If you couldn't tell from my last post, I have finished classes. It is currently Tuesday of finals week, and I have one final left. Today I had my last flute lesson at the University of Music and yesterday i took my music history final. I'm ecstatic to be done with all the work, but this week and last week have been INSANE so far. Everyone (myself included) has been trying to do/see everything we haven't gotten to earlier in the semester-which is a lot to cram in these last two weeks. There is so much to do and so many people to say bye too. Last night we had a party in some of the girls apartments and it was so much fun-I don't know how we are all just going to seperate places after this- I will miss them so much:(
But anyways, Tues, Weds, and Thurs are jam packed with tons of things to do. Friday we have our last German final, an IES farewell party, and then I come home to talk to our land lady about moving out, and pack up all my things. I am really excited to come home though-some reasons why:
1-I can drive (but not so excited about the gas sitch)
2-I can get a haircut
3-I can speak English
and
4- I can see all my friends and family...and MEET MY DOG.
The end here is getting really bittersweet, and it is SO strange that I'm leaving so soon. I can't fathom not seeing all of my Vienna friends at home...:( It makes me so sad that we all live so far away from each other.
Anyways, got to get going and sightseeing.
until next time...
-a
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
First Last's.
Yesterday I had my first last class in Wien...weird.
It was our internship meeting class. The professor's name is Heidi and she's awesome. So enthusiastic, and took us on a field trip to the Alps, brought us traditional Austrian Easter bread, and so much else. We decided to pitch in and buy her flowers and card. So last night after the class we gave her the stuff and she started crying! Apparently no other class had ever done this and it made her so happy. (Our class is only 4 people...go music ed) So it was fun/sad.
Today I had two of my three teaching classes at the Gymnasium (school). I told them about marching bands:). (Did you know they've all seen American Pie? haha) Then I let them ask me anything...so that was pretty interesting. Long story short there were two great classes and I had to say goodbye to all the students, kind of sad. The second class told me they would come visit me at home so that was great.
It was our internship meeting class. The professor's name is Heidi and she's awesome. So enthusiastic, and took us on a field trip to the Alps, brought us traditional Austrian Easter bread, and so much else. We decided to pitch in and buy her flowers and card. So last night after the class we gave her the stuff and she started crying! Apparently no other class had ever done this and it made her so happy. (Our class is only 4 people...go music ed) So it was fun/sad.
Today I had two of my three teaching classes at the Gymnasium (school). I told them about marching bands:). (Did you know they've all seen American Pie? haha) Then I let them ask me anything...so that was pretty interesting. Long story short there were two great classes and I had to say goodbye to all the students, kind of sad. The second class told me they would come visit me at home so that was great.
Monday, May 9, 2011
A Day in the Life..
7:30 -Alarm clock goes off super early so I can get up and do approx. six hours of studying/paper writing before class. Ambitious? yes. Realistic? no.
That's why I press snooze four times
8:57- Actual wake up time. Check email and do stuff for school at home involving confusing PDFs on the computer. Always check email in the morning because most people from home email in the evening...aka middle of the night Wien time.
9:00- Eat cheerios. in a mug.
9:10-10:00 Get ready, pack bookbag, procrastinate
10:00-10:30- Walk to school. Pass by Theater an der Wien where Beethoven's 5th premiered and he used to live. Also walk through a Mile of Composers..stars in the concrete with their autographs-think Hollywood walk. Pass the infamous Naschtmarkt. Also pass Secession, some giant museums that look like palaces, and the Staatsoper (Opera house). Just to give you an idea of what the walk is like...
10:30-1:31 Go to study room, throw my 30 pound bookbag on floor. Take out computer and set up camp. I am currently occupying one entire four person table with books, computer, and water bottle. The agenda? -German take home test, Music History take home journals (500 hours of work here), and Music History listening practice.
1:31 pm Decide it's time to procrastinate. Get on facebook. Check email a lot of times. Start writing this blog.
1:35 Realize I can only write this far because the day isn't done yet. ....to be continued.
1:37 continues to "do work"
2:00 take advil because my neck hurts (Have I mentioned yet that pillows here are terrible? It's basically an air bubble that goes flat when you try to sleep on it... dumb.)
3:00 go to class
4:30 Go to coaching-We each have a coaching 1x a week with a pianist. We can work on our solo repertoire and they help us.
I stayed at mine an extra 15 minutes today because the girl after me had to cancel.
5:30- start the walk home. Stop at Billa (grocery store) to buy chicken, veggies, bananas and yogurt.
