Sommer!

Wellhello.
Not a lot has happened in the last week.
Went to some plays as usual.
Friday I went with friends from my dorm to an organ concert.
A Croatian kids who lives here studies organ. A strange thing to study but I think he will actually have job prospects. Whatever.
It was an interesting experience. Not really at all what I was expecting.
Then we had a going away party in our dorm for the girl from our program who is going home.
Saturday I just sat around at home because the weather wasn't that pleasant and then last night there was a ridiculously large party on the floor below mine for a girl who is moving out. It was ridiculous. And really really loud until like 7AM. But the girl is so nice and everyone likes her so much that no one was going to complain about the music. Most people were probably too drunk anyway.
And then today the weather was really really really wonderful. Like the kind of wonderful where you just can't be in a bad mood. And since everyone in the dorm seemed to be trying to recover from last night there were a lot of people sitting out on all of the balconies in their pajamas drinking coffee all afternoon.
I laid out in the courtyard for a while and tried to get work done but it was really too nice to be able to concentrate. So I came back up and have been sitting on my balcony all day and I think I'm sunburned now.
Anyway. A really good day.

Bratislava

I went to Bratislava, Slovakia today with some friends from my dorm.
It's only an hour away from Wien and a roundtrip train ticket only costs 14euro.
No one there spoke English...or German.
The people for the most part were highly unfriendly.
I liked it nonetheless. It was gritty in a way that I enjoy.
There was also lots of pretty stuff.
And it was nice to see flowers!
The trainride there made me realize how much I like the countryside and how I will explode if I spend the next four months in this concrete jungle.
I need to take a trip to the middle of nowhere and go for a hike or something.
Anyway: Here are some pictures from my trip.


Welcome to Eastern Europe.















An ugly building and an ugly car.















A pretty building and pretty trees.



















A funny little statueman climbing out of a sewer thing. And a matching street sign.



















A pretty fountain and some tulips. Spring is finally here.



















Me in a chair outside of the restaurant where we ate.



















A cool vine-covered building.




















A crazy looking house.

Kunst und Curry.

So today I went with my class and our Austrian teacher person to the kunst historisches museum (art history museum). There was a lot to see. Kind of too much for one trip and I don't even think we really saw the majority anyway. That woman also talks up a storm and about the most boring things.
Then after class a few us went and ate at this pakistani restaurant where there is a buffet and you pay as much as you think you should. moral dilemma i tell you. but it was delicious and i ate far far far too much.
Also I've dyed my hair a ridiculous shade of red/orange. The internet is however not letting me post a photograph.
And this weekend I am travelling to Bratislava, Slovakia with some friends from my dorm. That should be interesting.
As for now I'm going to go attempt to get some late work done.

Juno.

Was really good.
I went today with friends.
It was nice to have some exposure to the American media.
And Minnesotan culture.
But I'm exhausted and going to bed.
Love!

So. Robert visited me this weekend.
It was really pleasant but now he is gone and I have to face all of the work I didn't do while he was here.
Because he was here though I actually managed to see some of the city which was nice. And on Friday at least the weather was wonderful.
Tonight I have to go to a play.
Some sort of experimental piece with no script. It's going to be an experience.
I think though that I will go and try to take a quick nap before I have to leave.

Noise Musik.

So. Last night Elin (a girl from Wales with whom I share a kitchen) had a friend coming to Vienna with his Noise band to play a gig at a bar thing here. She invited me and a few other people to go and while I don't really think that I appreciate Noise bands I didn't have any other plans so I went along. The bar it was in was pleasant and grungy and full of people that reminded me of home. When we got there there was just a DJ and the band ended up being like 1 1/2 hours late because of a tire blowout or somesuch. Anyway. They got there eventually and set up their instruments and things which was funny to watch because they had 3 drumsets and like 10 members in the band and the stage/bar was really small and two of the drumsets just had to be set on the floor off of the stage. Eventually they played and while it was pretty bizarre (no words just really really loud instruments making something that can only questionably be called music) I had a marvelous time and found even the "music" itself pleasant. After the set which didn't last very long the band came and hung out with us since one of the drummers knew Elin and we had a nice time dancing. They ended up giving us a ride home so we wouldn't have to wait for a nightbus since the subway and such stops running at 12:30. Anyway being in their weirdo tour van thing made me realize how much I miss my car. I haven't been driving at all in soooo long. And because they were from England the steering wheel was on the wrong side! It was crazy. But I can say I've been in a weirdo english style car now. (And they had such wonderful accents!) All in all it was probably the weirdest experience of my trip so far but was really really pleasant.
Today though I have to do a ton of work which I'm really not looking forward to. Lame.
Hope all is well!

Weekend.

So it is finally the weekend which is nice.
Last night a huge group of people from my dorm went to a concert being performed by someone who lives with us. It was in a turkish restaurant in another district of the city and was pretty pleasant but the restaurant was kind of expensive. So then a few of us made an attempt to go bar hopping and had a nice time walking around but everywhere we went was really full so we ended up just getting döner (its like a turkish gyro that they sell everywhere here) and coming home. It was still really late by the time I got to bed and today I would like to actually get some work done.

Light as a feather stiff as a board.

Man.
So there are like a million Mac kids all here in Vienna at present. All staying in our dorm.
So tonight we were just hanging out in the dorm and we decided to play that slumber party game where four people can lift a person up using two fingers if they concentrate. And it works.
Crazy.
I probably would have known that in 7th grade if I had been cool enough to play slumber party games.
But it works and it is crazy and now Im freaked out about ghosts. Whats new?
We are totally playing that next family gathering that I am in America. Be prepared.

Hope all is well!