Wait, school can be fun?!?!

I realize I have completely focused my blog on the "Abroad" part of my experience and have neglected to explain the "Study" part.  I wanted to wait until after I attended the first half of my intensive course, which was this past week, to give a full assessment of my courses.  So what is the verdict?  LOVE.

My first course of the week is Business German 1a, which is full of about 40 exchange students who want to learn how to get by in German.  The first day of class, my impression of the course was not good as the professor failed to attend it!  The next week, however, she did make it to class and we found out that there was an emergency change of teachers and that she would make up for the missed class by taking us to a Heuriger after class the following week and help us catch up.  For those of you who don't know, Heurigers in Austria are like small, locally owned vineyards that serve their local wine and Austrian specialties made from local products. There, we learned the basics of ordering and food vocabulary, and got to know our classmates and professor on a deeper level.  This is definitely unheard of in the United States!  Aside from our field trip, we have 3 hours of class every Monday where we learn basic German vocabulary, verbs, and phrases.  We are often told to break off into groups and practice speaking about certain topics, which aside from helping us learn German, also helps for making new friends!  She is a very quirky lady, but I love her openness and enthusiasm!

Us with our German professor at the Heuriger!

My next course is International Marketing.  I was practically giddy after attending the first lecture when I realized that the only word I could use to describe the lecture that day was "fun!"  We are learning about doing business and marketing with other cultures and how to go about examining international markets.  It is a detailed course, but because it is a topic I find incredibly interesting, I really enjoy learning about it.  I feel like I am finally learning to do what I want to do with my life, instead of what UF tells me to learn.  I also really enjoy the way of learning here at WU.  The class I am in is only about 24 students, so I feel like I am getting private tutoring compared to the UF classes of 600 students.  The lectures feel less like lectures and more like discussions.  I enjoy speaking up in class here, answering questions, and giving my opinion on various topics.  I feel like I am finally in my element and finally getting what I want out of my education.  Aside from lectures and readings, we have been broken up into groups and given the semester task of picking a product and developing a marketing strategy for introducing it to a foreign market.  I am so excited to get started!  My group members were all excited to have me in their group, and decided our team name should be "Florida."  I was flattered.

Globalization in Vienna!

My final course is called Consumer Behavior in International Tourism.  It a "block course" which meets for 2 full days in March and then 2 full days in June.  Between the course blocks we have the independent study task of writing a research paper on a specific consumer behavior trait of a specific consumer segment in a specific tourism destination.  I was worried that I would die having class from 8am to 4pm two days in a row, but I was pleasantly surprised  when I actually enjoyed it!  Again, the number of students in the class is small, so I feel much more engaged in the lecture.  The course is focused a lot on the psychology of consumer behavior, which is quite interesting.  I am also learning a different aspect to the tourism industry by examining it through the behavior of the consumer and how to develop a business strategy to make use of their behaviors. At the end of the first day he had us work in groups to develop and explication on the current trouble with tourism in Egypt.  I loved that he used such a relevant topic.  Each group then met with him individually to discuss what we came up with and I presented the work to him for our group.  I really enjoy it!  I also appreciated that he took the time to ask us where we are from and tried to get to know us a bit.  I feel like the professors really care about students here... it's really nice! :)

So clearly, I am learning a lot and enjoying my courses at WU.  Don't worry Mom and Dad, I am still a student!!!

Perhaps Graduate studies here in the near future???  One can dream... :)

Building my own path :)

Snowy Days, Settling In, and the Plague

I have been waiting for years to finally be here on my study abroad trip, and all I want to do is go out and explore the entire city.  Unfortunately, the mixture of jetlag, cold weather, and new climate  landed me with a nasty cold so I have actually seen quite a bit of the inside of my room instead. : (  Oh well.

I have been trying to go out during the day and see things, and rest in the afternoon and evenings.  We have fully settled into Haus Erasmus now, have checked in with the International Office, and signed up for 3 trips with the school.  We are going to Venice Carnival, night sledding, and to Krakow, Poland and Auschwitz.  I'm so excited!

We also met up with our buddies who showed us around.  My buddy, Matt, toured around the city center with us and took us to the outskirts of the city up in the mountain so we could see the cute, residential areas.  It was so fun.  That day was also my favorite because... it SNOWED!!!  I'm in love! I just wanted to dance around in it all day, but I don't think Alyssa or Matt could relate to my feeling.  Matt has seen it his whole life in Italy, and Alyssa just said it was cold.  To me, it was magical. :)

We walked around the historic city center taking pictures and popping into shops to warm up. Most shops were closed because it was Sunday, but we did find a cafe and I enjoyed an amazing cappuccino and a bite of Matt's sachertorte (a famous Viennese desert), which I will have to order for myself soon because it was delicious!

Stephansdom

St. Peterskirche

We toured the inside of 2 Cathedrals, Stephansdom and St. Peterskirche.  They were absolutely amazing!  I could sit in these churches forever and still find them interesting.   The Stephansdom is the largest and oldest cathedral in Vienna, with its foundations dating back almost a millennium! It was originally a Romanesque style church, but over time it was expanded upon in the Gothic style.  The roof of the Cathedral was destroyed during WWII, but the roof was repaired soon after with  a decorative mosaic depicting the symbol of the Hapsburg monarchy.  

Our U6 stop: Burggasse Stadthalle

We have also started getting used to the metro system here already (the underground is called Ubahn).  It is so easy to get anywhere in the city!  We live right off the U6, which also goes right by the WU campus!  To get from our place to the city center, we just take the U6 up one stop, and take the U3 into the center. I think it's crazy that in a city of 2 million people, it is quicker to get to campus than it was at UF...go figure.




I went to the doctor here a few days ago, and found out I had bronchitis, acute sinusitis, and laryngitis! I have been taking 3 different prescriptions since then and am feeling a lot better.  Now it is only a cough.

It's been getting progressively colder here, with highs under 30 degrees F!  It makes it very hard to leave the room, as beautiful as the city is.  Nonetheless, we are still determined to sight see as much as possible.  I've gotten to know a good number of the students here since we all go out at night together in giant herds of 15-30 people! We saw Stephansdom again the other day and went to see a Female Pop Art exhibit.  It was  very cool, and I am very much conditioned now to seeing the male and female genitalia displayed in many different forms. haha.

Alyssa, me, Judith

I also finally got to go out with my Austrian friend Judith.  We went to Ride Club and had fancy cocktails!  I will not even mention the price here... lol.

Today we are going to Schonbrunn Palace (even though it is almost noon here and only 21 degrees...), I'm so excited!!  ANDDDD tomorrow my very good friend Sara (who I've known since middle school and is studying for a year in Paris) is coming to visit me in Vienna!!!!  We are going to a welcome party on a boat tomorrow night, and then leaving for Budapest in the morning!!!  I can't wait.

We have to come back Sunday because we have our first German class on Monday.  I can't say I'm excited for my life with no responsibilities to end, but it will be nice to have SOME structure to my weeks once classes start.  And I am very excited to finally we able to speak some German correctly so that I am not constantly making waiters switch to English for me, not cool.

Happy in our room!