good moooorning vienna!

its kinda like good morning vietnam.
you guys are just waking up maybe.. go to church! we had church at the castle today, that was pretty awesome. their are four missionary families that just moved here from the states and they joined us. one of the children was adorable.. he came around and asked us all our names and then shook our hands and told us he was two. his cute blonde head weaving about the room. we discussed 2 peter 2:11-17 and in a nutshell: you should respect everyone regardless of whether they respect you because christ died for us even while we were still sinners. so it would be hypocrytical to not respect them cause werent we just there?
yeah. so that was church.


now were watching a movie and im doing homework and wishing that i was outside in the sunshine! but if i finish my homework now i can play this week. better do it now.

Saturday.

Today was our first day of no classes in a while.. very nice.

I went shopping and finished up seeing the required places we have to go to. I bought pb&j and ate it at this quiet church close to the center of town. its really quite amazing actually, this church. two blocks away is the largest tourist site in the city and theres a u stop in the courtyard and yet, even on a saturday, there was no one there. people pass by a street away and dont even look up. the sound from the streets dampen and the sun reflects off the windows making it brighter and the wind blows the leaves around the old corners. i love it. the inside has a moasic commissioned by napoleon, fun fact.

after i went to the church i was wandering around on my way back to a more central street and i walked through this large crowd of people going into a small glass double door. i thought it was.. i dunno, a free taste test or something so i went in, you never know yeah? and so i go in and mingle and i cant figure out whats going on and then the music starts and everyone sits down. and so i sit down. turns out its a wedding! so i got to see an austrian wedding from the sixth row. it was very fun. there was a kiss at the end and everything.


its the weekend so the city was more crowded than usual- street performers and shopping crowds and me. in vienna everyone takes their dogs with them everywhere ((have i told this story already? i feel like i have.)). its so fun! theyre well behaved and well groomed and quiet and big. almost everyone has big dogs. i like it a lot. my poor dog would go crazy... its probably better that he has acres to run on at home! my mom called me while i was putting away my stuff from being out today- what a coincidence! i was really glad that i caught her though. i love my mom and terry and dingo... i love my brother too but he hasnt emailed me once on this trip! what is that?!? my mom told me today that the hamm radio class he was supposed to take ((how random yeah?)) got canceled and now hes in weightlifting. so hes going to be super buff when i come home.


this is what i could see of minoritenkirche ((kirche mean church in german)) from the bench i was laying on today.



this is my puppy at home. and jarrod, making a crazy face.

stephansdom quarter ((its the very center of the city))

this is the railing from stephansdom and the building in the background is the brand new complex haus haus. there was a big fuss about the building because how valued stephansdom is but it worked out alright.






this is a swimming pool in the river. how odd! but seeing as the water is filthy it makes sense.






this is me. i got bored waiting for my U so i snapped a photo.





and this is the tiniest car i have ever seen! note the size in comparision to the bike.






also, id like to remind everyone that three days from today tottenham and arsenal battle. well, more like arsenal is going to slaughter tottenham. i cannot wait.

unpacked in vienna.

today is tuesday.
on tuesdays in vienna museums are closed, and lots of other places shut down early... i have no idea why though.
this is my fifth day in the castle and my first tuesday. happy tuesday! i went out for a bit after class this morning... discovered some cute markets and explored the city, went to the grocery store and bought a bag to carry groceries and my camera and my journal.
weve settled into a routine now:
745: breakfast
900: group time
930-1200: language and culture class
1215: lunch and then freedom!

after the month is over the routine will be different because well have eurorail passes and well be traveling all over europe and not just in vienna but for now life is settling down. its been raining here for the last couple days which makes it feel like a hidden corner of Seattle that i havent discovered yet. i like it.

