So last weekend I went back to England:
I didn't quite realise how well I've integrated into Austrian culture until I was back. People holding doors open for me and smiling at me in the street seemed pretty alien to me (sorry, Austria). I forgot which way to look while crossing the roads which ended in me merely running across like a headless chicken instead. I accidentally said "Entschuldigung" to some girls instead of "Excuse me" and was rather bewildered when they didn't acknowledge me. I've lost the ability to say yes and now I sound like a rah. One of my friends on the course who also went to Durham, did German and Music and spent his year abroad in Vienna (weird) said that my German has gone flat, lazy and Austrian. Which is always a good thing haha, at least my year abroad is (hopefully) working :)
Genesis Sixteen was great but not long enough. Staying with my brother and his fiancé was lovely and I'm looking forward to seeing them again at Christmas. Seeing everyone was absolutely amazing. I sang lots, laughed lots, ate a whole bowl of really spicy chinese soup due to peer pressure, stocked up on English cravings (whispa, dairy milk, terry's chocolate orange, corned beef - random I know) and just generally had an awesome time. I can't wait for the next one. I just want to do a degree in it. I'm dreading the end of the final course. If you're interested, you can watch a video of it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQpc0TnLUxQ&feature=youtu.be
Absolutely sobbed when I got back to Austria, I was so homesick. I literally stepped into my flat, let out this huge sigh and just thought "Shit." If I'd been able to go home and see my parents maybe it would've been better, but I had been in England without seeing them, or my cat :( At the induction course in Graz, we were all shown a graph of how we were probably going to feel on our year abroad. It was basically a wiggly line which was high, then low, then high again, then low again. And now I completely understand. I remember looking at it, thinking "Nah, I'm gonna be happy allllll the time", which was a nice attitude to have, but now I realise it's just not possible! At least it took me 2 months to hit that low though, and it's always only going to be a temporary thing which is only natural.
I'm ok now, it took a few meet ups with friends for me to remind myself that actually, I'm having an awesome time here and I have met some of the most lovely people who I will definitely be keeping in touch with. On the subject of friends, I'm insanely happy for Tara, who, after 2 months of living here, finally has a place to live!!! It's crazy, this year abroad business. I do miss her kipping on a mattress in my living room but am looking forward to seeing her swanky new flat with her Uncle in the poshest district of Vienna!
Went to my first Chorus Sine Nomine (that's the choir I'm in) rehearsal on Tuesday. We're doing Mozart Great C Minor Mass which I loooove. The conductor has a veeeery Austrian accent and I have never concentrated so hard in my life, merely just to hear the page numbers correctly and make sure I'm singing at the right time. I foresee a lot of embarrassing incidents in the future where I'll probably just sing and forget that the conductor asked for tenors only. Awkward. It's also going to take a long time for me to get used to german latin. Weirdest thing ever. Qui is "kvee" and coelis is "tserlis"It was fun though, and even though everyone would probably have loved to speak to me in English, they respected that I need practice and spoke to me in German.
Nothing much else to update. Mega excited for Christmas with my family. Going to the opera again on Monday, and maybe to karaoke afterwards as that seems to be standard at the moment(!) It's bitterly cold and I'm learning to layer and much appreciating my leg warmers and ear muffs. I'm really looking forward to my sister coming to visit, drinking Gluehwein at the Christmas Markets and generally showing her around!
Bis bald x
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