stress in Vienna?

I'm uncertain as to whether on not I included this in my previous blog from this past weekend, but I would like to say with pride: I neither showered nor changed clothes from Thursday-Sunday night. I expected I would at least shower once, but once we were actually in the situation, I decided to be as low-maintenance as possible. It was enjoyable and comfortable...I really didn't feel all that disgusting. Therefore, the shower I took on Sunday night upon returning to Vienna was AMAZING. We leave for fall break this upcoming Thursday, and I'm honestly planning on wearing the same clothes (may bring a few extra shirts) and showering only once for the entirety of the ten days. Sound disgusting? It's not near as bad as it sounds, considering how bitterly cold it is, which keeps sweating to a minimum, and baby powder has become one of my new best friends (put in my hair when it gets greasy).

Monday. I was surprisingly wide awake and attentive all during class today. We got our CIVA test back today. I got a B, which is fine with me, considering the content of the material we are learning. Hopefully, I  can retain a good grade in that class. If not, I've decided there's no reason for me to let that stress me out while I'm in EUROPE. I stayed at school after class with Sarah to do a Humanities essay and finish blogging about last weekend. Then, Ricki, Jordan, and I went running at the Belvedere. Running felt SO good. The weather wasn't too chilly today, which made it bearable. Then, back to the hotel for some pilates, then hung out with Brett, Cari, and Ricki for a little bit. Brett informed us that he is joining us on our fall break travels, which I'm really excited about. He was hoping to meet up with one of his good friends from high school in Seville, Spain, but plans fell through, so he's traveling with us (aka 6 girls). I can't wait! I studied for our German quiz for about an hour, before departing for Kat's birthday dinner at our favorite local Italian restaurant: Vapiano's. Cari and I split a delicious caesar salad and a penne pasta dish with garlic, pine nuts, and tomato sauce. Dinner was alot of fun. I thoroughly enjoy spending time with nearly everyone in our group. Sometimes I catch myself looking around, thinking, "What a great family we are." After dinner, we all returned back to the hotel to study for our German quiz. I took a study break for a little bit to call my wonderful big brother. SO good talking to him (like usual). I climbed in bed around 1130 for a wonderful full night's sleep.

This morning, we had our German quiz. He required us to study 200+ vocab words and quizzed us on around 40. I felt pretty confident with it. Everyone's major problem is mastering the German way of spelling, since it's very different from English. Afterwards, we set out for our CIVA field trip, in which we travelled to 4 churches around the city of Vienna, exploring the different types of architectures and the ways sacred spaces are cultivated in different denominations. We first went to Stephansdom, then to the Donaucity Kirche in a very industrialized part of Vienna that we had never discovered before. This was my favorite church of the day by far: an extremely modern Catholic church, with an entirely wood-laden interior, full of circular windows encompassing the entire building which allows a large amount of natural light to flood the sanctuary. The interior of the church reminded me very much of a typical Jewish synagogue. Another reason I genuinely enjoyed our time there was because it was polar-opposite from the rest of the Catholic churches we've seen across Europe, free of elaborate ornamentation and gaudiness. Our next stop was at the International Baptist Church in Vienna, which made us all feel at home. This church, run by an American missionary couple, is comprised mostly of African-Americans and Asians, and the entirety of the service is in English. Hopefully, I will have the opportunity to experience one of their Sunday services over the next few weeks. After departing the Baptist church, we had a few minutes for a quick lunch. Guess where we went? MCDONALDS. Yes, I know it's slightly embarrassing that we opted for this, considering our surroundings, but it was SO good. I don't ever eat McDonald's in America, but over here, it just tastes that much better. They even had waffle fries! Our last church stop of the day was to Wotruba Kirche, another Catholic church located an hour outside of downtown Vienna. Although we could not physically enter the church, I did not care one bit. The architecture is absolutely beautiful and completely different from anything I'd ever seen. Please google a picture of this place. I got really excited  because I felt like I was on the set of LOST (my favorite show...and the only one I care to watch). The building consists of 152 asymmetrically arranged concrete blocks. The church looks down from Vienna and into the Marchfield, a profusion of trees and shrubbery, a "fitting blend of nature's beauty and one man's vision of a temple to God in today's modern world." Inside the forest and shrubbery located down a dirt path from the church is a massive sundial inside the Sterngarten that reminded me of LOST even more. I was beaming with excitement, for sure. We arrived back in the city around 430pm, to return to a slightly overwhelming amount of work and studying. We have our third Humanities test tomorrow, which I have been preparing for since we returned from the church-hopping trip. I'm not too anxious about it; however, I am ready to be done with it so that we can only focus on preparing for fall break!! Our four-day school weeks are absolutely FLYING by. I seem to accomplish a great amount every day, which I love, since productivity has always been a close friend of mine, but time just seems to escape me 90% of the time. I miss you ALL. Sorry if my blogs are too lengthy, but I enjoy typing out my day-to-day life and experiences that come as a result of living in another country!