Little bit more

The first three weeks in Vienna went by VERY quickly, but a lot happened during that time.

Week 1:
After arriving in Vienna, we (the new staff and families) were given a crash course in how to survive in our new city.  Our amazing coordinator, Tricia Klein, walked us through things such as: how to order a sandwich, what ubahn (subway) to get on in order to go from home to school (and back again), how to register with the government, what should we expect at a grocery store, etc.  All the stuff we knew from home, yet had no idea how to accomplish it here.  In addition to all our new learning, we spent many hours doing my sister's favorite thing...shopping.  Needless to say, I DESPISE shopping and it took very bit of patience I had to keep from going insane during that time.  IKEA is a wonderful place to find new things, except when you are starting from scratch and everything is written in a totally different language.  I actually got to the point where I almost cried in the IKEA parking lot from pure frustration and overwhelmness.  Thankfully God sent me an angel in the form of Chad Elwell.  Chad was buddies with my friends Rebecca and Michael Johnstone, but whenever I went shopping he was always available to help me figure out what things said, where to find certain items, etc.  A BIG thanks goes out to Rebecca and Michael for allowing me to "borrow" their amazing buddy.  On a side note, my buddy, Nicki, is amazing as well and now a very good friend, but she had to teach summer school during our excursions, so I was buddiless during that time.

Week 2:
My second week in Vienna was mainly spent on setting up my apartment (with my new roommate Kristi-Anna who had arrived by this time), new teacher training, more shopping (sad times), and getting to know some of the returning staff.  It was great to be able to spend time bonding with those around me and really start to dive into the culture.  During this week we went on a tour of the city center (approx. 8 minute walk from my apt.).  It was amazing to see all the beautiful architecture and different cultures in this area.  My favorite site was St. Stephen's Cathederal.  Both the outside and inside were BEAUTIFUL.  I took a video of the inside that I will post shortly for all to enjoy.

Week 3:
The third week was the last week before school started.  Much of my time was spent in meetings, organizing and decorating my classroom, and planning for the upcoming school year.  Normally this task brings me great joy and anticipation, but this year I found it harder to accomplish.  Every single year of my teaching experience my family has always helped me get ready for the upcoming year.  From my mom cutting stuff out and helping put stuff away, to my sisters coming down to my classroom and helping in their own special way, to going shopping with my Grandma Romberger for new supplies, the beginning of a new teaching year has always been family fun time.  I didn't have that this year and I think it made it harder to be as exciting about getting ready.  Thankfully the saddness quickly left as soon as I started meeting my kids and getting to know them.

Week 4:
Week four brought about the start of school.  On Monday morning I was up early and nervous/excited to meet my new students.  (In the upcoming newsletter I've added a description of our class, so please be sure to check it out.)  The first three days were half days, so my students were done by 11:50am.  As a new ICSV teacher it was very nice to be able to have some down time after all the stress prior to school starting.  With God's help I was able to survive and succeed the first week of school!