My Life!

So I have decided that I’m not going to write about each individual day anymore, just my main explorations… Except for maybe my trip to Italy since I will be exploring new things each day. I just don’t do enough exciting things on a daily basis to write about each day.

Today is Saturday, May 19^th, and it is such a beautiful day! I really should be lying by the lake or walking around the city or something, but I am feeling tired. I slept with my contacts in last night, and my left eye has been giving me such problems today. It waters so much, especially when I’m in a warm or bright area, so the indoors is necessary today unfortunately. I try not to sleep with my contacts in, but it happens accidently once in a while.

So I’ve been thinking about something lately, and it’s not a news flash to me or anything; I have been well aware of this for a while, but I have been thinking about it a lot since I’ve been abroad. I am one extremely blessed girl. I have such a wonderful family. My parents do everything for me that they can, and then they wish still that they could do more. My brothers are great and we have become so much closer now that we are all out of the house. Then on top of that, my aunt and uncle treat me as if I am their very own daughter and are willing to do whatever to make sure I have what I need. Beside this immediate family of mine, all my cousins, other relatives, and even family friends are all so supportive of me as well.

To add to my support system, I was thinking of everything they have all done for me that has gotten me to where I am. I get to go to a good university across the country from where I grew up AND across the world! My only regret is that I am only studying abroad for one semester. I can’t even imagine how the people who study for just a summer must feel. What a waste of money to just go for the summer. It doesn’t even cost that much more! But yeah, I really am living the life that so many other people dream of. Studying, traveling, partying, building a nice contact list, being independent… Everything that will turn me into a successful young women in the very near future! I’m scared to graduate just because I don’t want this to all end yet!

I hope everyone knows though that I try my very best because of all these opportunities I have been given. A lot of people from back home just think I’m spoiled and get to do all these things like it’s no big deal. It all is very big deal though, and I’m so appreciative of everything everyone has done for me! If I was getting bad grades, completely broke and only partying then yes, I would consider myself a spoiled brat. That’s all what I strive not do though. I plan to have a good time, but get my work done so that everyone knows I used what I have been given to do something better for myself  and to make everyone, including myself, proud. So people can go ahead and be snobby, jealous or rude. I don’t care because when I get to where I’m going no one will be able to say that what they did for me was a waste of time or money!

A very deep blog post today, I know, but it’s what I’ve been thinking about lately. I love my life and everyone in it! Hugs and kisses all around!

Another Week in Linz!

May 7th / Day 69 – May 14th / Day 76

I know, I am a total slacker! I don’t really feel the need to write so often and in so much detail anymore because now everyone in the family has Facebook. That’s a much better way to keep track of my travels! I also haven’t been doing anything real exciting anyway, besides when I go somewhere of course!

So throughout the week I kind of just relaxed. Miro was studying really hard all week for exams, so I left him alone, and we only met up to cook lunch and dinner together every day. Tuesday was the Asian Stammtisch. The food was pretty good, but it was just making me think about sushi, and I really want that! I also finished my final exam for my PR class at GSU today, and I received an A in the class! Success! I new I could handle two schools and an online class abroad! Ashley tried to get me to go out to some party at a dorm far from campus after the Stammtisch, but Michael and I decided not to go because we wanted to sleep.

There was a mensafest party at my dorm on Wednesday, and it was so much fun! I just had a few drinks, and we were all jumping around like crazy like we were at a concert! There were definitely some interesting people there too… Not just students. Overall, that was a good night out with Ashley and some of the other girls and guys!

Ashley left for the weekend to go to Prague, so I hung out with just Miro all weekend after his test. We watched movies Friday and then Saturday night we went into the city to an apartment where our French friend was having his birthday party. There were only about 13 of us, and it was really relaxing and fun. We had some boxed wine, but I think it’s OK because it was from France. He also had two bottle of Champagne… Like real Champagne… From the Champagne region haha. We felt fancy celebrating his birthday with bottles he brought back from France! A bunch of the Americans made burgers for everyone, and they made his huge and greasy and super cheesy! Just watching him eat it, I thought MY arteries were getting clogged! I have to admit, I love burgers, but I don’t think i would have eaten that thing.