6:00 Home. Get on computer, realize that internet is being weird.
6:30 Started blogging...here I am now. Anddd I'll just make a prediction of what will happen tonight
6:37 Start to make dinner-chicken with tomatoes and shrooms.
7:00 Eat and all that jazz
7:20 Procrastinate
7:40- Start German take home test and brainstorm lesson plans for Wednesday
9:00 Probably won't have finished either but may decide to skype.
11:00 Finish both.
12:00 beddd
...And now you know.
That's why I press snooze four times
8:57- Actual wake up time. Check email and do stuff for school at home involving confusing PDFs on the computer. Always check email in the morning because most people from home email in the evening...aka middle of the night Wien time.
9:00- Eat cheerios. in a mug.
9:10-10:00 Get ready, pack bookbag, procrastinate
10:00-10:30- Walk to school. Pass by Theater an der Wien where Beethoven's 5th premiered and he used to live. Also walk through a Mile of Composers..stars in the concrete with their autographs-think Hollywood walk. Pass the infamous Naschtmarkt. Also pass Secession, some giant museums that look like palaces, and the Staatsoper (Opera house). Just to give you an idea of what the walk is like...
10:30-1:31 Go to study room, throw my 30 pound bookbag on floor. Take out computer and set up camp. I am currently occupying one entire four person table with books, computer, and water bottle. The agenda? -German take home test, Music History take home journals (500 hours of work here), and Music History listening practice.
1:31 pm Decide it's time to procrastinate. Get on facebook. Check email a lot of times. Start writing this blog.
1:35 Realize I can only write this far because the day isn't done yet. ....to be continued.
1:37 continues to "do work"
2:00 take advil because my neck hurts (Have I mentioned yet that pillows here are terrible? It's basically an air bubble that goes flat when you try to sleep on it... dumb.)
3:00 go to class
4:30 Go to coaching-We each have a coaching 1x a week with a pianist. We can work on our solo repertoire and they help us.
I stayed at mine an extra 15 minutes today because the girl after me had to cancel.
5:30- start the walk home. Stop at Billa (grocery store) to buy chicken, veggies, bananas and yogurt.
6:00 Home. Get on computer, realize that internet is being weird.
6:30 Started blogging...here I am now. Anddd I'll just make a prediction of what will happen tonight
6:37 Start to make dinner-chicken with tomatoes and shrooms.
7:00 Eat and all that jazz
7:20 Procrastinate
7:40- Start German take home test and brainstorm lesson plans for Wednesday
9:00 Probably won't have finished either but may decide to skype.
11:00 Finish both.
12:00 beddd
...And now you know.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Geburtstag in Vienna and Weekend in Graz
I'm 21! Oh the irony of turning 21 in a country where nothing changes at that age....
but it was still great anyways!
That morning I woke up around 6:30 to study for a German test...when my alarm went off, my roommate Megan rolled over and said "Happy birthday!" still half asleep-pretty impressive that she remembered at 6:30 in the morning when she wasn't even awake.
So I took the German test (woo), went to rehearsals, and watched part of the royal wedding. I proceeded to check my mail, to find a package from my best friend Liz at school. There was a card from about 30 of my friends at school, a letter from Liz, a Gburg t-shirt, and some candy. Such a great surprise! It made me so happy:)
I went to babysit that afternoon, and the mother had made a cake for me, and so we ate cake and had coffee together with the kids (so funny to watch a two year old eat cake...). Then her daughter presented me with a box of chocolates:)! I also met her mother, who also wished me a happy birthday.
I went home, and walked in the door to a strange scene...my roommates and a few other people were in the kitchen, and I saw a few other friends on the couch. I looked around for a few seconds and everyone kind of paused...then yelled SURPRISE. My roommate Megan had called everyone and planned a surprise party:) So we had wine, and a DELICIOUS cake that Bev and Nick made, and it was fantastic. After a few glasses of wine and champagne (I should mention...I opened the champagne and the cork hit one of the lightbulbs...RIP living room light) some of us went to TGIF for dinner. Yes, I did this birthday American style. We had a great time, and somehow they told the waitress it was my birthday...so after dinner about 6 waiters marched up singing that obnoxious birthday song with the clapping. One of the waiters told me I had to stand on the table. Seriously. I HAD too. Or else they were going to go away. So...I got on the table, and they handed me some massive dessert that had a sparkler (ON FIRE) in it and they sang to me. It was hilarious.
