Welcome to the United States of America!

Hey guys,

I have no idea how this happened, but yesterday was my “one-month-in-America-day”. I apologize for not posting earlier; I know I promised I would – but the last few weeks were just crazy.

I arrived in America 32 days ago and since then a lot has happened. I visited Oklahoma City for two days, moved to Stillwater, explored OSU, went to Dallas and Six Flags, celebrated my 22nd birthday, went out to the bars (I love being over 21!) and house parties, classes started – but most important: I met so many great people.

Everybody is so nice (thank you Southern Hospitality!) and helpful here and I can’t believe that a month has already passed – I still haven’t fully realized that this beautiful campus is going to be my home for the next year:

 

 

 

I will try to post more frequently from now on, so make sure to check back ;)

xx Smoky

 

  

   

Goodbye second semester - hello summer - goodbye Austria - hello new adventures!

Hey guys,

This is going to be my last post for this semester. I just wanted to wish y'all good luck for your KGP - we can do this!!

Many of you might know that I won't be around for the next two semesters - I'm going to go back to the States in August in order to study at Oklahoma State University as an exchange student. I'm really excited about it and can't wait for August to be here but am also sad that I won't be able to spend the next semesters with you guys - some of you have become really good friends of mine.

I'm sure you've realized by now that I really enjoy blogging. That's  why I've decided to keep my blog going during my two semesters abroad - so make sure to check back! :)

Enjoy your time off and never forget:

Culture Presenation Days

Hey guys!

As you all know we had our “Culture Presentation Days” last week and are now supposed to write a post about which presentations we saw – so let’s get started!

Here is a list of all the presentations I saw:

• Things you might not know about San Francisco and the Bay area (by Marina Margeta)
• Two More for Mount Rushmore (by Katharina Pelich)
• Danger of Society Threat Groups in American Prisons (by Livia Perschy)
• Monty Roberts: An extraordinary communicator (by Melanie Wimmer)
• America as a Nation of Narcissism (by Maria Dorner)
• Does Race Still Matter in the US? (by Lisa Ziermann)
• Ellen DeGeneres – a Modern Woman and her Influence on America (by Joey Schreilechner)
• Sacagawea: Her Claim to Fame (by Bianca Stadler)

• Newgrange – a treasure of Art (by Anita Bhatti)
• Psychiatry in Ireland in the 1950s and 1960s (by Diana Skof)
• Beyond Riverdance – A glimpse inside the World of Irish Dance (by Katharina Luttenberger)

I saw eight presentations about the USA and three about Ireland and have to say that all of them were great – congratulations guys!

It was a really interesting day and I learned a lot. Anyway, the bigger the choice, the harder it is to choose – and in the end I chose these presentations for my KGP for the following reasons:

1. Things you might not know about San Francisco and the Bay area
I have been to the West coast before and visited San Francisco for three days – and absolutely loved it. While studying the facts about this area I'll be able to think back to my own trip – what more can I wish for?

2. Danger of Society Threat Groups in American Prisons
I’ve never really thought about this issue before but Livia really whetted my appetite and I’d like to get to know this topic better.

3. America as a Nation of Narcissism
I absolutely agreed with pretty much everything Maria said and am really interested in this topic.

4. Does Race Still Matter in the US?
Since I lived with an American black family for a year this topic is especially important to me. We are in the 21st Century and in my opinion racism should not exist anymore (or actually should never have existed at all!!). We are all the same, no matter what skin color we have, which religion we believe in or where we come from. Sadly not everybody thinks like that.

5. Ellen DeGeneres – a Modern Woman and her Influence on America
I absolutely LOVE Ellen DeGeneres. I’ve been watching her show for quite some time now and just can’t get enough. For that reason I’m really looking forward to learning more about her life and how she influences not only America, but the whole world.

How a password saved a boys life - prevent child abduction!

Hey y'all,

I hope those of you who watched my presentation yesterday liked it. I'm sorry if I was talking too fast - I tend to do that when I'm really excited about a topic ;)
I'm going to write a longer post about the ten presentations I saw after my Russian Exam tomorrow.

Anyway, I saw a post on FB today which is definitely worth knowing about - feel free to spread the word, the more people know about it, the better!

As many of you might know, child abduction is a really big problem not only in the USA but also in Europe. Here's a little story which has probably saved a boy's life:

In the USA a stranger walked up to an eight-year-old boy and told him that something happened to his mom and that she sent him to pick up her son. The little boy just asked: “What’s the password?” When the stranger looked confused and tried to figure out what he meant the boy took his chance and ran away as fast as he could. He and his mom had agreed on a password which she would give the person who picks up her son in case something happened to her.