Sunday was a relaxing day of doing some homework I guess. it was rainy all weekend so there wasn’t much else I could do. I sent my mom flowers and two cakes, since one got ruined with Spanish writing! She loved them! Happy Mother’s Day again, mom! Today is Monday, and I have been doing homework today as well. I finished everything for my only class tomorrow, and later I will cook dinner with Miro. Other than that I don’t really have anything else to do today. Actually, I revised Miro’s business proposal stuff for an attorney in Chicago. I corrected a bunch of small English grammatical mistake and felt like a teacher! It was nice actually, and i enjoyed it.

I have pretty much figured out plans after my Croatia trip and how to get to Frankfurt and Italy. I just need to book it all now. I am trying to figure out my remaining weekends as well because yesterday Courtney, my freshman roommate, arrived in Spain for her summer study abroad! I am so excited for her! We plan on meeting in Spain because I still need to go there! I think we are planning to meet in Barcelona. I’m trying to find a friend to go with me though because Courtney only has weekends off of school, and I wanna be there longer than two days, but that’s the hardest part.

Innsbruck!

May 4 / Day 66 – May 6 / Day 68

Ashley, Sarah, Miro and I all went to Innsbruck for the weekend for the first time. We left Friday morning on a three or three and a half hour train ride. We got to Innsbruck around noon and found our way on a bus to our hostel. It was so hilarious arriving at our hostel because it was under construction and the front door was blocked! We were like, “Is this real life?!” W got out two rooms, which were kind of cool, bu nothing special. Ashley and Sarah shared a room that was pretty modern. Mine and Miro’s room was like in a loft area it seemed. The room slanted down and there were huge blocks of old wood for support. Out shower was just in the corner of the bathroom with a string going across from one wall to another with a shower curtain on it! And the best part was when I opened the bathroom door for like the fifth time that day and it came off the bottom hinges! We were all cracking up, and Miro fixed it.

We left the hostel to explore the town, which was just done the hills a little; we were staying in a perfect location. The scenery was just so beautiful, especially by the river. there’s no need for me to write n and on about the beauty because I honestly just can’t even begin to explain it. All I ave to say is it is the most beautiful place I have ever been to in the entire world… So far. We walked all the way across the city to another mountain and started hiking it. We go to one part and saw the Olympic statue and took a lot of pictures up there over the city because it was such a great view. We ate food from little stands and small pizza cafe places that evening for dinner, and then we all went back to my room. We were trying to figure something out on my computer in there, and we all fell asleep for like two hours. Luckily my room had three twin size beds we could all fit on! Later on Ashley and Sarah went to their own room and it took us forever to fall asleep again.

On Saturday we all met downstairs at 5:30 a.m. to go to the train station to head to this place in Germany to tour the castle that Cinderella’s Castle was modeled after! We were all so excited, but the incompetent train workers had no idea what we were talking about and couldn’t figure out how we could get there. Finally after at least an hour and a half a worker found a route we could take with the train and then a bus. We bought the tickets and went to the platform and was wondering why our train never came. Turns out that was the wrong platform. We were so mad at the worker, and luckily we all got all of our money back. Then, we found a bus we could take to the castle, but we ended up not going because it would only allow for us to be at the castle and that city for about two hours. We went back to our hostel and the owner called all these places trying to help us out. It was even on the front of the news paper about the train that goes to that castle. Seriously those train people were idiots. Apparently there is a bridge that has to be repaired every 100 years, and of course, the next day was marking the 100 year anniversary! We finally decided to rent a car and have Miro drive. We were ready to call the taxi to get us when Miro realized he didn’t have his license with him, so that got canceled. After all that, we decided it must be a sign that we were not meant to cross that bridge and go to the castle!

