So it's definitely been a while since I last wrote and I know I had a draft saved somewhere but can't seem to find it... oh well!
Week ending 10-01-09
So the first week back was a little bit unsettling for me. Though I had managed to avoid all of the travel chaos of that particular monday, it was a long trip back to Vienna and I have to say I could have done with another week at home! I think a lot of my negative attitude towards it was to do with the exams coming up and the fact that many of my friends would be leaving in the coming weeks. There was one thing to look forward to though - the WU Ball!
It's ball season in Vienna in January and February and as students we do get to take advantage of the cheap tickets available to the balls run by the various universities. We chose to attend the Ball of the Wirtschaftsuniversitaet where one of my friends was erasmus last semester. This was instead of the TU Ball, which being advertised through the erasmus network would be a lot more international. We wanted a genuine Viennese experience! So we dug out our floor length dresses and got dressed up before braving the baltic conditions
(-7 degrees and strappy shoes really don't go together!)
We soon warmed up with the help of some complimentary cocktails (a lot of the balls are sponsored by big companies like Nivea and Bank Austria, which means goody bags and free drinks!). We then went to find our table, we knew it would be in a room away from the main hall but it actually turned out to have its very own band - a 50s style rock and roll band (every member had hair like Elvis - it was amazing!) which was really good. Ellis, the only one of us who can actually dance, taught us how to jive before we decided to have a seat and order some food and drinks.
The food and alcohol was really expensive, though there was a student bar which sold cheap wine. We ordered a lot of pudding, which was some of the best pudding I've ever tasted...
There was a lot of different entertainment on and we even got to see the Austrian winner of 'Deutschland sucht ein Superstar!', I don't remember her name but it was exciting at the time! We then watched the quadrille (a traditional Austrian dance) with more people attempting to dance it at once than I've ever seen. We finished off the night with 10 euro Mojitos before heading home with rather sore feet. It was a really great night and it was a great end to the semester for those who are leaving.
Week ending 17-01-09
This week was particularly sad for me, as Ellis was leaving. I've been particularly close with her this semester and as she lives in the same corridor as me, there was always someone there to drink tea and eat with, as well as watch films as study breaks. Luckily, Sarah has moved into Ellis' vacated room which is really good!
We had a leaving night for Ellis at Charlie P's - even though we're all a little bit sick of the place. It's nice to have somewhere so close but we've practically lived there for 4 months and going other places makes a refreshing change. It was, however, appropriate to end where we started. We had dinner there and followed it up with a few drinks with her closest friends from Vienna. It was a really good night but as with all leaving nights- it was also very sad. Luckily it wasn't the night before she left so I was able to see her again afterwards.
The next day we decided to go ice-skating as it was one thing she really wanted to do before leaving Vienna. Unfortunately, the one at the rathaus wasn't open yet and it is supposed to be the nicest outdoor skating in Vienna. We headed to the Stadtpark instead, where we could ice skate all day for 5 euros (plus skate hire). None of us have been in years so it did take us a little while to get into it again but it was great fun, even if the 4 year olds were beating us.
Blogging this, I've noticed how little I have actually done in the past three weeks to talk about but to be honest it has mostly been taken up by revision (but mostly procrastination) for the exams next week. Maybe I should write a little about that... I'm sitting two exams next week - one written exam which I feel fairly confident about. The other is an oral exam. I've asked whether I can do it as a written exam instead, as I really don't think my german is up to answering questions about a topic I actually don't know that much about. So we'll see how that one pans out. I also have a long essay to write for my other class but that isn't due in for a while so I'm concentrating on the exams at the moment.
As I think I've mentioned, I'm going to be doing a teaching placement here next semester rather than another semester at uni. It starts on the 9th of February and to be perfectly honest, I can't wait! I just want exams to be over with already.
This past week, we also said goodbye to Caroline, another good friend from this semester. We went out for dinner, to an Italian restaurant, which managed to be self-service without feeling like a canteen and served amazing food. You also got a card when you went in and charged everything you ate and drank to the card, which was great because there was no need to split the bill at the end! I'll definitely be going back there. I was sad to say goodbye to Caroline as well, it really brought home that many of my close friends have now left, but there are still a few around and next semester brings a completely new experience. I'm really excited about it!
