I think now that I have consistent internet access, I might fall back into the habit of writing a new journal once a week.

So, Vienna. I love it, but I don't feel as at home here as I did in Marburg and Berlin. By the time we left Berlin, I knew my way around that city. I new where all of the cool places to hang out were, the best places to eat, etc. I really felt like I belonged there. The same goes for Marburg. I'm sure I'll become for familiar and comfortable in Vienna within the next month.

I don't mean to make it sound as though I'm unhappy. Quite the contrary, I'm having a blast. On Tuesday I went to a Wing Chun kung fu class with Sean. Oh my gawd was that fun! My pecs and leg muscles were sore for days! I joined a gym and have started working out regularly. It's getting a bit too cold to go jogging outside like I did in Berlin and Marburg.

On Thursday I saw a very disquiting play. It was really good, but it was disturbing. The main idea is the narator has three separate personalities: a priest, a writer, and a transvestite. Three actors stand at the front of the stage in their underwear, and they argue about who has the most difficult life, and sharing tragic stories about how they became who they are. The entire time, a woman sits in the background pealing potatoes, never speaking, never even looking at the commotion between the three main characters. She represents the narator's mother, who was very passive. At the climax the stereo on stage blasts white noise being played over the sounds of electrodes being fired. The three characters writh, twitch, and scream in agony. It is implied that the narator is undergoing electro shock therapy. At the end, the stereo plays the sound of a small child crying. The transvestite and the writer rock back and forth whimpering, "Mama," while the priest lies silent on the ground, arms outstreched like a crucifix.

We went to a cafe afterwards to discuss it. We all had very interesting things to say. This past Friday was the 13th. It was good day, as I expected it would be. We cooked dinner at our professor's house. We did the same thing last Friday night. I hope it becomes a weekly tradition. I'm beginning to like our little symposiums. I had a very interesting conversation with one of the other group memebers about Russian authors and composers.

Yesterday we toured a vineyard and went hiking in the foothills of the Alps. We had dinner at a local restaurant which makes its own wine. The food was great, and the wine was better.

One more thing. I'm not one for the band Superchic[k] anymore (I went through a pop-punk phase in junior high), but I took a listen to one of their songs, and I actually still like it.

You hate men, that's what you say, and I understand how you feel that way.
All girls dream of a fairy tale, but what you got's like a used car salesman
Trying to conceal what's wrong behind a smile and a song.
And I'm not saying that boys are not like that,
But I think you should know that some of us will grow, because
All princes start as frogs, and all gentlemen as dogs.
Just wait 'til it's plain to see what we're growing up to be.
'Cause some frogs will still stay frogs,
And some dogs will still be dogs.
Some boys can become men,
Just don't kiss us 'til then.

More young girls should listen to this song, I think. Anyway, between Julian Lennon, Crazy Town, Dirty Vegas, and Superchic[k], I've discovered that only half of the songs from my younger days are actually as good as I remember. Now my only question is why have I been listening to so much nostalgic music lately?