We had a matura ball last night (haha, whats new!) and i got home at about 3:30.My host mother and i were leaving in the morning on the same train, me to the language course and her to university in Innsbruck. But if you think that was bad, i have nothing on my host family. I left with some girls who lived close, Max soon waltzed in at 5:00 (yes we are talking morning here!) and to top that off my host parents came in at 6:30! I was woken by them when they came in and the gently said to me 'dont forget the train leaves at 9:30', i rolled over and just as gently replied, 'dont forget - you're coming with me!' haha!
Anyway, i got up the next morning and had brekky by myself, 8:45 rolled around, and no host family, 'thats ok' i said to myself, they'll be here. 9:00 came and i thought, 'yeah the drive to the station isn't that long'. When 9:15 came i said 'right, we have a problem here'. However, just at that moment, Ulrike and her daughter (my host sister Anna Teresa) bundled down the stairs and asked me if i was ready. Haha! But in the end we only caught the train, we litterally jumped on board after they had blown the whistle, however, we made it!
The ride was fantastic. It took us through Styria (our province) and then to the bottom of Northern Austria (the next province to the north). The journey to my stop took about 5 hours and i had a lot of time to read, talk, and watch all the scenery pass by. It was like a postcard the whole way, it was absolutely awesome! Every bend gave way to a new picture, which was just as pristine and unspoilt as the last. It was also really interesting to watch how the different mountains and landscapes affected the weather in different parts. There were parts we passed through that had very steep mountain ranges and cliffs and the snow there was so much more bunched and thick. When we went through open plains the snow was very flat and light. It was a really interesting thing to observe, i think mainly because i know nothing about the way snow falls and packs on the ground, but in the end the trip went so quickly. We chatted about everything, it was really good to have a good chat. I had the ominous feeling, however, that this would be one of the last good chats i would have in english for a while!!!
I arrived at the station at Alm�nster later that day and was greeted by Maggie, an American and Doris, my district counseller. They will be our teachers for the two weeks, they seem really and helpful, so i will tell you how everyone else in the camp is in the next entry.
Paz