We all took naps and then by 2 we went up another mountain on a different side of the city. It was by a zoo, and we took a little tram up the mountain some ways. It was funny because we met a man and women from the same city near Chattanooga that Sarah is from. They knew the same people and were talking for quite a while. Small world, huh? It was drizzling out and really cloudy, so we were bummed out when we got to the top, but the was a restaurant where we ate. It was not impressive, and clearly over prized since it was at a ski resort. We had a nice time afterward up there though because it cleared up, and we were able to take some great photos!

We walked around the city some more and bought some wine for the evening. Each of us girls had our own bottle, and Miro didn’t drink like usual. We all hung out in my room for a few hours just having major girl talk, and Miro just sat there observing! It was a really fun evening! We ran out of wine and decided to walk to a bar, like originally planned. We got there and Ashley and Sarah got a beer, and in less than probably ten minutes I wanted to go home. I was extremely tired and have never drank a bottle of wine to myself before! It didn’t help that it was super cheap white wine either. Miro and I went back to the hostel and went to bed, and I slept great!

We woke up early and started on our journey to go see a castle in Innsbruck. We were walking for well over an hour and a half I’m sure and decided there was no way we could get to the castle that was back through the woods and on the mountain. So no castles for us in Austria or Germany this weekend. We went and had a great lunch and went to get our stuff from the hostel to head to the train station. We got our tickets and were on the train a few hours later and all fell asleep instantly. After a couple hours we woke up and were wondering why we hadn’t even made it to Salzburg yet, which was the half way mark. It turned out that this particular train took like 5 hours at least. So we got home at 8:30, and I went to my room and was asleep by 11:30. Overall though, it was a wonderful weekend in a beautiful city!

Another week Plus Some in Linz

April 23 / Day 55 to May 3 Day 65

Well, I once again have been slacking on my blogs. Nothing interesting has happened though. I had a lot of work to do last week and was pretty stressed out. I gave two presentations and finished my last week of class at GSU!

First Week Back from Spring Break

April 16 / Day 48 – April 22 / Day 54

I know I haven’t posted all week, but nothing extraordinarily exciting happened, so I’m just going to wrap up the week real quick.

On Sunday I mainly just slept and cleaned. I was expecting Ana to be coming hoe that evening with Miro on the bus from Zagreb, so I needed to tidy up our room. Turns out Ana had a wedding to attend, so she would have to wait to get on the next bus that would be traveling Thursday. I don’t really know what else I did all day, nothing really. Miro finally arrived in the evening and I went to visit him.

On Monday I had my first day back to German class. I also bought the book package for my new class that would start later in the week. Tonight was the Eastern European Stammtisch, so people from countries like Russia, Hungary, etc. were preparing food for us for the evening. I had a really good time out tonight. It was nice to see everyone back, and some of the food was pretty good.

On Tuesday I had my religion’s class, and I spoke to the professor afterward to tell him I think I am struggling with the class. We haven’t had to do any work for the class, and there are only a couple for things we will eventually turn in that should be fairly easy. I just don’t understand the readings because I don’t understand a lot of the biblical terms, and I have no background education really on religion. I thought the class would be more about learning the history and theories of God and whatnot, but it’s not. I don’t really know how to describe what we are learning because, like I said, I don’t understand the readings or lectures. The teacher told me not to worry about it though, and he made it very clear that as long as I get something from the class, whether I just leave the class knowing one thing different or whether it makes me think a little bit about a particular theory, then he is satisfied. So, fingers crossed that I pull out of this class OK.

On Wednesday I had classes and lunch with some friends, nothing too exciting, but tonight there would be the semester Spanish party. A bunch of the Spanish guys just get together every semester and have a party in the LUI on campus after the soccer match on TV is over. This night was also pretty fun. Ashley was so wasted, and Miro actually drank one beer tonight. He was very lively and fun tonight especially! By the way, everyone loved my new bright pink Aztecy looking shirt that I bought in America during spring break!

