Orientation

First, here are a couple pictures from Schonbrunn Palace:

A few thoughts...

With the wide variety of cultures around here, you start to notice the subtle differences. So here are a few gross generalizations.

Americans tend to:

-Wear board shorts and flip flops

-Wear sneakers and white socks

-Hold the door open for other people

-Offer to give a subway seat up to a woman/child

-Block people from moving up the escalator

-Talk loudly on the subway

-Carry around numerous copies of Rick Steves' books

While Europeans:

-Wear tight jeans (guys or girls)

-Wear capri pants (guys or girls)

-Carry purses (guys or girls)

-Chain smoke cigarettes everywhere

-Bring their dogs everywhere (grocery stores, trains, banks, etc.)

-Love techno and American rock/pop music

I'm still a bit confused about holding the door open--maybe that's just from growing up in the south. If I hold the door open for someone here, I tend to get very strange looks. Oh, and white socks are a dead giveaway for identifying Americans too.

I'm in the second week of orientation and our intensive German class. We toured Vienna, took a day trip to Graz, and visited Schonbrunn Palace last week. It's been very cold and rainy for the last week, but everyone's enjoyed the trips so far. (I'll add pictures as soon as I get a chance.) Lots of students from all over the world here. Our scavenger hunt group today had five students--2 from the US, 1 from Russia, 1 from Denmark, and 1 from Holland. I'm in the introductory German class, and our group includes students from Italy, Russia, Portugal, Canada, Sri Lanka, and the U.S. We can only learn so much German in two weeks, so I'll be happy just to learn how to pronounce menu items and learn how to count!