Sensory Overload!!

My journey was completed without incident. I traveled from Salt Lake City, to Chicago, to Dusseldorf, then finally to Vienna. Everything went like clockwork, so I guess I have to give props to BYU travel for making my first international trip as painless as possible. I arrived in Vienna greeted by my program's director, Professor Brewer. She helped me with my bags, and offered me some snacks. I felt so taken care of. We waited for the last group of students to arrive, then we hauled our luggage onto a shuttle. As we drove into the city I couldn't help but notice the massive amounts of Graffiti. It was like everyone had to make their mark on something. It kind of slapped me over the face a bit, because I realized that I had had a tourist's picture of what the city would look like. As if such a large city would somehow appear uninhabited. It was weird. After that initial shock, I began to realize the city's beauty. There is just so much to see.
The group of us were the last to arrive at the hotel. Everyone else had already left their rooms to go explore and eat lunch. I was tired. Of course I was not able to sleep on the plane. Even if I had been comfortable, I have never been able to fall asleep sitting up. So I laid down. The other guys staying in my room came back. We all did the introduction thing. Of course I didn't have much in common with any of them. When have I had anything in common with another guy? haha. Anyways, three of us took naps while the other two went to talk... about rock climbing... for like 3 hours. haha. I woke up ready for dinner. All 34 of us went to eat at an Italian restaurant. It was pretty good. I ordered a pizza with ham on it. That normally wouldn't be my first choice, but It was a safe choice at the time.
The next day was orientation. We met the directors of the AAIE, and took a short tour around our school. Markus (an administrator, and our tour guide) pointed out places that would be useful... the post office, a grocery store, etc. After orientation we had a short presentation on the public transit system. I must say that the whole thing was pretty intimidating. I've never taken a bus in my life... I've always either walked or driven. After our meeting our host families started arriving. My host brother, Georg, was one of the first to arrive. He spoke very good English, and was very tall... I'm guessing about 6'7" or something near there. He drove me to my new home in Vienna.
Its in the 13 district, known to be the nicest suburban area of Vienna. I absolutely love it! My host family is so nice, and have taken care of me from the moment I walked in the door. Georg walked me to the bus station.. about 5 minutes from the house. He also gave me two maps of Vienna (large and small), and the schedules for the buses that run from my stop. Even with all the help he gave me, I still felt nervous about venturing out on my own. It ended up being pretty easy. I take a bus to the underground station St. Ober Veit, which runs the underground line 4. I take that line to Karlzplatz and from there its a few minutes to the school. About a half an hour all together.
My room is very comfortable. I have plenty of space... are
you wondering where my bed is in the picture? Its actually up a ladder on top of the hallway ceiling. I've never had a loft-type bed before. I was pretty excited:) Although, I was more excited when my host family said they had the internet and would let me hook up my laptop. I wouldn't have to be cut off from the outside world!!
Thursday was our first day of class. I didn't have my class until 2:30, so I went into the city early to look around. I visited St. Stephans and St. Peters... both are absolutely beautiful. After class I went to the Albertina museum to see the Van Gogh exhibit. It was very interesting to see his earlier works, before he studied impressionism. To finish out my day, I went to the art history museum near my school. They have an eastern egyptian and oriental exhibit, along with a large collection of paintings and vintage musical instruments. It was a very fun day. Perhaps a bit too much, but I couldn't help myself.
Friday was our first trip as a group. We went to Bratislava, which is only an hour from Vienna. I had to wake up at 5am in order to be ready at the South train station by 7. It takes about a half hour to get into the city from my house, and an additional 20 minutes by street car to get the the train station. Bratislava was so fun!! We traveled with a tour guide (Vanna, very cute), who took us into the city center. She would stop every 5 minutes or so to talk about something with historical significance. I found it very interesting. I had no idea that Bratislava was so important. We ate lunch at a local pub. We were all encouraged to order Bratislava's native dish... which is essentially gnocchi. Basically a potato pasta,covered in sheep cheese and topped with bacon. It was pretty good! After lunch we were able to walk around. A small group of us walked up to the castle (under renovation). Despite not being able to go inside, the view was amazing!
Saturday was pretty chill. I had a short meeting with my Opera/Theater class to go over the syllabus, then a group of us went to the Danube and hung out for the rest of the day. Es war viel spass!!
And today... today has been very good. I had stake conference.
Despite not understanding a word that was said, I really enjoyed it. It was a real eye-opener to see the church functioning the same way it does in Utah.... but without the Utah attitude:) Later I'm planning to watch Swan Lake at the Rathaus (City Hall). They have a large screen set up on the side of the building. I guess there's been a film festival going on, or something. Anyway's... so that's been my week. Its been crazy long, and crazy busy. I'm enjoying every moment though. I have quite the 3 months to look forward to!!