Author: Paige Diller

This week, I had school off for Easter and enjoyed exploring Vienna a bit more and celebrating two of my favorite holidays: Passover and Easter! For Passover, I cooked Charoses and matzo ball soup and also served smoked salmon. Since Passover is about passing history down, I thought it was pretty cool that I could bring it to another part of the world. In searching for all of my ingredients, I also explored new parts of Vienna…like all the way across the city to a Jewish grocery store to find Matzo, only to discover the obvious: it was closed for Passover! It was certainly not time wasted, as I stumbled upon a wonderful little chocolate store looking for it!  Passover dinner was followed by coloring Easter eggs (a very cross-cultural evening, indeed!).

A couple days later, on Easter morning, I woke up to an Easter basket in front of my door filled with more chocolate than I could eat—I’ve hardly made a dent in it so far! After thanking my host moms, I ate a small breakfast and quickly got dressed before our guests arrived. Everyone from my extended host family to our neighbors to my host brother’s piano teacher (and his dog!) gathered around our dining room table. There was so much delicious food…there were the traditional breads and spreads, some soup, as well as many desserts. My host sister and I baked a carrot cake together for the occasion. People stayed from lunch through dinner, talking and laughing and eating. The one difference I noticed between American Easter and Austrian Easter was the Easter egg tree! All the eggs we had decorated some nights ago were strung on some branches in a vase; this is one of the traditions I hope to bring back to the US!

At Easter dinner, the topic of children’s books came up in conversation and we took some out. As everyone reminisced about their favorite Austrian picture books, I started plugging away through a pile of them with my host sister. I was surprised by how much I understood! Although I’m not exactly a proficient reader quite yet, it felt nice to know that it was more than I could do two months ago.

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It’d hard to describe what a typical Saturday is like here since no two have been quite the same yet. On Saturday mornings, I have circus practice for a couple hours, but beyond that, it has varied quite a bit! I might get lots of little things done, like my French homework or cleaning my room (or writing a blog entry!).  I’ll spend time with my host family and probably practice a bit, too!

I might take a walk around Belvedere Palace, which is about a block away form where I live. The palace is now an art museum and is home to Gustav Klimt’s “The Kiss”. Last Friday, I discovered admission is free for anyone under 19, which I certainly plan to take advantage of again sometime soon : ) The palace’s surrounding garden and reflection pool are beautiful now, but I’m really looking forward to visiting in the spring!

I might attend a concert at Musikverein or the Wiener Konzerthaus. I might be performing, like I am this weekend! On Friday and Saturday, I’m playing Mozart’s Requiem and Schubert’s Unfinished 7^th Symphony at the Musikverein with the Musikgymnasium orchestra.

I might meet up with friends for lunch or go to a family gathering or birthday celebration. I love hearing the German fly around the table…and of course the food is always pretty fantastic!

Or maybe I’ll be on a trip, like I was last weekend with my study abroad group. Although skiing in Bad Ischl was by no means a typical Saturday, I thought I’d write about it nonetheless! I arrived on Friday morning, and met 26 other exchange students studying in Austria coming from all over the world (Taiwan, Thailand, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Ecuador, Venezuela and Finland). It was so great to meet other students doing exactly what I am, to compare notes on settling in.

Friday evening, we were given a tour of the summer villa of emperor Franz Joseph I and his wife Elisabeth (who was affectionately called Sissy), by the emperor’s great (great?) grandson. On Saturday, we hit the slopes! I hadn’t been skiing in at least five years, but after a few runs down the bunny slope, it started coming back to me. The view from the ski lift was absolutely spectacular.

Saturday night, we all unwound in the thermal baths. The warm-watered pools continued outdoors—breathing crisp wintery air and looking up at the snowfall, whilst swimming outdoors in bathing suits was quite an experience. I stayed up late talking to the other exchange students I had met just 24 hours before, yet had already become so close with.

I look forward to many more Saturdays in the months to comeJ

My weekly schedule:

6:25: Wake up. Hit snooze

6:30: Hit snooze again…

6:35: Get out of bed, get dressed

6:45:  Say “Guten Morgen” J

6:46: Eat breakfast and drink tea with Evelyn and Tim

7:15: Leave for school  (I take 2 public busses to get there)

7:50: Arrive at school

7:52: Buy a delicious, hot mélange (which is similar to a cappuccino) from vending machine for 50 cents… they don’t have this in NY!

8:00-8:50: First class

8:55-9:45: Second class

9:45-10: Eat snack, talk to friends, etc…

10-10:50: Third class

10:55-12: 45:  Fourth class

12:55-13:45: Fifth class

13:50-14:30 Sixth class

13:00 or 14:00: Leave school

During class, I follow along as best I can… I always have my English-German dictionary with meJ French class is an interesting experience—sometimes I’ll be reading French, hearing the German translation and thinking the English translation. The way my schedule has worked out, I’ve actually only had one English class so far, but of course, I enjoyed that as well. Since I’m interested in education policy, it’s been really interesting for me to observe a foreign education system first hand.

After school, I might head home (and maybe take a nap!), go shopping on Mariahilferstrasse, or head somewhere else! Every week, I have a bass lesson, orchestra rehearsal at school, German class in the evening, circus practice, and sometimes a rehearsal with a trio I’m playing in with a friend from school. And of course, I’m also busy practicing. So far, no two days have been even close to the same—and I love it!

Here are a few photos of my adventures in Austria the past few weeks:

Greenheart Travel is thrilled to introduce to you, Sarah Gourevitch, our new high school abroad scholarship winner in Austria! She’ll be sharing her thoughts and photos on our blog during her time abroad. Stay tuned to her next post and live vicariously through her travels and academic experience overseas.

Welcome to Austria Sarah!