Upon arrival in D.C., I decided to have a quick lunch before meeting the rest of the Franciscan students at the departure gate. Since the tables were few and crowded, I invited a guy who looked my age to join me. What a crazy random happenstance it was! The guy, Magi (pronounced mah-jee), is from Kazakhstan and has an older brother who plays violin in an orchestra in Vienna! Magi was able to share with me some information about Vienna, as he has visited a few times for concerts. During our conversation over lunch, we shared our travel plans and even had a religious discussion. After he told me that he is attending the University of Virginia to study business for a semester, I told him about Franciscan University and my studies. To give him a better idea of Franciscan, I pulled out a pen with the school's name on it and let him keep it as a keepsake of our meeting.
Happy to have a story before I even arrived in Austria, I joined up with a group of classmates at the departure gate. I got to catch up with some friends and meet some new people while we waited to board. I was so excited to see everyone again! Finally, we boarded the Austrian Airlines flight bound for Vienna. After an hour delay on the runway, we took off and began the 8 hour trip.
Austrian Airlines is phenomenal -- it was one of the best flights I've been on. The red, yellow, and green color scheme was pretty groovy, and we were constantly being attended to by the friendly flight attendants. We were even offered complimentary beer and wine! Along the way, I read a flipped through my Austria guidebook and spent half an hour learning some basic German. Although it was difficult to find a good position, I managed to get four hours of sleep.
We landed in Vienna on Monday, August 23 around 9 a.m., which is 3 a.m. in U.S. time. (So Austria is 6 hours ahead of the United States - just something to keep in mind when you look at the time of my posts) I was too excited to be tired! We got off the plane, got our passports stamped, and picked up bags from baggage claim, then boarded a nice bus for the two hour road trip to Gaming. We began the trip with a rosary, dedicating our semester in Austria to Our Lady (got to love Franciscan!) The rest of the time was spent looking out the windows for our first views of the country. Once we got off the highway, the scenery became even more beautiful, passing by small towns, each with its own parish church or two. During the last 15 minutes, we passed through the incredible town of Gaming.
As we entered Gaming, I almost cried because of the beauty and charm of the small town. From the parish church, to the ivy-covered house, to the bridges over streams of water, the sights of Gaming made my heart happy. I felt so blessed to be here for a few months to study and explore. If I could live anywhere in the world, it would certainly be in a small town in Austria.
Finally, we arrived at the Kartause, our new home. We were greeted by the R.A's, R.D.'s, and children of the staff, all dressed in traditional Austrian clothing. As we got off the bus, the children handed each of us a yellow rose. After filling out a short form, I received my room assignment: Room 607, Samuel Hall, in Elizabeth Haus. I was happy to discover that about six girls and myself that lived on first floor of Elizabeth Hall last semester in Ohio would be living on the sixth floor of Elizabeth Haus this semester! Next, a couple children helped me carry my two heavy suitcases up a couple flights of stairs to my room. I'll be sharing my room with my classmate and friend Abby. We lucked out with three closets for the two of us to share :P Our room has a small window with a direct view of the Maria Thron steeple, comfortable beds and pillows, and, possibly the best part, a private bathroom. There are a couple luxuries the room lacks: no Internet in the room and no air conditioning. However, opening the window allows for a nice, cooling breeze, and no Internet in the room will encourage more time spent studying. So even the inconveniences are blessings :)
Later in the day, we had Mass, dinner, and a welcoming social. It was so good to be reunited with friends and hear about everyone's summers and travels. After the social we had a bonfire, and I finally got to bed around midnight so I could get a decent night's sleep before our school trip to Melk and Durnstein.
Franziskus Haus, the main residence hall
