My New Home

My apartment building - I'm the 3rd floor
windows just to the left of the corner

I have the best apartment ever!  Vienna is split up into 23 districts that spiral around the first district which is called the Inner Stadt.  This is the heart of the city where all the museums and theaters are centered.  This is also where I will attend class.  And I just happen to live in the Inner Stadt!  I'm a ten minute walk to class; prime location!  The inside is so cute and European with high door handles and everything in an individual room.  My room is very big (I was one of the lucky ones).  There is plenty of room for all my stuff. 

The IES program I am apart of offers home stays (what I chose), living with other IES students, or residence halls at Wien Universitaet.  I live with a school teacher and her 11 year old daughter.  The daughter, Stephanie, decorated my room with Miley Cyrus posters as a welcome.  Not my style, but I appreciate the cute gesture.  Surprisingly, I'm on my own for the first two weeks.  They are on vacation in Egypt before school starts.  Christine, my Hausmutter, emails and texts everyday to make sure I'm ok.  The best part of my home stay arrangements though is that she does my laundry and cleans my room :) 

These first three weeks I have German class in the morning.  So far, so good.  I know more German than I thought.  I had my first successful conversation today with a native!  He might have been five and he might have laughed at my accent, but the point is he understood me!  We had the same vocabulary level.

Class is held in an actual palace.  I'm not kidding.  A gold gilded, painted ceiling, mirrored walls, baby cherub statues everywhere, chandelier palace.  It is gorgeous!  I have to walk up a grand stair case everyday.  Let's just say I've already reacted a few songs from a selection of Disney movies.  The best part though is that other people joined in.  Since the music program is so prominent, bursting into random song is not seen as weird here.  It's ok, you can be a little jealous. 

Outside of class I've just been hanging out with friends, learning about the city.  Outside of the Rathaus there is a HUGE screen set up where the city is showing free summer movies and having concerts and such.  I went to Hansel and Gretel aus Deutsch and also a concert.  Not too bad for one week.  This weekend we are checking out the Naschtmarkt (like a flea market).  I'm hoping to find a dirndl, make my stay here more legit :) 

 

oh you know, my classroom

my classmate lol