Party in the U.S.A.

I'm back!

Within the past 3-4 days, I have checked all the things off my list. I'm sitting at the Brew, after having my hair cut across the street.

I wasn't sure what would come as a shock upon returning to the States, and for the most part, nothing seems too out of place. I already seem to be on my usual break routine - wake up without an alarm, eat breakfast and watch the morning news, go to the Brew for fast internet and coffee (and the possibility of running into people I know - 2 so far today), go home for lunch, and call up some friends.

Yesterday I had a Winter Solstice party with David, Michael, Little Matthew, Clayton and D-Drive. We went to Abshire, sledded with a broken sled we found there, had a snowball fight, then went to Matt's and drank hot chocolate.

Needless to say, I am enjoying Goshen.

Reflecting on Vienna, there are definitely things I miss. How about another Top Ten List?

1. The Staatsoper - Being able to go to an opera or ballet any night of the week is definitely a cool concept. Boredom was really not an option in Vienna.
2. Kasekrainer - Is there anything that can beat a cheese-filled sausage? (On a sidenote, I am going back to Vegetarianism on January 1st.)
3. Public Transportation - Very efficient, and much less scary than driving on snowy roads.
4. Trains - They make traveling so easy.
5. Pastries
6. Hot wine and punch
7. Pizza City - One Euro for One Piece!
8. Museums
9. Parks - The absolute best place to do homework when the weather is nice.
10. Friends - We are now scattered throughout the world, and I don't know when I will see some of them again.

As for this blog, I think I am done for a while. It was a very fun way to share my experiences abroad, but now it's back to business, and my life will be much less exciting (so you wouldn't want to read about it anyway).

Thanks to all of you who kept up with the blog! I wasn't sure if anyone was reading, but I keep running into people here who say they were. That feedback definitely makes it all seem worthwhile.

Bye for now, and Happy Holidays!

I love you all.

Last European Post

I leave tomorrow. Wow. In less than 24 hours, I will be on a plane.
This last week has gone by very quickly, and I'm beginning to realize how much I will miss the city. We finally have snow, I'm done with finals, and I am just trying to enjoy every moment.

Tonight is my last night in Vienna, and I'm going to the Opera House to see the Nutcracker Ballet! It should be a good capstone on this wonderful semester.

In anticipation of going home, here are 10 things I plan on doing in my first 24 hours in Goshen:

1. Play with my dogs, Grissom and Boomer.
2. Get a haircut.
3. Go to the Brew for an Italian Soda (ironic, since I'm so much closer to Italy right now).
4. Play my violin! It's been four months, the longest I've gone since kindergarten without touching a string instrument.
5. Take a bath. I didn't have a bathtub here.
6. Eat chocolate chip cookies (Mom and Dad are bringing some to the airport)!
7. Put up my Christmas ornaments.
8. Begin unpacking/do my laundry...
9. Meet up with friends!!!
10. Go to Friedenswald for a Summer Staff reunion!

Given the fact that I will be incredibly tired and jet-lagged, maybe I should change this from 24 hours to 48. I'm just so excited to come home!

Stay posted for a final update when I'm back in the States.

I love you all.

Final Pictures

It finally snowed! This is the Hofburg/Burggarten.


My favorite park in Vienna.



I finally went on Vienna's famous ferris wheel, the Riesenrad.



Emily and I on the Riesenrad.



Goodbye, Wien!

Pictures from Budapest

Emily and I took a day trip to Budapest, and it was a relaxing "final excursion." We walked around the city and then studied on the train home (I had two finals the next day). It was very cold, but I bought gloves and then everything was okay.




Here's the Chain Bridge, linking Buda and Pest.
The Castle, up on a hill.
This is the coolest Parliament building I have seen in Europe.


We stumbled on some sort of festival...I was very surprised at how much the little kids loved these scary creatures. I would have cried for hours when I was little.


We ended the day at Heroes' Square.

Pictures from the Week

My German class went to a Christmas market on Thursday morning. There was a puppet show going on, with a sea of children in attendance. IES bought us hot chocolate and punch!

After our Music Performance Workshop concert, there was a buffet of finger foods.
Emily and I got a picture with Frau Schachermeier, our awesome German professor.

In the Final Stretch

Well, it hardly seems possible, but in 6 days I will be on a plane back to the States! This is a very exciting prospect, but also a bit overwhelming. I'm trying not to think about it too much yet, because I still have 6 full days in Europe! I'm just hoping to really soak it all in this week.