On Thursday I had my new class, and it was easy since it was just the introduction, but it was such a long day! That class was over three hours long and so was my German class. So I was in classes from 8:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. It really sucked. So I was worn out from lack of sleep and a long day and decided not to go to mensafest for the night. Miro and I watched a movie instead and it was a much better choice I’m sure. Ana also got back tonight, so I was able to chat with her for a while before she decided to go to mensafest

On Friday I went to the store to get groceries for the weekend, and Miro and I decided to just start shopping together and splitting everything since him and I cook together all the time anyway. Oh, and the other night I bought some fish, and I cooked it amazingly! So delicious! I have never even heard of this type of fish though. No one really did anything tonight. I think just a small group of students drank and played games in the kitchen.

On Saturday Miro and I cooked this awesome lunch that I can’t wait to make for everyone when I get back to the U.S! it was very tasty! I was looking so forward to going out tonight, and I was ready for a great night out. This turned out to be the worst night since I’ve been here, and it ruined my entire weekend. Ever since we started pre-drinking in the kitchen, I was in a terrible mood. I haven’t been grumpy at all while here, but I definitely was last night. Miro and I weren’t having fun at all even after the first bar, and then when we all went to Remembar only two out of the five guys we were with got in. The bouncers were being complete jerks. They wouldn’t even let Miro in, which has never happened to him at any club before, and he is very clean and good looking. We were all so mad, and Ashley started yelling at them in German, and we all stormed out of the place. Miro and I ended up getting lost from the group, so we just decided to go home because I was still in a bad mood, and he wasn’t having fun either. We found out friend Sarah and ended up catching a taxi together.

Today is Sunday, and I slept in past noon. I don’t have any plans today really beside cooking lunch and dinner with Miro at some point and watching a movie. I should probably read for my classes, which is most likely what I will do to pass the time today. It would be so much better if it was nicer weather out, but it is a little bit chilly and gloomy today. Hopefully this week gets a lot better than last night was!

April 15 / Day 47

So today was my first full day back in Linz, and it was a great day back! I woke up from Ashley busting down my door practically and blowing up my Facebook wall. We chatted for a while, and then I showered and got ready to go to the store with her, since tomorrow is Sunday and stores will be closed. Her and I went shopping and looked at the nutritional facts on everything we were picking up because we are both trying to be healthier and get in better shape. I felt like I bought so many things, yet nothing to really make meals of. We were going to make a grilled chicken salad for lunch so I bought a bunch of vegetables and some fruit, but I don’t really know what to eat the rest of the week. I have plenty of pasta still from before spring break, but I won’t eat any of it for one week because my aunt Patty doesn’t think I can go a week without pasta. I know I love it and all, but that’s not the reason I wouldn’t be able to go without eating it. The main challenge is going to be that it is so cheap, easy and quick to make, and filling. I don’t really know what kind of foods to make here that doesn’t involve pasta. But I will do it for at least a week! Anyway, I even bought frozen vegetables I might not like, but I will try them.

Ashley and I had a wonderful time cooking together and eating our salad. It had chicken, corn, tomatoes, onions, and a whole bunch of deliciousness in it! The red peppers my aunt gave me seasoned the chicken so nicely! I think it was the moistest chicken I have ever had too! Unfortunately, we forgot to put the carrots in it.

After lunch I unpacked and got ready to go out with Ashley for the night. We decided to have a girl’s night out, which we have never done before, just us two! We had such a great time! I cannot believe all the events that took place! First of all, we were waiting at the tram station, talking in English of course, and there was an Austrian man next to us. A few other adults showed up, and all of a sudden a car crashed into a parked car next to us at the station! He hit the corner of the back bumper, and we all started walking over. The man kept stalling his car and you could hear metal or something scraping his tires, and then he took off! So I wrote down his license plate number, but the Austrian man was already on the phone with the police telling them. A group of young guys saw it and followed the man and later came back to tell us that the guy was sitting parked in his car around the block, so they think he may have been hurt. Clearly, the guy had to have been drunk.