Sooo after that adventure we walked home and found out JUDE LAW WAS FILMING A MOVIE. IN THE NASCHTMARKT. ...So we hovered around that and saw him and that was also pretty fun.
Later we just slept for a few hoursand got up to go on the Styria (Graz) trip!
It decided to rain that day, but everyone still went to the outdoor museum. It was pretty cool...it was just a way of showing the different time period houses of different provinces in Austria...so just like a big hike around a moutain and you stop and walk through old-timey houses. Since it was pouring and I was wearing shorts, my friends Kevin and Rachel and I shared an umbrella. We walked in step and huddled together and it was so fun because Rachel says the craziest stuff and Kevin in the king of spontaneous one-liners.
Later we got a tour of the city of Graz--pretty much like Salzburg and Vienna combined-we loved it. Then we went to our hostel, had a good dinner, all that stuff.
Unfortunately Rachel and I fell asleep around 8-the plan was to take a brief nap and our other roommates would call us or come get us. But we slept through the phone call and woke up at 9am. 13 hours of sleep....new record? (That is way too much sleep if you ask me)
Then today we went to a thermal pool aka water park. AWESOME. There was a big giant pool, one outside, multiple hot tubs, two water slides, and a sauna. We spent most of the time in the hot tubs, and sauna. But anyways, I am pretty tired from today so I'm going to end it here. Unfortunately i don't have any pics because once again my camera decided to die. woo technology.
But anyways, the countdown to home has begun and I'm not sure how I feel about it.
The amount that I want to get home equals the amount that I want to stay.
Cognitive dissonance.
so yeah.
peace love and schnitzel.
-alyssa
but it was still great anyways!
That morning I woke up around 6:30 to study for a German test...when my alarm went off, my roommate Megan rolled over and said "Happy birthday!" still half asleep-pretty impressive that she remembered at 6:30 in the morning when she wasn't even awake.
So I took the German test (woo), went to rehearsals, and watched part of the royal wedding. I proceeded to check my mail, to find a package from my best friend Liz at school. There was a card from about 30 of my friends at school, a letter from Liz, a Gburg t-shirt, and some candy. Such a great surprise! It made me so happy:)
I went to babysit that afternoon, and the mother had made a cake for me, and so we ate cake and had coffee together with the kids (so funny to watch a two year old eat cake...). Then her daughter presented me with a box of chocolates:)! I also met her mother, who also wished me a happy birthday.
I went home, and walked in the door to a strange scene...my roommates and a few other people were in the kitchen, and I saw a few other friends on the couch. I looked around for a few seconds and everyone kind of paused...then yelled SURPRISE. My roommate Megan had called everyone and planned a surprise party:) So we had wine, and a DELICIOUS cake that Bev and Nick made, and it was fantastic. After a few glasses of wine and champagne (I should mention...I opened the champagne and the cork hit one of the lightbulbs...RIP living room light) some of us went to TGIF for dinner. Yes, I did this birthday American style. We had a great time, and somehow they told the waitress it was my birthday...so after dinner about 6 waiters marched up singing that obnoxious birthday song with the clapping. One of the waiters told me I had to stand on the table. Seriously. I HAD too. Or else they were going to go away. So...I got on the table, and they handed me some massive dessert that had a sparkler (ON FIRE) in it and they sang to me. It was hilarious.
Sooo after that adventure we walked home and found out JUDE LAW WAS FILMING A MOVIE. IN THE NASCHTMARKT. ...So we hovered around that and saw him and that was also pretty fun.
Later we just slept for a few hoursand got up to go on the Styria (Graz) trip!
It decided to rain that day, but everyone still went to the outdoor museum. It was pretty cool...it was just a way of showing the different time period houses of different provinces in Austria...so just like a big hike around a moutain and you stop and walk through old-timey houses. Since it was pouring and I was wearing shorts, my friends Kevin and Rachel and I shared an umbrella. We walked in step and huddled together and it was so fun because Rachel says the craziest stuff and Kevin in the king of spontaneous one-liners.
Later we got a tour of the city of Graz--pretty much like Salzburg and Vienna combined-we loved it. Then we went to our hostel, had a good dinner, all that stuff.
Unfortunately Rachel and I fell asleep around 8-the plan was to take a brief nap and our other roommates would call us or come get us. But we slept through the phone call and woke up at 9am. 13 hours of sleep....new record? (That is way too much sleep if you ask me)
Then today we went to a thermal pool aka water park. AWESOME. There was a big giant pool, one outside, multiple hot tubs, two water slides, and a sauna. We spent most of the time in the hot tubs, and sauna. But anyways, I am pretty tired from today so I'm going to end it here. Unfortunately i don't have any pics because once again my camera decided to die. woo technology.
