March

It's been a fairly good month, despite a week of sickness, and the fact that I've had a dry cough for the past couple of days.

The beginning of March marked the beginning of the summer semester here in Salzburg, and I dove right into my classes and my life here again. I spent a bit of time being sick, and my first weekend back in Salzburg wasn't exactly what I had planned, but still nice. I enjoyed a nice girls only dinner with Steffi and Verena, two of my Austrian friends, at Cappomio, a German Conversation Group with others from my program at the top of Hotel Stein on a beautiful day, and a nice day outside with Brittany, eating pizza on the grass overlooking the Salzach river.

The following weekend I was feeling better, and enjoyed every minute of my free time. On that Friday I went shopping with my new "Austrian Buddy" Steffi and my future roommate, Tina. We then went back to Steffi's place and cooked and enjoyed talking about cultural differences between Austria and America. On Saturday I went for brunch at a friend's, then went swimming in the afternoon. In the evening friends from my church group and I went to our friend Tobi's for a nice dinner, and then we watched Sister Act on the projector. In German. That was weird...Whoopi Goldberg sounded like a white woman! On Sunday I slept in late and cleaned my room.

This weekend was a good one as well. On Thursday my two future roommates, Astrid and Tina and I went to Ladies Night at the Cineplexx where we watched Schmuckstück, a French film dubbed into German, featuring Gerard Depardeau, who has clearly gained at least 100 pounds since his last film appearance. I loved the film because the main character, a woman in her 50s or 60s, was tired of being a trophy wife. She finally got tired of it and decided to become the woman she wanted to be.

On Friday Kerstin slept over. We celebrated her birthday by cooking together, going out for cocktails (Verena joined us), and then went to O Malley's irish pub, where I drank a hot chocolate (after 4 glasses of wine and a cocktail there was no way I could handle any else). On Saturday I went to visit Tina, my future roomate, in Wels. She took me to Linz and showed me around, which is a really cute city in Austria. On Sunday she took me over to her father's and her stepmom's. Her stepmom made apple strudel especially for me, and I enjoyed watch their daughter, age 3, run around pretending she was a horse. Her father's and stepmother's friends came over and the man couldn't believe I was American. He was like what about your parents? You can't originally be from the US. Your German is so good!

That's all for now!

Love, Molly

Why am I here?

Moving anywhere requires a period of adjustment. Even for me, the person who tends to be more outgoing... My first semester here was spent going to the bar with some of the American students, traveling to Germany to visit my host parents, going on a few trips to Vienna, traveling to England, and, being lonely. If it hadn't been for my German friend Kerstin, who lives nearby and came to visit when she could, it would've been really hard.

I was angry. I wanted to know why I was speaking English most of the time. I could've just stayed home and done that! This year is costing me a lot of money. What is the point?

After having been here for about 6 weeks I decided I needed to be more proactive. I found out that there was a trip for exchange students, but after after e-mailing to inquire, I heard it was full. They suggested I go on a trip sponsored by the Catholic group at the University. So, not knowing anyone, I did! Through that trip I met Tobi, a German guy that has become a good friend of mine. We met up after the trip for drinks and then went to the theater with his friend Verena, who I also get along with very well.

In January, after 3 months of being here, I finally began to meet Austrians. I joined a student prayer group, and got along with the people right away. I would be hesitant to join such a group in the States, as people who identify themselves as religious tend to be a little on the extreme side (no drinking, no sex before marriage, a little less open to people that are different than them, etc). I feel really at home in this group. I showed up at the first meeting, not knowing anyone but Verena, the girl I had met through Tobi. They welcomed me and invited me to eat lunch with them a few days later.

Since then, it has really been a much more enjoyable experience. I am speaking German most of the time, and I have people to go places or just hang out with. Some people have been nice enough to take me home with them on weekends, which has allowed me to see how "typical" Austrian families live.

There is a reason why study abroad directors tell students to spend a whole year abroad, and it's not just because they want the university to get more money from you. It's because it take a while to get used to a place, to meet new people. If you are here for 4 short months as opposed to 8 or 9 you have much less of a chance of meeting natives and getting the "real" experience.

