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Tschüss baba, Österreich.

 Well well well, here I am in Bellingham, exactly two months since I arrived in Seattle on July 6th. It’s been awhile since my last blog, but I want to close this blog up with one final post, about my last adventures in Austria, and about how amazing this experience has been. When people ask me how it was, I of course say it was great. But really it was life-changing. It just feels weird and cliche to say out-loud, but it really was a necessary experience for me. I learned so much, and am in such a healthier head-space than I was before I left.

First, I will catch you up on all of the things I did leading up to my departure back to Washington. June was my last full month in Austria, and it was kind of a shit show as University was so chill the entire time, until June when I had four essays and 6 exams, but of course I still made time to meet up with friends and have fun. 

After I said goodbye to the majority of my friends I jumped on a train to the west of Austria, where the stereotypical Austria is. I stayed at Assunta’s house and got to explore the mountain village she lives in, as well as the city down in the valley called Innsbruck. It was so nice to be away from a big city for once and be in the cool mountain air. It was also cool to visit Assunta’s hometown, as she lived in mine.

The majority of my last full day in Austria was spent on a train back to Graz, At 5 AM the next day I would be on a train to the Viennese airport. 

When thinking about how this experience has changed me, I think back to my first day in Graz, getting to my dorm with an overwhelming feeling of dread weighing on my lungs, being extremely insecure and afraid. The first morning in my dorm I cried because I thought I had made a horrible mistake, that I did not have the skills and abilities to make it an amazing experience. On the morning of July 3rd the dorm management came and gave me the deposit back, the feeling I had walking out of that dorm, suitcases in tow, was pure happiness. I felt so proud of myself, so validated. Three years ago when I told people I wanted to study abroad in Austria, I said it, but didn’t really believe that it would happen, but maybe in some alternate universe a more capable Tanner would. 

My transformation from the beginning of my exchange to the end of my exchange, can be best portrayed by Peggy Olson Season 1 moving into Sterling Cooper, to Peggy moving into McCann Erickson in the final episode, Season 7. 

Before I went abroad I wasn’t happy, and was really struggling with school. Not because it was hard but because I really didn’t care about it, I would go out and PARTY on average around four nights a week. Going out and drinking with people was the only thing that made me feel at peace, but as a result I handed in essays days late with shitty excuses tied to them, and had to drop classes due to absences (these classes were at 8:30 AM). If I had to describe myself in three words at that point in my life the first word I would’ve picked would be sad or depressed, the other words maybe, compulsive and insecure. I wanted more then anything to be away. Going abroad used to be a dream for me, but last year it turned into an act of desperation. I don’t know what would’ve happened if I had stayed, that’s how important this experience was.

The first month or so of my exchange really felt like mental health rehab. For the first week or so I was pretty alone as I hadn’t met most of my friends yet. I had so much time to reflect while exploring the city of Graz, finding the University, walking through the Old City, and climbing up to the clock tower. This solitude eventually led me to some conclusions about myself. I would dwell on the past, and past versions of myself that I hated, and that seeped into my perception of my current self. Instead of running away from who I once was I accepted him, and also acknowledged that I am no longer that person. I think that realization did wonders, and it also made me realize that I don’t have to be so sad all of the time, I wanted to be happy, but I was focusing too much on the negative, which only drew more negativity into my life.

Before my exchange, there was nothing I hated more then the future, as I thought mine was always doomed. I hated the future when I was in middle school, looking towards high school and then eventually college. I just never thought I had what it took to be happy or successful, but now I know that’s bullshit. I know my future will be good (as long as we don’t have a nuclear war or some shit) and after Graz, I now have a clearer image of what I want my future to be.

Besides a shift from living my life in pessimism to optimism, the next huge change came in my confidence. Being on my own, being confused as fuck 24/7 but still figuring shit out, traveling alone, moving to a new city, and making friends from over ten different countries all over the world helped me in this aspect. I know I can succeed in unfamiliar and new situations, and now crave that, you learn so much from challenging yourself. 

What I will miss about Graz,

I will miss “baba,” it is kind of like “bye-bye!” In Austrian. And it is freaking cute.

I will miss daily pretzels.

I will miss the double kiss-hug thing that Europeans do, as well as saying “Ciao!” 

I will miss living in such a beautiful city.

I will also miss the nice people I met at University. I even made friends with a professor! I am working with KF and WWU to potentially open a KF chapter at WWU! Exciting, but nothing is certain. 

But mainly, I will miss the friends that made me feel like I was home.

Skadi was the first friend I made and we bonded so much. We watched Clueless together, traveled to Vienna, shopped and much much more <3 I will miss playing Wikingerschah in the park with Laura, Finja, and Milan, pre-partying at Laura’s (everyone there says pre-party instead of pregame it’s weird) partying in the clubs, and of course, Flunkyball! Skadi is definitely coming to visit sometime the northwest sometime soon, and I’ll make it to Deutschland too!

(we were the only ones with team spirit and matching tee-shirts... Austrians...) German crew, I will miss you guys so much.

I will also miss the ERASMUS crew. I squeezed myself into this friend group for the Italian dinners. Just kidding. But hanging out with these people was always so cool. We all came from different countries and continents. We really had so much fun together, going out, going on trips together, and having chill evenings where we just ate dinner together. 

