A) The first day of snow (which has actually been the only day of snow so far) was beautiful! It was coming down so fast I couldn’t believe it! I was giddy and ran down the hall, running into a number of unamused Canadians and an equally unenthused Dutchman. I guess people north of the Mason-Dixon line just don’t understand, haha. That evening (which is basically night here because the sun goes down at 4:30pm) a big group of us went to one of the many Christkindlmarkt (Christmas markets). This one was especially cute, because unlike the expansive one that draws in all the tourists at the Rathaus (town hall) this one is tucked in between a few cobblestone streets.
Christmas markets are glorious places where cold Austrians (and colder non-Austrians) go to drink hot “gluehwein” (mulled wine) or a variety of other hot alcoholic beverages in an effort to stay warm or forget that they were cold in the first place. There are also all kinds of tasty treats, sweet and salty. One particularly notable market specialty is Langos, a large fried bread, fried again when you order it and then brushed with garlic oil. Eating one of these is probably the equivalent of shooting up a half cup of straight fat. On the healthier side, there are tons of stands selling maroni (roasted nuts, I don’t know what they’re called in English) and slices of thick, whole grain bread (brot) with all kinds of spreads, spinach, cheese, and… lard. Seriously, they eat lard on bread. The sweet stands are also pretty wild, including every size possible of wafer tubes filled with what looks like marshmallow fluff and dipped in chocolate. I tried an ice cream cone shaped one of these and have not repeated since.
Apart from the food, the markets sell gifts. What kind of gifts depends on what market you go to. The Karlplatz market, closest to where I live, sells all handmade artisan crafts (soaps, hats, jewelry, etc.). The more touristy ones, like the Rathaus market, sell everything (furry stuffed animal puppets, pot-leaf belly button rings, etc).
Back to the first day of snow… the snow was fluffy and light and clean and white and perfect! We threw many a snowball at each other, which was fun because they would explode into powder as soon as they hit you. The ones I make when it snows in Georgia would give you a black eye. All of the buildings looked picturesque I felt like I was in a storybook. Sooooo yeah, snowy Vienna = magic.
B) Jane came to Vienna! It was nice to have a friend from home come visit me in my new element. For those of you who do not know, Jane is a former roommate from UGA who is now teaching English in Cadiz, Spain. We went to Christmas Markets, walked around town, hit a museum or two, and right before her departure, we went to see a ballet at the Stadtopera, the big beautiful opera house in the center of the city. Along with my friend Selyna, we saw “Giselle” … standing. Regular tickets that night were about 150 euros. Our tickets cost 4. Only catch, we had to stand the whole time. Totally worth it.
C) This is where the story gets dark. EXAMMSSS. Throughout the semester, I had been keeping busy doing my homework for my language classes and attending those and all the rest. However, I had not been studying for all my classes throughout October and November. To be frank, I didn’t even know what was going on in some of the classes, even though I had attended lecture regularly. Institutional Law of the European Union was the worst. I’ll save my rant about the EU for a later post, because it would make this one way too long. So anyways, a week or so before exams began, I started to realize how absolutely screwed I was… 6 exams in 6 days… Friday and then back to back Monday through Friday. I then began to teach myself everything I could… about everything. As if mother nature was in tune with my mood, the sun did not come out for 2 weeks. I stayed in the DA building for 2 weeks. I studied my ass off for 2 weeks. I have never studied so many subjects, in such a short time, in such and intense way in my lifffeee. There were a number of emotional/mental break downs, which I attribute to a combination of stress, homesickness, and lack of vitamin D. It felt like exam week would never end. Somehow it did, and I am grateful for that. I am used to working for A’s in school, but this time, if I so much as pass all of those exams, I will be thrilled.
There are no pictures posted for this period of time, since none were taken. So here's a picture from the night I went out with Peri and some friends after I finished my last exam. Joyful delirium.
D) ¡ESPAÑA! I could not have been happier to be leaving Vienna. I mean, Vienna is nice and all, and everyone says that Christmas time is the best there, but I wanted out. I have limited vacation time, and I want to spend it somewhere warm and sunny and new. So I went to Castellón (between Barcelona and Valencia) where my cousins Pachu and Ceci live. Their parents live just a little bit away in Oropesa del Mar, a hot vacation spot in the summer and an absolute ghost town in the winter. Another cousin of mine, Lucky (short for Luciano), who lives in London came for the holidays too.
So, for the past week, I’ve been living in Pachu’s apartment with him and Lucky, because Ceci went to stay with her boyfriend in Barcelona. Me, 22, Pachu, 28, Lucky 31. Our schedule: noon- I wake up. 1:00- Lucky wakes up. 2:00 Pachu wakes up. 2:30- lunch of sorts. 3:30- go out for activity of sorts (coffee, stores, etc.) or stay in our pjs and surf the net for hours. 8:00- talk about what we might eat. 9:00- Lucky and I actually make what we will eat for dinner and Pachu leaves for work at the Casino (he’s a croupier) usually saying something along the lines of a spanish, “Damn, I haven’t eaten anything”. I then proceed to give him suggestions about snacks he should take with him, he listens and nods, and then leaves without taking anything. Lucky and I cook, eat, shoot the shit for a while and start watching a movie (sometimes a documentary about pedophiles, sometimes a really depressing movie starring Bjork). Pachu comes back around 1 am and we finish the movie. Then we sit in our “internet café” (the three of us on our laptops at the kitchen table) and hang out on the internet, looking up random YouTube videos to show each other. Between 3 and 5 am- bed.
There are some variations in the schedule, which I will describe in further detail in a later post, but overall, this is what we do. This schedule is not normal to me. After my weeks of absolute structure and discipline, I feel uncomfortably relaxed and lazy. Sleeping past noon? What? Staying up until when? I’m starting to get used to it now, but I think that could be a bad thing. Another weird thing: I never get headaches usually, and since I’ve been in Spain, I’ve had one almost every day. What on earth? Lucky says he gets them too and that when his brother came to visit the same thing happened. He suspects it has something to do with the car or the roads or something.
Ahh! There’s too much to say! Too much tell you guys! I’ll have to fill in all the bits I’ve missed later on. I’ve missed you all most this month. Holiday season I suppose, sigh. I hope you all are having a nice relaxing break and that you have a fun New Year’s celebration! I will be thinking of all of you and wishing we could be hanging out together today. Feliz Año Nuevo!
1 comment:
I really enjoy your post.
Iraqi Dinar
Post a Comment