Sorry it's been such a long time since I've posted (I've heard some complaints because certain people are living their vacations vicariously through my postings) but classes started this week, and after the Berlin Marathon Posting, I needed a break -- my fingers were sore!! So I guess I'll catch you up on everything I've done recently, and internet pending tomorrow, I'll put up more pictures.
Last Monday I only had one class called International Law and Transnational Organizations. The class didn't quite live up to its very exciting name, and since both of my minors were using another class to substitute in for Penn State classes, I gave that one the boot. And that brought me down to a very happy sixteen credits. For the rest of the day, I uploaded pictures, made captions, and blogged my heart out about Berlin. That night I just hung around the apartment being a bum, which was also nice to do.
Tuesday was similar, but with a lot more classes. I had my German class at 9:00, which kind of sucks but it's a good incentive to get out of bed. From there I had an obscenely long break where I fought with the internet at IES and then I had my drama class. But this class is called Theater in Vienna. The Director of IES Vienna, Dr. Schier, teaches it, and it's conducted all in German. There's only about ten or eleven of us in the class, which should be nice, and two of my roommates, Sarah and Alison, are in that class too. Sarah has a lot of insight because she's very theater-y and has directed some plays and such. Like we got this very modern play, fresh off the printer, without corrections, and by the next class, she had this whole thing figured out with symbolism and the whole nine yards. I was more like, okay, it's a story that doesn't make sense, but parts of it are funny. And that, my friends, is why I am a business major and not a liberal arts major. Despite the somewhat odd play, the class should be cool. I just wish I were more comfortable speaking German, and had more appropriate vocabulary, so I could contribute more. *shrug* Maybe that will come someday.
Since I'm determined to get through the semester with only about one notebook, I went out after Drama to buy some colored pens and color-coordinated my notes. Each class has a different colored pen. And it makes my notebook look a lot more interesting. Sidenote: Did you know that paper here has two or four holes in it instead of three? It's very interesting and I'm glad I didn't bring my binder with me. My last class of Tuesday was Vienna in Text and Film: 1945-Present. This class subs in at Penn State for another very similar class. Yay. Now the guy that teaches this can be somewhat intimidating because he'll shoot you down if you're getting too wifty with meanings or are wrong about something. However, he has a pony tail and is kind of cool at the same time. I think it'll be an interesting class. We got a story in it on Tuesday and read it aloud (auf Deutsch) before we discussed it. Since everybody's reading aloud comprehension is really low, this whole process was a bit bad because nobody really knew what was going on in the story. Again, Sarah and Alison are in this class with me, and Sarah is still really good at interpreting stories and coming up with their hidden meanings. I'm more of the, "Oh, really? That's what that means? Wow." kind of person.
Tuesday was also a pretty amazing day because I got a package from Matt!! It had my Valentine's Day present and a card inside. I got a pink pony stuffed animal and a little "Mr. Perfect" who grows when he's put in water. Yay for Valentine's Day!
Wednesday was a much more important day because it was the day of the Strauss Ball. Since I had already dropped my International Law class, I didn't have to be at IES until 1:30 for my Econ class. I would have gone early and done some blogging, but the internet has been down since Tuesday, which left me with pretty much nothing to do there except homework, and I didn't want to do that. But my Europe in a Global Economy class is going to be really cool. We only meet once a week on Wednesdays for three hours, but the topics we're supposed to cover are interesting and the time goes really fast. I'm also surrounded by econ and business majors in there, which is something I've missed since I left Penn State. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy being around the liberal arts majors, who make up the majority of the IES kids, but I miss the way business majors think about certain things. And I miss the more conservative mindset of said business majors. Our professor for this class teaches at the university in Budapest, and commutes to Vienna specifically for us. He is also pretty amazing because all of our notes come in PowerPoint form, and we got handouts with the slides on them. I know some of you are out there scratching your heads, but it's one of those little things I miss from home, where everything comes in PowerPoint form.
And then it was Wednesday night. I wanted to get to the ball early so that I could see the debutantes dance and take pictures, but some of the flatties had late-running obligations, so Sarah and I left by ourselves for the ball. We got there around eight thirty, and explored a little bit. The Strauss Ball was held in the Kursalon, which is where the Strauss brothers performed back in the day. It's three stories high, and on the first story is the entry-way and a ballroom. There are stairs that kind of curve around to get to the second floor, where they had a bar and a place that overlooked the floor of the ballroom below. The disco and another bar were on the third floor. There were already people standing at the railing on the "viewing deck" of the second floor, but I kind of sidled up to them and snuck my way in a tiny space so I could take pictures and video. It took about half an hour, but I finally had a pretty decent place on the railing.