But anyways, the countdown to home has begun and I'm not sure how I feel about it.
The amount that I want to get home equals the amount that I want to stay.
Cognitive dissonance.
so yeah.
peace love and schnitzel.
-alyssa
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Spring Break: Adventure to Paradise
AftThis is going to be a pretty epic post. Considering how awesome the trip was, I'm going to have to crack open my journal to remember it all, and even then I will have to give you the spark notes version.
Agenda: Croatia, 1 week.
Dubrovnik (southern Croatia) Saturday-Tuesday
Zadar (middle Croatia) Tuesday night-Saturday morning
Dubrovnik: Day 1...planes and stuff
Plane to Zagreb, catch connection to Dubrovnik. Sit in boring airport for three+hours. Get coffee. (Did I mention the flight was super early?..coffee was necessary) Reflect on how strange it is I'm in Croatia. When we planned this trip we were super ambitious and wanted to do Italy-Greece, and I joked and said 'Lets throw in Croatia too'....and it turned into 'Lets go to Croatia!' I journaled at the airport for a good hour. My entry was seven pages. Get to Dubrovnik to discover we had a sweeeet sobe/apartment. Settle in and pick our bedrooms, and go to buy food to cook later. (We had three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a dining room and kitchen and foyer).
Dubrovnik: Day 2-Exploring the City
Hanna, Kevin, and Harry had decided to take the train route to Croatia...so they arrived Day 2 around 7am. They'd traveled for over 24 hours. When they got in we all slept till around noon, and explored the city for the rest of the day. The Old City is the coolest place ever-it's all surrounded by giant castle walls, and there are ancient buildings and beautiful churches, and the whole city is paved with marble-ish tiles...so you almost feel like you're walking down a hallway, except outside...in Croatia. We also walked around the pier and harbor-amazing views of the islands and all the boats. Also, Croatia is ideal for pirates. Not even kidding. We saw a pirate ship...and in most of the Old Town the houses look like they're from the Pirates of the Carribbean ride in Disney. So awesome. We got pizza, because Crotian food is pretty much either seafood or Italian. And Italian is cheaper.
Pics from both days:
Oh, and we ate lunch in an underground cave that we found. And I got the worst sunburn of my life. But I recovered. I am happy to report I can now sleep on my left side again without my skin burning.
Travelling-Day 4-Dubrovnik to Zadar
Not much to write about...we took an 8 hour bus ride from Dubrovnik to Zadar...look that up on Google maps. We pretty much drove along the coast...on cliffs...on a giant bus....terrifying much? But the view was spectacular so that helped.
Zadar-Day 5-Nin
After makin pancakes for breakfast, we decided it was a beach day. So we travelled to Nin Lagoon to get our beach on. It was crazy...in Croatia this weather isn't considered warm enough for beaching right now (high 70s), so noone was at the beach...seriously...noone. We laid out and explored everywhere. There were medicinal muds so that was pretty interesting. And there were spots with tons of crabs and crazy lookin creatures too. Later, one family came and was trying to catch all of the crabs from one of the lagoons. After we were crispy, we went to explore Nin town. It was probably about 10 feet long and 10 feet wide. Not really, but it was pretty small. Later, we got taxis back to Zadar...the plan was to find information about going to Plitvice Falls the next day. (Beautiful world famous waterfalls...but you need to go with a tour group to get there basically). Sparknotes version, none of the tour places were open or had affordable tours. We ended up stopping in a sketchy rent a car place to ask about it there. The woman called her boss who said 'Oh yeah..I can drive them there tomorrow, I'm going too'...The price was awesome so we were ecstatic. Afterwards we got kebobs and ate a picnic near the harbor. Then we went home to make some cookies. Oh, and we realized that Friends was on in English on one channel every night at 10pm till 11. So this became a tradition.
Also, since technology hates me my camera somehow magically deleted all of the pictures it took from this day. If anyone else puts them up, there are some really good jumping pictures ;) I'll post em here if later.
Zadar-Day 6-Plitvice Lakes
So bright and early we got picked up by our driver and sat in a sweet van for 1.5 hours. Croatia driving is crazy...kind of glad I was in the back and couldn't see. Our driver was...shall we say ..a bit aggressive. But hey we got there fast. So we bought our entrance tickets and started to the park. The entire place has boardwalk-ish paths that go right through lakes..so you feel like you're walking on the water. It's absolutely gorgeous. At the biggest waterfall we saw a guy propose to his girlfriend. adorable.
