Candy Carly No More!
I think the worst time I had in four years at Holy Cross was the few days I spent there the summer before freshman year for Gateways, which was a sort of pre-orientation orientation. We were divided into groups of about 15 and given crazy upperclassmen as group leaders, and I just remember that after we played a "game" in which everyone had to give their name along with a food that began with the same letter as their name (Candy Carly), all I could think was "I'm transferring to UGA at Christmas."Thank God that Fulbright orientation turned out differently!! It was actually rather interesting (and intellectually stimulating!) We met at 9:30 this morning at the Austrian-American Fulbright Commission, which turned out to be a mere 4 minute walk from my apartment, and after brief introductions of everyone (which of course gave me the most amazingly huge inferiority complex - how in the heck do I compete with neuroscientists and prodigy bassoon players???), we dove right into trying to get a handle on organizing one's life in another country. There is a lot to be done - registration with the Austrian and American authorities, setting up an Austrian bank account, getting a Handy (cell phone), getting my transport cards for both the subway and the train, etc. etc. etc. And while my German is passable while analyzing one of Goethe's poems or Schiller's plays, we just never learned the vocab for "I'd like to set up a savings account for the next year, and I would also like to include a monthly direct deposit plan." Hmmm....I wonder if Google can tell me.
After the morning session, we broke for lunch, and I went to a Kneipe across the street for some Schnitzel and Pommes (mmmmmm....). The group that went to see Cinderella Man all went as well, along with some others, and it was a really good time. Everyone is definitely very intelligent, and most of them seem to be pretty fun as well. I was worried that people might be academic snobs, but there only seem to be one or two of those on board, as there are in any such group, I guess.
The afternoon session began with a talk from a man who is the equivalent of an undersecretary in charge of higher education for the ministry of education. He talked about the history of higher education in Austria (the UniWien was founded in 1365...niiiiice), and he also answered people's pragmatic questions regarding life in the universities here. The final session of the day was a brief overview of Austrian history, culture, and social ideosyncrasies (aka...a Mediterranean country stuck in the Alps.) Twas very interesting and engaging, and I look forward to what tomorrow will bring :-)
Afterward, a few of us tried to set up plans for going out for a beer tonight, but those were shot down when I arrived at the pub to see that it had closed for good (who in the world would think that an alcohol-serving establishment in Vienna of all places would ever close???) And since I haven't yet set up that pesky Handy, I had no way to contact anyone, so I just came home. On the way back, however, I did pop into a video rental store and set up an account, and I guess now I will watch Saved instead of socializing. I'm sure tomorrow will work out better :-)
So, good night for now, and send me emails, ims, skypes, comments on my blog, and love!! I miss you all, but it's okay because I have been out catching the Austrian "condition."
posted by Carly Fowler @ 9:46 PM
1 Comments:
Just curious but what makes Austria a Mediterranean country?
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