Yesterday was the most exhausting day yet. It was also quite fun...except the morning. I started the day off with a test. It was a test that marked the end of my intensive German course. Now comes the real stuff. I start classes on Monday. I believe you people in the states are approaching midterms.

I'm taking the following:

German 302 (basically the class below advanced)

Literature 310 (Lit. and Hist. of 20th century Europe)

Soc/Hist 312 (Austrian Culture)

German/History (Hitler and the third Reich (a word that doesn't translate))

That last one is going to be interesting. It's taught in German, and it's independent study. We'll meet once a week. Once nice thing about my classes is: I won't have class on Friday! No one in the program will. : )

Today is Saturday. I was up at 5:40am. It doesn't make any sense to me either, but they do some things the old fashioned way. I was up so early so I could sign up for a sport. "But you aren't athletic" some of you may think. I know, I know. But I want to try fencing. I've always wanted to do it, so here's my chance. 

Well, back to my day yesterday. We walked to a place called Hellbrunn Schloss. Schloss, in German, means castle. This was not a castle, but it was pretty close. It was a mansion. On our way (it was quite the walk, but we were avoiding bus fees) we walked past the house known in the Sound of Music as the home of the Von Trapp family! (No, I'm not sure if I spelled that right, but excuse the error if I didn't.). When we got to the estate of Hellbrunn, there was a large gazebo enclosed by windows--another Sound of Music attraction. "I am 16 going on 17..."

Our visit to Hellbrunn was actually for what is held behind it: a garden. The name of it is the Water Trick Fountains. This may not make a lot of sense, but it does once you enter. They have strategically placed fountains to spray people when they least expect it. It's really fun, but not to the extent it could be when it's 50-some degrees outside. My jeans were soaked, but it's a good thing I had my water-proof jacket on! But I still managed to get sprayed directly in the face...haha, that wasn't so fun.

Why might someone have these fountains? A prince from about 300 years ago had a great sense of humor. His humor definitely lives on. : )

Separate from the gardens was the option to climb a rather steep hill to the cave where the first opera in German was performed. After an exhaustive climb, I and about 10 other students were sitting on a stage made of the earth. It had caves within caves. It was very cool and definitely worth the hike up. I suddenly felt the urge to recite Chaucer as I stood upon the stage...

When we got back to Hellbrunn, we decided to take a tour of the mansion. It's an odd place because no one has ever lived in it. From what I saw yesterday, I can understand why! Its rooms, except for a chair here and there, were almost empty. They all had some kind of art, but many of the rooms were decorated in paintings with a certain theme (i.e. fish room, flower room, bird room, etc). I thought, "Eh, I've seen better." ; )

The walk home was painful. Literally. My joints have been taking a real beating lately, but especially my left knee hurts. If anyone has any advice, I'm open to it. I've been taking glucosamine, so I'd hate to feel what this would be like without it. Oh, and I already feel myself losing weight. But hey, that's Europe.

My host family has a washing machine (thank God) and I've already done a couple of loads. This machine, however, is a little different. It seems pretty straight-forward, but it's not. Of course, everything is in German (even if you include the water temperatures because they're in Celsius). I battled this machine. The first load never seemed to end. It decided to wash our clothes for 2 hours. You should've seen me: I was bent over in front of it (it's very small and opens from the front) with my German-English dictionary trying to figure out what everything means. The second wash was even more frustrating because it did almost nothing I "asked" it to. But at least I know how to read it now. I have to let everything hang-dry, so after a load my room looks like a clothing storm blew threw. I miss the laundry lines in Italy!

Something kind of scary happened to me today. After I'd signed up for fencing and bought a scarf (something I've been needing this whole time--yes, it's that cold), I was waiting for a bus. I already decided to stop on the way for groceries. As I waited, I noticed this woman walking aimlessly around the bus stop. She was shorter than me, had short grey hair, old olive skin, and a beard. Yes--a beard. I saw her approach someone probably close to my age, but couldn't hear what she was saying. She started walking around again and then spotted me. I was cornered because of where I was sitting. She quickly walked up to me, leaned over, and started demanding money...about 20 cents. It was scary because she got right in my face. This lady looked like the witch from Hansel and Gretal. She had a white spot on her eye, a really scratchy voice, and did I mention the beard?? I pretended not to speak German, but had to speak some to get her away from me. Thank God, right at that moment my bus pulled up. I practically ran onto it. I've been approached by beggars before, many in Italy, but this lady actually freaked me out. For about an hour I was paranoid that she followed me.

Back to my scarf--I bought a nice soft white one. I put it on just like the Europeans: stylish, but still warm. After the scary lady, I stopped for groceries. I think this stretch of time included the most Austrians I interacted with who, seemingly, never assumed that I didn't speak German. It was amazing, and I think that the difference was in the scarf. Little details like that are what matter. ; ) A big detail that gives away someone's nationality: shoes! Don't believe me? Travel around. You'll see. Pumas are really popular around here. People here in Salzburg don't wear sweats. If they wear a sweatshirt, it's the kind that's really stylish and expensive. Not the kind that makes you look like a bum--like the one I brought. : ) Oh, and I'm convinced that the flair on my jeans gives me away too. People around my age and younger wear really tight jeans--tight all the way to the ankle. I like my flair, I think those jeans would look stupid on me. Sometimes I think my somewhat simple hair gives me away. I don't have a daring hair cut, nor bright pink highlights. Some of the women around here really like their hair dye.

Wish me luck with classes, as well as with my fencing class! It doesn't go on my transcript, but this is the only class where I'm going to be with other Austrian students. So, it's a good chance to meet some Austrians, but it's still intimidating. Oh and it's probably taught in German. I'm not sure which part is more intimidating...the language in which it's taught, or the ones to whom I am foreign. 

Feel free to leave a comment or send an e-mail! I like hearing from you.

Auf wiedersehen,

Hillary