It was really just a great day of hiking around enjoying each other's company. On the way back, our driver played the craziest music...some ABBA...and some techno versions of musical songs...and some other trippy stuff. That night we made pasta for dinner. And watched friends;)
Pics from Plitvice:
The Sea Organ...basically a set of steps built as an instrument...when waves crash against different parts of it, different tones sound through holes at the top of the stairs. It's awesome.
Day 7- Back to Vienna
Pretty much we woke up at 4:30, hopped in a cab, got to the airport...which didn't open until 6, even though our flight was at 6:50. We went through security to find out that there was only one gate at the airport....sooo uhh, we sat and then got on the cute little plane and we were back in Wien around 930 am.
Easter and stuff
Saturday (day 7...see above) we hit up the Easter markets in town, and bought some hand painted Easter eggs...so pretty! We also got food for Easter the next day.
On Easter Sunday we went to a Catholic mass auf deutsch in Stephansdome....it was beautiful, there was a full orchestra as well as choir, and one of the Cardinals was at the mass. Later, we went back to the apartment and made ham, carrots, broccili, green beans, bread, scalloped potatoes, and cookies for Easter dinner. That night some friends came over and we all ate together. It was so much fun cooking everything...and quite the experiment. But everythig turned out great. I even brought a bottle of wine from the vineyard we visited on the Wachau trip. good stuff.
That is all I can possibly type for now. If you made it through this beast of a post...gold star for you.
I'm off to write a lesson plan, do homework, and cook some din.
-Alyssa
Agenda: Croatia, 1 week.
Dubrovnik (southern Croatia) Saturday-Tuesday
Zadar (middle Croatia) Tuesday night-Saturday morning
Dubrovnik: Day 1...planes and stuff
Plane to Zagreb, catch connection to Dubrovnik. Sit in boring airport for three+hours. Get coffee. (Did I mention the flight was super early?..coffee was necessary) Reflect on how strange it is I'm in Croatia. When we planned this trip we were super ambitious and wanted to do Italy-Greece, and I joked and said 'Lets throw in Croatia too'....and it turned into 'Lets go to Croatia!' I journaled at the airport for a good hour. My entry was seven pages. Get to Dubrovnik to discover we had a sweeeet sobe/apartment. Settle in and pick our bedrooms, and go to buy food to cook later. (We had three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a dining room and kitchen and foyer).
Dubrovnik: Day 2-Exploring the City
Hanna, Kevin, and Harry had decided to take the train route to Croatia...so they arrived Day 2 around 7am. They'd traveled for over 24 hours. When they got in we all slept till around noon, and explored the city for the rest of the day. The Old City is the coolest place ever-it's all surrounded by giant castle walls, and there are ancient buildings and beautiful churches, and the whole city is paved with marble-ish tiles...so you almost feel like you're walking down a hallway, except outside...in Croatia. We also walked around the pier and harbor-amazing views of the islands and all the boats. Also, Croatia is ideal for pirates. Not even kidding. We saw a pirate ship...and in most of the Old Town the houses look like they're from the Pirates of the Carribbean ride in Disney. So awesome. We got pizza, because Crotian food is pretty much either seafood or Italian. And Italian is cheaper.
Pics from both days:
Me near the harbor...note the pirate ship...i wasnt kidding
the pier
myself and my friend Blair on the end of the pier
one of the main streets in Old Town
pier again...unbelievable view
Team Croatia! -me, because I took the picture
Dubrovnik: Day 3-Locrum Island
We decided to take the ferry to the nearby Locrum Island...it was absolutely fantastic. For anyone that reads this and has climbed the rocks near the lighthouse on the FPC Maine trip...it was like that...except above clear aqua water with palm trees and 75 degree weather. So basically we hiked around the island all day. Oh, and it was inhabited with wild peacocks. Don't be fooled, they are exceedingly annoying. They make you think they're going to attack you but really you could probably kick them and they'd fall over and not be able to get up because their tails are too big for their bodies. We also came across an old abandoned monastery, with beautiful gardens that are still taken care of today. Oh! and at the top of the island was an old fortress that we climbed on top of...we saw the rest of the island underneath as well as all of Dubrovnik from across the Adriatic sea. It was absolutely amazing. Unfortunately my camera died that day:(Oh, and we ate lunch in an underground cave that we found. And I got the worst sunburn of my life. But I recovered. I am happy to report I can now sleep on my left side again without my skin burning.