So then Ashley and I are finishing our wine on the tram, and we get off at the wrong station. We quickly realized though and had time to jump back on. We went to our favorite little bar first, Sega Bar. We had to show our IDs and pay 3 euro cover, which was a first. Ashley and I get beers and are sitting down when two, very young looking, start talking to us. There was a group of four guys next to us as well, and one of them came and whispered to me, first in German and then English, that one of those guys was a weirdo. After that, the two weird guys just took off to another room in the bar. So Ashley and I start talking to these other boys, who also looked like they were like 12. They were very entertaining though because one of the kids was really hyper and kept dancing so cool! So we eventually found out that they were all 16, except one who was 19. It wasn’t too bad for Ashley since she is 19, but I was the oldest one and it kind of weirded me out! But they were cute kids and funny, so we still had a nice time hanging out with them. Ashley and I then met some girls in the bathroom who were so cute and pretty! They were so excited that we were from Atlanta and Chicago! They thought it was so cool, and they wanted us to hang out with them. We found out that those girls were all 15 and 16, celebrating their friend’s 16th birthday. We hung out with them for a while too, and then decided to go to the club where there might be people our age to meet.

Our new 15 and 16 year old friends...

We went to the club RememBar and annoyingly had to pay to check our coats. We didn’t stay here long though and didn’t even get a drink. I was bored there and my feet were starting to kill me because we walked so much, and I was wearing my new heels! We went outside and met a new group of guys (all the young guys were flocking to us tonight I swear, probably because it was just us two though.) So we talked to them for a while, and they were all 19. They were being a little weird though and were trying way too hard and complimenting us too much, so we ditched them. We decided to go to the tram station and go home, but there was like a 25 minute wait. So of course, we went and got kebabs, even though I said I wasn’t doing drunk eating anymore. It was so good though, and I felt like it was OK since it was my first night out in a while.

We made it home safely and had a successful girl’s night out! Oh… and now I’m getting Facebook requests from 16 year old Austrian boys. Grreeaatt. Pretty sure if that night was in the U.S. I’d be going to jail.

From Vienna to the U.S.

March 23 / Day 41

I must have skipped blogging about last Sunday, because everything is off track now. My last blog about going out to the ski party with Ashley and Mario was supposed to be for Thursday night, not Wednesday. So now, this blog is about Friday. I slept a lot of today. After going out last night I was really tired. Beside that, I just finished up homework for GSU and my case study for a class here. The rest o the day I don’t think I did much. I know I watched a movie in the evening, but that’s all I can remember. I didn’t hang out with Ashley because she and a few others left for Vienna by car with a French guy.

March 24 / Day 42

Today some of us woke up really early and met downstairs in the lobby to catch a tram and then train to Vienna for the day. I decided not to use my Eurailpass until I get back from spring break, otherwise it would be a waste. It is valid for ten travel days out of two months, and if I used it for the small trip to Vienna then I would be losing 3 weeks out of the time I could use it for because of spring break. Vienna only costs about 23 round trip, and it will be much better to save the pass for the trips to Switzerland and other places that cost over 15 euros.

We arrived to Vienna at about 10:30, and we all grabbed a kebab from a stand on the road. The six other people Miro and I were with wanted to go to a theme park because it is supposedly the oldest one in the world or something like that. I thought that was a terrible idea. We were in Vienna! Seriously, even if going to the theme park only for the half day was still a waste to me. So Miro and I explored the city on our own, and we had a great time together. There were beautiful parks, buildings, and cathedrals, of course. It was definitely a long day of walking though, and my feet were killing me by the end of the day. I wore my little black boots, but they are usually very comfortable for walking around in. They aren’t anymore though because I have worn them out so badly since being here. I am leaving them in Georgia or the trash when I go home, that’s for sure. They are ruined. I even slipped while walking at least six times in the evening… It was so embarrassing.

We all met up at the train station that evening and headed back home. Miro and I stopped at the store in the Linz train station because it was the only one still open in town since it was 10 p.m. We grabbed some food to make and went back to the dorm and cooked a late snack. I’m going all out with a workout program when I get back here after spring break. Dead serious. I am so out of shape and gross. It’s going to be really embarrassing on the cruise and in Statesboro.