He sent me here for a reason! :)

Home....

What will I do when I get home?

-Drive my car!
-Buy a frozen coke
-Make ice cubes and finally drink everything cold!
-Buy an iced coffee from McDonald's
-Eat greek salad at Coney Island
-Finally bake something in a real oven!
-Go to the movies-in English!
-Go to Canada with good friends
-Visit my grandparents
-Bug my family
-Go shopping-clothes are so cheap back home!
-Eat out whenever I want-so cheap!
-Olga's shakes!
-Make iced tea (no sugar!)
-Actually recognize the products sold in supermarkets!
-Go to Great Lakes Crossing!
-Pay just 5 dollars to go to the movies!
-Road trips!
-Up North with the fam!

Friendship

The other day, I was speaking to a German woman cultural differences. I mentioned that, in America, most people keep personal things to themselves, and don't always share them we friends. I explained to her that we most often try to deal with our difficulties ourselves, or perhaps share them with a family member. I told her that when I have issues, I may go to my best friend(s), but I try my best not to bother them. I try to act happy and don't want to be a "downer."

"No wonder Americans all end up in therapy!" she exclaimed.

She has a bit of a point. I tend to think "friendship" is differently defined here. In America, while I have a few "close" friends, most of my friends are people that I hang out with-and do not share my innermost thoughts with.

In Germany, with good friends, nearly nothing is taboo. From the cost of cars, to spousal issues, to depression: they dare to go there.

It's good to have people to count on. While it would be out of place to share really personal things with an acquaintance, I don't see anything wrong with telling your close friends, or family members, the truth.

There seems to be this modern idea in America: everyone for themselves. But, if we help each other out, life could be a lot more pleasant.

**Here is an article on the topic that I found interesting: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/looking-in-the-cultural-mirror/201009/are-american-friendships-superficial)

Sick and Tired of Stereotypes

Really, you're American? But you're German is so good!

Is that supposed to be a compliment? Perhaps you meant well, but this and other stereotypes about Americans piss me off. Some Europeans are under the impression that Americans don't travel, have no interest in other countries, and cannot speak any other languages. That's simply not true. There are morons everywhere, but the people I grew up with are extremely intelligent. My best friend, Charlotte, is extremely well traveled and speaks French. Felicia has studied abroad in New Zealand, has been to Europe, and speaks Italian. Monica has traveled to England and is currently performing community service in Haiti. Mellissa speaks German. Kristy knows sign language. Gracie speaks Spanish and went on a school trip to Austria.

I myself have been to over 10 countries and speak 2 foreign languages. And although I cannot say whether or not my friends and I are a good representation of the entire country, I can say that there are more intelligent Americans than Europeans may think.

So what was that you were saying?

New Semester

This semester has started off well. I am going to be incredibly busy. Here is my course load:

-German Lit.
-German as a Foreign Language
-Conversational Spanish
-Sound of Music as Pop Culture
-International Communication

Not to mention my jobs:

-Intern at the Büro für Internationale Beziehungen (International Office) at the University of Salzburg
-Writing articles for live-like-a-german.com
-Babysitting once a week

Then there is the student prayer group I go to once a week. Add that to the crazy amount of traveling I do....and it looks like this is going to be one busy semester :-)

Carnival in....East Germany?

This past weekend I, being the nut that I am, decided to visit my friend in Thüringen, who had invited me to celebrate carnival with her. Although this is primarily celebrated in southern Germany and Köln, it is also celebrated in Eastern Germany as well. So I did spent a total of about 14 hours on trains this weekend and only about 36 hours with my friend and her family. However, it was worth it to me.

Eastern Germany is different than Western Germany, that much is clear. The gap between the two has clearly gotten smaller in the past 20 years, but some traditions remain. It was fun going to carnival, seeing the Eastern Germans celebrate such a big event, and getting to know my friend's family. The people there appear to dress a bit differently-more punk, and when talk of languages came up, it appears that everyone took Russian in school. However, they do speak German and are a part of this new, reunited Germany.

The trip gave me the desire to explore Eastern Germany further to discover more differences and similarities between it and Western Germany.