Hey guys!

So today was a fantastic day :). It was sunny and the sky was the perfect shade of periwinkle blue. The day started off with waking up at 11 a.m. (something I haven`t done in forever) and then deciding out of the blue to go with a couple of other exchange students to Naschmarkt. I didn`t find this out until later on but this is the most popular market in Vienna and it has existed since about the 16th century.
Here I indulged in Bakslava, Halva, Kaiser rolls, Kaiserschmarrn (a popular Austrian dessert) and much more..(unfort. for both my 15 euro a day budget and my goal to not gain weight haha)

Then when I came home I was excited to finally meet someone that was willing to spare matches. Yesterday I went on a shopping spree and bought dozens of scented candles so now they are finally lit (not all of them of course...that would be a fire hazard :P ). Anyways, now I`m enjoying the delicious strawberries I bought from there and I cannot wait to go back. Next time, we decided to actually sit at one of the many restaurants that are embedded in the market itself. I will also be taking pictures =)

I`m about to go out for sushi dinner (something I have been craving since I arrived in Vienna), but I wil def. keep you posted on any other adventures, and when I have more time, fill you in on some other things I`ve done while on exchange.
xox

(The first picture I posted is from when I went to the chocolate factory. You can choose one of a couple of dozen of different chocolates to melt in a milk-like substance...on second hand, it may have just been milk, but it tasted 100018398749328 times better haha)...doesn`t it look yummy?


Just some of the things you can purchase at the market :)..and yes, they give free samples

Scavenger hunt

On Monday we went on a Scavenger Hunt. We saw many of the sites of Vienna and also learned how to dance the Waltz and dress in traditional Austrian clothes. It was a lot of fun but there were so many things on the list that we made an executive decision and...ended it early haha. We decided to go to the top of the St. Stephen`s Cathedral instead which is in the heart of Vienna. There were between 350-400 steps to get to the top of the cathedral which overlooks the city. I felt very accomplished once I reached the destination :)
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(Pictured here is the inside of the cathedral).

All in all, it was a really nice day esepcially since I met more people (Alex from New York, Mark from Texas, Jenn from Minneapolis, Anqi from Canada - Queens uni :), Chrissoula from New York and Annie from Boston). As you can tell, US students love Austria haha. The majority of the exchange students are actually from the states followed closely by students from Canada :)

So yesterday, we went on a trip to Graz which is my favourite little Austrian town thus far. And here`s a cool fact - Arnold Schwarzenegger is actually from there

On the way to Graz we stopped at a chocolate factory called Zotter. So, being a foreigner I didn't realize that there were multiple tasting rooms, each one filled with loads of different chocolates to try. This led me to go WAAAY overboard in the first tasting room (thinking its the only one hahaa). So after me and a couple of girls were tasting round after round after round of the chocolate in that first room, we exited the room feeling slightly ...ill. And then we realized that the exit to tasting room number 1 led us to the entrance of tasting room number 2 which led to tasting room number three which led to room number 4 and so on and so on. Let's just say that by the end of the tour we were not feeling so great. The picture is of me being on cloud of nine with my chocolate haha.

Then we moved on to Graz and went on a tour of the town. It was so beautiful. Graz is known for its beautiful courtyards and each with its own history. The picture is of me and Alex in one of the courtyards with the snowman - the snowman is meant to be looking at the refelction of the clock in the pond - this is called `looking into permanence.` Anyways, I loved this, as the tour guide mentioned that it was meant to symbolize the thin line between our imagination and reality.
Afterwards, we went for dinner in the town and then didn't get home until about 11:30pm. The dinner was lovely - beer is cheaper than water here and TEA usually costs about 2.20 whereas a glass of wine is 1.80.... :)

xox

My new best friend and more updates

Guten tag! Wie geht`s?? Danke...
Isn`t German so fun!!

Anyhowzers. This video is just to update you on my oh-so-exciting life. I made a discovery, which you will hear about in the video.

Today I also realized that I really do not enjoy history. The entire day after my intensive German course was dedicated to finding out about Austria`s history and then a trip to the parliament.

Here is what I learned today (and its the only thing):
Austria SUCKS when it comes to Wars haha. Austria has lost the majority of their battles. Italy, Hungary, Croatia etc etc etc all used to be a part of Austria but no moreee. One of the reasons the historian said they lost their battles was because they didnt have the proper rifles. While the enemy was loading their gun from the back (SECONDS), The Austrians were loading it from the front (could take up to 6 MINUTES)........so yeah, that time difference will def screw you over





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Some pictures:

Very happy about baking haha
With the folks from Chicago

*Warning* Rant about Clubbing experience

Hey guys,

So, this video is all about my first clubbing experience in Vienna which happened last night. As most of you know I don`t smoke and I usually mind when people smoke around me. If you`re a smoker that`s fine ..just do it 10 m or more away from where I am standing..thx.

Ideas for Cooking on a budget??

Friends...I`m either going to become extremely skinny because my groceries consist of water, granola bars and low-fat yogurt, or I`m going to become a balloon because at dinner I eat out because I`m too tired (aka lazy) to cook.

So I decided that instead of whining I should enlist your help. What are some easy to make meals that wont cost me a lot (meaning a few ingredients and less than 30 min to prepare)?!
If you`re bored and feel like coming to my rescue, please reply haha

Thanx yo. and I`ll be uploading some more videos tonight =)

xoxoxoxoxoo

Vienna day 2

So I just realized I dont sound too happy / I didn`t really say anything too positive in this video. Truth is..I still have yet to be wowed by Vienna. I also dont think it helps that ever since the airplane was descending down to land, my ears have been stuffed like crazy...and my cold has not gotten any better. If I still feel sick by ...hmm tomorrow..I will go see a doctor I promise (I`m just not sure where lol)

Anyways, I`m finally going to meet all of the exchange students tomorrow!
Then on Saturday we`re going on a trip to Lower Vienna (Melk and Krems) so that should cheer me up :)

Airport Goodbyee

A video I made before getting on my flight. I`m going to miss my brother so much!! He`s the cutest thing :)

Vienna day 3

So I finallyyyyy met my buddy today!

For those of you who don`t know - each exchange student is set up with a local student whose job is to pick them up from the airport , show them around town, help them get settled in... like a big brother big sister type of thing.

So yes, I met him today and he`s really sweet. He took me to the *Sisi Museum* in Hofburg. This *residence* is where the Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth lived during the habsburg dynasty. Most of the tour was dedicated to Elisabeth who became known as Sisi. This woman was intense - she was best known for her rebellion against the court and the fact that she hated her title (she was promised to be married at the age of 15 - making her feel as though her freedom was taken away).

Anyways, as most of you know, I`m really NOT into history so the greatest thing I took away was - that it took her 3 hours every day to primp her ankle-length hair (which she would also condition with cognac and egg once a week) lol...so boys should not whine when it takes us a little bit longer to get ready for a date.

Anyways, my buddy is so cute to think I would be so interested in history. After that eventful outting he wanted to take me to see some horses getting trained...or something? haha. It was a tad expensive so I said maybe in the future. So then, we went to McDonalds! haha