Dear Family, Sunday November 30th 2008
We got up early, I thought I was going to die as one by one everyone's alarms went off. We had an amazing breakfast, and then went to church, where I spent the entire 3 hours in a personal struggle against what my body wanted and what my mind wanted. They had to compromise, so rather than sleeping or paying rapt attention, I only was able to pay attention to a little and stare off in a stupor for the rest of it.
Everyone lined up in front of the Temple and we took a group picture, we had lunch, and then we loaded up on the bus. I was sent by Cindy to find lost articles in everyone's rooms and found loads of junk. We all boarded the bus and started the long drive home. And for the record, buses=car sickness for the entire group. It was not fun.
We finally arrived in Vienna around 9 and then I went home. I unpacked and basically just enjoyed being in my own room again. I talked to Mommy and Daddy for about an hour, and then showered. I'm going to bed, and am excited to get more than 6 hours of sleep tonight!
Love,
Anna
Sunday, 30 November 2008
Saturday, 29 November 2008
Dresden, one year later
Dear Family, Saturday November 29th 2008
We got up absurdly early to make breakfast for everyone, and overall it went pretty well. I had to run off to the grocery store at 7 in the morning to buy 11 more dozen eggs, but other than that it was great. In the end we had two skillets of eggs leftover, but fear not, they were not wasted. We definitely gobbled them tonight after such a long day.
The second group went into the Temple, and I hung around really wanting to take a nap. I got back into my church clothes and went to my Religion class, listening to a spiel by the Temple President. It was very interesting, but I had not gotten any sleep, so I spent most of the time putting every ounce of energy I had left into staying awake.
Afterwards we all got into regular clothes and drove to Dresden. Everyone tried to sleep on the bus, and the fact that our tour guide was speaking into the microphone the entire drive there was really not appreciated. We visited the Karl Maeser monument there, and were let loose finally at 4, so it was already dark and we couldn't take any good pictures because there was no more light.
The Frauenkirche was closed for a performance, and so I didn't get to go up it again sadly. We just walked around to the different Christmas markets for a couple hours, and then drove back to Freiberg. We stayed up pretty late, and I'm going to bed.
Good night,
Anna
We got up absurdly early to make breakfast for everyone, and overall it went pretty well. I had to run off to the grocery store at 7 in the morning to buy 11 more dozen eggs, but other than that it was great. In the end we had two skillets of eggs leftover, but fear not, they were not wasted. We definitely gobbled them tonight after such a long day.
The second group went into the Temple, and I hung around really wanting to take a nap. I got back into my church clothes and went to my Religion class, listening to a spiel by the Temple President. It was very interesting, but I had not gotten any sleep, so I spent most of the time putting every ounce of energy I had left into staying awake.
Afterwards we all got into regular clothes and drove to Dresden. Everyone tried to sleep on the bus, and the fact that our tour guide was speaking into the microphone the entire drive there was really not appreciated. We visited the Karl Maeser monument there, and were let loose finally at 4, so it was already dark and we couldn't take any good pictures because there was no more light.
The Frauenkirche was closed for a performance, and so I didn't get to go up it again sadly. We just walked around to the different Christmas markets for a couple hours, and then drove back to Freiberg. We stayed up pretty late, and I'm going to bed.
Good night,
Anna
Friday, 28 November 2008
Freiberg Temple, the Second Time
Dear Family, Friday November 28th 2008
I got up early, finished last minute packing, and went to go meet the bus in front of the Institut. We got on the bus at 7 in the morning, and arrived in Freiberg at 5 o'clock. We were told it would be a six hour bus ride. Those last few hours were some of the most painful I have ever experienced.
I was so tired from the late night before that I tried to sleep several times, but every time there would be a conversation that I could hear too clearly in the area and I would become wide awake listening to them. But then whenever I tried to do homework I was too tired for my eyes to stay open for it. Story of my traveling life. Basically, let it be known that no one used the time on the bus efficiently.
The shortest way to Freiberg from Austria is through the Czech Republic, so we drove through Prague and a few other cities. There was a fair amount of snow driving up, but when we were about an hour away from the German border there was about a foot of snow the rest of the way, and it's all Winter-Wonderland-like in Freiberg. So far none of the snow in Vienna has stuck, and it's even a particularly cold winter. I just wish I would have brought warmer clothes for when we're walking around Dresden. Last year in December Dresden wasn't that cold, so I didn't think it would be a problem...
We finally arrived, and then ran off to the grocery store to buy stuff for breakfast tomorrow, as my group is cooking. We changed into our church clothes and entered the temple. Oh, yeah, we're staying at the hostel on the Temple grounds, so it's ridiculously close and convenient. I am loving it.
The Freiberg Ward youth were there as well, so we did a session with them. I read the German Book of Mormon the entire time, and it was so much easier to understand and follow! It was great, I got several chapters read. Several girls in the group left their Temple Recommends in Vienna, even though we have been told every day for a week not to forget them, so they had some stressful times. In the end they all got a hold of their bishops and were able to get temporary recommends.
