Two Months!

Liebe grüße Familie,

       There's no asking me how two months have passed since I arrived in Austria, it's been a flash! But I have seen and done so much in that time regardless, and am quite satisfied :) I have been working more and more with the language, last week we had a German course finally promised to us by the Gymnasium principal, but apparently we won't be benefitting from that till next week or maybe later, no idea. This week I had the first elective English course in the afternoon, where I will help with the class as I do in the regular one as well. The dance courses I have been taking with the HAK school, another one in town, for their Matura Ball, continued over this past week and this coming weekend as well. I got a haircut today and on the way back walked and chatted with a friend/neighbor in the 8th (Matura class) in gymnasium and he said they've had two classes each week to prep for their Matura Ball haha. This Thursday I went on a Segway Tour with 6 or 7 friends from my class through the old town in Freistadt! It was loads of fun, and every time I walk in the old town, Gen my oldie and I always revel that we get to just "be" in a place this old, fairytale and intriguing every day. Some things are crazy about waking up everyday and starting the day with "Guten Morgen" and ending it with "Bis Morgen". Over the weekend I had time to hang out with friends in Gutau Friday night, and the next day I met my second host father, Reinhardt Honeder, when he came to pick me up from Gutau so that I could spend the weekend with them in Weitersfelden. My second home here is deeper in this area we call the Mühlviertel, a tiny village yet in a seeming tranquil paradise. Their home is in an older building on the main road in the center of town, one of the oldest there. I spent time around the whole family and met their Opa and Oma (grandparents) when we had lunch with them. Later I we drove to their hunting cabin in the woods and shot bows and some of their guns as well. Out there the countryside is gorgeous, rolling hills, that roll a bit more than they do in Iowa! Saturday night we went to the movies in Freistadt and watched "Prakti.com" that google film, but I fell asleep. My Sunday consisted of a mini-grill or BBQ at home with the family and then they took me to my Rotary counselor Franz, from his home we headed off with his wife Ingrid and Gen too, to Linz to go watch an ice-hockey game Linz Black Wings vs. Red Bull Salzburg! I am proud to say we (Linz) won 6-2 in a rather thrilling game. It was neat for my first game, and listening to their cheers and chants 'auf Deutsch' was fascinating! There was somewhere there waving an American flag to support the many American players in the game, which I thought was interesting, a surprise for me to see. This week, today we gained a 6th exchanger in Gymnasium Freistadt, a new girl from Bolivia. Tomorrow our school apparently ends at 12 as the teachers have conferences of some sort, which I think is toll! (great) Time to see about some dinner for me, so I'll get back to y'all soon later! Alles ganz toll in Österreich! Servus!

Ben