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
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