I did a lot of Spanish names during the confirmations, but during the baptisms they were German/Austrian. I even baptized an “Anna Maria-Theresia.” It was great!
Afterwards we walked back to the hostel and they had dinner and hot chocolate waiting for us, it was great! I hung out with my roommates, and then we we're going to bed pretty early to get up at the crack of dawn to make breakfast for everyone.
Life's great!
Love,
Anna
I got up early, finished last minute packing, and went to go meet the bus in front of the Institut. We got on the bus at 7 in the morning, and arrived in Freiberg at 5 o'clock. We were told it would be a six hour bus ride. Those last few hours were some of the most painful I have ever experienced.
I was so tired from the late night before that I tried to sleep several times, but every time there would be a conversation that I could hear too clearly in the area and I would become wide awake listening to them. But then whenever I tried to do homework I was too tired for my eyes to stay open for it. Story of my traveling life. Basically, let it be known that no one used the time on the bus efficiently.
The shortest way to Freiberg from Austria is through the Czech Republic, so we drove through Prague and a few other cities. There was a fair amount of snow driving up, but when we were about an hour away from the German border there was about a foot of snow the rest of the way, and it's all Winter-Wonderland-like in Freiberg. So far none of the snow in Vienna has stuck, and it's even a particularly cold winter. I just wish I would have brought warmer clothes for when we're walking around Dresden. Last year in December Dresden wasn't that cold, so I didn't think it would be a problem...
We finally arrived, and then ran off to the grocery store to buy stuff for breakfast tomorrow, as my group is cooking. We changed into our church clothes and entered the temple. Oh, yeah, we're staying at the hostel on the Temple grounds, so it's ridiculously close and convenient. I am loving it.
The Freiberg Ward youth were there as well, so we did a session with them. I read the German Book of Mormon the entire time, and it was so much easier to understand and follow! It was great, I got several chapters read. Several girls in the group left their Temple Recommends in Vienna, even though we have been told every day for a week not to forget them, so they had some stressful times. In the end they all got a hold of their bishops and were able to get temporary recommends.
I did a lot of Spanish names during the confirmations, but during the baptisms they were German/Austrian. I even baptized an “Anna Maria-Theresia.” It was great!
Afterwards we walked back to the hostel and they had dinner and hot chocolate waiting for us, it was great! I hung out with my roommates, and then we we're going to bed pretty early to get up at the crack of dawn to make breakfast for everyone.
Life's great!
Love,
Anna
Thursday, 27 November 2008
Rebecca! (long, held out note)
Dear Family, Thursday November 27th 2008
I slept in to the late hour of 9, not really appreciating it at all as the apartment was too loud beginning at 7. It's terrible. Whoever invented doorbells was not very smart. They're terribly unfortunate devices.
I hung around, kind of doing homework, kind of trying to rest up a bit, and then I headed out to Cindy's. Cindy and a bunch of other students had baked pies all night, so there were 12 pies to be eaten, and I definitely took a sliver of each. We had some soup, and then I went off to my German class.
It was probably the longest German class I have ever attended...it was never ending. I was not too happy about that. Afterwards I went to the theater and finally got to see the musical “Rebecca,” which everyone in our class has been obsessing about for forever. It was pretty good, the movie definitely has better acting and the plot is slightly better, but the music is very good, and I'll memorize it before it arrives in Broadway in two years. Then I'll be ridiculously hip and happening.
After the performance I came home, and am now very slowly and lethargically packing. It's a painful process.
Love,
Anna
I will make everyone listen to the music when I get home.
I slept in to the late hour of 9, not really appreciating it at all as the apartment was too loud beginning at 7. It's terrible. Whoever invented doorbells was not very smart. They're terribly unfortunate devices.
I hung around, kind of doing homework, kind of trying to rest up a bit, and then I headed out to Cindy's. Cindy and a bunch of other students had baked pies all night, so there were 12 pies to be eaten, and I definitely took a sliver of each. We had some soup, and then I went off to my German class.
It was probably the longest German class I have ever attended...it was never ending. I was not too happy about that. Afterwards I went to the theater and finally got to see the musical “Rebecca,” which everyone in our class has been obsessing about for forever. It was pretty good, the movie definitely has better acting and the plot is slightly better, but the music is very good, and I'll memorize it before it arrives in Broadway in two years. Then I'll be ridiculously hip and happening.
After the performance I came home, and am now very slowly and lethargically packing. It's a painful process.
Love,
Anna
I will make everyone listen to the music when I get home.
Wednesday, 26 November 2008
Stomachs in Jars?
Dear Family, Wednesday November 26th 2008
I got up, and went to meet Willow and Annalise at an U-Bahn station for a cultural trip Annalise had planned. That ended up not working out, so we went to the opposite end of the city to visit another museum. When we finally got there we discovered that it was closed on Wednesdays, so we looked in our Vienna books and went to the closest museum in the area.
