Parades, late nights and chundering

It's been a busy week since I've gotten back from language camp so I'm sorry for the late post but it's here now! Won't post any photos for now since I'm leaving in 10 minutes! But just to update, I went back to school and it was good. The people in my class are much nicer now and I'm enjoying the 5 minute breaks in between my classes more now. Though during class I still either write my diary, try to learn some more German or read. Haha.

Last Friday though I went out with a Rotex Student in Bregenz, Linda who went to USA last year for her exchange! There was also Steffani, Tyler, Emily, Ross and a couple of her friends, such as Sophia, Matt (whose going on his exchange to America soon) and her boyfriend who I forgot his name. We went over to her house at first, at around 8 and then later went to a disco which was quite far away! I found it surprising how people just turn up casual to discos but dancing was fun though tiring. Apparently it's usual for teenagers, and I mean people younger than me, to go home late, so we didn't leave the disco until 12.30pm. But the train ride home took a while and plus the train was late by 4 minutes (which is a lot!) and hence we missed our bus. So instead of waiting in the cold for another 30 minutes we walked. Yes we walked back home in the dark. Haha! It wasn't so bad since there was 7 of us. But I got home pretty late. They all made sure that I was well on my way home and that I was safe so it was okay!

On Saturday though I spent the morning with Faschings! We went to go to a parade in Hard which was AMAZING FUN! So basically a lot of different Faschings group gather and make a parade. Simple right? Well there are about over 50 different faschings groups. So that means millions of people. And everyone's dressed up. I thought my costume wasn't pretty and didn't appreciate it that much until I saw some other people's ones. I didn't take photos because I stupidly forgot my camera but I've got more parades coming up so there's more chances to take some there. But there were mice men, cows, bumble bees, draculas and some other funky costumes. So these are faschings of different towns and since we're Bregenz's (the capital of the state Voralberg) it's pretty massive! We had our own float and metal slides in which there were MILLIONS of lollies and wafers which we throw out to the crowd during the parade. It was freezing cold but it was an awesome experience. So many children dressed up too which was adorable! It felt like Halloween which the creepy part to it. I took a break in the afternoon on Saturday to have dinner with my host grandparents and we had this delicious Voralberg traditional food which was kind of like macaroni with cheese only even better. It's hard to explain but she even made the noodles things herself! There was so much cheese in it so afterwards we had schnapps! Schnapps is like a shot of strong alcohol which some people take after eating strong food to help with the digestion. I didn't try it prior then and it didn't realise how strong it was! My host grandmother makes her own which made it hundred time stronger (that's to my opinion) and she adds different herbs to it so it soothes your throat and has medicinal value to it. I think my taste buds nearly had a heart attack from the intensity of the alcohol. Haha. But it was fun since they laughed at my expression. They have a really cool house with a fire and they also invited me to go to their daughter's wedding on the 10th of June however, I may not be able to go since that's the last day of my Euro tour! :( But she gave me a peek at the wedding dress which had the black wrapping around it and I wasn't allowed to see more than that or the shoes' box. Why? Because the daughter had bought her wedding dress and shoes from Prada. I kid you not. I was like hyperventilating when I found out. I wanted to take a picture but didn't want to look too much like a geek! Haha! Later that night I joined the Faschings team again...

and I'll continue on later since I must really go! So sorry for a late reply since I've been sick the past 2 days but I'll be back!

With love, from Austria

Vivian