Hopefully I will see some of you again! I will for sure be back to Europe somewhat soon!

The two girls above I will for sure see again as well, Katha and Anita! We bonded through our ability to hold our liquor, and through our love of Mad Men and Twin Peaks. It’s really cool to be able to find your people anywhere in the world. We spent so many nights out until four, or in until four, just chatting about life.

Before I went abroad I was determined to make only European friends, but I managed to make an American one! Liz on the far left is from Minneapolis, her German is freakishly good so she was also in the Deutsch crew (making my German sound like shit.) But it really was nice to have an American friend there, especially such a nice and down to earth one, I’m sure I will see you sometime soon in the future Liz! 

Living in a community with so many exchange students it was so easy to make friends, because we were all in the same situation. Being in Graz for a limited amount of time, and wanting to make the experience meaningful. That being said, it is harder to become friends with the host students, because they are in a different situation, add in a language barrier and it gets more difficult. But I did meet some great Austrians. Magdalena, thank you so much for helping me with my German! I am so grateful, and I’m glad I made a new Austrian friend. Hope to see you again sometime.Thanks for spritzers and Kaiserschmarrn! (Kaiserschmarrn is like scrambled pancakes with raisins inside, served with apple sauce)

I was anticipating leaving Graz to be much more emotional than it was. When I got on my plane back to the US I felt so calm and ready to continue my life. I definitely got the experience I needed out of this. When I left for Europe I was so excited to leave, when I was leaving Europe I was so happy to return. It wasn’t like a home-sick feeling though, it was one of fulfillment. I had my Austrian adventure, and now I can continue moving forward, making my life what I want it to be. 

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Geburtstag in Wien

This weekend i traveled back to Vienna for Assunta’s 21st! I asked Skadi if she would like to join me, and it worked out that her parents were randomly in Vienna that weekend with some friends! So instead of having to rent an airbnb we had a nice couch to sleep on for free.

Not the best picture of us, but oh well (aren’t Skadi’s eyes so beautiful??) We got on our flixbus at three and then arrived in Vienna around six. We then met with Skadi’s parents at Stephansdom. We chilled and ate dinner with Skadi’s parents, listening to everyone speaking German was like hearing a new language, despite the fact that i have been living in Austria for 5 months. Learning German has been really hard actually because everyone sounds so different, there are so many different dialects in this tiny country it is crazy. Skadi is from Hamburg and she can’t even understand Austrians sometimes, and Austrians can’t even understand other Austrians sometimes. So how the hell am i supposed to!? The variation in the German language is very extensive between the countries Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. But I love how Skadi and her parents speak, such pretty German <3.

After dinner we met with Skadi’s friend from Hamburg who is doing her ERASMUS exchange in Vienna, we went to the open air opera, not for long though because there was a very scary Austrian lady mad at us for talking to loud, but she was rude so I’m not sorry.

We then went to a park to finish our bottle of wine, since we were pregaming for Assunta’s party. We drank two bottles in record time and then we were adequately faded. 

We then made it to Assunta’s party which was so much fun, and Janika was there!! I haven’t seen Janika since 2014 when we went to Vancouver BC!

*cue flashback

And now here is the 2017 version of us, plus bday girl.

It was so nice catching up! It’s really too bad that we only see each other once every three years or so, but foreign friendships are so nice and rewarding, and when you do meet again it is really as if no time has passed. And now I have so many more friends abroad which is really amazing, and those friends i will of course visit again. But to conclude, the party was really great :)

The next day Skadi and I explored Vienna, so I will post some pictures below. I’m so glad that I got to experience a sunny Vienna, as opposed to the freezing cold and grey Vienna and I experienced in February. Being in Vienna has made me so happy that I chose Graz over Vienna though, even though it is not the obvious choice. Vienna is nice, and huge, and beautiful, but it would be too overwhelming for me. Graz is by far the biggest city i have ever lived in, Bellingham only has 80-90,000 residents, and Selah isn’t even on the same chart as Graz or especially Vienna (Graz has 320,000 residents while Vienna has 1.8 million).

I like that I can walk everywhere i need to be, even though some walks are longer than others (furthest place i walk to is like 45 minutes). All of my friends have bikes though so navigating the city for them is effortless, I however, don’t do bikes. Far too dangerous. Basically, Graz is amazing.

And also I have a funny story about Skadi and I at the train station before we left back to Graz. We needed to go to the bathroom, but often in Austria (and maybe in some cities in the US, I am not sure) you have to pay to use the bathroom. It was only 50 cents so I was willing to pay for Skadi and I, as Skadi didn’t have any coins. There is a stereotype about Germans that they are always so orderly, that they always follow the rules (alles in Ordnung) aber Skadi ist sehr versaut ;) . So she suggested that we just squeeze through the door together so that I only have to pay 50 cents instead of 1 Euro, so I thought okay why not. The second we went through the door a freaking loud-ass alarm went off alerting the officials of our crime. (But no one confronted us so all was okay haha). But I was a bit worried someone was going to come in the bathroom and interrogate me while I was peeing.

Well, that’s it. Here’s some pics of Wien,

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Hanner nimmt Kroatien

Ayyyye I went to Croatia! Isn’t that dope?! I went with my friend Hannah, who I met in the TESOL program back at WWU (more specifically at her house party which I crashed). She was in Spain for three months teaching two Spanish children in Madrid, we planned this trip right before she goes home to good ole Washington (though now I think she is in London). 