That museum happened to have been a medical school, so the displays were all diseased stomachs in jars, models of people with a disease of the retina, their eyes half the size of their face, etc. It was pretty gross, but the wax figures of bodies were pretty cool. They had wax models of every organ and muscle and bone, so going through the rooms you got to see everything. Needless to say, we didn't spend long in that place.
We headed off to our Opera and Theater class, where we discussed' “Salome” and “Rebecca.” Afterwards I went to a second hand store with a bunch of friends and we desperately tried to find some dirndls. I was the only one who didn't find one. It was awful. We did have loads of fun though.
After not finding a dirndl, we went to Institut where we listened to a lecture from a BYU professor about evolution. That was kind of pointless, as I'd heard that entire lecture at BYU last year, so I didn't really learn anything new. However, afterwards I talked to my friend Stephan for an hour and a half, so I got loads of German practice in.
Love,
Anna
I got up, and went to meet Willow and Annalise at an U-Bahn station for a cultural trip Annalise had planned. That ended up not working out, so we went to the opposite end of the city to visit another museum. When we finally got there we discovered that it was closed on Wednesdays, so we looked in our Vienna books and went to the closest museum in the area.
That museum happened to have been a medical school, so the displays were all diseased stomachs in jars, models of people with a disease of the retina, their eyes half the size of their face, etc. It was pretty gross, but the wax figures of bodies were pretty cool. They had wax models of every organ and muscle and bone, so going through the rooms you got to see everything. Needless to say, we didn't spend long in that place.
We headed off to our Opera and Theater class, where we discussed' “Salome” and “Rebecca.” Afterwards I went to a second hand store with a bunch of friends and we desperately tried to find some dirndls. I was the only one who didn't find one. It was awful. We did have loads of fun though.
After not finding a dirndl, we went to Institut where we listened to a lecture from a BYU professor about evolution. That was kind of pointless, as I'd heard that entire lecture at BYU last year, so I didn't really learn anything new. However, afterwards I talked to my friend Stephan for an hour and a half, so I got loads of German practice in.
Love,
Anna
Tuesday, 25 November 2008
Buckeyes in Vienna
Dear Family, Tuesday November 25th 2008
I got up, gave my presentation, took a test, went to a museum for class, and then came home, relaxed, studied a bit, and reorganized at home.
Rather than going to see a musical tonight as planned, I went and saw a film for my Opera and Theater class, and FINALLY made my buckeyes! I'm so excited to have those out of the way, and they didn't turn out too poorly. They have pretty big holes in them from the toothpicks that I was too lazy and in a hurry to fix, but they taste fine and dandy. So yeah, there's a thing off my list and out of my apartment. I've been thinking of how to get rid of everything I have here without wasting it, so I've been a lot more liberal about contact solution, lotion, and conditioner than I previously was, but I still think I'm going to end up wasting some of each. Hopefully it all works out!
Tomorrow I've got a busy day, and NO tests or presentations, or papers, so I'm thoroughly excited!
Love,
Anna
I got up, gave my presentation, took a test, went to a museum for class, and then came home, relaxed, studied a bit, and reorganized at home.
Rather than going to see a musical tonight as planned, I went and saw a film for my Opera and Theater class, and FINALLY made my buckeyes! I'm so excited to have those out of the way, and they didn't turn out too poorly. They have pretty big holes in them from the toothpicks that I was too lazy and in a hurry to fix, but they taste fine and dandy. So yeah, there's a thing off my list and out of my apartment. I've been thinking of how to get rid of everything I have here without wasting it, so I've been a lot more liberal about contact solution, lotion, and conditioner than I previously was, but I still think I'm going to end up wasting some of each. Hopefully it all works out!
Tomorrow I've got a busy day, and NO tests or presentations, or papers, so I'm thoroughly excited!
Love,
Anna
Monday, 24 November 2008
Unbelievably Unexciting Day
Dear Family, Monday November 24th 2008
I had classes, then I went home and worked on my presentation, went back to class, and then went to the opera. Tonight it was “Salome,” and if I didn't have to see it for my opera and theater class I never would have gone, especially after reading the libretto. It's just creepy. There's a 20 minute song where Salome is talking about kissing the head of John the Baptist before actually doing it. Very long, drawn out, and boring. Thank goodness it was less than two hours, because it was certainly not engaging enough for me to forget the pain in my feet.
I have my presentation and a test tomorrow, so have fun, good night,
Anna
I had classes, then I went home and worked on my presentation, went back to class, and then went to the opera. Tonight it was “Salome,” and if I didn't have to see it for my opera and theater class I never would have gone, especially after reading the libretto. It's just creepy. There's a 20 minute song where Salome is talking about kissing the head of John the Baptist before actually doing it. Very long, drawn out, and boring. Thank goodness it was less than two hours, because it was certainly not engaging enough for me to forget the pain in my feet.
I have my presentation and a test tomorrow, so have fun, good night,
Anna
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