So klein aber so GROß

I love that about Graz. It's a small little city, compared to Portland, and it's very centralized, almost every time I go out into the city I can run into someone I know and even if I don't know them very well, we hug and kiss on the cheek and greet each other. It makes me feel really cool when I run into someone, like I'm popular and have a ton of friends or something. Its also great because I can easily remember how to get places, which of the main straßenbahns go where and how, always, to get to hauptplatz. It's just nice to feel like I can navigate the city and get where  want to go relatively easily, and not feel like I'm always lost when I try to go somewhere new. 

But on the other hand Graz feels so huge sometimes. I'm always spotting new places like restaurants and being like "wow I wanna try that someday," or cool looking stores that have gotta have something cool and interesting for me to see. Or the other day, I found out about this fantastic farmers market near my new house that is open everyday, but is best on Saturdays, that looks wonderful and I know I want to go back and really explore it sometime, but I had no idea existed earlier. 

I love that I know I wont get bored in this city, that it offers enough always have a new surprise for me, but at the same times is totally manageable and to so big and surprising that it's overwhelming, but just right. 

The only problem is every time I see something new and think "that looks tasty I should try it someday," I have to sadly remind myself, you're a poor exchange student don't kid yourself you live off of less than three euro kabab. But kabab is amazing so I'm ok with that. 

Dogs are mans best friend so why would't you take them everywhere?

You'd think that after four moths you'd be used to it by now, but I still find it really weird that in Austria the people are allowed to bring their dogs in places with them, like restaurants! 

Now I come from Portland which is a very dog friendly city. Some shops are really accommodating to pets and have nice doggy tie up areas in the shade, with little dishes for water, but here they totally beat us. Because you wouldn't tie your friend up outside to wait or your child, so why should your dog? Into the cafe the come. And its not like small little dogs that you could fit in your purse or seeing eye dogs, people bring their big dogs in on a leash. 

I don't know if there are maybe regulations or something to the dog rules. Because I've never seen the dogs in clothing stores or fancy restaurants, just in cafes, all the time, and on buses, (but we might be allowed to bring or dogs on buses in Portland too). And maybe its just dogs that can behave themselves, because every dog I've seen in cafes never makes a sound, they just walk quietly in and don't even stop to sniff people and their food. 

I mean I would think their would be hygienic or allergenic issues with it but like I said earlier, different land different priories. 

Riding around town

The public transportation system is so freaking good here. I thought we had it good in Portland, which we do, but it is even better here. The buses run more often during the day, rather than getting to school half an hour early or a minute too late like back home I can catch a bus that that gets me to school about 5-10 minutes early. And you can take a bus into the city or out of it until like two thirty in the morning. Not only are the timings really good but you can take a bus or a straßenbahn anywhere in Graz pretty much. and they're much cleaner than the buses in Portland. overall I am thoroughly impressed. 

Smaller Proportions

The grocery stores are so small here. I miss me a Fred Meyer or New Seasons. Even their "big" stores are really small. I tried to buy brown sugar and vanilla extract today to make chocolate chip cookies but the store didn't have any! And they close super early. By seven pretty much everything this closed and on Sundays nothing even opens. I still definitely need to get used to not being able to go buy something when ever I want. 

Smokey clouds

They smoke a lot here. Most public places allow smoking so wherever you are; walking down the street, at the bus stop, a café or restaurant you can always get yourself a good whiff of second hand smoke. And I’m still not used to the smoking age here. I’ll be out on the street or at a restaurant and I notice someone, who looks about my age, puffing away on a cigarette. And I have to do a double take. “WHAT! He’s doing that in public. Someone’s gonna notice him…..OOhhhhhh. Right.” 

It's a Rainbow

One thing I am pleasantly surprised about is the amount of diversity here in Graz. Before I came I had this picture in my mind of all the people in Austria being white. Which there is definitely a majority of. But so far I've seen Asians, Indians, Africans and Latin Americans and there is a population of Russians, Ukrainians, and more ethnic backgrounds from the surrounding countries in Europe I'm sure but Honestly I have no idea.  

I was really nervous that I was going to stick out being Asian, but its interesting how many different ethnic backgrounds there are here, and I really like it. I can actually fool people for a short time at least that I'm not an ausslander, until I open my mouth.

In the Inner City

looking down the street 

A view of the main platz and the some of the surrounding shops

Quick! find cover from the the two minute rainstorm