Travelling-Day 4-Dubrovnik to Zadar
Not much to write about...we took an 8 hour bus ride from Dubrovnik to Zadar...look that up on Google maps. We pretty much drove along the coast...on cliffs...on a giant bus....terrifying much? But the view was spectacular so that helped.
Zadar-Day 5-Nin
After makin pancakes for breakfast, we decided it was a beach day. So we travelled to Nin Lagoon to get our beach on. It was crazy...in Croatia this weather isn't considered warm enough for beaching right now (high 70s), so noone was at the beach...seriously...noone. We laid out and explored everywhere. There were medicinal muds so that was pretty interesting. And there were spots with tons of crabs and crazy lookin creatures too. Later, one family came and was trying to catch all of the crabs from one of the lagoons. After we were crispy, we went to explore Nin town. It was probably about 10 feet long and 10 feet wide. Not really, but it was pretty small. Later, we got taxis back to Zadar...the plan was to find information about going to Plitvice Falls the next day. (Beautiful world famous waterfalls...but you need to go with a tour group to get there basically). Sparknotes version, none of the tour places were open or had affordable tours. We ended up stopping in a sketchy rent a car place to ask about it there. The woman called her boss who said 'Oh yeah..I can drive them there tomorrow, I'm going too'...The price was awesome so we were ecstatic. Afterwards we got kebobs and ate a picnic near the harbor. Then we went home to make some cookies. Oh, and we realized that Friends was on in English on one channel every night at 10pm till 11. So this became a tradition.
Also, since technology hates me my camera somehow magically deleted all of the pictures it took from this day. If anyone else puts them up, there are some really good jumping pictures ;) I'll post em here if later.
Zadar-Day 6-Plitvice Lakes
So bright and early we got picked up by our driver and sat in a sweet van for 1.5 hours. Croatia driving is crazy...kind of glad I was in the back and couldn't see. Our driver was...shall we say ..a bit aggressive. But hey we got there fast. So we bought our entrance tickets and started to the park. The entire place has boardwalk-ish paths that go right through lakes..so you feel like you're walking on the water. It's absolutely gorgeous. At the biggest waterfall we saw a guy propose to his girlfriend. adorable.
It was really just a great day of hiking around enjoying each other's company. On the way back, our driver played the craziest music...some ABBA...and some techno versions of musical songs...and some other trippy stuff. That night we made pasta for dinner. And watched friends;)
Pics from Plitvice:
Day 7-Kornati Islands
On the first day we got to Zadar, we asked the land lady if she's heard about any tours for these islands...you can only get there with a tour group by boat. It just happened her next door neighbor was in charge of a tour, and he gave us a student discout. So on Friday we got to the boat around 8am, and hopped on. It was pretty much a cruise around Croatia. There were schnapps at 8am (why?....why not?) and breakfast and lunch...(fresh fish...it looked like they had just speared it). Around 2pm we stopped at one of the islands and were allowed to explore for three hours. I got attacked by beetles, but thats another story. After the cruise, we got off in Zadar Old Town and explored there....we got our last seafood dinner (pasta scampi...so good! and the waiters were super nice) and hit up a gelato stand. We also saw a church processional through the city, as it was Good Friday. This is a long blog and I'm getting tired so uh...here are some pictures.
on the island
Zadar!
seafood din
why is gelato so pretty?
Pretty much we woke up at 4:30, hopped in a cab, got to the airport...which didn't open until 6, even though our flight was at 6:50. We went through security to find out that there was only one gate at the airport....sooo uhh, we sat and then got on the cute little plane and we were back in Wien around 930 am.
Easter and stuff
Saturday (day 7...see above) we hit up the Easter markets in town, and bought some hand painted Easter eggs...so pretty! We also got food for Easter the next day.
On Easter Sunday we went to a Catholic mass auf deutsch in Stephansdome....it was beautiful, there was a full orchestra as well as choir, and one of the Cardinals was at the mass. Later, we went back to the apartment and made ham, carrots, broccili, green beans, bread, scalloped potatoes, and cookies for Easter dinner. That night some friends came over and we all ate together. It was so much fun cooking everything...and quite the experiment. But everythig turned out great. I even brought a bottle of wine from the vineyard we visited on the Wachau trip. good stuff.
That is all I can possibly type for now. If you made it through this beast of a post...gold star for you.
I'm off to write a lesson plan, do homework, and cook some din.
-Alyssa
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Things I never would have done before Vienna
Things I actually do now!...
