Complications.

When trying to upload my pictures yesterday to John's computer, the card reader failed. So I have a backlog of pictures to edit now that I got a new card reader, and I'm using a new computer that I don't know how to use, so I can't edit my photos because I don't have Photoshop on it! John is at a bar watching a soccer game, and as I was getting ready to meet him and some of the students, he texted to say it was standing room only. I am not interested in standing for 2.5 hours for a soccer game, so I opted to stay in, but unfortunately, I can't do the laundry because he's wearing what will need to be laundered (bars are smoky here), and I can't edit my photos. So....I suppose I could go down to the bar and drink in the hostel. That's not a bad idea.

So far, the students seem to be having a great time. All the girls are together in one room, which I think has helped avoid any alliances being made. They all seem very friendly and accepting of one another. I think this will change with time. The guys also seem to have gelled rather well, though there is one who is a bit shy and doesn't always hang out with the frat boys. It is funny to see that during the day, the girls will stick to each other and the guys will stick to each other, which isn't something we had last year because we had so many girls and so few guys (9 to 2).

The weather has also been really sucking. It was supposed to be sunny tomorrow, but guess what? More rain. We finally took them to the center of the city today, realizing if we waited for the weather to cooperate, they'd never get to see it. We went to St. Stephen's Cathedral and looked inside, and then we went to the Jesuit church with all its marble and gold. I toyed with the idea of coming back and going into the catacombs where 10,000 plague victims are buried, but we ran out of time. While we were at the Jesuit church, the organ started playing Mozart. It was pretty cool. After the churches, we went to the Belvedere, which is an art museum now that was once a palace given to Prince Eugene for defeating the Turks, and I think it might have been his summer home. It is home to "The Kiss", an original work of art by Gustav Klimt.

After that, we headed to the Naschmarkt, which is an outdoor market. If you want something, chances are good you can find it here. They have fresh fruit, stuffed olives, Indian food, burek, cheese, spices, pastries, all sorts of things. We met one of John's former students there who has been in Vienna the past 9 months as an au pair.

Then it was back to the hostel for some dinner, and then the soccer game. I put in a load of laundry which was done quicker than I thought. This place always seems to be a bit busy, especially during the evenings. I can hear the music downstairs now, and I was surprised at all the people who were down there while I was going to get the laundry. I see most people in passing. We leave at 8:30 in the morning and don't come back until 5 or 6.

I've been a bit more careful about my food choices than last year. I tend to have a lighter breakfast, try to skip lunch and just have a roll, and then have dinner and some dessert, and not usually in that order. I still have not had my kasekreiner yet, which is kinda like a kielbasa with cheese put into a bun that has a hole in it instead of looking like a hot dog bun. It's ingenious, really. Everyone else has had them and loved them, so they liked my recommendation! But it just hasn't worked out yet for me to have one. Good thing that we will be heading to Graz, which also has some. I also try to make sure I get my 10,000 steps in, and the past two days, I've gotten up to 20,000! While I'm not really working my heart, I feel good that some of the calories I'm eating are being expended.

Tomorrow we are heading to the military history museum and the city museum. Shops are all closed except the grocery store at the train station, so I imagine we'll be home a bit earlier. I think a lot of the kids are going to want to do laundry, which will have to be staggered because there are only 3 washing machines at the hostel. I have already managed to lose one sock of John's. Maybe someone else will find it and put it out for me!

One thing that didn't happen last year that almost happened this year was someone tried to take my wallet from my purse. It was a normal-looking lady who walked up through the crowd, and as I was getting onto the subway, she put her hand on my zipper. That's when John caught her eye and wagged his finger at her, saying, "Nuh uh uh," and she stammered and said something like, "I didn't do anything," and walked to the other end of the car. I'm normally pretty careful, so I'm pretty miffed that I didn't really notice. My purse was under my arm, but the zipper was behind me instead of in front where it normally is. The good thing is that my camera was on top of my wallet, so she wouldn't have gotten anything, but man, pickpockets are sneaky. I've decided to go for overkill and put a luggage zipper around my purse while we're out, and I'm also practicing my evil eye and turning every which way so I look completely paranoid. Luckily, since it's been raining the whole time, I've been wearing my rain coat, which has inside pockets for my phone. I was lucky that John saw her get near us and kept his eye on her, even while he was talking to the students. This is an instance where I wish I was taller so I could scan better. So lesson learned: watch everyone, try to keep space around your body, and keep your fingers on your zipper when you're in close quarters with strangers.