one thing that is very different here is how often people smile at each other. back home we smile for just about anything. bump into someone on the subway? smile. grocer bags your pasta salad? smile. here a song on someone else ipod you like? smile yeah? here though, being friendly is not as typical. our culture teacher told us that its even considered rude or intrusive to inquire about someones day ((ie how are you?)). and we arent supposed to smile at men because it gives them the wrong idea...
it seems like such a small thing but its hard to change because its so engrained as part of our mindset as americans. ive never felt like a happy person especially but here i feel like im chipper mcchipperson. its kinda fun. i suppose youve just got to smile on the inside sometimes and look indifferent on the outside. it kinda makes me wonder if they would help someone being mugged on the street or would run into a burning building for a screaming women or if they would keep their cool exteriors and walk on by... im sure they would stop. people are people everywhere and if you cant believe that human beings would look out for one another than it doesnt seem worth interacting with anyone at all.


that was very off topic. apologies.

snapshots of london...

big ben!


the tube and my toes.


me "navigating" the busses during the tube strike.


platform 9 3/4


matt and i ((tired)) on the bus to heathrow.





what a busy week!
today is our groups one week aniversary, no gifts we decided.

so little time...

london... yup.
im having a hard time processing the trip still, two days later, just because of the massive amounts of things we did in the small amount of time. so bear with me and ill try to sort it out with some semblence of order. unlike what i last wrote. ive slept since then never fear!


first: impressions. london is dirty. but its not bad. its easy to navigate for the most part and it has that nice european feel of old and new placed together. even though im expecting that placement im always surprised at how much i like it. the dirt is offset by parks everywhere- in use. at lunch there were ((note: the "c" key on the keyboard is nearly dead so if words with that letter are spelled badly then i apologize now)) people on the lawn everywhere. felt like the fourth of july every day. very nice. lovely weather... a fluke apparently. appreciated by me though. the gap between young and old is less defined. i ate fish and chips next to two middle age man and one in his middle twenties arguing the odds for australia in the world cup this coming week. because alcohol isnt the deal it is over here ((which im not going to argue for or against so dont get stressed right now!)) it makes the age gap nonexistantthat college years here brings. maybe the way jobs are split as well. age doesnt seem to split people as muh as white collar blue collar. just a thought. i love london. i like the fast pace, the walking to get somewhere attitude. vienna so far seems similar to portland and london was more like seattle. its hard to settle into a slow pace when this whole trip is essentially fast paced.




favorite sites: i had three places i loved. but ill be brief.

- westminster abbey. it was crowded and ornate and small and made me comfortable. i like that crushed in feeling. it was beautiful. interesting fact: the poets corner, with all the famous authors, was created because chaucer was buried there. however chaucer wasnt famous when he died, he was buried there because he had done some work for the abbey.

- st pauls. im terrified of heights. hoo boy. but i climbed all the way to the top of the dome of st pauls and saw london from the top. i dont get to see the top of many things seeing as im a little short so this was pretty fun. its three hundred and sixty feet in the air, which is halfway as tall as the space needle! i was very proud of myself. yeah?

- les mis. i just finished reading it, i'm glad cause having the full story was nice. hugo writes like i think kinda... i want all of the story. i want the life of everyone in a story. and after we were less than two feet from one of the supporting cast, he walked by on his phone trying to schedule some meet up with his home diggity dogs. wow. that phrase alone proves i should go to bed.



get ready for: the castle! and hating ignorance. im going to devo now but just to give you a sneak peak theres a link on the right side. also, to get from this computer to my bedroom on the top floor is sixty-two stairs. 62. and ive been up there four times since i started this blog! oh yeah...
or maybe tomorrow can just be photos.

ello! nice day innit?

london.

we flew and it made everyone really jet lagged. i would try to explain it all but it escapes me at the moment. maybe forever. im not feeling very prose prone tonight so i think bullet points of our first day overseas is going to happen.

- the tube. after the thrill of hearing british voices settled down i realized the tube really is BART ((bay area rapid transit)) but underground the whole time. yup. two things happened on the tube today. one, i saw a mouse that was under the tracks. it was far away from me so i decided it was very cute. also, today was ARSENALs only home game when im here and everyone on the tube had jerseys on. it was just sad they were taking trains in the opposite direction of me. ah well.

