Hoffest

Tonight was the Robertgasse Hoffest...a party in the courtyard for everyone who lives in our building. It was great! The best thing about it was that we spoke German the whole time. This class is really paying off, especially for me. Chris usually does pretty well, but tonight I felt victory!
We met an Austrian couple, Sabina and Hermann, who run a business that works with Austrian schools and sports. They wanted to know all the best places to visit in the U.S. We then talked with a Japanese woman, Junko, who has lived in Vienna for 20 years. She teaches piano at the Vienna Music University, and we gathered that she must be REALLY good. After that we met our Hungarian neighbor, Zita. She is pregnant and due in August. I found out she really likes to run and cook, just like me!
It was really good to be around lots of different people and feel like we really are living here. We're beginning to build relationships with people outside of V.C.S., and learn more about the community in Vienna. That's a really cool thing. I'm happy we decided to stay here most of our summer.
Sidenote: I had another conversation tonight with the Indian guy, Olikara, in my German class. He taught me how to make one of his favorite Indian recipes. I wrote it all down. I'm SO excited. He told me not to hold him responsible, though, if it doesn't work. Hehe:). And, I learned that curry is really a generic word in India, used to describe dishes made with Indian spices. Curry powder is just made up of a bunch of other Indian spices, like the ones I've been cooking with. So, I continue to learn new things each day. How fun!