This morning I had my first Final Exam, which went fairly well. I have 2 more on Monday, and one on Thursday. Unfortunately, that means I will most likely spend tonight studying. It's my last Saturday night here, and it depresses me to think I will spend it at home, so hopefully I will be efficient so I can hang out with friends later on. Tomorrow I'm taking a day-trip to Budapest, so that's why I need to do my studying now.

Here are some highlights from the week:

Sunday, December 6th and Monday, December 7th: My choir had 2 Christmas concerts. They both went very well, and I'm proud to say that I have now performed "The Messiah." After the second concert, I had to say my first goodbyes of the semester to some fellow choir members, which was harder than I expected because I really hadn't done anything with them outside of choir. It was just a weird feeling to say goodbye to someone I will most likely never see again. I can't imagine how hard this week will be in terms of goodbyes!

Tuesday, December 8th: I had been wanting to see what the movie theaters are like here, and I finally went to see one. Emily and I saw "Whatever Works," a Woody Allen movie. Two things were noticeably different from American theaters: there were assigned seats (with reservation), and the concession stands sold beer.

Wednesday, December 9th: One of the most stressful days I have had in Europe. I was a co-manager for our final Music Performance Workshop concert, and Wednesday was our 4-hour dress rehearsal. I was at IES from 8:00am-9:00pm. I didn't even go outside, because I packed my lunch.

Thursday, December 10th: Another busy day. The concert went very well! I did a scene from "Grafin Mariza" which involved a dialogue in German and then a Hungarian dance. It was a lot of fun. After the concert, IES threw a party with champagne and finger foods. Then most of the musicians went to The Travel Shack to celebrate being finished.

Friday, December 11th: I slept in, which was wonderful. Then I did some studying, which was not so wonderful.

Here's hoping that my final week in Vienna is amazing, and that I can make the most of it.

I love you all.

Der lange Tag des a cappella

The concert was in an old warehouse-type building.

Here's the program for the day. 7 groups in 8 hours!
"Perpetuum Jazzile" from Slovenia. The best choral performance I have ever seen.
"The Jukebox Trio" from Russia.
The show ended with "The Flying Pickets" from Great Britain.

What? It's December?!

I can't believe it's already December. I will be home in less than two weeks! It seems pretty far away, mostly because I have a lot to do before I leave. Tonight and tomorrow are my choir concerts. We are singing "The Messiah" at the University of Vienna. This Thursday is the final IES concert, which I am co-managing. Also, it's the last week of classes, and finals start on Saturday. So, I am hoping that amidst all the work, I will have ample time to really soak in all I can of the city in these last two weeks.

Here are some highlights from the past week:

Wednesday, December 2nd: My Art and Architecture class went to the Karlskirche, one of Vienna's most prominent churches. The church currently has scaffolding erected from when they restored the ceiling frescoes a few years back, so we were able to ride an elevator all the way up into the dome of the church to get an up-close look at the ceiling designs. It was a little scary, because the scaffolding would shake slightly when we would all walk to a different area, but Doctor O. assured us that she has been doing this for several years.

Thursday, December 3rd: I had a long day that included a voice lesson where I could not sing and an evening dance rehearsal that reminded me how long it has been since I have done any dancing. It brought back memories of Crimsonaires, and I was feeling nostalgic and a bit homesick. I needed something to help me relax, so I watched a movie with Karly and Mark. It was nice.

Friday, December 4th: James Richardson, a fellow DePauw junior who is studying in Paris this semester, was visiting for the weekend. Emily, Jorie and I had dinner with him at a really cool restaurant called "Vapiano's." They had enormous pasta dishes. I don't eat out very often, so it's always nice to have visitors so I can have a really good meal. We sat at the restaurant for over 4 hours, talking about DePauw, being away from school, and cultural differences.

Saturday, December 5th: This weekend was the final weekend of "VoiceMania," a month-long a cappella festival in Vienna. I went to a concert that included 7 different a cappella groups. It was 8 hours long, with short breaks in between each group to grab concessions, go to the bathroom, stretch one's legs, etc. I was reminded of how much I miss DePauwCappella back home, and I got a lot of good ideas from these different groups. My favorite group was an XL vocal ensemble from Slovenia, "Perpetuum Jazzile." They had around 40 members, and sang an incredible version of "Africa." It's on youtube. You should check it out! They ended their performance with a gospel rendition of "Joyful, Joyful." It was a really fun program. I saw groups from Austria, Slovenia, Russia, Finland, Germany, and Great Britain.