March 25 / Day 43

Today I had a ton of homework to do. I needed to finish writing my final case study that would be due Monday, due a whole bunch of readings, and start on more stuff. I was able to get the case study and reading done, and that was most important, but that was all. I tried making soup for dinner and added what I thought was a little bit of rice to the soup. After it finished and I took it off the stove, within a few minutes all the rice absorbed all my soup. I had literally half a pot full of rice and no soup. And I don’t even really like rice. That was my dinner though, as well as some bread with Nutella.

March 26 / Day 44

Today I had to skip my German class for my Managing Across Cultures class. Only two more days of it though… Woohoo! I met Ashley for lunch at Mensa, went to the store to grocery shop with Miro, worked on homework, and ate too much bad food. My friend Michael asked me if I would be his new hairdresser since I cut Miro’s hair as well. I think I should start charging people. So Michael’s hair was extremely long and shaggy, and I cut it so nice! It looked amazing, and then he grabbed the shaver and was like, “Oh, let me just get over here by my sideburns.” He ruined my haircut I gave him! He accidently took a chunk out of the side of his head. Literally, there’s a bald spot. SO then he had me do the rest of his head one level shorter, but it was too short and his head was shaped weird, and it looks like there’s little short patches all throughout his head. SO now it looks like I gave a bad haircut, but it was actually really good until he messed it up.
After I cut Michael’s hair, I had to shower because his hair got all over me when it was floating in the air and falling to the ground. I also introduced Miro to the movie “Con Air,” and I realized how fake that movie really is, probably because it was made in 1997 though.

March 27 / Day 45

Today I actually had two classes in one day. That’s a first. I went to my Religions class today, and it was terrible. I really want to drop this class, but I can’t. It’s worth three credits, and I can only drop two credits. I just don’t understand this class at all. It’s not that I don’t understand religion, even though I really don’t, it’s because the professor sucks. He reads from a script basically the whole class, and goes over what we were supposed to read prior to class, but none of it makes sense because it is so incredibly boring.

Anyway, so I tried to make fish sticks today in the microwave, but I’m pretty sure they are supposed to be cooked in the oven, so I threw those away. I also took a lovely nap, and now I am in my Managing Cultures class. This is probably my favorite class, and I’m sad that it is ending tomorrow. My teacher is discussing with us right now about AIDS/HIV in South Africa. I’m paying attention and participating in the discussion actually, but I think I can multitask and write this as well. My computer is open in front of me, and I just don’t know what to do while I listen to my professor.

After class, I’m going to go to my room and make something for dinner, which will probably be soup or something simple because I ate so much bread before class already. Then I am going to shower and fill out a thing online so a service will pick me up for the airport at 3:30 a.m. Thursday. I also told Miro to download the movie “Face/Off” so we can watch that this evening. I love that movie! I will also try to work more on GSU homework. Tomorrow will be my last post until after spring break!

March 28 / Day 46

So this morning/afternoon I made super thin pancakes with Miro. I call the crêpes, like the French term, but Miro just calls them non-American pancakes. They were pretty good with peach jam, but Nutella would have been fantastic as well. I went to my last class, and I think I will actually miss it. It was an enjoyable class, even if I did spend a lot of time on Facebook. I had a lot to do today. After class I had to go talk to the people in the international office, go buy minutes for my phone, call the pick-up service, and pack. I wasn’t able to get the pick-up service because they weren’t going to Linz the next morning, so that sucked. I had dinner and a beer with Ashley in the dorm, and that was nice bonding time. I packed up all my stuff and some of Ashley’s to ship to her family while in the U.S. also. After 10 p.m. Miro and I went to the ATM on campus for me to get cash for the taxi the next morning, and then we just walked around the neighborhoods around campus for a couple hours. I eventually went to bed at 1 a.m. and got two hours of sleep before waking up at 3 to get ready for the taxi. I left at 4 a.m. and was on my way to come back to the United States of America!

