't have a lot of hope for that.

Last weekend, we didn't do much at all. We went to Munich on Monday and I bought a lot of stuff (mostly for people back home). I don't really want to go anywhere for awhile because I don't want to spend any more money. A side note, completely unrelated-toy stores here are awesome!

We've been doing some activities that are apparently very similar to those on our final exam. Mostly, it involves reading people's situations and then deciding which advertisement will help them the most. It's actually pretty easy for me, although that may just be because it's designed to be logical.

Bogenhofen celebrates Thanksgiving because of the American students. We (the language students) have to make food, decorate the gym, and serve the other students. We also have to provide some sort of entertainment. So, Luke and JC are writing music for a Thanksgiving musical, and I'm directing and narrating the in-between-songs action. I'll post lyrics and possibly music if I get them.

Interesting Note: Work afternoons keep getting shorter and shorter, mainly because I'm getting better at my jobs and manage to finish early pretty much every time.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Sickness and Other Stuff

So, I got a little sick this past week. The food in the Mensa had a couple of bad days, and so did I. But now I'm feeling better and eating less, lest I suddenly feel the urge to vomit. That was pleasant, wasn't it?

I'm understanding pretty much everything that the teachers say in class. It's a very weird thing to realize that these strange words mean something to me. Words that most of you reading this wouldn't understand at all are flowing out of my mouth at an ever-increasing rate. I no longer have a headache after classes each morning. Today my work supervisor said, in German, "Don't worry about all the leaves, because more will fall. Just get the majority of the leaves off of the street." That may not have been exactly what he said, but I understood the concept without thinking about it.

I haven't really done anything of note recently. Wait! That's not true. I went to an organ concert last night. This was significant because the organ being played was the largest cathedral organ in the world and the largest organ in Europe. It had 17,000 pipes. That is a lot.

I have little else to say, except that this is a long weekend, and I don't know what exactly I'm gonna do. We'll see.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Wien und Salzburg

So, last week we went to Vienna. On the first day, we went to Stephansdom and climbed all 343 steps up to the top of the tower. It was long and tiring, but really cool. Then we ate at an Italian restaurant, which was, oddly enough, the same place I had eaten at earlier when on Mr. Baker's German tour. The food was as tasty as I remembered.

The next day we went to Die Ringstrasse, which is a big circular street with lots of stuff on it. We also toured the Austrian Parliament and the Hofburg, which was the winter residence of the Hapsburg dynasty (including, rather importantly, Empress Elizabeth, also known as Sisi). It was pretty cool, as was the Apple Strudel I had in the Cafe Central. That afternoon, I wandered around the city all by myself (don't tell my Mom). I had the largest pieces of pizza ever. That evening we ate at Zanoni, and I had an excellent berry mixture with bilberries, strawberries, and raspberries with cherry and bilberry ice cream. It was amazing (also, amazingly expensive).

Third day we went to Schoenbrunn, the summer house of the Hapsburgs. We then went to the Labyrinth and played with all the toys therein. Then we (Amanda, Annalee, Luke, Eric and I) went to the Natural History Museum. We then went shopping and I bought a Vienna T-shirt. That evening we went to the Ballet and saw "Onegin" by that Russian guy who wrote the 1812 Overture (I know his name, I just don't want to spell it). Luke, JC and I all wore our suits and looked good!

Our last day we went to the Belvedere, which is an old hotel that is now an art gallery. They had David's portrait of Napoleon, which is as big as it is inspiring. That afternoon Amanda, Luke, Annalee and I went to a comic store where I bought 5 Asterix books. Then we came back to Bogenhofen.

Then, Friday, I worked in the Park, which entailed pulling weeds up from the patio behind the church to prepare for the baptisms, which were taking place in the baptistry behind the church.

Today (Sunday), I went to Salzburg with Luke. We went up to the fortress/castle/thingy and went to most of the museums. Best of all, we saw an axegun. It's a gun, that's also an axe, or an axe that's also a gun if you prefer. I also bought a T-shirt that says "No Kangaroos in Austria."

That's pretty much everything. My parents are coming to see me for Christmas break in Berlin and I'm excited about that.