pre-fall break!

I only have a few minutes to briefly blog about the past few days, leading up to now, 5pm. We leave for fall break in less than 2 hours!!!

Wednesday. German class was really entertaining this morning. Since we had a Humanities test today, most people were exhausted and drowsy from staying up way past their bed times to study. The test went well. Glad it's over! After completing class for the day, I went to the Billa for a quick sandwich, then across the street to the Muller (a local Ulta Beauty type store) to purchase some new perfume, toothpaste, makeup,  and my favorite purchase of the day: dental floss. I was able to skype call my parents for about 30 minutes today while they were getting ready for work, which made me happy. Then, Ricki and I went running and did abs at the Belvedere. The weather today was in the high-50's which is considerably warmer than it has been since we returned from Germany last weekend. After running, I had my first movie theater experience in Europe with Cari and Sarah. I found an English theater in Vienna located about 15 minutes away. For my research project (my topic is on Julia Child's and her influence on American cuisine), one of my "sites" to aid with my research was to see the recently released movie, "Julie and Julia." I did not know the plot  before, but I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. I'd definitely recommend it! We came back to the hotel for dinner: chocolate granola cereal, and worked on our itinerary for fall break (aka--figuring out what we wanted to see in each place we go). I was able to talk to both Jessica and Taryn on skype tonight, which was WONDERFUL. Jessica is currently in Chicago on Mission Year, and I haven't been able to talk to her since she left (almost two months ago) because their group has been on a "technology fast." Although it is frustrating sometimes to talk to people on skype because our internet connection cuts in and out, I am still grateful to be able to communicate with my friends and family from back home :)

Today has flown by. Classes went well today. We got our German vocab quiz back, which according to our professor, over half the class failed. Thankfully, I was not in that group. I was hoping for an A, but got a B+. Oh well...definitely not going to complain about that when some people made 40-50%. CIVA was awesome today. We continued to discuss church architecture throughout the centuries, which is oddly appealing to me. Seeing the progression and digression of church interior and exterior structures and ornamentation is crazy! We even looked at some mega-churches in America and extremely modern churches in obscure places such as Beijing and Spain. Immediately after class, Jordan, Ricki, and I went running again together at the Belvedere (our favorite place to run). I'm so happy I'm not the only one here trying to stay in shape! I did some hill repeats and sprints, mostly because I know over fall break, we will not have the opportunity to run. The rest of our short afternoon has been spent packing up our room (we have to move out again, since we will be gone for 10 days), as well as packing for the upcoming fall break adventures that begin tonight! Although it's a hassle to move out, it motivates me to stay extremely organized.

So, not sure if any of the hostels we are staying in over fall break have wireless internet access. If they do, I will try to blog. If not, I will play catch-up just as I did when we returned from Italy. Here is our plan: tonight, we're taking an overnight train to Nice, France (if you aren't familar with this beautiful city, look it up...check out some pictures too), spending a day and a half there. Then, overnighting to PARIS. We will be in Paris from Sunday-Tuesday. Can't wait for that!! Then, on to SPAIN, mostly Madrid and Barcelona. I am so excited. It's a little nerve-wrecking, considering we will be on our own for 10 days. I will take lots of pictures and savor every awkward/scary/dangerous/exciting/unpredictable moment!!

Bonjour.