I have a bit of time between orientation meetings to fill everyone in a bit more about my arrival to Austria. So far I don't think I forgot anything...besides the tickets to Austria!! Yes, I forgot them, but thanks to various heros my DAD, Yolanda, Tanya, my mom, and the Schaff family (my neighbors) I got on my plane on time : ) On the flight to DC I sat next to a beautiful old woman who was on her way to South Africa, where she was born and raised her family. She now lives in Denver with her daughter and was on her way to visit with two of her children still in South Africa. In DC I met up with other students from my University en route to Austria. On that flight I sat next to a Bosnian man (between 50 - 60 years old) who was visiting his two daughters in the states. He used to work as a truck driver in the US, moving between US and Bosnia. In Bosnia he is a chef and invited me to his restaurant!! "I take you to eat, you like calamari? Well, you try it, you try it! In America you have 15 items on menu, but me, I have 1000 of recipes for this one piece of meat. In America, you work and sleep. Me, I work, I work hard 14 hours a day, then I eat, go out to restaurant, with friends, we have beer you know, and smoke." That is just a taste of my conversation : ) He is not far from Medjugore so who knows, with the right circumstances it may happen. On the plane I saw about 400 pictures of his family, that was all his carry on was, those pictures. The flight was 7.5 hours long, not like the 14 or 17 I had imagined. I was awake for a long time though and slept like a rock that night. Our dorm used to be an old Carthusian monastary with very holy men. At some point, when renovations were done there were various incorruptible bodies found buried here so i.e. SAINTS!!! The silence is an amazing thing, when you are alone outside you don't hear anything else no highway noise, city noise, or lights. I've got to run off to lunch at the Menso, but I send much love : ) Monica