Anyways, she was already traveling in the south of Croatia, so we met halfway in a small city called Pula, it only has about 80,000 inhabitants. On Friday morning I got on my Flixbus, and 8 hours later with one bus change I arrived and met Hannah at our airbnb. That first day we just chilled and ate a bit, then started figuring out what we would do for the weekend. Pula is a nice but verrry small city, so we thought that we would end up traveling to another city for a day-trip, because some of the cities I saw on the way looked so incredibly beautiful. That didn’t end up happening, and we had a fantastic time catching up and exploring Pula.

Pula doesn’t really have any beaches right in the city, so on Friday evening we just walked along the harbor, and saw the  famous amphitheater that was built in some year BC, also es ist sehr alt.

Later that night we went to a cool bar that had live jazz music, but a group of elderly french came and sat with us, in turn, harshing our mellow.

The next day we woke up to the sound of pouring rain, quite a bummer. And it was like this the entire day, but that didn’t stop us from going out and exploring. We went to the market for some fresh groceries, went to a few cafes, and tried to go to the beach when the clouds cleared up, but then it started pouring and we got lost, so it was a fail. An interesting thing about cafes in Pula is that they never have any food, only coffee and alcoholic drinks, so we would go to the chain bakery called Mlinar, get the goods, and then drink at the cafes. There is really not so much to do in Pula (especially in the rain) but it was a nice and relaxing, non-touristy location. I was also able to practice German which surprised me, people automatically assumed that we were German tourists and would speak to us in German at first, being that their German was slow and simple I was able to keep up the facade that we were in fact German. 

Later that night the sweetest airbnb host Lidija came and gave us some Craotian treats, though the pastry/bread-looking things were quite gross and we threw them away. 

The next day Jesus answered our prayers and rewarded us with sunshine, the perfect beach weather, hot, but not too hot. So once again we headed out to a cafe for some breakfast and then headed to the beach.

The beach was actually a recommendation from a very chatty waiter. He also misunderstood our story and said that it was destiny that we were here together, we both just kind of looked at each other with confused expressions and said “yeahh....”

But it is destiny that he was our waiter because then we eventually found this beautiful beach! 

The beaches in Croatia are often with rocks instead of sand, but it was still so nice. The water was cold, but locals were swimming, and we’re from Washington so we could handle it. We did some beach modeling, and then moved on to the next location, pizza.

After pizza we found an even prettier beach, with help from another waiter. We relaxed in the sun, took some selfies, and swam some more. The beach I swam in was definitely the prettiest I have ever had the pleasure of swimming in.

RIP

We took the bus back which was less than 10 minutes long and ate dinner. Later we were chatting and hysterically laughing at all of the ridiculous pictures we had taken that day. But you know what they say, it’s all fun and games until there is a scorpion in your room.

Okay I know it is not so huge but it was a freaking scorpion! Hannah was on the verge of a mental breakdown and I also was very afraid. We then heard someone outside of our door and Hannah frantically flung the door open asking for help. The girl told us that it wasn’t poisonous so we could put it outside or kill it. Being the man of the airbnb I knew what I had to do, I knew it was my duty to kill the beast. Granted, I am an ethical vegetarian so I don’t kill bugs on purpose unless they are in the shower, or a scorpion. Luckily I had the sense to bring my docs, so I was well equipped for my mission. And then like the man I am I stomped it to death, screaming the entire time. So other than that and the paranormal experience I had when I woke up at 3 AM and then heard a woman’s voice say “hello,” the airbnb was great, 10/10.

The next day was very relaxed and we just chilled at the park in the sun. Eventually we said our goodbyes until we see each other again in Washington, sometime in July. It is so crazy to think that I only have a little more than a month here left </3 I made it back to Graz at midnight, despite the Croatian bus lady’s attempt to sabotage my journey by telling me the wrong bus terminal, luckily for me I’m smart and figured it out. Being in Austria and travelling alone has given me so much confidence I never used to have, I now know that I can rely on myself, and should.  

Shout out to Hannah for making our trip to Croatia so much fun :)

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Mehr Wein, bitte

A few weeks ago I went on another ESN trip to the south Austrian vineyards where we wine tasted! This trip is the last ESN organized trip I will go on while here in Graz, quite sad. However, this was the perfect last trip, as we all got shit-faced, which brings me to Exhibit A:

But with any great story, let’s start at the beginning.

Our first destination was this large facility where they had an arrangement of products from Styria (Styria is the state where Graz is located in Austria). There we had a glass of wine, and tried chocolate, different oils, even meat (not me i’m vegetarian) and other products. The most beloved product of Styria is natuerlich pumpkin seed oil, or in Deutsch, Kürbiskernöl. It is like Styria’s favorite child, the Kim Kardashian of the Kardashian family, if you will. The people here love this shit. You can put it on salads and soups, and tbh I’m not really sure what else. I was once with a bunch of Austrians and they asked if I liked it, and when I said that I hadn’t tried it yet their jaws dropped to the floor in unison, as if I had just proclaimed my allegiance to Hitler. Since then I have tried it, and yeah, it’s quite nice I think. Moral of the story: People from Graz love pumpkin seed oil.

