Briana's Home Stay
Trip Start
Jun 04, 2011
1
14
17
Trip End
Jun 22, 2011
Graz, Styria, Austria
Thursday, June 16, 2011
By Briana G.
When Juta picked us up we found our luggage and shoved it in to her car. It was kind of hard, but her car was actually bigger than I had expected. It was a long drive back to her house, but when we got here, she showed us around a little bit and her house was really beautiful. It was decorated really nicely and our room was very colorful.
Brittney and I shared a room but it was really fun. We have a big window with a small balcony outside with a great view. A couple of her cousins carried our suitcases up for us. They were really nice. We also ate some fruit from their plants. They are wine farmers and have all kinds of fruit in their garden. They make really great juice; it is fresh and delicious. They were all good but my favorite was the peach. Their apple juice is a lot better than ours at home.
That night she made us this really good supper. It wasn't really a typical dinner for them. It was hot food which isn’t normal for them. They had frozen potatoes that she cooked in the skillet with cheese and onions. It was very good. We also had salad with a dressing that was common in Austria (pumpkin oil dressing.)
For the rest of the night we just talked for a while and got ready for bed since it was kinda late. We found out that a lot of her family lives really close to her and she had many cousins around her age that live close. The beds were really comfortable and we slept well until about 5:45 in the morning. The sun woke us up because it was really bright so we had to close the curtains.
We had a really good breakfast: strawberries, bread and cheese, and meat stuff. They also had some of their good juice that they make on their own. Then she introduced us to her parents and showed us around her small town. We saw a statue of Mary in this little room that was a bit lower and close to the church. She also showed us inside the church which was absolutely beautiful. She also drove us to the house that her dad and three others .took apart and put back tog3ether in 4-8 days. It was amazing they got it done so fast.
Next we went to her parent’s restaurant and it was so amazing. It had a goose theme and was very beautiful. Behind it was a play area for children that was incredible. It was made of stone and there was a cave-type area and everything. It was amazing and we both agreed that it would be really fun to play in if we were little kids. They also had a soccer field behind that and also a basketball hoop.
She took us upstairs where there was a loo and some irons that someone was collecting. We had a cookout and her parents grilled a ton of stuff on the grill: chicken, pork, mushrooms, zucchini, shrimp, and other numerous things.
Next we went to the mountains and she took us to a great place for taking pictures. We went a little further and she took us to a popular hang-out spot. Brittany and I shared something because we weren’t very hungry. We were glad we did because it was huge.
Basically it was neopolitan ice cream with fruit in it.
Then we went back to her parent’s restaurant to eat dinner. We went to a local bar where they hang out and saw three others from our group. Brittany talked to them a lot and it was nice seeing them. By that time I was really tired, though. After getting home we talked for a bit and went to bed.
The next morning, after sleeping in until about 9, we ate breakfast’ We then went in to Graz to do a bit of sightseeing. We noticed how much nicer the McDonald’s are here but we didn’t eat there. We did a bit of shopping, saw Shelly and Keagan and talked to them for a b it. Later we ran into Tammy and Linda, also shopping. It was nice to see them again. We shopped until the stores closed, ate dinner, and came home. By the time we got home it was pretty late so we took showers and went to bed as we have to get up early to meet every one to leave Graz. Over all the home stay was pretty fun. It kind of bothered us how much she talked to her friends and cousins when they were around. They always spoke in German even when they knew English. It was a little awkward but over all it was a lot of fun.
bg
