You were always crazy like that.
So. New year, new country, new life. It's 2013 and I've moved to Vienna for a year for an internship at the IAEA, which by the way is a rocking place to work at. Wonderful colleagues, wonderful fellow interns, wonderful boss. He keeps telling me how lucky I am to be in this position, and believe me, I know. Thanks for giving me this opportunity.
So I decided to list my firsts since reaching here a little more than two weeks ago.
#1. First winter. Ever. With real snow. Not like the trip in 2009 where we took a Zug up to Gornergrat to play with snow for 15 minutes, but actually living in snow wow. Turns out it's ALSO the heaviest snowfall in Vienna in 15 years lucky us. Not. Bitterly cold, all the way down to -16 degrees Celsius but I bought a lovely down coat (for 90 Eur, marked down from 219 Eur!) and we managed through it (:
#2. First internship. Now I know that it doesn't seem like such a big deal, but I'm working directly under the Director of my department (which almost never happens, because people are supposed to work with Section Heads who then report to the Director, but for the first time, the Director is taking on his own project.) I'm also apparently the only intern working on the Fukushima project, which is a big big deal because I'm getting a ton more responsibility than interns normally get.
#3. First time touching a dog. And it was perfectly fine! He was not scary at all; in fact he was sweet and lovely and had the softest fur. My landlady finds it a bit strange that we are so afraid of dogs hahaha.
#4. First time trying on real fur. It was real. And it was mink. Woah. Awesome or what. Of course, with activists and all, noone can actually wear their fur out anymore, but it was soft and warm. And heavy. Poor people have been storing their fur for the last decade or so, not wanting to throw it away because it costs thousands of dollars, but being able to wear them.
#5. First Viennese coffeehouse experience, with Auntie Faridah (not M.) . One of the oldest, most distinguished coffeehouses, and you can sit there all day, with NOONE chasing you out no matter how long you're there. Of course, you may feel a bit bad because there's always a snaking queue, but hey it's your prerogative. Had Esterhazy cake, which is a tradition from an old Hungarian noble family. Very very rich cake haha.
#6. First google hangout with the girls from Tembusu! Sarah, Purnima and Devi (who is in Stuttgart)
#7. First FaceTime with Dex! Miss him so :( I wish that I'd get to see him sometime this year but highly unlikely.
#8. First Viennese tram ride from Westbahnhof to home! I know it's silly, but I had never been on a tram in Vienna before this. Seriously. Normally I take the U-Bahn everywhere. Which brings me to my next point...
#9. First U-Bahn ride on U2! For some reason, I had gone on every U-Bahn line except U2, and I finally took it to get to the Naked Men exhibition in the Leopoldmuseum. I really want to explore the city thoroughly this year, but I also want to take some time travelling around the region. So, I've decided that I can't buy new clothes or cosmetics, and I need to buy less food, so that I can travel more and soak in more of the cultural stuff (museums, opera, musicals, etc)
#10. Lastly, first time being away from home for so long. I know this shouldn't actually be in the list because I've only been away for about two weeks, but it's a whole year, and it's scary and exhilarating and lonely and liberating all at the same time. I've only got one shot, gotta make the most of it (:
So I decided to list my firsts since reaching here a little more than two weeks ago.
#1. First winter. Ever. With real snow. Not like the trip in 2009 where we took a Zug up to Gornergrat to play with snow for 15 minutes, but actually living in snow wow. Turns out it's ALSO the heaviest snowfall in Vienna in 15 years lucky us. Not. Bitterly cold, all the way down to -16 degrees Celsius but I bought a lovely down coat (for 90 Eur, marked down from 219 Eur!) and we managed through it (:
#2. First internship. Now I know that it doesn't seem like such a big deal, but I'm working directly under the Director of my department (which almost never happens, because people are supposed to work with Section Heads who then report to the Director, but for the first time, the Director is taking on his own project.) I'm also apparently the only intern working on the Fukushima project, which is a big big deal because I'm getting a ton more responsibility than interns normally get.
#3. First time touching a dog. And it was perfectly fine! He was not scary at all; in fact he was sweet and lovely and had the softest fur. My landlady finds it a bit strange that we are so afraid of dogs hahaha.
#4. First time trying on real fur. It was real. And it was mink. Woah. Awesome or what. Of course, with activists and all, noone can actually wear their fur out anymore, but it was soft and warm. And heavy. Poor people have been storing their fur for the last decade or so, not wanting to throw it away because it costs thousands of dollars, but being able to wear them.
#5. First Viennese coffeehouse experience, with Auntie Faridah (not M.) . One of the oldest, most distinguished coffeehouses, and you can sit there all day, with NOONE chasing you out no matter how long you're there. Of course, you may feel a bit bad because there's always a snaking queue, but hey it's your prerogative. Had Esterhazy cake, which is a tradition from an old Hungarian noble family. Very very rich cake haha.
#6. First google hangout with the girls from Tembusu! Sarah, Purnima and Devi (who is in Stuttgart)
#7. First FaceTime with Dex! Miss him so :( I wish that I'd get to see him sometime this year but highly unlikely.
#8. First Viennese tram ride from Westbahnhof to home! I know it's silly, but I had never been on a tram in Vienna before this. Seriously. Normally I take the U-Bahn everywhere. Which brings me to my next point...
#9. First U-Bahn ride on U2! For some reason, I had gone on every U-Bahn line except U2, and I finally took it to get to the Naked Men exhibition in the Leopoldmuseum. I really want to explore the city thoroughly this year, but I also want to take some time travelling around the region. So, I've decided that I can't buy new clothes or cosmetics, and I need to buy less food, so that I can travel more and soak in more of the cultural stuff (museums, opera, musicals, etc)
#10. Lastly, first time being away from home for so long. I know this shouldn't actually be in the list because I've only been away for about two weeks, but it's a whole year, and it's scary and exhilarating and lonely and liberating all at the same time. I've only got one shot, gotta make the most of it (: