Studying, Sunday September 7th 

Kristel and I really have a lot to do, especially for the Spanish class of Dr. Cohen. We also want to drop a course, which is very interesting but way too much work. Kristel and I had to figure that out.

Regarding classes; I think Kristel already told you about our sweet Spanish professor. He origianlly comes from Argentina and is just awesome and cute, a hottie! Nearly all the girls in our class think that. He also asked Kristel and I if we wanted to work for the Rider Radiostation where we have to play some Austrian music, interview some people on what they think of Austria (not: Australia) etc. I think that’s a great oppotunity that we shouldn’t miss out.

 

SHOPPING MALL Saturday, September 6th

What a girl wants- what a girl needs, Shoes!! Although it was pouring down, as a consequence of the hurricane on the East coast, we decided to go shopping. When we Arrived at the shopping mall „Quakerbridge Mall“, we were wet from head to toe. Never mind, Kristel, Kirsten, Gerlinde, Behnam (the only guy who had to deal with girl’s shopping fever) and I started to take over the shops and stores like Macy’s, GAP etc. After having finally found  a pair of shoes- super fabulous black high heels, we decided that it was time to spend our money on something really necessary; a cellphone! Now we have one!

After some  hours in the shopping mall we went to a liquor store to buy some booze. Well, it was not as easy as we thought it would be, but in the end the Autrian-Americans won- Kristel got a bottle of vodka.

Back home, we had a little party- just the overage people which was fun!

BBQ-Barbecue and a peaceful night, Friday September 5th

In the afternoon we, the international students were invited to a Barbecue to get to know each other better and also to get to know some professors. Eating again! There were also two students from Princeton University, who want to study in Graz, Austria for one term. So, especially Kristel and I, „the troublemakers“ as we are called, taught them some very important expressions and words they need to know in order to survive in Graz. J

In the evening, we dressed up and were ready to party, we acutally wanted to go to a frat’s toga party, but unfortunately we couldn’t go there. Whatev’s! Anyway, my roomie and I decided to watch movies and talk to some guys who were glancing through our windows.

 

 

 Rider PUB- 18 to Enter, 21 to Drink Thursday, September 4th

Well, nothing really special was going on. I just went to my classes and that’s it. We got to know some other girls ; Jessica, she also takes German classes, Lindsay „the Bitch“ and Mahdi, a pakastani girl whose father is a wealthy businessman. He has an appartment in Dubai, and Kristel and me I were already invited to visit her. J She has her own servants back home, and even in the US she has a sugardaddy who buys her cigarettes, washes her car etc.

In the afternoon a fest took place on Rider campus, the Cranberry fest, where the whole Rider Community was on its feet. There  were games, where you could win a Rider T-shirt. Yeah, got one!!! J Again, a buffet to fill your stomach, and music.

Well, in the evening we went to the Rider PUB. Finally , going out. Kristel and I were especially excited about that. So we dressed up and got ready to shake our booties J before that we were invited to a „dorm – party“ (no names) to do pre-gaming in order to have a very good time at the pub. So after a bottle of vodka (5 liters), and a few shots we stumbled towards the pub. It was the highheels, what else?

PARTY PARTY PARTY! We had a blast there, shakin our booties, meeting new people and just having a good time. As Kristel wrote in her blog, it was actually the first time that Kristel and I went out-really went out!!! So, for those who know me, and for those who know both of us, you can imagine that the party rocked!! The next day I was a little bit „hung over(ed)“, but who cares. Awesome night, or how the Americans would say „Geil“.

CLASSES START Wednesday, September 3rd

OMFG- the system is sooooooo different from the Austrian one. First the classes are really small just 15 to 20 people, even in the Business classes. At the end of the class they just say good bye, they don’t rap their knuckles on the table as we do. another thing, the books. Wow, the americans spend a fortune on books. For one class, you need at least one book which is about $100-200 Dollars (they take four to five courses).next thing- online excercises. Most of our excercises, especially homework we have to do online. To access these excercises we have to get an extra code, which is again about $50 Dollars. That really sucks! Although the classes haven’t really started yet, we have a lot of homework to do. reading, reading, reading, vocab, vocab etc. but we are in the States, who cares!

Oh,not to be forgotten, Daily’s. It’s the dinning hall of Rider University, where they serve many kinds of different food, they have whatever you want. You have access to the dining hall almost the entire day. Eating, eating, eating!

BELMAR-BEACH Sunday, August 31st

After this exhausting day(s), we decided to relax a little bit. Yep, as the sun was shining and the birds were singing, we thought it to be a good oportunity to go to the beach. Belmar was our goal, which is approximately 45 minutes from Lawrenceville. The „Austrian (except for Kristel, she was in Tennessee) gang“, the two Frenchies and our American friends Julie, Julie, Rachel, Amander, Elizabeth, Cynthia, Monique and Katie headed for the beach. FUN! The beach was beautiful, the sun was shining and we were having a blast. Relax, relax!

 

The next few days we were just relaxing, watching movies like „Borat“ and „Superbad“. We just wanted to relax before the classes started.

