Update

Vienna Sunsets

School has finally been getting better for me! I feel more comfortable in my class, and now everyone is making an effort to talk to me, instead of me just invading on their conversations all the time! Some school days seem to drag on forver here, while others fly by. When I actually put some effort into listening and trying to pick out words I know, then the classes move quickly. But sometimes that just gives me a huge headache and I give up and read Pride and Prejudice. Today in history, I finally understood what was going on, and as kids read aloud from our book, I could actually follow along! I also am beginning to understand German class a little bit. Yesterday a Chinese kid in my class read a sentence from a Chinese children's book, and then translated it to English for us. This turned into a bit of a game, and everyone in the class who knew a foreign language translated the sentence for us. I was proud in the first place that I knew how to translate it from German to English, and then I provided the Spanish translation as well. I was so impressed by how many languages my class knew, and I think it really proves what a culturally diverse city Vienna is. Some of the languages included Japanese, Chinese, Hungarian, Bosnian, Serbian, Luxembourgish, Turkish, Polish and Russian. There were more, but everyone started talking so quickly that I missed the name of the language. In English class, we had a 'cultural picnic' where each student brought a traditional dish of their ancestors. I loved that class not only because we got to eat so much, but also because I got to try dishes from all the regions of Austria and also from Turkey, Hungary, and Poland. It was another perfect example of how culturally diverse Vienna is. I love it!
As an exchange student, sometimes we don't order what we want for fear of messing up or seeming foolish. Yesterday I was in Stephansplatz with Lauren and she really wanted to buy some of these mini chocolates. But we didn't know how to. So we followed the standard procedure for these situations: watch everyone around you and mimick them. But it didn't work too well. We were still thoroughly confused and ended up leaving the store. But Lauren kept staring in the window, wanting her chocolate. So finally, I told her to give in and use English. But she didn't was determined. So with some background encouragement from me, we walked back into the store and ordered those chocolates as best we could! And of course everything ended up working out perfectly. We walk away from those moments feeling incredibly accomplished. So you can imagine how great I felt today after dealing with the post office, and my school's secretary and director about getting a student card. When you finally summon the courage to deal with these things and learn to shrug off the embarrassment when you mess up, it really puts you on top of the world!