Sidenote: For those of you nosy enough to wonder what I was wearing, I'll describe it here before I jump into information on the Kursalon and then continue on with the description of the ball. I got to wear my wonderful green dress again -- it's a dark green velour halter A-line, with a slit up the left leg to make it walkable. I got it for my junior Harvest dance, and I absolutely love it. Then I had my hair back in a curled ponytail because I'm hair-challenged. I decided not to bring a purse to this ball, and just wore my blue coat because I could put all my stuff in the pockets.
The current Kursalon building was built between 1865 and 1867 according to plans of Johann Garben. The opulent building in the historicist style of the Italian renaissance is located next to the Johannesgasse. A wide terrace reaching into the park is attached to it.
After it was opened on 8 May 1867 amusements were originally prohibited. However, since that concept was not accepted, it was changed, and Johann Strauss II gave his first concert here on 15 October 1868. The Kursalon thus became a popular place for concerts and for dancing, especially during the area of the Strauss brothers. Today, after undergoing some renovation, it is still used for balls, concerts, clubbings and congresses. There is also a Café-Restaurant inside it.
In the beginning of the ball, there are opening ceremonies. Our MC for the evening kept translating back and forth between English and German for the "international" guests. But pretty much he welcomed everybody and mentioned some of the events that would be going on that night. Then the real ceremonies started.
First, the debutantes and their escorts walked out onto the floor, and the also two pairs of ballerinas. Are guy ballerinas called ballerinos? They were in what would be interpretted as traditional Austria costume, and did a funny little skit/dance. Then two opera singers came out and did a duet. I think it was in Italian, but singing German is very different from speaking German, so I can't be sure. Then the ballerinas came out again, this time dressed similarly to the debutantes, but they were still ballerina-y costumes. They did another dance, and I video-ed parts of it. Then the debutantes did their thing. At first they did a semi-line dance sort of thing, but then they began waltzing. After a few minutes of having the floor to themselves, more people joined in and the floor was full of people spinning and twirling around.
Around this time, there was a waltzing seminar sort of thing going on in the disco upstairs. For lack of anything better to do (the majority of people at this ball were middle-aged and/or in a couple, it was Valentine's Day after all), I went up and learned how to waltz again. One of the assistants to the guy running the clinic was both my and Sarah's partner. After a bit, he asked me if I had waltzed before, and of course I said yes. Later on, he even said that I was a very good dancer. Now, Matt, I know you tell me the same thing (or you better), but you're my boyfriend, so you have to be nice to me and say things like that. :-) Either way, I impressed myself. But Dominik, the guy teaching us, also dances competitively as an ameteur. I thought this was really cool, because there are very distinct lines between Ameteur and Pro. Did you know that Austria even has their own version of Dancing With the Stars? It's called Dancing Stars, and it starts up in March. They're on their third season, and the show is really popular. It tapes on Friday nights, and it's live, just like ours. If I get a chance, I want to go to one of the tapings! I mean, it's made right on the outskirts of Vienna, so it shouldn't be that hard to get to. Dominik (an Englishman, not an Austrian) gave us his email so we could ask him about places to go dancing in Vienna. It was sehr toll!
For the next few hours, the IES-ers kind of socialized within themselves, and we spent a lot of time up on the third floor. Around midnight, there was an Asian girl who did one of those bendy performances in the ballroom, and it was shown on a big screen in the disco. Then everybody danced the quadrille. I didn't take part in this one, but I did watch. Jeremy, not the one I live with, walked up next to me and asked if I knew how to do it. Since I kind of know, its just a lot of following directions, and I said yes. We grabbed Jeremy, the one I do live with, and Alison and made our own little quadrille line. It was fun, and there was a lot of laughing, but we tried. Afterwards, I taught Jeremy how to waltz for a while, and the people at the second floor bar were getting a kick out of if, because they were smiling and telling us to take "kurz steps."