Once we were finished we continued on the bus through the beautiful vineyards of south Austria, we stopped and took some pictures, and eventually ended up at a wine cellar. It was a bit cloudy, I was tired, and I found myself wondering if the trip was really worth it, but this is where everyone (even our student leader) got drunk af.

This is my lovely friend Anita and I, on our first or second “tasting,” of wine. You may ask, “Oh what kinds of wine did you drink,” and honestly I have no idea. The wine cellar meister (that is not a real term i just made it up) would describe in detail each of the eight wines we tried, but in dialect.... So basically the majority of us had no idea what was going on. Initially the cellar was quiet, but by the fifth glass it were all adequately buzzed, we took a break and went outside for fresh air and to visit the near by bunnies. It was very comedic to see the progression from stone cold sober to wasted. 

By this point, the sun was starting to break through the clouds, and we were all feeling drunk, but all wanted more wine.

After we were done with our wine tasting we headed to a nearby Buschenschrank, which is a traditional Austrian restaurant that serves cold dishes, and of course, much more wine. I quickly realized I was out of luck, as our dinner consisted solely of meat. I thought oh well, I’ll just drink more wine and get really drunk, but the waitress asked why I didn’t want anything, so then I told her I was vegetarian, and then I received bread with cheese and a side of beans with pumpkin seed oil. I enjoyed it at the time, but next day the mere thought of that dish made me want to vomit. We finished our food, took our wine and went outside to enjoy the sun and continue our voyage to shit-faced drunkenness.

At this point it was quite evident that everyone was feeling drunk, people were breaking out their guitars and singing Wonder Wall, it was really wild. But alas, we had to say adieu to our nice lil’ Buschenschrank.

But the party must go on, so we had a dance party complete with more wine on the bus (see Exhibit A). We arrived back in Graz and then went straight away to Katharina’s party. There I played twister, beer pong, and also discussed my stance on veganism and Trump (so basically the party was a total success). The next morning, however, felt like the darkest day in history, the whole day I did nothing, having no energy to do anything except binge watch Gossip Girl.

You know you love me,

xoxo ;)

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Mauthausen Memorial

A few weeks ago I went on an ESN trip to Mauthausen Memorial, which was a concentration camp near Linz, Austria. Around 100,000 people were murdered at this camp. I initially decided not to go, as spending my Friday off at a concentration camp memorial did not sound so appealing. But the day before I realized that this would be the only time I would be able to experience something like this, so I went to the bus at 8:00 AM on Friday to see if there were still any available spots, and there were.

Mauthausen is around three hours away from Graz, so the leaders decided to play Schindler’s List on the way, so it was an intense day to say the least. With ten minutes of the movie left, we arrived at Mauthausen.

First off, we had a short power point presentation about the history of Europe, to explain to us how the nationalistic attitude spread in Germany as well as other European countries. We learned about the influence of World War I, about the “August Moment,” and much more that I did not know before. It was really interesting, and helped explain the background and the environment of Europe at the time. At the end, our guide said that the presentation may have made it sound like Nationalism was inevitable, that the events of Word War II were bound to happen, but he clarified that these sentiments were just not true, and that on our tour of the camp we would talk about the choices people individually made, that resulted in the deaths of millions of people.

We started at the camp’s soccer field, where the townies of Mauthausen could come watch their SS heros play each other.  Parallel to the bleachers was a line of trees, and just on the other side people were dying. This camp was not the main one, and it was not guarded as much because the prisoners at this camp were too ill to escape. This camp was for the prisoners who could no longer work, so they were sent here to die. Just maybe 200 meters away from the people of Mauthausen, watching soccer, and living their everyday life. The prisoners would arrive at the center of Mauthausen, and then have to walk all of the way up to the camp on the hill. A survivor recalled that it was as if they were invisible, town people would tell the SS soldiers to come by the pub later, or tell them about a party happening later that night, but never mentioned the hundreds of Jewish prisoners behind them.

Only up to 10,000 of the people who died at Mauthausen did so in the gas chambers, the camp itself was designed to kill, and the “Stairs of Death,” were as lethal as a death sentence. Prisoners would have to carry pounds and pounds of stone up a long stairway. The city of Vienna owned this land, and the stones that the prisoners died carrying up, are now the ones that people walk on in the first district of Vienna.

Looks pretty bad, huh? I was surprised to find out that this photograph is actually just propaganda. You see no dead, can’t see the condition of the prisoners, and there is no force in this picture, they could just be carrying the stones up on their own accord. (obviously not)

This quarry was visible from a farmhouse upon a nearby hill. A woman who lived there could see prisoners getting shot in broad daylight, over and over again. Sometimes being left alive for hours with no help, until they died. After a couple of years she could no longer take it, so she went to the police station and filed a report against the SS. In summary, her report read that she was an “unwilling witness,” to atrocious and inhumane deeds, and that they should cease immediately, or at least be done where no one can see. This can be explained by the typical phenomenon of Austrians just ignoring the fact that people were being round up and murdered, but the tour guide mentioned this may have also been a smart move on her part. Stating her sentiments against the camp, while not being outwardly against the SS. Trying to wrap your mind around the psychology of World War II is very confusing.

