alpine life!

So I am finally getting the hang of this whole living abroad business... I apologize to everyone I called at home with my obnoxious breakdowns! I finally feel like I actually live here now that I've started class, gotten into a routine, and completely moved into my dorm! I'm going to try to update this on a weekly basis, so here's the synopsis of my last week :) ----

I started my first class here on Monday, called "Introduction to the Business of Digital Media". I LOVED it! Our professors were from Austin and so I kept chatting with them since I plan to move there ASAP! The way class works is we have lecture from 9 am to 4:45 pm. We get an hour lunch break and two 15 minute breaks. It was less painful than it seems... although bringing my computer to class was a bit of a distraction since it's hard to pay attention for 8 hours of lecturing. We had class for 4 full days and then took our final on Friday morning. I can't really speculate how the final went.. it was all short essay, which I am not a fan of.

After class I walk home, get a workout in, make dinner, and catch up on my TV shows because a saint of a person showed me how to get Netflix/ abc.com/ etc. to work over here! On Tuesday night the group from Florida (Alex Amanda and Jessica) came over to our dorm and we made homemade pizza with Pella's (Florida) dough recipe! It was so much fun but we all were way too impatient for it to cook!

umm... YUM

Otherwise every single night I make oatmeal... (haferflocken in German I found out). I'm patiently awaiting a care package from my mom that has Cliff bars and peanut butter!!!

The entire city is decorated for Easter! I feel like it is a huge holiday here because you can't go to any store without seeing bunnies or eggs! They also have these massive egg statues strategically placed all over town. Also, all of the Jesus statues are covered up in tarp... I haven't asked but I am assuming they uncover it on Easter morning for when Jesus rose.

On Friday, there was an igloo party!!! This has by far been my favorite thing I have done here thus far. It is quite a trek to get up there, let me tell you. First, (Lauren Pella and I ) walked from our dorm to Marktplatz to hop on the J bus. From there we took a long, winding, climbing bus ride up to Hungerburg. From there, we squeezed (and I mean SQUEEZED) into a gondola that carried us to the top of Nordkette mountain! The view was so incredibly breathtaking! You could see the entire city lit up. Then, we saw the igloo! It is a legitimate, domed, ice, igloo. There was a bonfire and a bar on the outside, as well as a bar and a DJ on the inside. There were 3 separate rooms inside: 1) a sitdown, hang out room with woolen seats 2) the bar room for drinks and socializing and 3) the dance room with the DJ. We got hot wine (best thing I have ever tasted!) and hung out at the igloo talking and dancing for a few hours. We taught Lauren (England) how to do the Bernie! And once people started crowd surfing we moved to the chill room to avoid getting kicked in the head haha! It was sooooo much fun!

outside the igloo

inside the igloo

Showing England how to Bernie!

Otherwise, in my free time I have been wandering the city finding shops and restaurants. We went to a schnapps shop where you fill up your own bottles and get to try all sorts of flavors!

 

And lastly!!!! I have some traveling planned and booked :) March 26- March 29 I will be in the magical city of Paris!!! Luckily Pella is a Marriott employee so we will be slummin' it at the Marriott all week for cheaper than a hostel! Mathilde (France) has sweetly offered to meet us there and be our tour guide for the trip also! I am so incredibly excited! (And to be completely honest... a big part of my excitement is that there is a CHIPOTLE THERE! Yes... I am going to France and eating a child-sized burrito of happiness). We also have planned a 7 day trip to Rome, Athens, and Santorini in June with the Florida gang :) 

I start a class called "Alpine Tourism" Monday and we will be making a trip to St. Anton at the end of the week.... rough life :)

---Carly