Now I need to start doing some homework! That's mostly what I will be doing today before my choir concert.

I love you all.

Pictures from Thanksgiving and Prague

The boys at our Thanksgiving table. Gary, Dil, myself, and Mark.
Karly and Emily.
This food was very delicious! The only thing missing was green bean casserole.

Prague at night.
The back of the cathedral.
There was a Christmas market in the Old Town Square.
The St. Charles Bridge.
The Castle/Cathedral, across the Danube.
Locks of love.
The John Lennon wall.
Rooftops in Prague.
The front of the massive Prague Cathedral.
It is such a beautiful city!

Thanksgiving in Wien

This was my first Thanksgiving away from family, but I still found plenty to be thankful for. This semester has been incredible, and I have learned a lot about myself and what I want in life, at least in the next few years. I am very thankful for that. I am thankful for the friends I have made here, and for the friends I have been able to keep in touch with back at home. I only have three weeks left in Europe, and I really am going to miss it. At some points I have taken for granted the fact that I am living in a big city that constantly offers things to do. I will miss that when I'm back home. Also, I have traveled a lot here, and I will miss the ease in which I can just hop on a train or a bus and get to another country in a matter of a few hours (this weekend, for instance, I went to the Czech Republic). I am thankful for so much.

Here are some highlights from the past week:

Wednesday, November 25th: My Art and Architecture class went to the Leopold Museum and saw paintings by Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt. I had already been to the museum, but it was great to have Professor O. to tell us about the paintings. I stayed after and saw the new Edvard Munch exhibit. That was really neat.

Thursday, November 26th: IES threw us a Thanksgiving dinner in Baden, a suburb of Vienna. We had turkey, stuffing, corn, peas and carrots, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry salad, and apple strudel with ice cream for dessert. Several small groups performed musical numbers as entertainment. I sang a Mozart trio titled "Essen, Trinken" with Robby and Dil.

Friday, November 27th: I went to Prague with Emily, her boyfriend Gary who is visiting from DePauw, and Karly. The city was beautiful. We walked around at night and ended up going to the club where Rihanna filmed the music video for "Don't Stop the Music," one of my favorite pop songs.

Saturday, November 28th: We got up early and went on a free Prague city tour. After the tour we walked along the river, saw the John Lennon wall, went to the castle and cathedral, and then caught a bus back to Vienna. It was a very relaxing travel weekend.

Sunday, November 29th: Today I did homework in the morning, then went to three different Christmas markets. I bought four watercolor paintings that I plan on hanging in my home someday. They are of various places in Vienna. I have several projects due this week, so it will be fairly busy.

I love you all.

Futbol and Mold

Austria vs. Spain!


In case you thought I was exaggerating...

Down with the sickness

I finally got sick this week. I was hoping my body could hold out for another month, but it was not meant to be. On Tuesday, I woke up with extreme chills. I stayed home all day and laid in bed. I was mostly better on Wednesday and Thursday, which was convenient because those were the days of our dress rehearsal and actual concert, which both went well. On Friday, however, I woke up sick again, and was very frustrated with my body. Finally, last night as I was changing my sheets, I discovered what may have been the problem. Peeking out from behind the curtain were a few greenish dots on the wall. I pulled aside the curtain and immediately felt sick again. I HAD BEEN SLEEPING WITH MY HEAD TWO FEET FROM A MOLD INFESTATION! Since it was already 9:00pm, we couldn't reach our landlady, so I slept in a practice room last night. And since today is Sunday and nobody works on Sundays, I'm sleeping in the practice room again. Apparently the moldy walls and windows are being replaced tomorrow (the windows are so old!), and that will make me very happy. I want my room back.

Despite being sick all week, I still had some fun. Here are the highlights:

Wednesday, November 18th: My "Art and Architecture" class went to the Belvedere Museum and saw Gustav Klimt's "The Kiss," among other things. It was awesome to finally see what is perhaps Vienna's most talked-about painting. Later that night, I went to a friendly soccer game between Austria and Spain (the #1 team in Europe). We lost 1-5, which apparently was a major improvement from last year's match (0-9).