We went to the barracks, the gas chamber, everything. It was a really crazy experience, but I am so glad that I did it. I think when you are participating in a culture for an extended period of time it is important to not only experience the fun aspects, but the heavy, “not so fun,” aspects as well. Because this definitely is an aspect of the Austrian culture. Our tour guide was so great, and told us countless other stories about this camp and the people who worked there, and what they did. If you ever have an opportunity to go to a concentration camp memorial, you should. Learning about it in our classrooms on the other side of the world is a very different experience then being there, where it happened.

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Klanglicht

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Klanglicht

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Klanglicht 2017

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Klanglicht 2017.

Klanglicht is a light festival in the city of Graz, throughout the city there are different attractions you can walk around and see. This one gives off an illuminati/New World Order vibe, doesn’t it? It’s crazy how satanic the Book of Genesis can sound in German. (Not sure if the book of Genesis is being read in this portion of the video, but it was previously to recording).

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Hausaufgabe und Bier: Ein Typischer Tag

I have been in Austria for almost 2 months! Quite crazy. And now I am starting to feel really comfortable in Graz. School has started and once again there is some sort of structure in my life. Usually I have school for about three hours everyday except for Fridays which I have completely free. Tuesdays I have 6 hours and 15 minutes of class with only 15 minutes inbetween, it is horrible.

When I am not doing homework (which is a lot of the time) or at school I am often with the two Germans down below, Finja and Skadi, they are the best <3.

Just enjoying some ice cream in the sun after shopping.

The other day Skadi helped me with my sim card, so I can get wifi on my phone not just at my apartment. We then went shopping for some summer shoes, got some ice cream, and then bought some summer clothes at H&M.

The weather in Graz has been amazing. It is extremely rare for it to be cloudy or rainy, and it is usually the perfect spring weather. People even tan without their shirts on at the park, so to all of the haters who mocked my decision to come to Austria based off of the weather, well, you’re wrong.

Because the weather is so nice we often go to Stadt Park near the university. On nice days the park is full of people out enjoying the sun. I learned how to play a really fun game called Wikingerschach or Kubb (best played with Bier). As I said on my Instagram post, it is like croquet, but for Germans.

You basically just have to knock over the other team’s wooden blocks. Skadi and I are really good, she is good at hitting the blocks far away, and I am good at short distance. Our team name changes, but sometimes it is Queen Team and sometimes it is America First Germany Second.

As you can see in this picture we are definitely sober and not drunk at all.

But sometimes everyone sucks at this game, and then it gets a bit boring, when this happens we like to spice it up. How do we do this? With some Flunky Ball, a sure fire way to get real drunk real quick. The Germans/Austrians know what’s up, because in this drinking game the drinking is the reward, not the punishment (as it often is).  To play, there are two teams and everyone has a full can or bottle of beer (we used tall boys). The objective of the game is to knock over the bottle in the middle of the field, and the team that finishes all of their beer first wins. One person from one team will try to knock over the bottle in the middle, if they are successful that same team must chug their beers while the other team must stand the bottle back up and retrieve the ball, once the team is back behind the line the other team must stop chugging. Then, it is the other team’s turn to throw.

We played this on Friday and it was super fun, but we were wasted by like 9. We also made some Austrian friends who joined us which was cool. After three rounds everyone was very drunk, and we were thinking about going to a bar as it was now dark. Being a veteran drinker I knew I needed some carbs to endure more alcohol, so I made a quick intermission and ate some pasta at home, and then bingo I was ready for some red wine.

I’m loving spring in Graz, it has been such a nice little break from rainy Bham (but I of course miss everyone reading this now <3) And I will teach you all how to play Flunky Ball once I return.

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This is what a round of Flunky Ball looks like. Much fun, much Bier.

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Ljubljana und Trieste

A few weeks ago I went on an organized trip to the home-country of Melania Trump (Slovenia, or as the Austrians say, Slowenia) and Trieste, Italy! It was such a great experience, and I am so glad that I decided to go on it! It was only 40 euro too, so not too expensive at all. I’ve been meaning on making this blog post for forever, but when I am not doing homework I am usually with friends or busy watching Netflix. Alas, I have written the first paragraph of this blog, so far so good.

This trip was mainly organized for US and Canadian exchange students, since we will be in Austria for more than 90 days we must obtain a visa, and that we can get at the closest Austrian Embassy outside of Austria, which is in the beautiful capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana.

I started this journey at 4:15 in the morning after about 3 hours of sleep, not the best way to start a day of travel. Regardless, I made it to the meeting point on time at 5:50 am.  I was a bit worried about who I was going to hang out with on this trip, because my friends who I usually hang out with were not coming as they did not need a visa and didn’t want to miss school. But at the meeting point I luckily saw my friends Anita and Katherina. They were the type of friend that you sometimes see out at bars or clubs, but never really have the chance to hang-out with besides those situations. But through this trip I got know them better as well as so many other cool people! That was definitely my favorite part of the trip.

We arrived in Ljubljana first at 9 in the morning. There, the US and Canadian students could apply for their visa. With my European pals we first went to a nice little café for a little breakfast and coffee, the menus were in Slovenian and English, so I had no problems in that department. After we ate we headed to a nearby church, called the Orthodox Church. I’ve never been in this kind of church, so it was interesting to see how different the style is from typical Catholic cathedrals.

(I’m not sure why this picture looks so weird but this is what it looked like lol)

Then, we had to rush back and get on the bus to Italy. Trieste was about 2 hours away from Ljubljana, and we got to Trieste around 1 o’clock. I didn’t have the highest of expectations for our hostel arrangements, but our hostel was so nice!

