I'm here!

Sorry about the brief post last night. I had no way of getting internet on my computer, so another student took me to campus to let me sign in on her account at a computer lab. I didn't want to take too long, so I just wrote something short. I have plenty of time to write now, though. Let's see, maybe I'll tell you about my trip here from Salzburg since I didn't get the chance to write that last night. My departure time from the main train station wasn't until noon, so I hung around the hostel in the computer room. I had to check out of my room by 10 am, so I had all of my stuff with me. I wrote more emails (who knew you could write so many emails in your free time?), and I watched some videos on youtube called Nooma by Rob Bell. You should check them out if you're ever bored. They aren't stupid videos like the ones you get in emails, at least I don't think they are stupid. I sat and watched videos, waited, drank coffee, ate rolls, and then finally took off from my hostel around 11:15. A miracle happened at the train station; I bought the right ticket. I boarded a little compartment in the second class part of the train, and a young Swiss mother with her little boy and an old Austrian lady joined me. The little boy was very entertaining. At one point, he and I shared chocolates with each other. I think that was the highlight of my day. The train ride from Salzburg to Klagenfurt was wonderful. I had no clue I would be going through so many mountains, but it was almost like the road going through the mountains in Colorado. I believe it's I-70? Every once in a while, a little village would show up, and most of them had mountain resorts. We went through forests and along rivers. It was a great ride. I got to Klagenfurt around 3:30, and an Austrian with an Irish-English accent greeted me. His name is Philipp, and he is sort of my guide for these first couple days. He studied in Ireland for a semester, so his English sounds Irish. It's weird. We went right to my dorm building, where I was put into a temporary room until today. After moving in, some of us foreigners were taken on a city tour by some local students. There's not much to see in this little town. It's the capital of the province of Carinthia, but that's not saying much. After the tour, I went out to get groceries because I'm on my own for food now. No more being fed 3 meals/day by the nice Germans. That's kind of sad because my own cooking is nothing compared to that of the castle. Oh well, I did it in Iowa. We got groceries and came home. I'm living in a student dorm. It's much bigger than the dorms I've been in. Each room has 2 beds, dressers, desks, bookcases, shower, sink, and toilet. Each floor has 2 kitchens. It's basically like an apartment building. The halls look like prison, though. Nothing is on the walls. I think I might have to put something up in order to instill some creativity in the residents. This morning was my first class. I'm enrolled in an intensive language course for the first 3 weeks I'm here, so my actual classes don't start until some time around March. The semesters are different than America. At 9, I went to the main student building where classes are held, and I took a placement test. I also had an interview, so the teachers could judge how much German I actually know. This afternoon, I was placed in a class with some students from Bulgaria, Italy, Serbia, Slovenia, Japan, Iran, and even one from Iowa. We talked only for a little bit about the class, and then we were dismissed. Now, I'm back in my new, permanent room with not much to do until 2:30. My roommate is from India. I don't know his name, but I know it sounds something like Avalanche. He doesn't really speak German, but maybe I can learn some Hindi from him. I have no plans for the rest of the day, but who knows what will happen. If something great does, I will let you know. Talk to you later.