Thursday, November 19th: We had our second Performance Workshop Concert. I sang two of Betty Roe's "4 Shakespeare Songs" for voice, flute and piano. I also played Figaro in the sextet from Mozart's "Le Nozze di Figaro."

Friday, November 20th: I battled my sickness and went to "Die Zauberflote" at the Staatsoper. It was my last chance to see it, and I don't think I could have lived with myself if I missed the one opera I actually know something about. The set was very colorful, and it was a very fun, child-friendly production (Well, try telling that to the girl who was having a tantrum right next to me. I'm sure she was just tired. The show didn't finish until 10:30. I admit that by the end I was feeling pretty sick and grumpy too).

Saturday, November 21st: I saw the Vienna Philharmonic! They performed Beethoven's 7th and 8th Symphonies, as well as the Egmont Overture. It was surreal.

Then, I discovered the mold.

This afternoon I left the apartment for a bit to check out the Christmas Market at Schoenbrunn. Aside from that, though, I'm doing homework (I suddenly have a lot of projects coming up in the next few weeks - surprise, surprise...) and trying to regain energy so I don't have to miss any of my classes this week.

I love you all.

Pictures from the Weekend

My choir singing at the opening of a Christmas market.

Gluehwein and Kaesekrainer! Delicious. I'm going to miss that cheesy sausage.

Christkindlmarkt at the Rathaus.
The Leopold's Day Festival.
We walked past some beautiful vineyards.
We stumbled upon a small wine festival in the hills.
Christkindlmarkt in the daytime.

Christmas Comes Early in Vienna!

Yesterday was the official opening of the Vienna Christmas Markets. The city is decked out in lights and the markets are full of hot punch, delicious Viennese food, ornaments, nativity sets, candy, gingerbread, toys - you name it. I'm sure that in the U.S., people are still reluctant to start celebrating. After all, Thanksgiving is still two weeks away. But Vienna is not holding back any of its Christmas excitement, and I'm not complaining.

Highlights from the week:

Wednesday, November 11th: My morning class was canceled and I decided to walk around the south-western part of the city. I walked all the way down Mariahilferstrasse, a busy shopping street. I ended up buying two books: Through the Looking Glass and Aesop's Fables. I read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland on the train to Strasbourg, and I was eager to read the sequel.

Friday, November 13th: The weather was warm, and I sat in the Burggarten and read a book for a while. In the evening, IES had a dessert-baking contest. The voting took place at a bar called "The Traveler Shack." There were 12 entries, and I ate my fill, even though I did not bake anything. It was all very delicious.

Saturday, November 14th: The Christmas markets officially opened. My choir sang four gospel songs and a Manhattan Transfer arrangement of "White Christmas" at the opening ceremony of one of the markets. We received vouchers for Gluehwein (a hot wine with cinnamon) and Kaesekrainer (cheesy sausage). Afterward, I went with Emily to the main Christmas market, Christkindlmarkt, at the Rathaus.

Saturday was also a very important day at DePauw: the Monon Bell Game! As the oldest college rivalry west of the Appalachians, DePauw and Wabash play every year for the Monon Bell. Emily and I were able to listen to the game live on the WGRE website. Technology really is amazing. Sadly, DPU lost the game 32-19. There were a lot of alumni back in Greencastle for the game, and I was fairly upset that I missed out on the fun. That being said, I really cannot complain...

Sunday, November 15th: The weather was surprisingly nice today, and Emily and I went to a festival at Klosterneuberg for Leopold's Day. We walked around, saw the giant wine barrel, and drank some orange punch. Then we took a bus up to the Vienna Woods. We walked downhill for about an hour, past some gorgeous vineyards and a small wine festival.

Now I'm gearing up for another week, although it does not require much "gearing up." I didn't have a single minute of homework last week, and I don't expect this week to be much more difficult. I think I'm going to be in for a big shock when I try to get back into the DePauw routine in February! But for now, I'm not worrying about that.

I love you all.

Pictures from Strasbourg

The Notre Dame Cathedral has a giant astronomical clock inside.
The square outside the cathedral.
We went on an hour-long boat tour.
Some kids waved at us while we were on the boat.
This is Kirgens, the friend we were visiting.

Petite France, the area of town that looks like the village in "Beauty and the Beast."

I had a 3-cheese pizza-like dish at a restaurant in Petite France.

There were lots of swans in the river.

Some of the trees are gorgeous.