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.