I've only been here a week and a half?!

It's hard to believe that only a week ago Thursday I was stepping off my plane into Graz. It feels like it's been ages already! I'm really loving Graz and Austria (and Europe). The lifestyle here is very different from back at home and it's interesting to be living in a city rather than a suburb for the first time in my life. The people, food, traditions and culture (and language) are all very different here as well but I am enjoying exploring and getting used to them. My German is OK at this point but I've learned a lot in only a weeks time.

Since my last post, I've gotten a lot closer to the friends I've made here and the group just keeps growing. Most of the group consists of international students from the German class and it's been really fun getting to know all these people from around the world.

After my first week of German class, we had Friday off and I was invited to a Pakistani food festival in a park in Graz to celebrate Eid, the end of Ramadan. A group of us headed over to the park to meet with our Pakistani friend Rasha and enjoy some of the classic Pakistani food. To those who haven't tried it, the food is comparable to Indian food and I thought that it was very good. 

Pakistani Food Festival

The food was GOOD

The lovely Rasha and I

Afterwards, the whole group hiked up to the top of the Schlossberg again. The amazing view of the city certainly never gets old and it was even more fun this time going up with a whole big group.

The group grows...

Up we go

Chillin' with Dawid at the top

A fun group of people...

                             

Afterwards, some of us decided to head over to my Swedish friend Dawid's (prounounced David) to have a few drinks before heading out to a club. I met a few new faces and tried some of the cheap European alcohol.  It was terrible. But the people and club were fun so I ended up having a great time still. 

If you get the chance, don't try this stuff

Everyone hanging out before the club

Meeting some new people

My first European club!

All in all, it's been another great week and weekend here in Graz. I've met plenty of cool people and have actually made some pretty good friends already. I'm excited to see what else comes my way and if it's anything like the first week here, Europe will be amazing.

Thanks for checking in. Until next time...

-Eric