week eight and nine.

two months down, eight more to go. the past two weeks, like all other weeks in austria, were filled with excitement, german, and new experiences. over the holloween weekend i went to a lovely afs party and met some new exchange students who are not from afs. this was particularly exciting because it was totally unexpected. the students are here with the rotary program and they are from austrialia and the united states. some of them have been here since january, and other since august. it was amazing to talk to people who have already been in austria for so long, it was almost like looking into the future a bit. aside from that, it's always nice to meet new people, especially those who share your country of origin. over the weekend the girlfriend of my host brother was in poland with her family, so babsi and i watched her flat for her. babsi stayed there three nights, but i only stayed one. the flat was very sweet and was a lot closer to the city center then leising, so it was easier to get places. it was a little creepy though, because it was just me and babsi alone on holloween. well me babsi, and the cat. her name is rocky and she is wonderfully soft and fluffy. we had a few scary moments, but babsi and i made it through the night just fine. on sunday we went climbing with her mom and a family friend. the place we went was unlike anywhere else i had been before. it was in the middle of a forest and all the trees were connected together with lines. between the trees were obstancles and you had to cross them in order to get to the platform on the other side. your connected to two steel cables so there is no way you can fall. but it's still a bit scary to be 60 feet in the air, balancing on a thin wooden plank. they had three or four different courses you could do, and babsi and i did them all. it was so much fun, and i really hope i get to go back there sometime, maybe in the summer. last week we only had three days of school, and it was nice to have a mini vacation. this week is a full one however, and i am slowly but surely getting back into the swing of things. school seems to be getting more routine but it's still not super exciting. i think i will really grow to like it once i can understand everything. i've been trying to speak german more and more, and i can feel myself improving. i hope to be very good by christmas, but i also don't want to put too much presure on myself. the language barrier is a big hurtle to jump, but i really hope i make it. this week i also started my college applications. i can already tell they are going to be a handful, but it's also excting. i am starting to think a lot about my college admissions essay and i am greatful to austria for giving me so many amazing things to write about. this experience has already changed my understanding of things in a profound way, and i think i have matured more in these paft few months then in the past six months, or maybe even year. it's truely an amazing feeling of progression and self assurance. i know if i can get through this, i can get through just about anything.