As you can see our hostel was right on the sea, this was the view from our room! I was very impressed. All we could think about was food, because we hadn’t had a sustaining meal all day, but we were instead forced to see a castle (horrible right I know) Miramere Castle was only a 15 minute walk from our hostel, so our huge group all migrated over. The castle was beautiful and we spent a good hour and a half taking thousands of pictures and exploring the area.

We may not be as photogenic as Italy, but we make up for it with our great personalities, I promise.

This was the group of girls I shared a hostel with, minus the blonde Cecilia, who was taking the picture.

The majesty of the castle and surrounding area could only distract us from our empty stomachs for so long, and we started getting hangry once again. With visions of Italian pizza streaming through our minds, we headed into the city. Before our city tour we had 30 minutes to get food, I got a mini pizza to warm me up for the big pizza I would later have. I also got a coffee.

My phone was completely dead after the castle, but the esn website took some nice pictures, so I will share some of those photos. Trieste was such a beautiful city, and probably my favorite European city thus far.

This was the majority of our group in the city center of Trieste, being near the sea reminded me of how much I love and miss being close to the water.

I’m a bit coy and awkward in this picture because the photographer decided to capture my bad side instead of my good side, but what can ya do.  After the tour it was finally pizza time. And here in Europe they really make you work for it, you have to cut the pizza yourself! The pizza was pretty good, but there was literally only cheese on it, different and delicious varieties, but being someone who doesn’t consume dairy often it was a bit much.

Pizza was followed by karaoke! Except it really was not karaoke but rather everyone just singing and dancing to the music. It was held at a little café and was run by the Trieste ESN group, it was a pretty fun night of drinks and dancing.

We took a cab back to the hostel and honestly it was a blast. Italian cab drivers are fucking insane, going 50+mph on little Italian streets. I thought it was quite fun but others in our party (Anita) didn’t find it so amusing.

I was able to catch up on my sleep at around 4AM, and got a luxurious 4 hours of sleep before having to wake up. We had breakfast at the hostel, and then sadly had to leave the beautiful city of Trieste, but we were returning to Ljubljana for a full day of exploration, so it was okay. We arrived in Ljubljana at around 1 in the afternoon, and of course headed immediately to get food (we are a hungry bunch of people).

The weather was amazing, and it was the first day that I started my tan.  After brunch, we adventured into the city, climbed a mountain and walked around an old castle,(you know, typical European shit) and had some ice cream. Ljubljana is as well a beautiful city to visit.

A lovely shot of the Finnish crew.

I was so glad I went on this trip, I became acquainted with so many cool people because of it. I also learned/realized two important things.

1. I can be a judgmental bitch. I used to think I was pretty chill, but before I met a lot of the people on the trip I wrote them off immediately, uninterested in pursuing any kind of friendship. In my defense, I had only slept for 3 hours and was awake at 4:15, and yet somehow people had the energy to be singing Spanish pop songs at 8 in the morning. So I think this day I was especially irritable. But I am glad I had this realization so I can keep it in check. The person I judged most because he was the most energetic and loud I later realized was a very cool and genuine person. Whenever he sees me now he says “Oh hey it is red hair Jason Mraz.”

2: While I was at the karaoke party I realized that I had never thought I was on the right track, or that I was doing the right thing, until now. I was so happy in that moment to be in Italy and to be in Europe for 6 months. It’s nice to be content with yourself and what you’re doing.

Overall the trip was amazing! Stay-tuned for a blog about wine tasting, I’m going to be the first to sign up for that trip.

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Karneval in Graz

It’s hard being a Princess... But drinking alcohol on the streets sure does take the edge off.

The real reason I am wearing a tiara is because it was Karneval yesterday! Karneval (also called Fasching) is the German/Austrian/Swiss version of Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday, all three countries celebrate this holiday in similar fashions. It is a pretty big deal over here, like New Orleans Mardi Gras, without the beads.

So yesterday, I headed to the city center to meet my friends Skadi and Finja, Finja has butterfly head-piece above and Skadi is down under, sporting her tiara and wine.

(Please excuse my arms, I never have any idea where to put them during pictures, I don't know.) Here Karneval has two main components, the parade and the costumes (and alch). I was not really sure if people actually dressed up, so I didn't, but so many people did! Kids as well as older people, and in the most random of costumes, there is no coordinated theme really, except to wear some costume. I actually think that there are more creative floats at Selah Community days haha, but there was a Prince and Princess, some dance groups, the usual stuff.

Where Karneval has Community Days beat is definitely the parade hand-outs, they were just handing out doughnuts left and right! Was pretty amazing. (Note the witches in the background). The parade seemed like equal parts friendly for families, children, and for people just trynna spend their day-off drinking (my demographic). Alcohol is just a big part of the culture here, and it is not seen as so taboo or inappropriate to drink in front of children.

There was a reoccurring theme of chickens in the parade, which was odd. The first chicken themed float featured young people dressed as chickens, just kind of partying in a chicken coop, drinking Puntigamer (the most famous local beer) and smoking cigs. The second float was called something like “the sick chickens or something,” and these were also younger (drunk) people in chicken costumes, but these people would jump off their float and throw feathers and hay like right in your face (they lost their charm quickly).

