Salzburg So Far

Hello! Today is my fourth full day in Salzburg, and I am absolutely loving it! Salzburg is a charming fairy tale like town, that is unlike any other European city to where I have been. Thursday was our first full day here, and we had quick class meetings and a three hour orientation to the center. The two classes I am taking here are Theological Implications of the Holocaust and Intercultural Communication. I can't really say I have a favorite yet, as I love both classes so far. In my theology class, we will be looking at the history behind Anti-semitism (or Anti-Judaism, as my theology professor says is the more accurate term), the role of God, and the Catholic Church's response. In my communications class, we are looking at ways different cultures communicating and noticing the differences between the US and Austria. I have an oral presentation, paper, and essay exam for my theology class and two papers for my communication class.

The last few days have been filled with excursions, which have been fun, but have taken a toll on my feet due to all the walking we have done. Thursday afternoon we split up into teams and went on a scavenger hunt to find different landmarks around Salzburg. My team came in first place, and we won eight Milka chocolate bars. Milka is the Austrian version of Cadbury, and it is delicious! On Friday we went to the Salzburg Castle, which was originally a fortress for keeping enemies out. The walk up to the castle was steep, but the views from the top were totally worth the hike. Both Thursday and Friday nights we had delicious dinners at the Augustiner and Krimpelstatter. On Saturday we went to Hohenwerfen, a castle where we had an audio tour and saw a falcon show. Though it was cloudy in the morning, the sun came out when the falcon show started. We sat on a grassy hill that overlooked the Alps, which had breathtaking views. We then made our way to Hallstat, a small town on the lake. We visited a graveyard and a house where they keep bones of people who were buried there. Because the graveyard is so small, people can only be buried in the graveyard for ten years. After ten years, the bodies are creamated; the families get to keep the ashes and the bones are stored in this house. The families of the deceased also get to decorate the skulls. There are boats in Hallstat for people to rent, so four of us rented a motorboat. We all had fun putting our feet in the river, blasting music on the radio (yes, there was a radio!) and taking turns driving the boat. Our last stop of the day was the alpine slide at St. Wolfgang. Because I am missing the adrenline gene (not a fan of rollercoasters or big rides), I did not actually go down the slide. Instead, I read and watched everyone go down.

Finally, let me describe the center where I am staying. There is one building with a kitchen, dining room, living room, and bedrooms upstairs. Outside is a courtyard where we can play basketball or ping pong. The second building consists of the classroom, director's apartment, and computer lab. All of the rooms have balconies, so I can sit outside on my balcony to read, listen to music, write postcards, or just enjoy the nice weather. To all my friends at UP: I'm sorry, but this place is much nicer than Mehling, and Fields combined! Even though I have a roommate, I still feel like I have enough space and can have time to myself when I need. Sharing a room with one person is a lot easier than sharing a flat with six people; as much as I loved my time in London, I do not miss living in a flat that did not allow one to have much privacy.

I have to attend a group meeting in ten minutes, so I am going to stop here. More to come next week!