NEW YORK CITY – Saturday, August 30th

Trip to New York with Linda Materna, the chairperson of the foreign language department, Barry, a prof of politics and Harry Naar, a prof for arts. We were all – the Austrians and the Frenchies, kind of tired, because we had stayed up very late, and some of us didn’t feel well- the reason, well I don’t know the reason. Anyway, we went to New York City. First we enjoyed the portraits or art in the Metropolitan Museum or „Metro“, where Harry guided us through. Then we walked down 5th Ave, passed the Central Park, the Rockerfeller Center, Madison Square Garden, the Trump Tower and the Times Square. What to say? AWESOME. Unfortunately, we ran out of time so we couldn’t see everthing. But at least we got some impressions of the „Big Apple“.

After the entire day walking around, we were pretty exhausted. I could hardly keep my eyes open. Back home, in our dorms almost starving, we were served pizza- again. After chatting with some people, I finally went to bed.

Friday Night

What is there to do on campus? Well, we, the 22-year olds and over decided to party a little bit. It started quite funny, with (drinking) games and so and so forth. Finally we ended up with a warning from the RAs, the Resident Advisors. More details back home.

RIDER CAMPUS – Orientation days start, August 28th- August 30th

For three days (from Thursday till Saturday) we had orientation days, where we were informed about all the safety instructions on campus (we’ve got our own public safety officers here J, unfortunately they are not cute at all), about where to go when problems arise or when we’re ill. We also have an indoor swimming pool on campus, which will open its doors on the 29th of September. We can’t wait!

Oh, not to forget the rules they mentioned , which we MUST follow when staying on campus. I just want to mention two out of the paper „Alcohol policy“

Smoking is only allowed outside the buildings.When smoking, you must stand at least 10 feet away from the building.

No alcohol for underage people (Which means for people under 21). If you are 21 and over and you stay with someone in a room who is underage, you are not allowed to have/consume alcoholic beverages in your room or another’s room.

And we were told to „drink with responsibility“ and „to represent our countries“! OK ;-)

Changing the topic now, I want to tell you that I, we also have „buddies“ or „mentors“, who should be our friends now. No, just kidding. I have got a really nice, friendly,  awesome mentor. Her name is Julie and her majors are Psychology and education.  Of course we get along very well and I hope to spend a lot of time with her in the near future.

 

Another thing at Rider, which is pretty well organized are the „Off-Campus Trips“. Kristel, Gerlinde, Jasmin etc. already signed up for a „Sex and the City Bus Tour“, a trip to Princeton Campus, a trip to a Baseball match etc. And that’s all for free. I’m really curious about the trips!

 

Yesterday I was invited to Kirsten’s aunts house- eating. But it tasted delicious! Her family (until now I just know her mum, her aunt Barb, her uncle Dave and her sister Shannon) is so kind. They are just awesome, like the American people in general, whom I’ve met so far. They are putting a lot of effort into  getting to know us, our culture and our customs. AMERICANS- go for it!

 

USA – ARRIVAL. Austrians take over Rider University J, August 27th

After a 3 1/2 hour ride to Linz, crying my eyes out, and waving goodbye to my boyfriend and cousin , we were on our way to Munich- another 2 hour trip. When we finally arrived at the airport in Munich, Kristel was crying her eyes out. At the airport we met Behnam, another Austrian exchange student. Get on the plane!

While waiting anxiously, anticipating getting on the plane in Paris, and heading for Newark, New Jersey, I was stopped after the check-in  by a security guard. Of course they have to stop me because I defintely look like a suspect. She-unfortunately it was female security guard- did a full body search, Whatever!

Finally on the plane, we watched movies, such as „What happens in Las Vegas“ or „Kung-Fu-Panda“, but most of the time I was sleeping in a very uncomfortable position. After a 9 hour flight we finally touched American soil. Yippie! The security checks were much easier to get through than in Paris- I didn’t have any problems at all (they were just taking our finger prints and a picture). What a surprise! After our arrival we had to wait for the two „Frenchies“ Thibeaut and Benoit, who are exchange students from France (well guess what, they actually speak French) and they are staying for only one term. These guys are just awesome (When reading my blog you’ll find out that I use this word very often) and we got along very well from the very first moment. Finally Amjad (or as we prefer to call him „one-shot“), a Rider staff member picked us up at the airport and took us to our „beautiful, overwhelming and awe-inspiring Rider University campus“. On campus Ervin, another Austrian exchange student, who is originally from Slovenia, was already longing for us.

Totally SHOCKED! We entered our rooms in Gee Hall (A 103, probably the most known room number right now) and... there was just NOTHING. Actually the rooms solely consisted of two beds, two desks, two bookshelves, two dresser and something looking similar to a closet. Just plain!

After having experienced the way of accommodation on campus, we were invited to a Pizza Party. Pizza –What else? There we got to know some other Rider staff members besides Amjad. We also did a little „sightseeing tour“ around the campus- every building actually looks exactly the same, but at least there is beautiful lake.

Afterwards I finally met my awesome roommate, Kirsten. We met and we clicked together immediately. I’m really happy to know her, because she is as open-minded, crazy and fabulous as I am J. Kirsten’s major is International Business and Marketing, her minors are French, Spanish and German. So we have, at least a few things in common regarding school. Well, she actually wants to spend two years in Europe, where she is going to study in France, Spain and AUSTRIA, Graz. All I can say for now is that I’m glad that SHE is my roommate.

So, as you can see when you read, I’m really fine and I’m doing great!