Wearing Yoga Pants, One of the Deadliest Sins...

     So everyone has told me that Europeans dress more formally and have better fashion that us lazy Americans. This sentiment is reflected in the fact that they never wear yoga pants, ever. In America yoga pants are a way of life, a main staple in every girls wardrobe. But to be respectful of my new home I have kept my yoga pants away from the public eye. Until today that is.I understand the no yoga pants in class,  restaurants and public in general but I thought I had found a loophole. I walked up the Schlossberg today, which is a mountain! So I was all decked out in my yoga pants, north face, and nikes thinking that was perfectly acceptable. The incline is pretty steep. So after huffing and puffing my way up the mountain I was met with shock and disgust by the people at the top. The amount of double takes I got you would think I had walked up the mountain naked. As people strolled around in their jeans and high heeled boots the judgmental stares could have set me into flames. I could even see peoples eyes behind their sunglasses staring me down.  Did these people honestly wear heels and walk up a mountain? I think they all cheated and took the elevator, but thats besides the point. At one point today I was riding the tram and a man literally looked down at my pants and then locked eyes with me, like this awkward moment was my punishment for my fashion faux pas. This disdain for yoga pants shocks me. In America, people practically worship yoga pants, women for their comfort and ease and men for the way women look in them. I think Europe is seriously missing out on this fashion phenomenen. So apparently my idea of a yoga pant loophole does not exist. I guess the next time I go to the gym I should wear a dress and stilettos...

Fasching!

Servus Fasching! This is my new favorite holiday...ever. So Fasching is a big holiday based off of Carnival, its basically the Mardi Gras of Austria. Since being in Austria for two and a half weeks I have learned that Austrians will use anything as an excuse to party, and Fasching is no exception. Every year there is a huge parade through the city center and then everything is shut down so the whole city can literally party in the streets. And let me tell you Austrians are good at that.
  For some crazy reason they wanted the international students to be involved...so we all painted absurdly large t-shirts and represented our countries. Well any lack of American pride I might have had previously was erased as I skipped through the streets chanting U.S.A in a tall tee. Per usual the school turned it into a huge party so at 10am we all got together to paint our faces and act ridiculous. As we hit the streets I realized that Fasching is no baby parade. The floats, costumes and performers were clearly very passionate about this day. So I can only imagine how they felt about a bunch of international kids dancing in the streets singing their national anthems, (by the way this was not required...we just all got very patriotic at one point or another). So of course in this proud moment there was a camera broadcasting live on Austrian television. Which made me feel like I was essentially a part of the Macy's Day Thanksgiving parade of Austria. Basically superstar status. So here is my little moment of fame, yes I am running around and throwing confetti...the moment was just too priceless.

http://tvthek.orf.at/programs/3622897-Das-Steirerland-im-Narreng-wand/episodes/3622895-Das-Steirerland-im-Narreng-wand
If you check it out the International students come on at 18:40 approximately. Only in Austria are 20 kids in tshirts considered anything special...

 Here I am repping little Rhody....a place that apparently no one has ever heard of. Go figure. Also they can't seem to grasp the fact that we are named Rhode Island yet we aren't an island. Oh well,  im clearly WICKED excited to be from RI.

This is me being friendly with my favorite border neighbor Canada, the back of her shirt said "Canada, Eh?" Absolutely epic.

So after trekking through the streets of Graz for a few hours we decided it was our time to partake in the festivities. There were so many street parties that we literally just fell into one. Then proceeded to dance like fools for hours. I am legitimately sore from this. Dancing around the streets of Graz both in the parade and after was amazing. Definitely something I have never experienced before!
                                                         Ein schöner Tag!

Venezia! Carnevale 2012

Yesterday morning rather than getting home at 4:30AM I was going out to get on a 5 hour bus ride. Why was I doing that? To go to Venice of course. My morning started off amazingly, waking up and singing my Venice song with Mindy and drinking coffee made of powder...yumm. After an hour of whining and getting ready we hopped in a taxi with a very confused driver wondering why we wanted to to go the University at 4:30 in the morning. As we pulled up to our double decker accommodations I knew we were in for a good time. Never before have I sat in a classy bus with tables, Greyhound take note.

Thats me and Allison on our super classy bus.  We settled in for the long haul, thank god we had some delicious snacks (gummi candies and chocolate, Breakfast of Champions) After cruising around Austria for awhile we stopped at a rest stop for 40 minutes so everyone could get food, or buy alcohol as it seemed all of the middle aged bus riders were doing. Luckily this was the most amazing rest stop I have ever laid eyes on. Step aside Rt. 95, Austrian rest stops have scenery to die for.

