Reunion and Routine

Well... It has only taken me one week to become confined by my old routine.  I feel my passion, my creativity, my new-found perspective slowly fading from me.  Utah is a cold reality, which I was not ready to face.  Can I live in Utah, without letting Utah affect me so negatively?  The answer is yes, though it will take effort on my part.  I must replace my hatred with love... I've never been very good at that.  

Moving my rant towards my family, I have realized that living on my own is wonderful!  My parents are crazy, and the rest of my family is... just crazy!  I feel like I need a vacation.  I love them all, but I think we're meant to have distance between us. 

Finally, Utah felt a white welcome was fitting for my return.  I've never seen this amount of snow here.  I'm not very fond of shoveling, so I hope this won't be a long-term winter occurrence.

Alright,  I'm done ranting for today.  Life's great, isn't it?

Farewell...

Here it is, my last post and the end of a very pleasing chapter of my life.  I am leaving Vienna.  It has been an incredible 3 months, and throughout my time here I have grown to love this City.  No longer is this love a shallow infatuation, but rather a deeper love and understanding of a unique way of life.  Its been an eventful journey to come to this understanding.  Nothing is more frustrating, as a foreigner, to always feel like you have no clue about your surroundings.  You always feel like you're on the outside.  I can't say with any confidence that I ever gained access inside, but perhaps over the past three months I've managed to get my foot in the door.  I've been able to sample what it is to be an Austrian.  I will never be able to express how much it has meant to me to have been here.

So... Let's talk about the beginning.  I mentioned a list of things I wanted to accomplish in coming here.  Is anyone curious about how I did?  1. I wanted to learn German - Well I have certainly improved my language skills, but I am no where near being fluent.  Am I sad? - No... I don't think fluency has anything to do with having a successful study abroad.  2. I wanted to make friends, both Austrian, and America. - I have made friends with some of the greatest people I've ever known, all of which are members of my group.  I have not made Austrian friends.  Do I regret this?  No, because I am not the type of person who can carry a relationship on Facebook.  3.  I think I said something about becoming more outgoing. - At this point I really don't give a shit about being outgoing.  I am as sociable as I'll ever be, and its a very comfortable level for me.  This level requires my friends to exert more effort in gaining my love and trust, and I wouldn't have it any other way.  I may have fewer friends by the end of my life, but those friends I have will be far more meaningful. 4.  I wanted to return a changed person. - Has Vienna changed me? - The answer is yes, but not like I would have thought.  Spiritually, I have had experiences that will undoubtedly change my life in the Church.  I have had a lot of time to think about my life, and where I want its direction pointed.  I owe this change to Cindy, and to the countless blessings I have recieved over the course of this trip.  Along with spiritual change, I have also undergone an attitude change.  I have so many possibilities ahead of me, and I'm ready to let go of my fear and take them.  I'm ready to embrace my talent and become the singer I have always dreamed of being.  I'm finished labeling myself.  I'm going to think of myself as being many things, instead of only one.  So Vienna has changed me, because it has opened my eyes to the many opportunities that lie ahead. 

So... What will I miss?

- I'll miss living on my own.  Its not just the added freedom, but the joy that comes without having the added complications of family life.  I've been able to evaluate myself here, and that would not have been possible at home.

- I'll miss the many opportunities for culture.  I've been able to see so much here.  Utah can't compare in the slightest with the plethora of choices Vienna has for an Art lover.

- I'll miss the public transportation.  I'm sure you've heard it before, but Vienna's public trasportation is amazing!  Its easy, convenient, and very affordable.  The only drawback is that it ends around midnight.

- I'll miss the people in my group I have grown so fond of... especially Emily and Michelle.

- I'll miss the European awareness.  People here don't wear a piar of goggles when they look at the world... It makes them seem so much less self-centered than Americans.  

- I'll miss living in a beautiful City.  Orem isn't beautiful... not in any degree.

- And finally,  I'll miss German.  I know that I would have come to know it if I had had more time here.

What won't I miss?

- I won't miss the food... not the greatest, and Austrians don't like spicey food, which has meant my diet has been lacking in heat.  The service in restaurants is also very poor.

- I won't miss the inconvenience.  They don't really have a concept one-stop stores here.  Everything is bought seperately.  Also, everything here closes at 8pm, and grocery stores are not opened on Sunday. 

- I won't miss being a tourist.  You don't forget you're a tourist in Europe, because the moment they recognize your English accent, they begin treating you like a tourist. You can't escape it.

- I won't miss their lack of satisfying salty-snack options.

My Favorite Trip: Its a four-way tie between Dorfgastein, Prague, Italy, and Greece.

Least Favorite Trip: Budapest... only because it was hard to find beauty within it, though I don't doubt that would have been easier if we had stayed longer. 

