So, Amy and I have been meaning to create this blog since we first arrived in Austria, but full days and sleepy nights have kept us busy until this morning. I cannot believe we've already spent three nights in this beautiful country! There's so much to talk about, so I'll just start at the very beginning.

For those of you who haven't seen the panic and excitement in our eyes for the last 6 months about this wonderful opportunity, I will fill you in. Drs. Sanchez and Rifenbary came into our student teaching seminar in November to share this wonderful opportunity with our whole cohort. Many were interested, but some didn't both applying because of children or work or whatever. Seventeen of us applied by the deadline in January, and along with the application we had lesson plans for our potential students in Austria, and two essays on why we should be chosen. Then came the interview...I had one of those moments where I could hear myself talking but I wasn't in control of what I was saying because I was so nervous, but I must of done something right, because here I am in Austria.

Of the 17 who applied, six of us made it. Four came from our cohort; Amy, Marissa, Tricia, and me. Two came from the dual licensing program: Ashley and Anita. The six of us have met several times over the spring semester and Drs. Sanchez and Rifenbary (Rebecca and Deb) have helped out greatly with what we can expect and what we should teach while we are here. Rebecca and Deb broke us up into three teams, Amy and me, Tricia and Marissa, and Anita and Ashley. The other teams are staying in a hostel and teaching in Vienna, and we are about an hour+ south in a small town called Oberpullendorf, which is in the Burgenland, or the Borderlands, which is right next to Hungary.

Our flight left Albuquerque on April 30 at 1:50 pm and we flew to Denver first. After a short layover and dinner at the airport, we boarded our giant Lufthansa Boeing747 and hunkered down for the duration of the flight. For some reason, Amy and I were seated together several rows ahead of the others, so we've been stuck together from the very beginning of this. Good thing we like each other so much...



This was before we had to sit (and sleep) next to each other for 9+ hours.

Neither Amy or I had ever flown on a plane where they feed you, so we had no idea what we were in for.  We were pleasantly surprised, perhaps because we were starving or perhaps because  it was actually good, but we both ate it all.

One of the coolest things about the flight, aside from traveling so far so fast, was the screens in the back of the seats. We were able to watch movies and play games but  a screen showed where we were from our location, our elevation, the outside temp, everything.

 

Aside from the length of the flight, and the cramped sleeping quarters with my long legs (thank goodness Amy shared her legroom with me!) the flight was easy and seamless. We arrived in Frankfurt in the morning, and after changing planes, we arrived in Vienna at 3 in the afternoon.

 

We were greeted by a man with a sign for us (no pic, unfortunately) and he drove us to the hostel in southern Vienna where the others will be staying for the duration. Renate (pronounced Renata) met us there and showed us to our rooms. Since the other girls are staying there longer, they get an apartment on the first floor with 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and their own private kitchen. The rest of the building is regular dorm rooms for internationally studying students, and we stayed in an available room since we didn't need all the same accommodations.

 

Renate took us to dinner that first night in Vienna at a traditional beer and wine garden several blocks away and we able to eat outside and enjoy lots of delicious food in a beautiful outdoor space with blooming plants and grand trees.

 

 

It was all amazing food, and has been everywhere we've eaten so far on this journey.

 

We stayed up as late as we could to flip our internal clocks to the 8 hour time change, and that turned out to be 9 pm. Sleeping was tough, and Amy and I struggled to both fall asleep and wake up. Somehow, on Friday, we were still the first ones up and dressed, so we took Tricia and went on an adventure to find breakfast. Renate had shown us the center of the Liesing District where the hostel is and there are several restaurants as well as a mall (with an H&M!). We walked a few blocks to the center and found a SzihnBrot, which is a chain of delicious bakeries that sell the most wonderful breads. Oh. Man. It's freakin' good.  We got the requested chocolate croiussants, along with a strawberry one which had delicious cream inside, and my chocolate donut. We also got Milange, which a type of coffee unique to this region and is very popular. I personally am not a fan of coffee, but I can tell by the smell that it's amazing. Amy loves them so I will make her write about them.

 



 

 

Renate met us after breakfast and we went everywhere. Seriously. We went all over the city by train, bus, tram, and subway. The main purpose of this was for the other Vienna girls to learn how to get to their schools, but since Amy and I are teaching in the Burgenland, we just went along for the ride and the beautiful photo ops.

 

Renate took us via public transit to St. Stephen's square, which is a very touristy area that reminded me of Times Square. She showed us around for a bit, but we didn't go into any museums or anything yet. Renate left us with the intent to have us find our own way home. Like a mother bird, she pushed us out of the nest and hoped we would fly. With Anita's wonderful internal compass, we found our way home without any issue, around 4:30. Most stores here are close at 6pm and are closed all day on Sunday, and we wanted to get snacks at the market before they closed. Shopping was an adventure because most things are in German, but labels still look the same for brands we recognize. (I know I'll get some flack for this, given that this region has some of the finest chocolate in the world, but I found Crispy M&Ms! I didn't even know they still make them! I hadn't had them since middle school, so I was so excited!) Amy and I made a deal to not eat anything with a label we recognized from home, and with the exception of my euphoric M&Ms, we stuck to that rule, and got pretzels, some German goldfish crackers, and wine. We ate and chatted with other girls in their kitchen and enjoyed our last night with them. We went to bed much later and were pleased that our clocks had flipped so quickly. We woke up yesterday ready to go to Oberpullendorf, but getting here was it's own adventure that deserves it's own post.