Hallo blog! Wie gehts?
Danke, sehr gut! Und ihr?
I just finished my first German class! The A1.1 level within the pre-semester program for exchange students. I can’t believe how much I learned within just 2 weeks. Inspired by my progress, I signed up for a semester long class- level A1.1+, in addition to the tandem language program within the Business Learning Center here at WU. I was paired with a girl from Austria trying to improve her English- although it seems perfect compared to my German. Can’t wait to see how much I improve by the end of the semester!
I also completed the pre-semester Culture and Orientation Class. It was an amazing experience! Much more field-trip focused and immersive than I expected. We took 2 day trips to Graz, Austria and Wachau, Austria. While in Graz, we climbed to the top of the clock tower that overlooked the small city. In Wachau, we toured a vineyard and a famous Austrian wine museum and finished the day with a wine-tasting. Wachau was probably my favorite trip we took throughout the program! I would recommend the small city to anyone visiting Austria.
Outside of the day trips, we travelled to countless Museums, the United Nations Office at Vienna, Viennese Coffeehouses, the Ottakring Brewery, the Austrian Parliament, St. Stephen’s Basilica, Austrian Opera Houses and all took a traditional Austrian Waltz class. Despite all these activities, the best part of the program was meeting other international students. It was so nice to meet so many amazing people from all around the world within just the first few weeks of being here.
The WU Winter semester starts this week! However, the classes are structured incredibly differently than in the US. Schedules here are much less standardized. For example, every class has a different start and end-date, they don’t always meet at the same time or same day every week and only meet about 5 or 6 times throughout the semester. Needless to say, building out my schedule at WU was wildly more complicated than building a schedule at Pitt. Despite the fact that this is my first week of classes, I only have to be on campus Thursday. I have Consumer Psychology and Behavior from 9am-12pm and Data Communication and Computer Networks from 1pm-4:30pm. Most classes here are 3-4 hours.
I’m writing this blog post from Paris! I’m staying with a friend from Pitt that is studying abroad too! It’s comforting meeting up with college friends while abroad, especially considering how many life changes (both big and small) you’re experiencing on a daily basis.