1) Go to a cafe by myself to do homework, sit for hours, and also order in German.
2) Be decisive
3) Use German enough to make people think I'm Austrian
4) Teach a vocal class
5) Sing in public on a public street
6) Plan entire trips
7) Navigate large groups of people through foreign countries where they don't speak any language I'm even remotely familiar with
8) Ask random people for help when I'm lost and/or confused
9) People watch (seriously...some people are weird)
10) cook!
11) Get lost on purpose...and then find my way home again...without mass panic, and without a city map
I'm sure I could make this list a lot longer if I sat here for another few minutes, but the laundry is done and that's important...I need pants tomorrow.
1) Go to a cafe by myself to do homework, sit for hours, and also order in German.
2) Be decisive
3) Use German enough to make people think I'm Austrian
4) Teach a vocal class
5) Sing in public on a public street
6) Plan entire trips
7) Navigate large groups of people through foreign countries where they don't speak any language I'm even remotely familiar with
8) Ask random people for help when I'm lost and/or confused
9) People watch (seriously...some people are weird)
10) cook!
11) Get lost on purpose...and then find my way home again...without mass panic, and without a city map
I'm sure I could make this list a lot longer if I sat here for another few minutes, but the laundry is done and that's important...I need pants tomorrow.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Family and Spring!
I have been slacking on the posts lately...too much going on.
Last week my family visited! It was perfect timing because it was the point in the semester where the homework was piling up and everyone was getting peeved at each other for dumb things. So hanging with the fam was a pretty good escape. I found them during all my free time-showed them all the cool churches, palaces, went to a bunch of cafes. the usual. We saw the stables for the Spanish Riding School-I would love to see a show for real though.
Anyways, on Saturday, we decided to be super tourists and go on a tour of Salzburg with a tour company. We took a bus through the lake district (gorgeous) with nice picture stops along the way. In Salzburg the tour guide gave us an 1.5 hr tour through the city, then we had free time the rest of the day.
SUCH a pretty city...my fam wished I had studied there, I think they liked it better haha. But it's a smaller town, and being in a big city in Vienna is such a contrast to any where I would ever go that I think it's a really good thing I am there instead.
Anyways, we walked through Mirabell gardens, and most of the Old Town. We stopped for lunch in some Italian place to get pizza, and continued to walk around. We saw lots of places from The Sounds of Music (The catacombs and cemetary, to name a few), and went through the market street.
It was a fun way to spend the last day with my family before they went home. Hopefully Cole wasn't too bored in Vienna...most of the sites there are for music nerds and history geeks, but it's still really cool to say, 'oh, i think ill go to a palace today' and be at one in fifteen minutes.
Anyways, this week we are all counting down until spring/Easter break. Everyone as IES is soo antsy and kind of over the whole school work thing. The weather is finally nice! About high 50's to high 70s (yesterday it had to have been 80) and it's gorgeous out. I love walking through all the parks, and definitely want to get some people together for soccer or something before we leave.
Wednesday I had my internship at the high school, and got to talk to the students about their perspectives on their schools, versus what they know about American schools, and then I told them about schools at home and got to see their reactions. The first class was the older grade, and they had a lot to say about how their school could improve, and about what they liked.
For example, in schools here, each class is the same group of kids for every subject, every year. Also, they take 15 subjects at all times with about 50 minute blocks. Granted, I am teaching at a special music school so the same doesn't go for all schools...but generally most schools have a similar format.
In both classes, the kids asked me if American schools really have "cheerleader groups" that date the football players and hate everyone else...that kind of thing. I had to explain that since classes change, and there are a lot more clubs...people are generally a lot nicer, but there are still cliques sometimes. My favorite was when one kid asked if students really burst into song in the hallways when the bell rings...(High School Music, what have you done?)
The next day I went to the third classes I help teach, it's a private group vocal lesson with about 5 kids. This was the day it was about 80 degrees, and the kids were begging to go rehearse in Stadtpark (a city park by the school). The teacher rehearsed with them inside for a while, then decided we needed to go outside. We took the students, and sang two of the rehearsed songs as we walked through the streets of the first district. We got to one of the main streets, stopped, and stood on the side of the street singing four part harmonies. It was amazing. Some people stopped to listen. It was just so fun.