Later that night there were also a lot of parties that were costume/Karneval theme, but I did not have the strength to go to any as day drinking is very exhausting. I was glad I was able to participate in this part of Austrian culture, usually Mardi Gras in Bellingham consists of Erika and I failing to persuade people to drink and celebrate with us, because they, “have class in the morning,” apparently. So it was nice to see how people in this part of the world celebrate.

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trynna skype my dumbass dog who doesn't understand skype or technology as a whole.

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Graz: Eine neue Heimat

I’ve always thought Austria was a cool lil European country, so throughout the years I have done quite a bit of research on Austria (I’m kind of a nerd when it comes to European countries, which is kind of an odd thing to be a nerd about but whatever). So I kind of had a misconception that other people also knew about Austria, but when I announced my exchange I learned quite the contrary, that most people know nothing about Austria (besides the whole Hitler thing and The Sound of Music, of course).

“So do they speak Australian in Austria?”

I mean get it, 90% of the information I learned about Austria I taught myself... But I’m judgin’ ya for that question. However, I do admit, before my exchange I knew nothing about Graz. So here are some fun facts about my temporary home.

Eins: Graz is the second-largest city in Austria, located in the south-eastern region of the country.

Zwei: It has about 280,000 citizens.

Drei: It is a forested area with many parks, and the city receives more hours of sun and less hours of rain per year compared to Vienna and Salzburg (sorry about it Assunta) and gets quite warm in the summer.

Vier: Graz is known as a young “university city,” and Karl-Franzens-Universität (my university) is the city’s oldest, first founded in the 16th century.

*shout out to Wikipedia for all of this dope info

Fünf: Marijuana is illegal here, but my roommate told me all you need is 20 euro and a quick trip to the park, and bingo, ya got pot. (not ballsy enough to try this tho, don't want my next blog entry to be titled, “I went to Austrian jail”).

Now that you know some basic info, I’ll tell you about my first experiences getting around Graz. The picture above I took on my little balcony from my dorm room, and my dorm room is like a 30 minute walk away from the university. I came to Graz so early because the 16th was the start of a mandatory welcome week, despite school starting March 6th. I came four days before welcome week, and with no friends and no school my schedule was pretty open, so I thought I would sightsee and try to get to know the city better, despite not really knowing where anything was.

I first ventured out to find a café (mainly to use wifi) but failed, and returned home. Feeling discouraged, I ventured out again to find another café, which was near the university, I failed again, but found myself in the Old Town of Graz! So overall, accidental success.

The big building in the back is the Rathaus (Town hall) of Graz, this area is full of different local shops and cafes as well as some international shops like H&M. This area is full of beautiful and well-persevered buildings.

Above is the city-center directly in front of the Rathaus. Also in this area is one of Graz’s main sight-seeing attractions, the Uhrturm (clock tower) on top of a hill called Schloßberg (castle-mountain). The Uhrturm is probably the most famous symbol of Graz.

It’s kind of like the Watch-tower on top of Sehome Arboretum, only with old men playing traditional Austrian tunes with their accordions (so actually not at all similar). Schloßberg has some pretty incredible views of all of Graz, it being a big mountain right in the middle of the city and all. There are a couple cafes on top, and many people come up on nice days and crack open a couple of cold ones while enjoying the sun and scenery. Also, you can drink in public here, so that’s chill. Also (just another fun fact) but 16-year-olds can buy beer here, and the drinking culture in general is just very casual. I have not had to use my id once here, not  to get into clubs or bars, not to buy hard alcohol, never. In Washington it is a very different story, I have to show my id whenever I buy a freaking lighter.

I took the picture above while heading back down from the tower, and pls excuse the shitty quality of all these pictures, my phone sucks, but that won’t be a problem anymore (dropped it down a flight of stairs my first night of clubbing so hopefully my new phone will have a better camera lol).

A cool church thing I think, not sure though.

And this is just a random street I felt the need to take a picture of I guess. But thought I should just throw it in as it is the last picture I took and transferred from my phone before its demise. After a couple of excursions out to the city I started to become much more comfortable living here. I know the main part of the city now, and can find bars and random stores with an 80% success rate (most of the time).

Stay tuned to hear about welcome-week, friends, and my first time “clubbing” here.

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Entschuldigung mein Deutsch ist nicht so gut.