- the british museum. its huge and gorgeous and i didnt appreciate a minute of it! i was so tired and it was so big i didnt know what to do. very overwhelming. so i chose one room ((enlightenment)) and explored it throroughly and then came home and took a nap.


it doesnt sound like much im pooped! im off to get to bed early, night!

SEPTEMBER 1

im nineteen!
this is my first birthday alone... i miss my family.

in celebration my pseudo-roommate took me to see the oklahoma city bombings memorial. and my other roommate gave me a fudge bar. and her boyfriend told me he actually doesnt dislike me at all like hes been telling me all week when he sees me.
in totality its been a lovely start to a lovely day.
i dont feel any older.



fun fact: my mom has told me for my whole life that i was born at 318. and then last year i was putting my baby ornament on the tree that has my legnth and weight and time of birth and guess what?!?! i was born at 338. how lame.
i still say i was born at 318. which means its my birthday in a little over an hour and a half! yay!




also, at 800 we leave for the dallas international airport ((which is the only place ive been bitten by a bug since 2000)) and at 1620 our plane takes off and ill be on my way!

ill have been nineteen for more than twelve hours by then. im certain ill feel much older.

fascination, frustration, appreciation.

well, im still in the great state of oklahoma and nothing worth blogging about has happened but i figure if i have the opportunity yeah? who knows, i could be in the high, high swiss alps with heidi and her grandfather and nor have internet to write in a month and then at least youll have this post to read!

i like word tricks. it makes things easier to remember... like rhymes! the three above are the three stages of culture shock that we learned about in class this week. FASCINATION is the excited stage, the exuberant energy.. kinda my whole life actually. FRUSTRATION is the homesick, tired, cranky stage. today we learned that often people run into this in religious situations because our beliefs run so deep that its hard to accept anything different. but this too shall pass into APPRECIATION which is the adapting part of culture shock.
i find it hard to believe ((although everyone has said its true)) that when we reenter the states well have reverse culture shock. its amazing how resilient and flexible the human being is- that after eighteen years and fifty-one weeks i could change in just three months away from my original culture, and then change back!
i wrote a poem in class today to help me stay awake:


"Oh Hapsburgs Oh Hapsburgs
You were so clever and tricky,
It's hard to believe
You got into a situation so sticky.
You started a war,
Made lots of people poor,
And now your only politician is Otto."


dont applaud too loudly, i might go deaf and then i couldnt hear all the lovely austrian orchestral music. side note: i know otto doesnt fit but i couldnt remember his sons names and if they would have worked better.
so thats all really. im a little sick, partially from the plane ride and partially from the new climate. but im taking tylenol and drinking water so ill live.













"awe"ful moment: the week before i got to OCU i had a huge list of things to get for the trip. one of those things was a thumb drive to back my photos up and use for miscellaneous things, but it was on the second list, which meant that it was lower priority than, say, a camera. so the night before the trip i had everything from my first list and most things from my second list ((im a list freak yeah?)) and i was really worried that i wasnt prepared properly. so i prayed about it and about me having a good attitude and i went to go pack. anyway, skip forward a couple days. today after classes ended our sponsor, dr waldo, annouces that OCU has decided to donate a 1 gig thumb drive to each student going overseas. good work OCU. its not like i think that God nudged someone at OCU to give us thumb drives just because i gave it up to him... cause getting the thumb drive wasnt the point. i tried to make every problem i was having my own when really theres too much in this world to do anything without God. at least in my corner of the world there is. that was very long. all im saying is that its worthwhile, giving up control.


funny/exciting moment: so class is over and im walking across the middle of campus where its most densely populated and this huge bird comes out a bush at my face with a buzzing war cry. so i did what everyone would have done- i flung my notebook in the air and myself on the ground and screeched. and im loud, so i definitely wasnt a small yell. and after the danger had passed i got up and looked around, and no one had noticed! a lucky break for me. there was a guy who is going on the trip with me that ive not got a chance to meet yet about ten yards away snapping photos in the opposite direction and i walked up to him and described my attacker and guess what he said. ill tell you. "Oh, that wasnt a bird. it was a bee." are you kidding me?!?!
im adding this experience to my list of reasons i love washington.