English Stammtisch and More!

March 18 / Day 36

There is nothing really to write about today. I didn’t do anything exciting. Just a typical Monday of going to German class, doing some homework for GSU, eating, watching a movie and sleeping. Still a nice day living in Linz though!

March 19 / Day 37

The main event of today was the English Stammtisch. This is where students from all the English speaking countries group together and prepare food from our home countries for all the other international students. So, team America, Canada, Australia, UK and South Africa were the leaders of the night. Ashley and I made pigs in a blanket, and they were the main hit of the night, beside the red velvet cake, cookies and beef stew. Only one person at the event liked the Australian girl’s vegemite. It was so nasty. Apparently in the past, the people who prepare the food don’t eat it with everyone else, but we did, so the food ran out very quickly, especially since the English speakers are the biggest group. The rest of the night was pretty fun since the event was held in LUI, the school bar. It was cool because it wasn’t just exchange students there since school has started; local Austrians were also hanging out.

March 20 / Day 38

After class today, Sarah and I went for a run, finally! I’ve been telling myself for the last month I would, and now I did! I ran so much better than I expected I would. I felt great and I ran all the way around the lake! I only stopped once to walk, and that was because Sarah stopped. The next time she did though I just kept running and waited for her to finish at the end. I was so red though people were staring at me. My whole body turns instantly red the moment I start working out, and I get so itchy. It’s so embarrassing. I won’t even be working out real hard or tired, but I just turn beat red. I was scratching my thighs so hard even, I broke my some skin. That was my main activity of the day!
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March 21 / Day 39

Today was my last class of German language until I get back from spring break since I have to miss both classes next week due to one class conflict and then my flight. I really will need to work on the language myself in my spare time so I don’t forget. A few of us had lunch after class together and later Ashley and I did an ab work out because I wouldn’t have time to go running later. I was making sushi with some of the other students! I brought the cream cheese and most of them had never heard of cream cheese in a roll, and I thought that was weird. I got there late though, after it was all made, so I just added cream cheese to the last pieces saved for me. It wasn’t really good sushi, but it was decent enough to eat. I definitely want good sushi once during spring break in Atlanta, that’s for sure.

After that dinner I went home and got ready to go out for the night. There was a “ski party” just down the street at this tiny bar place. It was so small inside and I had to pay a four euro cover, but it was OK because there were a lot of freebies for the night. Every group of at least four girls got a free bottle of champagne, and then from 8:30-9:30 beer and wine was free, beside a one euro deposit per cup. First of all, the champagne was so sweet, even sweeter than the stuff I got for Michelle’s engagement party. All the girls I was with loved it, but since I’m a true champagne drinker, I didn’t care for it. After our first glass each though someone stole the bottle anyway. So we got our first beer, and after the second refill, I decided I couldn’t keep chugging the beer before the free time-period ended. So, I was the only smart one in the place who just paid another one euro deposit for a second cup! You should have seen me walking around with both hands full all night! Everyone was jealous.

There was such a creepy Austrian guy hitting on me too! I kept telling him my “boyfriend” was on his way to the bar, but he didn’t really care. So Ashley grabbed our friend Mario, and Mario walked up acting like my boyfriend. The guy kept trying to talk to me though, so Mario just held my hand until the guy finally left. Shortly after that though, Ashley, Mario and I went back to our dorm. Ashley and Mario ended up going into the city I believe to the club A1, but I talked to Mario today and he has no memory after leaving me at the dorm. And I haven’t been able to talk to Ashley today yet because she is on her way to Vienna. I’m sure they were both a mess last night though, and I was the responsible one in bed!

Happy St. Patty’s Day!

March 17 / Day 35

I had an awesome brunch today that Miro made! Ana and a bunch of the other girls who didn’t go skiing went to Salzburg for the day for the first time. Miro and I decided not to go snowboarding today because it would be only us two. We need to try to get a couple more people to go with us next weekend otherwise it won’t be fun. Miro is advanced and I’m a beginner, so we need completely different slopes. Instead, we walked around the city center for a couple hours. We looked at some shoes but didn’t buy anything.