I titled this blog “Sorry my German is not so good,” because this phrase has quickly become my slogan since coming to Graz. I basically preface everything I say in German with this sentence. When I first got off of the train in Graz it was 11:30, I had to pick up keys for my dorm on one side of town, and then get to my dorm on the other part of town. I had directions and bus numbers all ready and on my phone to help me navigate, but all of that proved useless once I arrived in Graz and could not find bus number 31 for the life of me (I now know I could not find it because it was a tram I needed to take, not a bus). I throw in the towel and hop in a taxi to get my dorm room keys, this is also when I really started regretting making everything 10 times harder on myself by not signing up for an Austrian Buddy. If I had done this, I would have had a friendly face waiting for me once I arrived at Graz Main Station, who would then take me to get my keys, and then to my dorm. I guess I really like challenging myself (note the 48 hour journey to Austria mentioned below). I got my keys from the office and signed some paper work, then asked for directions and bus numbers so I could easily get to my dorm. Getting to my dorm did not go smoothly. I got on the bus assuming my street (Wienerstraße) would appear on the screen, signaling me to get off. This did not happen, so I then had to ask the bus driver when I should get off in order to get to Wienerstraße. For some reason I did not think to clarify to the bus driver where on Wienerstraße I needed to go, so when I got off the bus with my two huge suitcases, I was on Wienerstraße, but still had no idea where my dorm was. I needed to get to Wienerstraße 58, but the street appeared to cut off after around Wienerstraße 140. I walked up and down the street for about 30 minutes in pursuit of my dorm before I came to the conclusion that I did not have the brain capacity to make it on my own. I looked around and saw a nice looking building that said “Welcome Graz,” so I thought I would go in there and ask for directions. I am not sure what this business exactly was. But through the locked glass door I could see a secretary at a desk, so I rang the buzzer and waved at the secretary. She came over and opened the door, and in mein nicht so gut Deutsch I explained my situation and where I needed to be. She had me come in, and with a coworker they figured out my address and printed out google map directions for me, bless their kind souls <3 Luckily I was less than 10 minutes away from my dorm. When I finally got to my dorm I met my roommate who I think I woke up (even though it was like 3 in the afternoon but no shade sorry about that) I then unpacked, made my bed, and slept from 5 pm that night to 7 am the next morning. When I woke up the next morning, I honestly felt like I had made the worst mistake of my life. I was so sad. I thought I was so stupid for leaving the comfort of friends and of Bellingham. That whole day I felt pretty down, but the next day I would venture out into the city, the sun would be shining, and I would begin to remember why I decided to go abroad in the first place and my sadness would slowly evaporate away. I have now been in Graz for almost two weeks, and I am happy to report that those feelings have not reappeared, I’m sure there will be moments where I become very homesick, but as of now, I love living in Graz. More about Graz in my next blog post :)

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Apfelstrudel in Wien

Ahhh Vienna, the city of pastel-colored buildings (though I think this just a European trend in general). Vienna was my first stop in Austria, and I spent my first four days here.

Who did I spend my time here with?? With the silly goon down unter.

This is a real life Austrian in her natural habitat, her name is Assunta, and the fish (shown above) eating the dead skin from her hands are actually Austrian delicacies (more on this later). Assunta did an exchange for six months at my high school in good ole Selah Washington, and during her short six months in WA we became really good pals! So when I knew for sure I‘d be studying in Austria, we arranged a short pit stop in Vienna before I continued my voyage to Graz, which is about two hours away via train. Assunta showed me the Austrian ropes, and helped this helpless American be a lil less helpless. Huge shout out to Assunta!

I FINALLY arrived in Austria Thursday evening, so after picking me up we just hung out, ate dinner, and then Assunta took me on a quick night-time edition tour of Vienna, and showed me all of the pretty and hella old buildings Vienna has to offer (honorable mentions go to Stephans Dom, the Parliament, the University, and the Historical Nature and Art Museums).

The next day Assunta took me to the main shopping center (as seen above) in search of an ATM. After I got all the Euros I desired we headed off to this strange safety tower used in World War Two turned modern aquarium and zoo. This was quite an interesting attraction, it’s called Haus des Meeres, and it is literally just a huge ass tower filled with fish and monkeys (and that is where the dead-skin-eating-fish were, Austrians don’t actually eat them though I lied). It was pretty cool! But the screaming Austrian children were harshing our mellow, and some of the fish tanks were a tad bit small for the poor fishes. The top of the tower however had some amazing views of the city.

The next day Assunta asked me what I wanted to see in Vienna, I wasn’t sure, but I wanted to see something that involved the history of Vienna, so she took me to the famous Shoennbrunn Palace. The royal families throughout Austrian history have resided there including Marie Antoinette. I think I preferred this over Haus des Meeres, the rooms in the palace were beautiful and the audio guides provided context and interesting historical facts, plus there were no screaming children. I had never been in a building so old before, so idk, it was just pretty interesting I thought.

After the palace we wanted to continue with the old/classic Viennese vibes and went to a nice little café called Café Sperl. There I got a really small mocha and Italian toast with a side salad. And idk why, but Austrians apparently don’t believe in coffee drinks that are more than 8 ounces, every time I get a god damn coffee here it is so small.

Later that night we met with some of Assunta’s friends so I was able to show off my non-existent German skills. We met at this nighttime Bazaar thing that had some pretty cool stuff, but ur boy is on a budget hier so I just got a couple postcards. After we went to a bar to play pool, or as the Austrians say, Billard.  It was pretty fun and the bar reminded me of State Street Bar in Bham (State Street is better tho <3). Something very different here is that you can fricken smoke cigarettes in bars and clubs!! Regardless of if you smoke or not, you’re coming home smelling like an ashtray, as we did.

My last day in Vienna we laid pretty low as we got home at like 4am, since bars are open for forever here. But we ended up going to another café, and after went to Assunta’s brother’s house for a dinner/viewing party of the Austrian-cult-crime show Tatort, which is on every Sunday evening. Miraculously, I understood like 80% of the plot, I was impressed af with myself.

The next morning I had to say aufwiedersehen to Assunta and Vienna, I was so lucky to be able to spend my first couple days in a new country with a dear friend. Thanks again for being a great host and for helping me acclimate to the Austrian ways!

Until next time, Wien.