IM OFF! ...after a small "not off" glitch

"you can have either freedom or stability"
-dr norton.



instead of catching the 655 am plane to okc i caught the 1305 plane which put me into town seven hours later than planned. did mention this was unplanned? however they served dried fruit and ritz cheese crackers on the first leg so i forgave the situation soon into the flight.

i got off the plane in kansas city ((which is built on the border of two states and the cops have to turn on their lights in pusuit before they cross the border to arrest someone- i learned that from my seatmates, both from kansas city.)). stepping off the plane it was 87 degrees.. at 7 o'clock at night! it was like stepping into anther world. i left the airport and stared at the setting sun- i could actually see the movement of the sun the horizon was so far away. it felt like what i imagine africa to feel like. i've never seen so much.. nothing. It makes me a little nervous actually, i mean what if someone was shooting at me? where would i hide? i guess ive been watching too many scary movies lately.
so i sat in the waiting room all alone with my pink corsage, my pink cake, and my backpack ((not pink)) with the nfl blaring out of the tiniest tv ever. The corsage was to make me feel lovely and was a gift from a lady at church, the cake was also a gift from a lady at church to be saved for my birthday, and the backpack i bought with my mom. the game i watched with something close to manic intensity- it was my last monday night game before i leave after all. also my first. so thats kansas for me.

the second flight had seats made of leather, slippery and cold. the flight attendant for the back half of the plane, all ten of us, snuck me an extra blanket because i smiled at his offer of a gourmet dinner of honey roasted peanuts. the guy next to me shivered the whole flight, he should have been nicer to danny ((that's what i named the flight attendant cause he didnt have a name tag)).



so now im in OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! klahoma. I'm staying with a friend from back home which is nice, it makes being here more cozy.
The week at OCU is full of lots of things but mostly getting to know everyone and listening to lectures. lots and lots of lectures. the rochester group is smaller than expected so there are only six people going who arent from OCU. everyone is so nice though, weve already blended into one big excited group. all morning people asked me if i was the delayed person and it took me two or three times to figure out last night someone must have referred to me as being delayed from the first session. glad i figured that out!







"awe"ful moment: taking my first step into the little hallway leading to the plane. that was the first time it really hit me that i was really truly leaving. and not just to portland or even to the other side of the us.. but to the other side of the world!

funny moment: the very first lecture i sat next to this guy who had a southern drawl and a constant monologue and after the speaker mentioned lunch being catered ((chic-fil-a, subway, etc.)) he says, "well thats right! thats what im paying the big bucks for. dont want cat food. shoot."

dog days.

its my last day at home. so im washing all my clothes, cleaning the house from my party last night and buying garlic bread for church tonight... what ever college student does the night before leaving. i mean, who packs early? im sure ill regret it if i forget my toothbrush- although im pretty sure they sell toothbrushes in europe too.

my mom is working otherwise shed be telling me i should already be packed.

OTHER EXCITING NEWS FROM THIS WEEK:
- i got a camera, and a 2 gig card ((2000 photos)) so get ready for pictures!
- i went to portland to say goodbye to all my friends and then i came home. thats not so exciting but...
- i got the soundtrack to Once. very chill.
- i had a party last night and we had chicken. it was excellent. photos above. ((tanya, melvin and barbara, and the "kid" table))

Have A Harrison Day!

My family went to the company picnic today for my Mother.
Nice work taking care of your people Harrison.
Walked a 5k.
Listened to a cheesy dj say things like, "Have a Harrison day!"
Got free t-shirts and bandaid holders.
Played on the blowup obstacle course ((my brother Jarrod and Terry beat Mom and I soundly. Nuts.)).


And I won a water bottle! From the 5k raffle. It's perfect for the trip.
Which is why I posted this fantastic story of my day.

T minus...

Only three weeks left until I leave for Oklahoma Christian! My friend who is graduating this year from OCU is letting me stay with her for the week we're on campus which is nice because I can do laundry and relax and catch up with her. So the last planning hurdle before we leave for overseas is done.

