{day seventeen}

remember that one time when it was 5 degrees outside? well don't worry, it still is! but guess what? i've decided to outsmart this blasted weather. well yesterday i got an e-mail from my mom informing me that 3-4 people have DIED from this cold fiasco! well, she sugar coated it. TWO-HUNDRED people have died from this so called "cold snap!" 200!! can you believe that?so you know what i did today? went shopping. yep, that's right! take that weather. i bought a new coat that not even your vienna winds can seep through! aha, ha! with the help of my dear host mother helga, i bought a coat, 100 sweaters, a scarf, wool tights, leg warmers and shoes. we went up to one of the major shopping streets in vienna called mariahilfer strasse. i knew we would be outside so i bundled up, but even the two layers of pants and 50 shirts+ a coat couldn't keep the cold out. it's so cold that your eyes water profusely from the wind! by the time i walked into a store it looked like i had been crying for an hour and a half. finally we found a nice coat with a reasonable. price tag! as soon as i bought it i put it right on and soaked in the warmth it offered. it come all the way down to my knees, and its the best coat ever. i never want to take it off! in fact, it's kind of cold in my room tonight so i may just sleep in it! after shopping i came home for a bit and then left for our institutes talent show! it was really fun because a lot of young adults from all over austria were there and i got a chance to meet a lot of cool people! the talent show was fun and a lot of talents were shared! (obviously) my personal favorite was when aly and christina performed the contributions that american music has offered to the world. hahahahah soooo funny! especially here in vienna where there is such a rich musical history. after the talent show they had a dance.

awkward.

no but really, it was fun! kind of. i didn't dance or anything but i met a lot of cool people! everyone is really good at dancing here (like ballroom dancing) so if you don't have a partner, basically you're out of luck. and i didn't have a partner.

awkward.

this is me dancing alone.

and now you see where the assumption "awkward" derives from.

breaking it down, throwing up our gangster signs, looking all thug because we are so cool.

so... i turned into a wall flower! what's wrong with that? no but really, it was ok! around 11 i decided i should probably head home so i didn't miss my bus and had to walk thirty minutes to my house. and this is the first time i got lost in vienna! it was kind of scary because it's night time and that just always makes everything scarier. i went to my usual bus stop and saw that no buses came after 11. but i figured there had to be an u-bahn station somewhere so i started wandering the streets with no sense of direction whatsoever. then i found another bus stop with my same bus and it said it should be here in like 5 minutes. well, the bus pulled up and it realized it wasn't mine, but i had overheard another girl talking about this bus and that it took you to an u-bahn station. so, i got on not knowing where the heck it was taking me. we reached the last stop and i got off. i basically just followed the crowd into this building for the night trains, hoping i would find some clue as to where i was! i was kind of starting to panic at this point because it was almost midnight when i saw the sign for the U2 line! sing praises! i made it home safe and sound and i have never been more grateful. i'm really looking forward to tomorrow, but mostly for the sleep i'm about to get. 

guten nacht :)

this is me holding up my favorite viennese cookie. mm mm mmmmmmmmmmmm