I dont think ive actually decribed the size of Graz. Its not a very big place. It has about 280,000 residents, but it is possible to ride around it in a day with a bike. That is a good thing, becuase as everyone knows, one of the rules of being away with Rotary is that i am not allowed to drive. That means that i have really gone everywhere on foot or with my bike.
I dont think i ever realised how much i relied on my car until i came and lived here. Even, for example, going to my german course every night. I had to add 40 minutes if i was to walk and 15 if i was to ride. Whereas its really only a 5 or 7 minute car ride. But its good, gets me outside, gets me doing stuff and my body working. Im really enjoying all the walking. My host family really doesnt pick me up from anywhere, which i dont really think is a bad thing, i catch public transport where i can and most of the time walk or ride my bike. It means that i am not reliant on them at all, and i can have the freedom of choice to go where i want and do what i want and all that. And its getting me fit, which i seriously needed!
Not that i was seriously unfit, its just that after the HSC i really didnt do anything, and i needed to get my body going once more! But one thing i havent mentioned that is also keeping me fit is my waterpolo training. I was talking to my sports teacher at school and he asked what i played in Australia, when i said waterpolo, he said that he had a friend who coached, and that i was really lucky because in Graz they have one of the only opens teams. That was great.
I went along the next week to a training and they said that they would put me in on a game and if i played alright then everything would be fine. It went really well and i made the team. Im playing for both the junior and the 1st grade team, which is good because it gets me more game time and training in the water. The junior team is a long way below the seniors, however, and its always a serious challenge when all us younger fellas hop in with the older guys, but its going fine, and when i get back from eurotour, we start the national comp, and our first game is only a few days following the tour. Should be great fun.
So i suppose today im a little bit boring, nothing much is happening. To tell the truth, the German is a little stagnant after the German course finished. But that is ok, im still reading the newspaper and watching the German tellie, so i suppose its just going a bit slower. I will make a big push on the eurotour, as im sure we will have heaps of time on the bus to learn vocab and grammar!!! haha cant wait!
Paz