Not that I'm completely ready though! My Mom and I went shopping last night for little things- I finally chose a backpack! Now she's watching Guarding Tess. It's a nice background to have while writing. I mention my Mother to say two things: first that I love her. And second that I don't think that I would be motivated to be in college if it weren't for her. She lets me call her all the time, even now that I'm home and talk about school. Or whatever else I need to vent. So thanks Mom. I'm stressful to shop with apparently but she did it anyway. Lovely woman, my Mother.




It's been weird having all my friends talk about going back to campus and all the stuff they are going to buy for their apartments while I essentially pack an entire semester into a carry on suitcase.

Some of the advice on traveling overseas is to put everything on a bed that you intend to take and then put half of it back. Isn't that the craziest thing?!?! I'm such an overpacker so I'm making my Mom hold me accountable. Actually I'm more of a panic packer. At the last minute I freak out that I might not have what I need and then I cram useless stuff into my bag. Regardless packing is going to be nuts! But I'm excited. I bought a new toothbrush, and I'm not using it until the trip. Something else to look forward to!

birthplace: vienna.

so im thinking that famous people from vienna is a subject that doesnt come up much. however im sure it will work its way into some conversation and it is always good to be prepared yeah?


actually i was watching an interview with rainn wilson of "the office" and he mentioned that he was from seattle which caused me to do a little dance, and also made me wonder who else was from the lovely emerald city. so i looked it up.
exciting people include:
-danelle and i ((disclaimer- seattle area.))
-rick steves ((every travelers best friend.))
-sir mix-a-lot ((what would music be without him? i cant imagine..))
-jim whittaker ((first american to scale everest. my mom met him!))



which, in turn, led me to investigate who called vienna/austria the place of their birth. at last, we have arrived at the real topic. heres what i discovered...
-theres the really famous ones: Arnold Schwarzenegger. Mozart. Franz Ferdinand. Wolfgang Puck. Freud.
-theres the fighters: Andreas Hofer. Amon Hoth. Robert Bernardis.
-theres the scientists: Julius Wagner-Jauregg. Hans Asperger. Karl von Frisch.
-and theres the guy who didnt fit any category but i liked: Wilhelm Steinitz. won the first world chess championship. good work.








there are nobel peace prize winners and men who ran nazi death camps. women who fostered the growth of great philosophers and actresses. writers and fighters. its easy as an american to forget that europes history runs deep, much deeper than ours does as a nation. not that we are not patriotic, but weve only had 231 years. were an infant historically.

that was one thing that struck me about kiev last spring. some buildings downtown are older than any other structures ive ever seen. its overwhelming. to see churches and office buildings built centuries apart next to each other. theres a balance between pushing forward and remembering the past. they are intertwined naturally. its lovely. and different than america. what a fun opportunity to explore other cultures! im excited!



and think, "the office" started all of this. tv is occasionally educational yeah?

the fray wrote us a song as well!

The day's last one-way ticket train pulls in
We smile for the casual closure capturing
There goes the downpour
There goes my fare thee well

There's really no way to reach me
There's really no way to reach me
There's really no way to reach me
'Cause I'm already gone

There's so many words that we can say
Spoken upon long-distance melody
This is my hello
This is my goodness

...

There's really no way to reach me
There's really no way to reach me
Is there really no way to reach me?
Am I already gone?
So this is your maverick
And this is VIENNA.

billy joel wrote us a song!

Slow down, you crazy child
you're so ambitious for a juvenile
But then if you're so smart, tell me
Why are you still so afraid?

Where's the fire, what's the hurry about?
You'd better cool it off before you burn it out
You've got so much to do and
Only so many hours in a day

But you know that when the truth is told..
That you can get what you want or you get old
You're gonna kick off before you even
Get halfway through
When will you realize, Vienna waits for you?

