Rain Rain, Go Away

The weather here has been less than ideal. It’s been raining off and on, mostly on, since last week and it rained all day today. So far, my rain boots and socks have been my smartest packing choices. My mom will be happy to know that I've basically finished unpacking. All empty suitcases are under my bed, now I just have a pile of... well...crap around my bed that I don't know where to put. I could probably find a place for them if I tried but...well, maybe later tonight. Because of the weather, I'm glad we have such an easy – albeit long – commute to the IES center. The only trouble with riding the subways and trams, especially when they’re packed full of people, is that you get absolutely no personal space and you’re up in everyone’s business. How do the Austrians feel about personal space and personal boundaries, you might ask? Well, the truth is that they don’t seem to believe it exists. People here have no problem putting their hand right on top of your hand when you’re holding on to a rail, or pressing their entire bodies up on you for that matter. My friend Sam seems to be a magnet for these sorts of people. One time she noticed the man behind her on the subway was stroking her hair. A little inappropriate, by our American standards at least.


Besides the unfortunate touching, the past weekend was a lot of fun. After our German test on Friday (which I got an A- on!), we went out to the area that’s referred to as the Bermuda Triangle of clubs. I’m sure you’re all smart enough to figure out why. The first club was lots of fun, they played contemporary American music and I decided to try absinthe. Mistake. It tasted awful, like nasty licorice, and even though they serve it with sugar, the sugar didn’t stop the wave of nausea which came over me every time I took a tiny sip. I finished almost half of the tiny shot of the stuff. Never again. After we left, we stopped for a quick bite, a quick beer, and long look at the Danube Canal. It looked really beautiful at night, with the buildings all lit up on either side. The next club we went to played amazing music. We got to mingle with Austrians while doing the YMCA, the Time Warp, and the Macarena. Then we learned some new German tunes with their own dance moves. Overall, a very successful night.

On Saturday, we took a bus tour through Vienna. We saw the Belvedere Palace, Hundertwasser House, the Vienna anti-aircraft tours from the 1940s, and many other cool places. At the end the bus took us up to a look-out point at the end of the Alps. We could see the entire city of Vienna, surrounded by mountains and the canal. Very picturesque. On Sunday, my friends and I went to the world’s oldest zoo, Tiergarten Schönbrunn, and walked around and looked at the animals. The zoo is really big, and really easy to get lost in. My favorite animals were the pandas (which I only saw for a second), the koala bear, and the owls. Sunday night we went to a local bar, where you can order sandwiches by the centimeter. Don’t worry, they provide a ruler. Monday was my friend’s birthday, so after German class we went to a delicious Italian restaurant. After that, we took the subway to a bar only a couple of stops away from our apartment. On Mondays, the specials are 0,50 Euro cocktails from 8-9, 1,50 Euro cocktails from 9-10…etc. Very economical. I’ll probably be staying in tonight, doing my German homework and catching up on some tv shows. I miss everyone and hope all is well!