So there it is... all I've experienced essentially summed up in one blog post.  I'm sad to being ending this wonderful adventure, but I am grateful to have had it.  I anticipate a very strange return home.  Its hard to think about returning to my life in Utah.  It almost feels as though I'm becoming a foreigner all over again.  It may be a difficult adjustment... something like a reverse-culture-shock.  Hopefully I'll make the adjustment smoothly.  Farewell Austria! I will never forget the impact you have made on my life.  American here I come...Tuesday morning.

 

A Little Deutschland

You may be wondering what I've been up to since my last post.  Well... after Turandot I went to see 3 other Operas at the Volksoper, which would be a total of 4 Operas in one week... I know, I'm pretty good at basic math.  That brought my grand total of Opera-seeing to a respectable 11... but I'm not quite finished.  That weekend (the weekend of the 21st through the 23rd) I decided to take a break from Operas, not that I don't enjoy them.  There comes a point when one needs a change of scenery. So Friday I relaxed... that's right, I didn't go out, for what seems like the first night in 2 1/2 months.  Well, I guess I did go out for about an hour to buy junk food, but that was it.  I spent my evening watching movies and eating gummy candies.  It was wonderful:)  Saturday I woke up late, then went to Mariahilfer Strasse for some shopping.  Mariahilfer Strasse would be the equivalent to... I guess University Parkway in Orem.  Its essentially one giant shopping center.  I went to C & A to by some jeans.  Unfortunately C & A isn't really my style (imagine shopping for jeans at Sears), so I went to H & M (about the same as Target, only an upgrade in quality).  It didn't take me long to find a pair that I really liked, and the price was caparable to what I would find in the States.  Did I mention it was snowing? Because when I finished shopping It was coming down pretty aggressively.  I managed to make it to Michelle's apartment without becoming completely soaked.  From her place, Emily, Michelle, and I made our way to the only Mexican place in Vienna (that we've found)... it was closed.  We were starving, and there was an Indian Restaurant next door, so we went inside.  I've never before encountered a place such as this... you take what you want, and pay what you want.  What?  No Prices?  I got some chicken curry, rice, a potato dish, and some chickpea stuff.  It was all very delicious.  For dessert we had some kind of mango, mushy stuff (consistency of cream of wheat).  It tasted a lot better than it sounds.  After dinner we went to the Weihnachtsmarkt at the Rathaus.  Why don't we have a tradition like this in America?  Its absolutely magical!  The Rathaus has been transformed into a giant advent calender, and in front of it stands I giant christmas tree, and dozens of christmas shops.  There's also little rides for the Kinder... stuff like electric merry-go-rounds and trains, and pony rides.  We spent about a half an hour there.  We would have spent more time, but it was freezing!  I got some Heisse Schokolade... ohne Rum.  If you ever go, keep in mind that the 'Punsch' contains a heathly amount of alcohol.  So we Mormons must order the Kinder Punsch (its a hot drink similar to Wassail, it comes in a few different flavors).  After the Christmas Market, we headed back to Michelle's.  We chatted a little, then went our seperate ways.  Sunday, I made it to church.  It was our Primary program... absolutely adorable, and even more so because it was in German.  After Sacrament meeting, which is the last hour, I had Willow help me find some one to interview for our Religion class (an assignment given to us by our eager program director, Cindy).  She asked the second counselor in the Bishopric... I was very greatful to her.  That night we had our religion class... it was alright.  

The next week... Monday I went to see Salome at the Staatsoper... very interesting, I would recommend researching it.  Tuesday, I was a bit naughty, I stayed home all day, in bed.  I'm just so exhausted by this pace sometimes.  I did manage to get out that night to see Die Zauberflöte at the Staatsoper.  It was amazing!!  A few of the students from Linfield (another school studying at the Institute) noticed that I was by myself and invited me to stand with them.  The Opera was so well done... a delight for the eyes and ears.  Wednesday was my last Opera for the week.  I saw Tosca at the Volksoper.  I loved it!!  The soprano was fantastic, both in acting and in singing.  That brings my grand total to 14 operas... I have 3 more I definitely want to see, which means I will meat and surpass my goal of 15.  Thursday was Thanksgiving Day, as you know, and for those of you wondering, Austrians do not celebrate this Holiday.  Why would they?  I had my normal classes that day... only German, after which I went to Cindy's house for some holiday pie.  She, and 

students, spent the entire night pior baking.  They must have made over 20 pies.  I had about 6 pieces before I called it quits... I know, I'm a lightweight when it comes to pie.  I also managed to top that pie off with some chicken soup.  That night, Emily, Michelle, and I went to Michelle's place to watch Elf... nothing like a cheesy movie to get you into the Holiday spirit.