Anyways, this was by far the best week of my internship. Generally the teacher just assigns me a topic to teach about...and this school is lecture based so I stand up and lecture about music for the period. It's definitely not as fun as back home, but I'm also not used to it and haven't really explored different ways of doing things yet. If anyone has any good ideas of American traditions or music that I should teach, let me know...I'm trying to think of fun stuff to do that they would remember. So pleaseee let me know if you think of anything:)
Anyways, figured out courses for next year and housing this summer. I'm going to be a senior...what???
Also, I'm starting to realize I'm leaving here in a matter of weeks. It's so strange...I really miss home but I know I will miss Vienna so much.
Anyways, I'm currently preparing for an apartment dinner party type thing, so I've got to go make sure nothing's burning. If you read this entire thing, kudos, let me know of some teaching ideas. ;)
post script: ITS APRIL??! Let the birthday countdown begin. Celebration suggestions are also welcome.
Last week my family visited! It was perfect timing because it was the point in the semester where the homework was piling up and everyone was getting peeved at each other for dumb things. So hanging with the fam was a pretty good escape. I found them during all my free time-showed them all the cool churches, palaces, went to a bunch of cafes. the usual. We saw the stables for the Spanish Riding School-I would love to see a show for real though.
Anyways, on Saturday, we decided to be super tourists and go on a tour of Salzburg with a tour company. We took a bus through the lake district (gorgeous) with nice picture stops along the way. In Salzburg the tour guide gave us an 1.5 hr tour through the city, then we had free time the rest of the day.
SUCH a pretty city...my fam wished I had studied there, I think they liked it better haha. But it's a smaller town, and being in a big city in Vienna is such a contrast to any where I would ever go that I think it's a really good thing I am there instead.
Anyways, we walked through Mirabell gardens, and most of the Old Town. We stopped for lunch in some Italian place to get pizza, and continued to walk around. We saw lots of places from The Sounds of Music (The catacombs and cemetary, to name a few), and went through the market street.
It was a fun way to spend the last day with my family before they went home. Hopefully Cole wasn't too bored in Vienna...most of the sites there are for music nerds and history geeks, but it's still really cool to say, 'oh, i think ill go to a palace today' and be at one in fifteen minutes.
Anyways, this week we are all counting down until spring/Easter break. Everyone as IES is soo antsy and kind of over the whole school work thing. The weather is finally nice! About high 50's to high 70s (yesterday it had to have been 80) and it's gorgeous out. I love walking through all the parks, and definitely want to get some people together for soccer or something before we leave.
Wednesday I had my internship at the high school, and got to talk to the students about their perspectives on their schools, versus what they know about American schools, and then I told them about schools at home and got to see their reactions. The first class was the older grade, and they had a lot to say about how their school could improve, and about what they liked.
For example, in schools here, each class is the same group of kids for every subject, every year. Also, they take 15 subjects at all times with about 50 minute blocks. Granted, I am teaching at a special music school so the same doesn't go for all schools...but generally most schools have a similar format.
In both classes, the kids asked me if American schools really have "cheerleader groups" that date the football players and hate everyone else...that kind of thing. I had to explain that since classes change, and there are a lot more clubs...people are generally a lot nicer, but there are still cliques sometimes. My favorite was when one kid asked if students really burst into song in the hallways when the bell rings...(High School Music, what have you done?)
The next day I went to the third classes I help teach, it's a private group vocal lesson with about 5 kids. This was the day it was about 80 degrees, and the kids were begging to go rehearse in Stadtpark (a city park by the school). The teacher rehearsed with them inside for a while, then decided we needed to go outside. We took the students, and sang two of the rehearsed songs as we walked through the streets of the first district. We got to one of the main streets, stopped, and stood on the side of the street singing four part harmonies. It was amazing. Some people stopped to listen. It was just so fun.
Anyways, this was by far the best week of my internship. Generally the teacher just assigns me a topic to teach about...and this school is lecture based so I stand up and lecture about music for the period. It's definitely not as fun as back home, but I'm also not used to it and haven't really explored different ways of doing things yet. If anyone has any good ideas of American traditions or music that I should teach, let me know...I'm trying to think of fun stuff to do that they would remember. So pleaseee let me know if you think of anything:)
Anyways, figured out courses for next year and housing this summer. I'm going to be a senior...what???
Also, I'm starting to realize I'm leaving here in a matter of weeks. It's so strange...I really miss home but I know I will miss Vienna so much.
Anyways, I'm currently preparing for an apartment dinner party type thing, so I've got to go make sure nothing's burning. If you read this entire thing, kudos, let me know of some teaching ideas. ;)
post script: ITS APRIL??! Let the birthday countdown begin. Celebration suggestions are also welcome.
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