It’s so simple – but this might have saved the boy's life!

Most of us don’t have own children yet. But we have sisters, brothers, cousins, acquaintances – by spreading this message we can make the world a little bit safer for our little ones!

Paul Pizzera - Perfect study break on Wednesday evening

Hey guys! :)

After all the studying for PC II we can finally go swimming, enjoy the nice weather and relax....

Unfortunately that's not gonna work - with next week's Culture Presentation Days, German and Russian exam and KM presentation ahead of me this weekend is gonna be a long one with little sleep and a lot of studying. I bet pretty much all of you have at least the same amount of work to do.
Anyway, that's just the way it is - three more weeks and everything is going to be over. But if you need a break between all the studying: Paul Pizzera, a young and talented cabaret artist, is going to play his show "Zu wahr um schön zu sein" next Wednesday evening (June 19th, 19:30) in Werndorf.

If the weather is nice (let's hope for the best!) the event is going to take place outside - otherwise it will be in the "Kulturheim Werndorf".

As you might know I'm a member of the "Kulturteam Werndorf" (which is the organizer of the show in Werndorf), so I'll be there for sure.
Everyone needs breaks, so if you have time feel free to stop by, it's definitely going to be a great and hilarious show.

Until then: Good luck with your studying, see you next week!

Do I actually see with my own very eyes, a man who's not heard of a Jellicle cat?

The award-winning musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber is with more than 65 million viewers one of the most popular musicals world wide.  Since May 15th you have been able to see the musical at the "Messegelände Graz", which is just next to the "Grazer Stadthalle".

The story is a little bit confusing, but basically it is about the "Jellicles" (a tribe of cats) and the "Jellicle Choice", which means that one cat will be chosen to be reborn.

I saw it yesterday night and although the story line is not as good as in other musicals I had seen before (such as "Lion King" or "Wicked") I absolutely loved it. It was just astonishing how the performers sang and especially danced - at some point I was not sure if I was in a musical, a circus or a dance competition - it was amazing.

Just have a look at this video and I'm sure you will know what I mean:



(Yeah, I know that the trailer is German - I'm sorry for that. But I decided to upload the German one for two reasons:
Firstly because I saw the musical in German and secondly because I couldn't find a good English version which shows as many different scenes as the German one does.)

There are still some tickets left (http://www.ticket.at/de/ticket/12036/cats-theaterzelt-graz) if you want to see it and they have a great student discount as well (about 10€ off!). But better be fast, the last show is going to be on June 16th.

"Daylight

I must wait for the sunrise

I must think of a new life

And I musn't give in

When the dawn comes

Tonight will be a memory too

And a new day will begin"

5 things to do in...

... BOSTON!

1. Visit the harbor
Just look at the pictures and I’m sure you know why you should pay it a visit:

 

2. Walk “The Freedom Trail”

The Freedom Trail is a 2,5 mile long walk. If you follow the trail you will see many of Boston’s interesting sights, such as:

• Boston Common
• The Old State House
• Faneuil Hall
• Hanover Street (Little Italy)
• Paul Revere House
• Old North Church
• USS Constitution
• Monument Square and Bunker Hill Monument

  

You can book a tour but I recommend just downloading the map from the Internet (http://www.thefreedomtrail.org/maps/pdfs/boston-nps-map.pdf) and following the trail with the map. Most hotels also offer free maps, so if you don’t have a printer just ask for one at the check-in desk.

3. Discover Boston’s parks

Boston has so many beautiful parks – two of them are “Boston Common” and “Public Garden”.
There are many restaurants around those parks, so if I were you I’d just grab some take-away lunch and enjoy it in one of the parks.

 

 

4. Visit Harvard

If you get off the Subway at “Harvard” you will see young people walking around with hats offering tours through Harvard University. Usually I prefer to explore a place by myself without a tour guide – but because the campus is so huge taking a tour was the best decision ever. Our tour guide was a student at Harvard himself. He showed us around campus and gave us not only background information about the University, but also told us funny stories about (famous) people who attended Harvard – totally worth the 10$!

 

 

5. Go to a Red Sox Game

Even if you are not into baseball, going to Fenway Park and seeing a Red Sox Game is an absolutely must. Tickets start at 20$, so it’s definitely affordable and totally worth the money – it’s such an awesome feeling to watch one of THE most famous baseball teams and the atmosphere is just amazing.

You should totally add Boston to your "must-go-to-list" if you haven't been there yet. If you have, let me know how you liked it! :)