A week from tomorrow I will be leaving this place. So hard to believe that I have been abroad for a year, and in Salzburg for a total of 9 months.
This past weekend was both stressful and fun. On Saturday I had to take the B2 Österreichisches Stadtdiplom. The exam was around 6 hours and had 4 different sections: Reading comprehension, listening, writing, and an oral portion. It was overwhelming but not terribly difficult.
On Sunday I went to church at St. Sebastion for the first time with my friend, Tobi. The service was very long and I had to kneel on this board only covered in felt. That was painful. The service was very different from Catholic mass in America. It was conducted mostly in Latin, and when you went up to receive the host, you had to kneel down and open your mouth.
In the afternoon I went to Steffi's place for Mexican. Her roommate, Conni, and Steffi's boyfriend, Franz, were also there. It was a good time :) After that Astrid, my future roommate, picked me up. We went to something akin to the Oktoberfest, rode a few rides, and then went up to a chapel on a hill that had a beautiful view of Salzburg. Later we went to her house for a drink and talked with her parents. Then she and I went out for ice cream before taking me home.
On Monday morning I had an exam at 8:45am. So there I was, standing in front of the bus stop at 8:15am, half asleep, and this Austrian woman comes up and starts talking to me. She said she found it sad that no one talks to anyone else anymore, and I didn't know what to say, nor did I care about what she was talking about. I just said I agreed and that in America we talk to each other more. Not really true, but hey, it was 8:15 am. I wasn't awake yet. She goes on to say, really, your American? 50 times, and then goes on to say she has no job, and that life is hard. Then she mentioned that she lived in Freilassing with her husband, and that she hated Freilassing and her husband, and that life was hard (30x). I was happy when the bus arrived and I could just wish her well and get on my merry old way. Some people are just so strange....
On Monday I finally met up with Tina for coffee and Verena for lunch. On Tuesday Angi Lemke came to visit for the day. It was so great, finally being able to show her around Salzburg. We drank coffee at my church, went up to Kapuzinerberg, and then had coffee and cake on Steinterasse. After that we went to Nonnberg Abby, where Maria Von Trapp was a nun, and where they filmed part of the Sound of Music. While we were there a nun appeared. It was just so cool and surreal. She was locking the doors for the night and led us out. We went from there to the center of the city and sat along the Salzach before taking a walk to Mirabell Garten. Later we ate sandwiches in front of a lovely (UGLY) piece of art before walking back to the train station. It was a really nice day and I am so glad that she came to visit.
Today I found out that Arnold Schwarzenegger was in Salzburg yesterday and today. So weird.
Today I went to coffee hour and talked with a few acquaintances before going to teach the two little Wagner girls English for the last time. I hate goodbyes, and this one was just as difficult as all of the rest. Before I left the girls presented me with Ferrero Rocher chocolate, a paper flower and a nice, homemade card with pictures of them. We took a farewell picture before saying our final goodbyes. I will miss them ;)
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