In the Swing

I've had a week of classes and a weekend in Vienna, and I think I'm finally getting a feel for what the academic portion of the semester will be like. The first four weeks were filled with a lot of tours, traveling, exploring, etc..., but it comes as a relief that not everything will so incredibly fast-paced for the next 3 months. This is not to say that I'm done exploring or traveling - I feel like I've just begun (still on my list: Budapest, Krakow, Prague, Bratislava, Amsterdam, Sassenheim, Salzburg, Strasbourg) - but I think the weeks will be more relaxed for the remainder of my time here. Which is a GOOD thing.

NOW - What I'm sure you're all waiting for... just like every week... the HIGHLIGHTS (I do apologize if I'm not posting a lot of my insights. I just know that when I read some blogs, I skip over the incredibly long entries. Seriously, if you want more stories or more of my observations on Vienna, life, etc., email me!!!).

Monday, September 21st
I met my voice teacher, Paulette Herbich. She is incredibly fun. She has four poofy white dogs (Buckaroo, Lucy, Luna and...shoot, I can't remember the fourth one's name right now) that greet me on the stairs when I get to the apartment building. Also, she makes a cup of tea for me before every lesson. I'm taking 2 hour-long lessons per week (all subsidized by IES and DePauw!).

Tuesday, September 22nd
I saw "Madama Butterfly" at the Staatsoper. It was my favorite thus far (out of 4) and almost brought me to tears, which is pretty impressive. I haven't cried since I saw the movie "Orphan" back in the U.S.A. And that's a story within itself...

Wednesday, September 23rd
I downloaded the new MIKA album, and I've been listening to it ever since. Actually, 3 of the songs are already on my iTunes top 25 most-played songs. That just goes to show how much of a MIKA fan I am. Embarrassing? Absolutely not.

Thursday, September 24th
I went out with a lot of IES kids to a traveler's bar near Dil's house. I felt like I made some new friends, so that's always a plus.

Friday, September 25th
My first European futbol match! About 60 IES kids were at the game, cheering for H-TOWN. Two IES staffers are on the team, including the brother of my RA, Mattias. I bought a team scarf. It's my only clothing purchase so far, although I'm eyeing a leather jacket at H&M. After the game, we mentioned to some of the kids that we were having people over to our apartment. That quickly turned into 50 kids marching up Liebhartsgasse and into our 7-person apartment. It was quite overwhelming.

Saturday, September 26th
In the afternoon I went to the Donauinsel (island on the Danube River) and did some reading on the grass. It was sunny and about 70 degrees. In the evening I went to Laura Michelson's birthday party. She's a vocalist from Vanderbilt. We played Apples to Apples, Telephone Pictionary, and ate nachos and 3-milk cake.

Sunday, September 27th
I did a LOT of reading for classes. In the evening, I went to the Burggarten, read a few chapters of a random novel I bought in the English section of a small bookstore, then bought a piece of pizza and walked around the first district. On the way home, I got some gelato, because I think most of the gelato places will be closing in the next few weeks as it gets colder. I need to eat it while I still can.

Another week of classes coming up...wish me luck! Oh, also, pray for Emily to get better. She has tonsillitis.

I love you all.