 After many grueling hours on the bus, and I mean grueling. No bus ride is complete without a man that looks like Gandalf sitting behind you smelling like he has never bathed...oh you mean that only happens to me. Of course it does. We finally got off the bus and made our way to the water taxi. This was hands down the best 6,50 Euro I have ever spent. We got to take in Venice by water for our delightful 40 minute ride. And it only got better once we arrived on shore. The backdrop was magical and the costumes fantastical. Carnevale in Venice is a costume designers dream. The masks, outfits and makeup were unbelievable. After wandering around we decided it was time to sample some Italian cuisine. It was a cute little restaurant with a great location,  here is my lasagna.

It was a great lasagna but dont be fooled, its not as authentic as you may think. Being an expert lasagna maker myself I was not overly impressed, but who am I to complain about Italian food in Venice. Luckily we got some epic Gelato (twice) which made up for any lasagna misfortunes. 

For the rest of the day we walked around taking in sights and quite honestly allowing ourselves to get lost. My UVM friends were all in Venice so it was a big priority to reunite with them. I was thrilled when I finally got to see them, meeting up with Anna and Maddie just about made my trip :) 

We decided it was time to get into the spirit and get some masks so we headed down by the water and bought some from the street vendors. I then refused to take it off for the rest of the day. Someone even asked to take my picture, so that officially means I participated in Carnevale. As night fell we grabbed dinner, a delicious pizza, and then walked around. The city was transformed by night.

With music blaring, lights everywhere and people in costumes swarming around, it was unreal. Venice is my kind of place...one where everything is covered in glitter and its acceptable to literally dance in the streets. My trip to Venice was one I will never forget and will hopefully relive. Well until I can next go to Carnevale, Ciao Venezia!

Going to Church in Graz

     This morning Leesa, Mindy and I woke up bright and early and took a trip to church. We all thought it would be a great experience and fun to try out. Yes the mass was completely in German but we decided to overlook that detail. There is a nice church about 2 minutes away from my apartment so we went to explore it. This was the most interesting mass I have ever been to. Aside from the fact that I didnt understand anything it was also completely different from any church I have ever been to. Today was family and kids day at church so there were about 30 little munchkins running around the church, and when I say running I mean it. They were chasing each other up and down the aisles and climbing all over the pews. I loved watching them! Although I am sure that their parents were not thrilled. The priest was wonderful he went around and shook everyones hand before the mass started and I stumbled through the three words of german that I knew so he wouldn't think I was an imposter. But Im sure that when I started shaking halfway through the service due to a lack of heat he could tell I wasn't exactly used to this. Yes you heard right, they don't heat churches in Graz, because its too expensive...churches in America should take note. My own church just closed a few months ago due to their inability to heat the church. They should have just gone without. There was more dancing, arm motions and singing at this church then I have ever seen. I am going to attribute this to the fact that in order to stay alive in the sub-zero temps the parish needs to dance around. All in all it was a beautiful service and there was an extreme tenderness and care towards the children which I thought was great. The church was gorgeous and I am really curious about when it was built, most likely before America was even founded. I didn't take any pictures during the mass because well thats not really acceptable, but I found some online that someone else had posted. So here if you are curious here it is.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/russianchild007/5735709513/

 Also Im hoping that by next week my German is good enough to be able to sing the songs haha...waving my arms around and stomping just doesn't cut it for me :)

My life in Austria so far...

     Coming to Austria and not knowing a single person was a scary experience for me. Telling family members and friends that I was hopping on a plane without knowing a soul on the other side made both parties cringe with anxiety. When I first got here I had one mission in mind. I know its lame but it was to make friends. So on my first day of german class I stalked out all of the English speakers (literally) and announced we would be friends (It didn't happen quite that way). This was the biggest accomplishment I have had thus far. I made a great group of friends and this is definitely a way to enhance a study abroad experience.
    On top of all of the administrative things I needed to achieve this week such as setting up a cell phone, registering with the city and making a bank account I found myself doing fun adventures as well. Sunday night was the Superbowl and of course craving American culture and food all of my friends (and basically all of the people in Graz that speak English) decided to go to the Office pub to watch the game. There I had the best nachos that have ever existed on the face of the earth and also stayed up until 5am watching the Superbowl. I'm clearly a diehard football fan ;). It was probably one of the best nights of my life and it made me remember why I came to Austria. The next few days went by like a blur being filled up by errands, meeting new people, and trying new things. I started German class and now im practically fluent...meaning I can say my name and if im lucky where I am from. There was an international students night on Wednesday night which was an excellent time.  It was like  starting college all over again but everyone is much more interesting and excited. The night was amazing, especially when all of us American girls decided that it was imperative to do karaoke to N'Sync and Backstreet boys. Which is not even acceptable in the States nevermind Austria...so that clearly made us a lot of friends. Then it was back to the grind, studying for German class and being a real student. While doing everyday life chores I realized that doing laundry is literally a marathon type activity. The simple 40 minute wash and 60 minute dry that I take for granted so often in the states is fictional here. Try 3 hours to dry clothes...and then for some reason it still doesn't work. So I am the proud owner of some very nice slightly damp and crinkly clothes, yay me. I had my first german exam yesterday and then the weekend started! So to celebrate we all went to a nightclub in Graz. My first European clubbing experience. The cloud of smoke and house music was exactly what I expected but the dancing was not. No one was touching, which was refreshing because I could dance without being harassed. I also found this disconcerting because it was so different from the sweaty tangled mosh that American clubs often turn into.  One point for Europe!
    So all in all im having an amazing time. I have great friends, an amazing city to live in and even German class is a pretty entertaining experience. So I guess I will just have to wait and see what exciting things come next <3

