3 Things

Today marks the end of my first week in Austria. It honestly feels like I arrived yesterday, but I’ve already settled quite nicely into my life here. Which brings me to my point; I am a terrible communicator, especially when I have distractions, and since Austria is one big distraction for me, I think it’s important for me to make a schedule for this blog. I’m hoping (and keep in mind this is a very rough outline) that on Saturdays I will write my favorite thing from the week, something that is different from Ocracoke, and a song that goes with each week (the song mostly for my own record) and then write normal blog entries whenever I can. :) So, here are my first week’s three things:

1. The song for the week. The song this week is I Gotta Feeling by The Black Eyed Peas because it was the first song I heard in Austria (as I was walking out from the Airport to meet Youth For Understanding) and also because I would only be exaggerating a little if I said I had heard it 1000 times this week. IT PLAYS EVERYWHERE!

2. Something that’s different than home. I really don’t want this to be a negative section at all, because that’s not how I feel about it. I think our differences from continent to continent and even from country to country are what makes us interesting, but this first thing is something I miss from home, and that thing is ice. You don’t realize how lucky you are to have it until it’s gone. Hot drinks in the hot summer are not very good.

3. My Favorite Part of this Week. It is extremely difficult to look at a week like this one and say, “oh, that was the best moment” out of hundreds of possible choices. This week it could have been any number of things, but I think what it all boils down to how laid-back my life is here. I think that is one difference between a vacation somewhere and an opportunity like this one. On a vacation to a place like Austria, you spend your time doing and seeing things, but living like this, I’ve had time to rest so I can enjoy the next activity. I have laid in the hammock for hours just reading, but I’ve also been biking and hiking through the hills with my family, learned some German, and tried things like unicycling and windsurfing. So really, the best part for me is knowing that I have plenty of time here and that I can stop to smell the Edelweiss.