Slow down, you're doing fine
You can't be everything you want to be
Before your time
Although it's so romantic on the borderline tonight
Tonight,...
Too bad but it's the life you lead
you're so ahead of yourself that you forgot what you need
Though you can see when you're wrong, you know
You can't always see when you're right. you're right

You've got your passion, you've got your pride
but don't you know that only fools are satisfied?
Dream on, but don't imagine they'll all come true
When will you realize, Vienna waits for you?

Slow down, you crazy child
and take the phone off the hook and disappear for awhile
it's all right, you can afford to lose a day or two
When will you realize,..Vienna waits for you?
And you know that when the truth is told
that you can get what you want or you can just get old
You're gonna kick off before you even get half through
Why don't you realize,. Vienna waits for you
When will you realize, Vienna waits for you?

making the program.

as promised, heres is a brief rundown of how i made it to now. the process.

PART ONE: GETTING IN.
1. applying. the first step. the application is pretty average: why you want to go, grades, interests, strengths etc. it was
bland enough to make me nervous... how could i make it unique so they remembered me? thats something that cant be
controlled. However spelling, grammar, and neatness can be so i made sure to double check all of those.

2. interview. if there are no glaring problems with your application ((like being an axe-murderer or having a .04 grade point average)) the next step is the interview. oklahoma christian heads up the study abroad programs- they have an entire office dedicated to it- so they typically send a representative up to do the interviewing. this is the scariest part of the entire process! but there was nothing to worry about. just being myself, smiling, and not talking too fast were the three things i focused on. im not sure im allowed to talk about what they asked so i wont reveal any "top secret" questions.

3. the wait/ the letter. i take back what i said earlier. this is the scariest part! everything that you can do to earn yourself a place on the team is done and now you have to wait the week or two for your letter to come. lots of praying. and then it comes. i left campus to open mine. sometimes you have to be alone to be courageous. and i made it!

PART TWO: GETTING COMFORTABLE.
4. orientation. we flew to oklahoma christian university at the end of january and met with the rest of the people going with us to vienna. went out to a conference house about an hour out of oklahoma city. five girls from cascade traveled together- three who were going to vienna ((we lost one group member)) and two who were participating in the latin america program. we shared a room that felt like a camp, two bunkbeds stuck at weird angles with yellow light bulbs. it was lovely. drank fanta and ate munchies and listened to vienna fall 2006 students talk about their trip.

5. spring class. to help get us ready to journal consistently in vienna a journal is required during spring semester. the requirements are journaling at least twice a week and documenting six experiences: an art gallery, a museum, a musical performance, an interview with a foreign student, eating at a foreign restuarant, and watching a foreign movie. some of these were a little tricky but it was great fun. in getting ready to explore vienna we got to explore portand! my favorite was going to see the flying dutchman which is an opera preformed in german. it was my first brush with the language ( excluding clips of hitler from the history channel) and it was interesting. maybe the next time i see the opera ill be able to understand what they are saying!

PART THREE: GETTING KNOWLEDGEABLE.
6. summer class. the summer coursework is actually fall semester work. because we wont be at an actual school with all the resources that come as a part of that much of our coursework is done this summer. so i have a couple books to read, lots of tests to take and a couple papers with matching presentations to craft before september. its hard, but most things that are worth doing are hard. and the classes are all related to europe so its applicable, hands on learning. after reading a chapter on baroque architecture we can go out and visit ten churches designed in that style. it makes it easier to spend hours studying in the summer.

introductions!

first things first.


im going to vienna, austria for an entire semester through cascade college in portland. oklahoma christian university in oklahoma and rochester university in michigan partner up with cascade and take a group of students over every fall to study abroad. this year were taking a group of about fifty.
only two people from cascade are going this fall (thats 1/25 of the entire group..)- danelle and i. shes fun. an actress, shes was in both plays last year and made the traveling acting group for next year. congrats for that! im excited to get to know her and the rest of the group.



so here it is: i'm savannah and I'm from the seattle area and this fall I'm going to be a sophomore biology major, math and history minor. Thats a mouthful eh? i like vanilla ice cream and random british tv and any good classic book.... and im soooo excited to spend an entire semester on a different continent!
thats the basic basics.



more to come on the application process and all the prep from last year..