Connected Again!

Hi everybody! After a few glitches, I finally have internet connection in my dorm room... and my dorm room is starting to feel like MINE!

The first day in Klagenfurt, Katharina and I took care of a few little campus things and headed into town, where, thank GOD, we found people! I was a little bit nervous at first. The area around campus isn't exactly teeming with people, so I was worried that it would be pretty difficult to find a place to belong here. But once we got into the Heiligengeistplatz, which is basically the city center, we saw lots of people and LOTS of stores! We went into the mall and got a cable for internet (yep, b/c it's 2009 and my laptop has to be plugged into a cable in my dorm all semester. Sweet) and a new SIM card so that I can get really awesome prices on calls and texts! YAY!

Sidenote: There are so many stores that are so much like the stores we have in the US, and soo many times, they're exactly the same. When Katharina and I went to get groceries, I recognized a sign on a grocery store, and so did Katharina, as being an Aldi store. BUT the sign here says Hofer. Same exact store. But what I find even more interesting is that in the US we have Forever 21 and at the mall here, there is Forever 18. It's just a minor thing but... it's such a huge cultural statement, I think. 21 is the age that everyone wants to be in the US... you can finally drink and do "whatever you want" legally. But here, by 18 you've been drinking a few years legally and you're probably about done with school, and you are recognized as an adult. 21 is insignifcant here. It only has any weight in the US because we don't allow legal adults, who can vote for the president, fight and DIE for their country to have a drink if they want one. But.. that was just a little thought I had. Didn't mean to have a spiel about drinking age at all, I just think it's funny that they went so far as to change the name of the store because 21 is soo trivial here.

Anyway... the second day in Klagenfurt, Katharina and I went to IKEA, which was an experience! WOW. Let me just say, those Swedes have it figured out! H&M and IKEA. Cheap stuff that still looks good. I mean, H&M clothes won't last forever but they get you buy while the look is in style, and same with IKEA stuff. I bought two lamps for my room, a coverlet for the comforter on my bed and pillowcase & sheet, a throw blanket, pots, plates, and cups for the kitchen, kitchen and bath towels, and some organizers for my bathroom yesterday all for about 82 Euro! So.. $110 or so! That's really stinking awesome! I probably could have found cups, plates, etc for the kitchen in some room that I've heard of here that is from other students but... this way it's new, clean, and MINE. And it was super cheap! I won't complain. And it really gave me a sense of home here. I walk into this room and it's not just white. It's blue (yay), it's cozy, it's starting to be MY room.

And it needs to starting becoming mine but I'm officially on my own with a bunch of people I don't know! Katharina left Klagenfurt this morning at 10:30. It's such a wierd feeling. Being in a city, hundreds of miles from home, where I know no one, and am still learning the language... it's scary, it's exciting, it's unbelievable that it's really happening.

After Katharina got on her train, I was pretty... scared. Could I remember how to get back to the dorm on my own? What if I asked a question and didn't understand.. what if I don't make friends quickly? etc etc... But... there's always reassurance when you need it. As I was getting on the bus, a mid-Eastern woman was trying to ask the bus driver a question and didn't speak German. She asked me if I knew English and I said yes. So she asked me how to get to the lake. I told her I wasn't sure but thought she should get on the same bus I was getting on, go to the city center, and switch buses there. She asked if I could ask the driver, so I did (auf deutsch!!), and he told me the same thing. Even told her to get on Line 10, which is what I would have told her to do! So, I felt really good about that. It's a totally minute thing but it helped me feel like, okay, I can do this. It will be okay! :)

So, still a lot nervous but.. I know it'll work out!

Love you all.