Put Another Shrimp on the Barbie

Dear Blogging world,

Sorry I haven’t been blogging since I arrived in Austria. This will be a long post, for sure.

The truth is this: coming here has been a lot harder than I imagined. I have been very homesick (mostly for Kameron, I think. Sorry everyone else.) I basically came here all by myself, so I felt very alone with very little contact to the world back in the States. Everyone around me was speaking German and it was easy to feel like there was nobody to relate to in this city.

So let’s start back to the first day.

I flew from Salt Lake to Chicago, Chicago to Frankfurt, and Frankfurt to Innsbruck. Loooooong flights. I tried to sleep on my longest flight to Frankfurt, but despite my greatest efforts, it didn't happen. Which would explain why I was (and still am) so jet lagged. I arrived in Innsbruck at around 10:00 am, and was picked up at the Airport by Andreas (our program director here). He is an extremely helpful guy. He helped me buy sheets. But then I was left on my own. I had no internet connection, no phone, no idea where I was, and no roommate yet. 

It. Was. Terrible. 

I have never felt more alone in my life. The internet was the one way I had planned on talking to people once I got here, including the senior missionary couple I had been in contact with. I had no way of telling my mom I was safe, no way of finding the church, and I didn't know what I was going to do about it. I walked all around the city looking for some place with a wireless connection, but no luck. Finally, I came back to my building and found a very nice girl that lives on the floor below me. She let me use her computer to email Kam and my mom, and then let me use her phone to call Elder Glover. So, prayer answered. From there I tried to sleep, but that was off and on. But I had made it through my first day. 

The next day was Sunday, and also General Conference. The Glovers offered to come pick me up and take me to the church. So, I got to watch the Saturday afternoon session and the Sunday morning session...in English! Woo! Conference is amazing. It was nice to be around people as well. The elders showed me that night where to buy a bus ticket, how to get back to the church and how to get to the University the next day. Again, prayer answered.

Monday was the absolute longest day. We (me and the other girl from USU, who has become a good friend now) had to get registered at the school, with city hall, sign contracts for housing, get an ID card, set up a bank account...everything. So we ran around town for most of the afternoon. There were a few issues with the bank account, but hopefully everything is worked out now. I went to FHE that night, and while most of it was in German, it was still nice to be around people and feel welcomed. 

Then yesterday was the best day. We did so much walking and exploring around the city. Marissa, the other girl from USU, had met a girl from Innsbruck on a website for writers. We met up with her in this awesome cafe called Triebhaus. She brought a friend and we talked with them for about 3 hours. They were very nice, offered to help us with anything, and their English was very good. After that, the Glovers took Marissa and I to buy phones, or as they call them here, Handys. We found a good deal, purchased them, and then the Glovers took us on a little tour around parts of Innsbruck. We ate dinner, (I had a Sandwich Kebap, which is hard to explain but also one of the most delicious things I've eaten) got some history lessons from Elder Glover, and then got some gelato. So overall, a very good day. 

School doesn't start until Tuesday next week, so we're trying to find things to do with our time before school starts. More exploring, most likely. I think we're going to wait to travel until we've gotten settled a little bit. It's a lot to take in. I'm getting less homesick, which is good. I still will have waves of it where I miss people and home incredibly much, but overall, I'm doing much better. And it will only get better from here. :)

I love you all, and bless your hearts if you made it through this whole post. It will probably be more of a journal for me than entertainment for you. I've posted pictures on Facebook, so check those out. For now I'll leave you with one or two of my favorites I've taken so far. :)