The Cultural Divide- America vs. Austria

    After living in Austria for a total of 9 days I have been noticing many things that differ between my my home in the States and in Austria. Out of all of the things I have seen and learned these stand out the most:
1. You can smoke just about anywhere you please. Which both disgusts and shocks me. In a country with amazing healthcare system you would think that at one point or another someone would have had a thought to run a PSA about how smoking can kill you.

2. You can bring yours dogs anywhere you please! Which delights me and makes me so happy. Except when they get too close to me in a restaurant...then I am displeased.

3. Everyone speaks more than one language. When people talk about how many languages they speak they don't even count their native language. So this means I speak zero languages....

4. Everywhere in Austria is laid back except for the grocery store...

5. I am too loud and obnoxious, I have heard a similar sentiment about myself in America but in a country of soft-spoken and reserved I'm practically a public menace.

6. I get told I act like an American, in America if told that I would probably break into God bless America and whip out a mini flag, here this is not a good thing, so this leads to a lot of embarrassment.

7. Most educated people in Europe know the geography of the states, Canadians even know our capital cities. So where does that leave me...stupid and acting like an American

8. People have preconceived notions of Americans, that we are all looking to conquer other countries and steal their resources...well I guess I can't argue that.

9. Public transit is always on time in Austria! (except for today for some reason, but thats a different story)

10. Everyone eats fried food but no one is fat, hmm but in America everyone eats fried food and everyone is fat...I must find the answer to this predicament.

This blog is not meant to be a social commentary but being labeled and stereotyped every second forces me to think about it. If I ever wondered why the rest of the world dislikes Americans the answer is right in front of me...we bring it upon ourselves. We are different both in amazing ways that I appreciate and in shameful ways that I am not proud of.  If I want to be loud, excited and friendly should I stop just because the people around me don't understand me?

Living the Dream

      This is day number three in Austria...but it feels like I have been here a month. Getting here and getting settled was by far the most difficult thing I have ever done. Flying over I had no one else in my row! But of course I couldn't sleep at all so the time difference was so difficult for me. When I first got to Austria my amazing "buddy" (it's an international mentoring program) Christina picked me up from the airport and my first stop was IKEA! haha how European of me. So then we got my keys and grabbed lunch where I ate my first schnitzel, which is awesome! Christina and her boyfriend brought me to my apartment to settle in and I tried to sleep. That is when major panic set in and I was basically ready to drain my savings and fly home. But I spent a little time with my flatmates that night and they are very welcoming so it made me feel much less homesick. The next morning I was left to my own devices to find my way to German class, thanks UNI GRAZ for not giving me any assistance. But I made it to class where I proceeded to make friends with all of the Americans in class, Typical. We hung out all day and shopped and then split up with plans to meet for dinner. I got back to my apartment and by some strange occurrence my lock was broken which locked me out of my apartment subsequently locking my flatmates in. No one was very happy about the situation especially because the landlord seemed to think it was appropriate for us to wait until Monday to enter or exit the apartment. Unacceptable. Luckily they were crafty enough to figure out how to unlock the door. So that was exciting. Then I hit the town with my  new American friends and everyone proceeded to stare at us because we were the loud obnoxious Americans...Shocking. We had a great night and they are a wonderful group of people who make me feel alot less homesick. Saturday was frigid! I went to the mall with some Americans and people from Graz and it looks just like an American mall. Hollister and all (which by the way smells the same internationally) I made plans to go out with my Austrian buddy at night and we went to her boyfriends apartment and just hung out and then went out. It was so much fun and they are such interesting people. Today I am just catching up on American television and lounging around but the superbowl is on later! So all of the Americans are getting together to watch it at a pub downtown. All I have to say is there better be wings and nachos. So I am very excited to celebrate this very American event in Austria. Now that the initial bout of homesickness had passed I am in the shock and awe phase where everything seems to exciting....im hoping this lasts for quite awhile. But we will see what each new day brings! Auf Wiedersehen. (yes...I do feel like Heidi Klum everytime I say it :))