Friday morning was the beginning of our Temple trip.  We all met in front of the institute at 7am... that meant I had to be ready to go by 6am.  So early!  Our bus ride was awful... why wouldn't it be, it was 8 hours long.  Our stupid bus driver had no idea how to get there, and on top of that, he was just a crappy driver.  We were all sick by our jouney's end.   It was dark when we arrived in Freiberg.  After checking into the Temple's Hostel, yes they have a Hostel, we all went to a nearby grocery store to shop for food.  All

 of us had been placed in groups for cooking and cleaning for the weekend... I was in a group scheduled to cook Saturday Morning.  We had to leave the grocery store early to get ready for baptisms... we left some other group members to shop for the rest of our food (total mistake, they bought like 2 pounds of ham, of which we only used about an 8th of).  It was a great experience to do baptisms and confirmations in German... it is such a Testimony strengthener to see the Gospel functioning the same way in another language.  I left the Temple that night with a special feeling of warmth, it penetrated my whole body and didn't leave me until we left Freiberg the next day.  Saturday Morning my group cooked breakfast... We had to have it ready by 6:50am.  At this point I had had a total of 5 hours of sleep in 2 days. I was exhausted, but there was no way I could be unhappy... I was cooking!  We made eggs, toast, and tater tots... a delicious, fat-filled meal.  At 10am our group had to attend a Fireside given by the Temple President.  I fell aspleep about 30 minutes in... I know, I'm a horrible person.  I did stay awake long enough to notice that the Sachsen accent was very understandable.  He spoke slowly, and articulated each word... not to an extreme, of course, but it was enough to notice.  Blasted Austrians, and their weird slurs of speech.  After the Fireside we hopped back on 

our bus, with our horrible bus driver, and made our way to Dresden.  Its supposed to be about an hour away, but it took us two hours.  (apply sarcasm when reading this next sentence) When we finally got there we were fortunate enough to have the second counselor in the Temple presidency give us a bus tour of the city.  I was very aggitated when we were finally let off the bus and it was dark.  I would not be able to get one decent photo of Dresden... curse digital cameras and their low-light ineptitude.  Emily, Michelle, and I went to a restaurant by the Frauenkirche. I ordered a crispy-chicken sandwich, which translated to schnitzel on a bun.  It was quite delicious.  A soccer game was playing in the background... we cheered when everyone else did... it added to the European experience.  After dinner we spent time in 3 christmas markets, one of which was Dresden's famous Medieval Weihnachtsmarkt.  It was a lot of fun.  I ended buying several varieties of sweets... a disappointing packet of ginger cookies, a bubble gum flavored gummi rope, and some cinnamon roasted almonds.  After the Medieval Market, we made our way over to another market, which contained a rather fast-moving Ferris Wheel.  Michelle is extremely afraid of heights, and spent the entire ride with her head in her lap.  That same market also had a number of affordable, wooden smoking men... so of course I bought one.  I remember we used to have one, that kind of deteriorated, so I wanted to replace it.  After my purchase, we made our way back to the bus.  On our way back to Freiberg, Michelle, Emily, Nick, and I played a game we entitled 'Bee Bits.'  We would take each letter of the alphabet and string together alliterated phrases.  The absolute winner of the evening was Nick and Emily's 'M' creation: Mr. Moody's magnificent matador magestically mounts moaning mistresses... it wasn't intended to be dirty:)  We got back to Dresden around 9:30pm, and I went straight to bed.  Thank heavens I brought my Ipod along, and could use it to drown out the self-indulgent, unsolicited stories of one our group members.  The next morning we had Church  at 9am.  I didn't sleep very well, so I was operating on about 8 hours of sleep in 3 days  We were asked to sing in Church during the combined relief society/priesthood session (notice how ommited the section where we practiced after the fireside the day before... it was just too unpleasant to include). Church was very nice, though I didn't understand very much of it.  After church we had a quick lunch, then it was back on the bus for an 8 and a half hour bus ride home.   I had some very lovely conversations with Michelle... I always have lovely conversations with Michelle.  After arriving back in Vienna, I traveled home, and went straight to bed. 

Yesterday was good... I had classes, then hung out with Emily and Michelle.  We went to that Indian Restaurant again, and aftewards we went to the Weihnactsmarkt at Schönbrunn... by far my favorite market.  Today after classes I went to the Weihnachtsmarkts at Maria Theresia Platz and Karlsplatz, both were beautiful.  I haven't bought anything yet, but I'm sure I will before I leave.  After the markets I met up with Emily and Michelle.  We went back to her place and watched 'Sleepless in Seattle.'  I love that move:)  Ok... so we're all caught up.  I have 13 days left... I better not think about it, or I might cry.