What a Wonderful Life!

This week at Tauernhof has been quite the whirlwind! On Monday we had a lot of orientation, and a group of us students took a walk up to a waterfall and a small village at the top of the hill. It was absolutely gorgeous and I was able to capture a couple of pictures!

View of the Alps from the small village

View of Schladming...my home!

Starting on Tuesday we had our first lecture. We were taught by Eis (pronounced Ice) from Holland. He is quite engaging and I have enjoyed learning from him. We have been studying the book of John, and through that the topics that have stood out to me most are the idea of being second and keeping faith in my heart instead of letting it go to my head. I have really enjoyed these lectures with Eis, and I am lucky becuase he is coming back next week! We also learned this week about outreach groups. For this, we split up into groups and go out into the Schladming community and share the good news. There were many different options to choose from, but I ended up choosing the group that will go to the hospital and sing to the patients. I'm not sure what prompted me to join the singing group, but I suppose we will see how it goes!

On Wednesday we had afternoon sports, so I went with a small group of Tuaenhof students to the local pitch. There were a few local kids there so we asked if they wanted to play with us and, of course, they did! So Julia (pronounced Yulia) was on my team. She was a darling little seven-year-old who spoke only German. I wish that I had been able to communicate with her, but it was good motivation to learn a bit of German for the future.

Today was my first Saturday outing! A group of us went on a hike to the Giglachee Hütte and then ended up summitting a 2500 meter mountain in the Alps called Steirische Kalkspitze! It was absolutely wonderful. In Austria, there are many hüttes that are located all around the Alps. Here, you can stop and have some delicious homemade food and drink, and have a nice break with a gorgeous view. We stopped on the way down the mountain and enjoyed Kaiserschmarrn, a DELICIOUS dessert that is kind of pancakes with powdered sugar and applesauce on top. It's so good, and it was even better after I climbed to the top of the mountain. I noticed that hiking in Austria is a bit different than hiking in the states. There are absolutely no switchbacks...you just walk straight up the mountain. The air is also much thinner and I was panting the whole way up! (It's not because I'm out of shape or anything...) But it was absolutely amazing to see God's handywork in another half of the world. It was one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. The mountains went on and on and on, with rolling green hills and steep rocky peaks with snow still on them, it was incredible.

This is the view from the top of the mountian. It looked like this from every direction...So. Incredible.

At the top of every mountain in the Alps, there is a cross!

I have been having the time of my life, and it has only been a week! I am so thankful for this opportunity!

Here are a few more interesting facts I have learned about Austria:

-The size of the computer paper is just a tad different.

-Women wear their engagement ring on the left hand, and then both men and women wear wedding rings on their right hand.

-The bells in the church steeple will go off at any time and for any length of time.

-All doorknobs are difficult to open, and none of them are the same!

Missing you all! I am so excited to have more adventures to report!

What a Journey

On Saturday morning I woke up at 5:00 am and headed to the airport. After waiting in lines to get my ticket and security, I headed to my gate only to learn that the plane's battery had died causing the flight to be delayed six hours. And so, I joined the long line of people waiting to talk to the agents and three hours later had a different flight to Salzburg. The only problem: this flight would leave seven hours after my original flight left....and it ended up being delayed for an hour! But, after spending ten hours in the Boise airport, I finally started my adventure.

Everything went smoothly from this point on. I made it to San Francisco, enjoyed some sourdough bread, and then boarded my 11 hour flight to Frankfort. Once in Frankfort I was bused from the airport out to my plane (which was sitting in the middle of a big plane parking lot) and then took off to Salzburg. This was one of the most beautiful flights I had ever been on. The Alps were so prominent against the bright blue sky and the rolling hills were bright green. Every house I saw was a different color...it was SO GORGEOUS!!

When I arrived in Salzburg I found bus #2 (pointed out by a taxi driver who only spoke a little English) but I hopped on it none the less and hoped it was the right bus. It was! and I ended up at the train station, where I found an English kiosk and bought a train ticket to Schladming. I, again, hoped it was the right one since I have never bought a train ticket before. But everything worked out great and I ended up in Schladming at 10:00 pm on Sunday night. Two VERY full days of traveling later.

I was picked up at the train station by a Tauernhof staff who led me to my room. I have two wonderful roommates, Tianna and Rebecca. Tianna is from Canada and full of laughter and thinks everything is "so cute!" Rebecca is from Denmark and is the expert on Tauernhof, as she has been here before. Both are absolutely wonderful people!

In fact, it's only been a day and I love everything about this school. Everyone is very friendly, you can hike just twenty minutes and see a gorgeous waterfall, and the food is wonderful! We haven't started classes yet, but we will tonight and I am looking forward to it. There are 79 students here this fall, and the ages range from 17 to 76! There are just so many people to meet and stories to hear about where they are from and how they ended up at Tauernhof. It's been a blast.

There are a few differences about Austria that I have already noticed. One, everyone here smokes cigarettes and drinks red bull. Together. That is THE THING to do. Also, there is no such thing as organization when it comes to building a city. There are houses just randomly built on the hillside. It's fun! but it also makes finding my way around a little more challenging. Another thing, the y and the z keys on a German keyboard are switched, and it makes typing quite challenging!

I look forward to learning even more about Austria and all the other cultures that I get to interact with here at Tauernhof! And I am missing you all!

Raindrops on Roses

...whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens, brown paper packages tied up with strings...these are a few of my favorite things!

Austria. 

Home of the Sound of Music, arguably one of the best musicals ever produced.

Famous for wiener schnitzel, cuckoo clocks, and Mozart.

Centrally located in Europe.

And of course, home of the International Bible School that I will be attending this fall...Tauernhof!

This fall I will be studying abroad in Schladming, Austria. Located in the Austrian Alps, Schladming is apparently the home of all Austrian Olympic skiers and my school lies directly at the base of the biggest ski resort. All I can say is...I better learn how to ski quickly! 

Other than skiing, this semester I will be living with 80 or so students that have come from all around the world. Each week we study a different topic (i.e. Genesis or Hinduism and Christianity) which is led by a different professor. These professors will be traveling from all around the world as well to offer their own perspective on Christianity.

Although the 20 hour journey to Schladming looks daunting, I am excited to finally start this new chapter in my life. So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodnight!

And just for the record, brown paper packages tied up with strings are definitely some of my favorite things. (I also enjoy letters!) 

Emily Miller

Tauernhof

Coburgstrasse 50

A-8970 Schladming

Austria