Weekend Elective

Another lag in posting...I really will try to be better about filling in these gaps.  I had class Thursday afternoon/evening, followed by a really fun night out with other MSc people from school, we laughed, talked, had good Austrian wine...a nice way to spend an evening after a 4 hour class block.  Friday my internet was being weird, so I actually went up to school to review the reading materials (most of which were online) for my elective class this weekend, and then I have spent all day (9am-6pm) yesterday and today in that elective.  The topic of this elective was The Legal and Regulatory Framework of the European Union, and was actually very interesting and helpful considering my previous knowledge of how exactly the EU works is somewhat (very) limited.  The class consisted of other MSc students like myself, but the vast majority were MBA students from Modul, who are only in Vienna a few days each month for these day long block sessions.  The MBA students added a lot to the discussions both in and out of class, that I'm not sure we would have enjoyed otherwise.

I took these pictures Saturday morning when we first got up to school, and sadly the clouds completely took over shortly after this and it's been cold and drizzly since then.  And today was marathon Sunday in Vienna! So I was really sad to miss that.

One thing about weekend classes is that the cafeteria at school isn't open, so while there are a few sandwiches and things in the vending machine, it had been strongly suggested to me by other MSc students to bring my own lunch on these elective days.  So, going back to my elementary school days I guess, I packed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and an apple for lunch.  Now, the MBA students are a bit better organized I guess, because since they are used to being here on the weekend, and since most are traveling away from their home country to be here, they bring lots of food to share among the group.  They kindly offered to share their food with us, but I said I was all set with food I had brought from home.  We all went into the cafeteria to eat, and they get out loaves of bread, some sliced meat and cheese and some spreads and make sandwiches, while I pull out my pb&j...I had not taken two bites before I start hearing from the Croatian guy next to me..."what on earth is that?" "what is in that sandwich?"...I explain that it's peanut butter and jelly...he responds..."I had peanut butter once...how is your mouth not stuck together? what is this "jelly" in there?" pretty soon most of the table is in conversation about my sad excuse for a sandwich, and how a few people had "tried one of those things once"...and would I please not bring a lunch from home on Sunday, so they could share homemade Romanian food they had planned for today's lunch.  I kindly obliged, and while I do love a good pb&j...homemade pepper spread, with homemade cheese and smoked meats is definitely far superior :)