A gift from the gods: sunny days in Salzburg

   Today is the second sunny day in a row here in Salzburg. Yesterday morning was interesting, not only because I discovered blue skies outside of the sky lights, but because I was woken up by a marching band right outside of my house. I still have no idea what was going on--I'm not aware of any Austrian holidays or anything. But I'm pretty sure it's safe to mark that as an "only in Austria" moment. They were wearing lederhosen and dirndels and everything.

    This sunny Monday is also the first day of real classes for us AIFS students. A couple of classes I'd normally have today or tomorrow don't start till later in the week, so I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with myself until 6pm. Maybe I'll go to the park--or the Kindergarten, as they call it around here. No, it's not a classroom full of 5 year olds, it's a play ground! Kindergarten translates as a garden of children, which makes perfect sense when you think about it... except it makes me think of cabbage patch babies. Anyway, the playground is a lot of fun, no matter whether you're 2 or 21! They have things for "kids" of all ages. The zip-line was a favorite of mine. But the basket swing was also quite fun--a basket big enough for me to fit in was brilliantly made into a swing. I really enjoyed talking to some of the kids too. They're much easier to talk to--their vocabulary is simpler, they speak slower, and are just more fun than adults. 

Hope all is well back in the states!... or from where ever you're reading this!

Ciao,

Hillary