This past week has been full of “firsts” for me! I flew by myself for the first time, made an international flight, got a stamp in my passport, rode on a train, and was welcomed into a wonderful Austrian family!

              

I left home Friday, June 14^th, to head to Illinois for IFYE Orientation for outbound U.S. participants and inbound foreign participants. It was a really fun weekend and I met so many wonderful people!

Monday was the day I was a little nervous about because that was the day I would begin my travels half-way around the world. The flight from Chicago to Dublin was at 3:50pm and took not quite 7 hours, but with all the time change it was about 5:30am Tuesday, June 18^th, when we arrived in Dublin. Thankfully I was able to sleep a bit during the flight. From there the flight to Vienna was only a few hours. I was able to fly with Klaire, who is also an IFYE to Austria from Montana, and we arrived in Vienna around noon. I was a little nervous about getting through customs, but all we did was get our passports stamped and then walked through the door. The Austrian program coordinator was there to pick us up and take us to the train station so we could travel to our first host family. I have never ridden a train, or even the subway, in the U.S. so I didn’t really know how it all worked. I was afraid I would get on the wrong train or something when I had to switch trains, but I asked for a little help at the station (thankfully there are quite a few people in Austria who speak at least a little English) and I made it to the village Glaubendorf where my host family lives without any hiccups. J

Sunset (or sunrise? can't remember) on the flight to Dublin

I slept off my jet lag Wednesday morning…okay, so I accidentally slept until noon…but it’s been a busy and exciting week since then! My host family is the Kuhrer’s, consisting of my host mom and dad, Erhard and Monika, and three host brothers, Raphael (20), Gabriel (16), and Michael (14). Raphael was previously an IFYE to Virginia, so he has taken it upon himself to show me some of the sights around Glaubendorf and Vienna, since we are less than an hour away. In Glaubendorf there is a multi-section museum where we went to see stables where some of the Lipizzaner Stallions are trained, a memorial for a very famous Austrian military General, a re-creation of some Stone Age villages discovered near Glaubendorf, and a car museum that Dad could spend all day in. I also had the privilege to attend one of Michael’s concerts in Vienna. Michael is a member of the Vienna Boy’s Choir, who tour internationally. Luckily, he happened to have a small concert in Vienna this past Friday, so I was able to attend. It was wonderful! Gabriel also had a piano recital Saturday afternoon, which was also fabulous. This is a very musical family, as Raphael also plays trumpet in a local band/orchestra. Unfortunately, it is unlikely I will get to hear him perform because he broke his finger about a week before I arrived.

A young Lipizzaner Stallion

Vienna Boy's Choir

                

I have enjoyed the home life here. I’ve tried some new foods (like sheep cheese) and everything has been great! I’m planning on making one of my family’s favorite meals later this week. They also taught me a card game that I can’t pronounce, but I think I am getting the hang of it. They were game to learn how to play 10-point Pitch Saturday night, and they really caught on quickly! We played “call-for-your-partner” and Monika was the first one to reach 52 points.

                

Monika's homemade apple strudel 

Sheep cheese that I can't correctly pronouce...good though!

Playing Pitch!

Sunday was a very interesting, long, fun day. Raphael and I went to Vienna for the day. We got there about 10:30am and went to see Schonbrunn, which is the palace where the rulers once lived. The palace is gorgeous, but we weren’t allowed to take pictures inside. We also spent a few hours in the palace gardens, which are unbelievably large and beautiful. After our tour of the palace, we went to Saint Stephen’s Cathedral. Afternoon mass was about to start, so we didn’t stay long, but it is absolutely remarkable. Later that evening we went to a music festival on an island that is on the Danube River in Vienna. This past weekend also happened to be “Donauinselfest” which is a very large music festival, supposedly Europe’s largest open air event, and it was free to attend. There are multiple stages all over the island playing different kinds of music. There were what I would consider a lot of people there, especially for a Sunday night, even at the smaller stage where we stayed. It was a fun, new experience, and even though we were in Vienna for over 13 hours, it was well worth it! But let me tell you, I slept REALLY good Sunday night! J

At Schonbrunn

                

Saint Stephen's Cathedral

I will stay another week here in Glaubendorf with the Kuhrer’s before I move on to my next host family. Raphael says he still has more things he would like to show me while I’m here. We may make another trip into Vienna since there are so many things to see there. Can’t wait to see what else Austria has in store for me! I will do my best to do this blog more-or-less weekly while I'm here in Austria, so stay tuned! Praying everyone at home is doing well and staying safe!