But then it was time to go home. On the way out the door, a boy dressed as a Strauss or somebody (all of the helpers at the ball were dressed in period costume -- I want a dress like that, but I don't have enough boobage to make it work) gave me a rose. I was the only one from our group to get one, but I made a point of smiling at him. Right now, said rose is hanging up in my closet so I can dry it and hopefully it will make the trip home in one piece (aka -- I'm sending it there with Mom and Dad when they come to visit).
Thursday was pretty much the same as Tuesday, but I went out to lunch with Mandy, Barbara, and Wini because we did a "secret cupid" exchange. Because I'm a slacker, I didn't get Barbara's present until ten minutes before we met. It turned out okay though, because I got her chocolate. Yum. I've also decided I like Mozart Balls, which aren't as dirty as they sound. They're kind of like Ferro Roche's (sorry for the spelling) but without the nuts on the outside, and they're like whoa good.
We also went out for Matt's birthday on Thursday night. Sarah and Alison made tacos for dinner, and even a cake, which was really really good. Then we took him out to Waxy Murphy's, an Irish pub in the first district. It was nice enough, but I had a cold, so I didn't stay very long. I left by myself because Vienna is like the safest city ever, and started walking to where I thought the Opera was. The keyword in there is "thought." I got a bit turned around, and instead of walking all the way around the Ring, I just jumped into one of the Strassenbahns. Then lo and behold, Travis showed up, so I had company going home. I got home and wrote my essay for German class on Friday and went to sleep. After loading up on cold meds, of course.
I was a bum again on Friday and pretty much only went to class, then sat around at home for the rest of the day because I wasn't feeling good. I was supposed to meet Erika's boyfriend's grandfather's family friend for lunch at the UN because she and her sister live in Vienna. But I called Magda and asked her if I could reschedule because I was feeling sick. She said of course, and let me know that she and her sister were in Vienna in case I should need anything while I was here. I know Paul kind of smacks his head at this whole arrangement, but I think it's cute and funny that his grandpa went home and called out the troops to keep an eye on me while I'm here. :-)
Now yesterday, Saturday, was really exciting because I went to the Zoo with Anna, Mandy, and Barbara. They even have pandas there!! And I got to see them eat bamboo!! The Zoo is really cute and well done. It's not ridiculously large, but it has plenty of exhibits, and it filled up an afternoon for us. The animals live in what look like little yellow houses, which were designed to match the Schönbrunn Palace. I had a really good time there, and took bunches of pictures, which will be put up and captioned before too long...
And now for the history part:
Schönbrunn Zoo is the world's oldest and only baroque zoo - unique and a jewel of architecture. Today, it is also among the most modern zoos as animal keeping and research are concerned.
Schönbrunn Zoo, situated in the south-eastern part of the Habsburgs' summer residence, was Emperor's Franz Stephan von Lothringen's - husband of Maria Theresia - private menagerie. In the summer of 1752, the Emperor opened his menagerie, exactly seven years later, he had the impressive pavilion built which is now the zoo's most famous historical monument.
On July 14, 1906, an elephant was born here, the first time ever in a zoo. Until then, zoologists had held the opinion that elephants could not reproduce in captivity.
Today, one finds numerous young animals, not only in the elephant cage but also with the tigers, cheetahs, polar bears, giraffes, seals and penguins, hippopotami and all native species. Schönbrunn is among the most modern zoos in the world. The motto of the zoo, “Schönbrunn should be a zoo of happy animals,” is clearly visible everywhere!
Tiergarten Schönbrunn (German for Schönbrunn Zoo) is a zoo located in the grounds of the famous Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria. It was founded as imperial menagerie in 1752 and due to its local continuity it is the oldest zoo in the world.
It is one of the few zoos worldwide to house specimens of the giant panda. The zoo's pandas are named Yang Yang and Long Hui. Other zoo attractions include a rainforest house, in which the spectator is led through a simulation of the Amazon Rainforest, and an aquarium, which enables spectators to walk through underneath a simulation of the Amazon in flood. The new polarium for animals of the Arctic region was opened in early 2004.
On July 14, 1906, the zoo saw the birth of the first elephant in captivity.[1]
Since its privatisation in 1992, it has been led by Helmut Pechlaner, also president of WWF Austria, who managed to modernise most parts of the zoo and sustain its financial situation.
And now, today, here I am in the middle of the afternoon, in my pj's blogging about my life. I love Vienna!!
The above information is from Wikipedia and wien.info
Love always,
Amanda
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