Fun-Filled Weekend

Hello!!

This past weekend sure was an eventful one!

This past weekend, there was a small circus in our village.  I went with my youngest host brother and host mother.  It was small, but it was still pretty cool and very fun to watch!  The circus is put together by a family of 5 who all take part in and run the circus.

Saturday, I went to Klosterneuburg with a few other exchange students and some others from STS for Leopoldi Fest!  We checked out the church, slid down a really big barrel, and enjoyed the festivities.  The barrel that we slid down used to hold 1000 liters of wine.  You slide down the barrel and make a wish that will eventually come true.  

The whole event was set up like a carnival or fair with food stands, games, and rides.  The other exchange students and I walked around and enjoyed some of the food and rides!

On Sunday, I became a legal adult!  I am now 18!

 My birthday was this past Sunday and my host family really made it a good and memorable one.  We had cake for breakfast and I got some wonderful gifts from my host family (including a little Austrian dessert cookbook (; )! 

For lunch, we ate at the Donau Tower, which is a tower in Vienna with a restaurant at the top and it slowly spins to give you a 360º view of the city.  It was so amazing and the food was fantastic! 

From there, we went into the center of Vienna and took a horse carriage ride around!  Very cute and very fun!  I saw some things that I hadn't seen before and enjoyed just seeing the city in a cute little horse carriage!

Afterward, we got some desserts at a little cafe then went to check out the Christmas markets that had just opened! 

The markets are basically a bunch of little shacks lined up in rows.  They are each filled with lots of different Christmas knick-knacks.

Overall, it was an amazing day!  I am so thankful for such an amazing host family!!!

My school peers seem to notice the improvement in both my and the other exchange student's German.  Things are kind of starting to fall into place as far as understanding the language.  Both my peers and my host family have been a huge help.  In my room, I have a bunch of German words and their English translations.  Sometimes, I'll try to pronounce them or use them in a basic sentence and my host brothers correct me if I'm wrong or tell me if I'm right.  It is so cute and very helpful (:

Well, that's all I have for this week!

Thanks for reading!!