One month in...

It is almost a month since I arrived here in Vienna with a van full of stuff and my cat. The last 4 weeks have flown by but other than getting the flat straight and sorting a few things out, I don't feel like I've achieved very much.

I've found that the culture change is bigger than I expected, particularly the language. I'd really hoped that a switch would just flick in my head and I'd pick things up really quickly, but, while I can formulate sentences in my head quite easily, actually speaking them out loud has proved more difficult than I feel it should. I can understand a fair amount of German when I am listening to others, but being able to speak it back... it is all a matter of shyness/nerves, but I'm struggling to get over that.

I must persevere though - I shouldn't be too hard on myself, and I still intend to keep to my self imposed deadline of 6 months to get a reasonable grasp of the language. I just need to figure out the best way to learn!

I'm also no closer to finding a job - I have applied for a few but because of the language thing I'm still very limited as to what I can apply for. Hopefully something will come of the applications I've already made, but in all honesty I haven't really looked that hard! I'm quite enjoying the time off at the moment.

One thing I am doing is broadening my skills. I've decided to take an online course in pattern drafting and sewing techniques, mainly just for me, because I have discovered an amazing shop which has all the fabric under the sun ever, and partly because sewing is something I love, and if I was better at translating what I want to make into an actual garment, I'd be able to start up as a proper designer. So figuring a few things out will be really helpful!

I've spent a lot of time this week sewing, for an event that I am going to with a friend tomorrow night, which I will of course blog about.

Tomorrow night, we are going to the Life Ball, which is a massive massive AIDS charity event that attracts attention from all over the world (apart from the UK it seems). It takes place in Vienna's Rathaus and involves celebrities galore. It is outrageous, amazing and so so cool. Keep an eye out for my write up of the event, but for now, have a look at the website: www.lifeball.org