Up until Karneval

Wow I can't believe the last post was way back for Royal Garden!  Weeks seem to fly by here, and the days are always ending before I finish everything I want to do!  I've been in Graz just over a month now, and I still haven't been up Schlossberg, the huge hill in the middle of the city, and a main tourist attraction.  There are several main attractions of Graz I still haven't seen.  I'll be sure to get around to them soon though, as it's getting sunnier, and I now own a bike!

It's a junior girls bike, and when I went to pick it up (for only 30 Euro!) from a very kind man, he laughed when I got on it.  "It's for you?"  Hahahaha... Yeah, it's just my size of course.  I've abandoned the bus for the all cheaper, healthier, and more convenient bike, and my butt is sore, not to mention my muscles.  I'm stoked to be getting into shape!  Between biking, yoga, soccer, and dancing my weekends away, I'm going to be able to run a marathon when I get back (except for all the indoor smoking lung damage I acquire on the weekends here)!  I haven't started Yoga or soccer yet, but soccer is on Thursday, so we'll see how that goes.  I'm pretty nervous, but I believe it will be indoor soccer for the first while, which I can never take to seriously anyways.  I'll take it easy this month, and hopefully when spring comes I'll be in good shape to give it my all.

With April on it's way, I've realized the students in Canada are preparing for exams and finishing up their classes soon.  I, however, am just beginning mine.  I'm really excited for them all, but I know once it starts getting warm out it's going to be hard to concentrate on studies!!
I've had a few classes so far.  Mondays are Marketing and Creative Writing.  I also attended British Culture, but I'm dropping that class.  One hour in that dry lecture and I came to the honest fact that there was no way I was passing the end exam, where all of the marks for that class would come from.  It's not that the content is dry, I just don't do lectures well..  I need some interaction.  Marketing and Creative Writing are seminar classes, which is much better.  Marketing is going to be challenging, but I'm so excited for the content, as I am connected to so many different businesses. I can't wait to have the knowledge to better my own business ambitions, as well as my loved ones'.  Creative Writing was a little slow, but I believe it will pick up, and if it doesn't, I'm sure the feed back on my papers will make the class worthwhile.  We will hand in six short stories, and at the end of the class the revised best three is our portfolio to be handed in for the marks.
Tuesday is Linguistics class, which I think I'm going to really enjoy.  I don't have much to say about it yet, as I've never had any exposure to linguistics before.  I really don't know what to expect in it.
Today I would be at German class, but it doesn't start until next week, and Thursdays is cultural theory... which I hope is interesting.  It could go either way though.  I have Fridays off, yay!

Yesterday was a full day.  It was Karneval here in Graz, which means a big parade, lots of food vendors, krapfen, and drunken costumed people everywhere.  The parade was okay, but it was totally packed, and I could barely see anything.  After it I got some krapfen with my friends, which is a powdered doughnut filled with apricot jelly only sold in the months until Karneval.  After that we drank a little on the streets(which is totally legal here!!) and observed the costumed folk.  I then came home, made a killer pasta from scratch, and jazzed myself up as the best fairy I could do with limited supplies.  I can't resist costume when the opportunity arises.  After watching some Fussball at a pub with my good friends Anna, Juan and Nikita, we all split and I ended up dancing the night away with my crazy Mexican friends.  They know how to party!  And how to dance of course.  I plan on leaving Graz with a good German vocabulary under my belt, and an even better knowledge of Salsa!  Hahaha...

I also went to Vienna sometime in between the last post and now, but I'm grumbling for lunch right now, so the details for that trip will come in another post.  Pictures on Facebook will come soon too!

I've been talking about home alot lately, it feels good to share how much I love my city and my friends and my family.  I love all three, and am so proud of them!  It's really exciting making international friends, I feel like my doors to travel are opening up, and I like being able to invite them to Canada.
My dad's birthday was in the end of February, and my sister had her art opening in the beginning of this month, and I'm so sad to have had to miss them both!  However, Skype is so amazing, and I was luckily able to visit with the whole fam and try to catch up a bit.  I'm still waiting on those pictures Keish, though I know they won't do the place justice.  Kimberly's gallery is so beautiful and unique, and seeing it filled with your amazing art must be so glorious!!  I envy everyone who gets to see it!!

Okay, lunch time!
<33 Nikki