We then took the tram up a mountain to a church that I’ve been wanting to see every since we got here. It’s so gorgeous! You can basically see it sitting on top of the mountain from anywhere in the city. We went up there for over an hour at least and just walked around. It was really cool because there was like a whole community and little village up there it looked like. ON the back side of the mountain there were a bunch of huge houses that had pulls and hills of green all around them. This must be the rich are of the city. It’s actually not in Linz though. There was a sign that showed we were leaving Linz, but there was another showing we were entering. So it’s like half of the little mountain we were on was in Linz, and half wasn’t. We walked back to the tram area and realized we didn’t even go look at the church! I’m OK with that though because it just means we will for sure have to go another time again! It was a beautiful 64 degrees today! It doesn’t sound all that warm compared to the south, but it felt a lot warmer than that. I just wore a t-shirt and could have easily been in a dress. It felt like 70 at least. It should be like this pretty much the rest of the week! It just worries me about needing to go snowboarding still though.
We went back to the dorm, and I just ate some leftovers in my room.

I will probably go hang out with Miro again for a while until Ana and all the girls get back, and then we can figure out if we are going out for the night or not. I would like to go out, after all, people all over the world are celebrating me and calling me a saint and whatnot. I am really tired though, so just a relaxing night with maybe a movie would be nice at the same time. We will see! Happy St. Patty’s Day!

It’s Time for the Weekend!

March 15 / Day 33

I was so happy today I only had my German class to go to, and I’d be done by noon. Class was boring though because we were playing stupid games in our groups, and it wasn’t helping us learn anything, so I just kept playing games on my iPhone instead. I went to the store with Michael and bought a few groceries for the weekend, including a Toscana red wine! I ate, took a nap and started working on one of my study case assignments for next week.

Tonight we went to another Mensafest, which is a party at the school. Before leaving though, Michael and I went to Ashley’s room and had power hour. This is where you have your drink and there’s a mix of music playing and songs change every minute. So each time a song changes you have to take a drink. So you see how you can get really drunk really fast! By the time we left, I drank half my bottle of wine, and Ashley of course drank all of hers. We had to wait in line to get into the mensa for like 45 minutes and that sucked, but then Miro walked and surprised me! His bus got in about an hour before that and he knew I would be out so he came to hang out! It was a pretty good night out, and we saw some hilarious things happen. One girl was dancing on a table with some guys and she just face-planted it right off the table! Everyone was helping her up and checking to make sure she was fine and then I think she left or they took her out of there. But after we found out she was fine we had a good chuckle. Pictures will be posted Monday probably when Ashley and her camera get back.

March 16 / Day 34

I’m so happy I don’t have Friday classes! After getting ready for the day and cooking, I went to the store with Ana, Daniella and Miro. I thought I only needed cheese but apparently not. I bought a lot it seems. When we got back I ate, and we were all in my room talking. It kind of sucks when all the Croatians are in my room because 70% of the time they’re only speaking in Croatian. They try to remember to speak only English, but it seems like Miro is really the only one who actually follows through with doing that.

I’m not sure what I’m going to do the rest of the day. Miro is making us dinner later and then we’re watching a movie. Other than that though, I don’t have plans. It is such a gorgeous day today! I would love to do something outside, but it’s already 5 p.m. We want to go snowboarding tomorrow, but everyone is out of town on the ski trip with the school, so it would only be Miro and me. He’s really good at boarding and I’m a beginner, so we want to find someone else for me to be with. I don’t want to hold him back and have him go on just beginner slopes with me. I don’t really know what to do though because we don’t know anyone else who can go with us. If we don’t go tomorrow, we absolutely have to next weekend. It’s only 65 euros for the entire trip, and next weekend will basically be the last possible weekend to go. It’s getting so warm here; today got up to 70 degrees! So really, we need to go to the Alps by next weekend, and then it will be lake time! I am so excited! Ah!