I don't think I will ever quite pick up the accent.

As my fantastic weekend in the alps comes to a close, I leave a bit saddened. Not only will I be away from some of the most fantastic scenery I have ever seen, but a bit frightened that the american stereotype is not as far off as I think. It hurts me to say, I have overheard a lot of people talk about how their goals are to get trashed every night--Stay Classy America! My goal from the beginning is culture integration. In other words, can I be an Austrian. The accent is a bit. . .extreme. . .to say the least. Defiantly not the northern Berlin german accent I have learned. Pretty much every time I talk in german I get a "bitte" and then they break out into english. On the rare occasion that they respond in german I instantly get lost an respond in one of two ways

• Es ist alles
• Ja

Baby steps for sure.

Speaking of baby steps, never ever--under penalty of death--bring 140 Americans to a youth hostel with a bar. It quickly becomes a frat house and ends up becoming incredibly annoying. Most people really do not know how to drink, this is their first time at a bar, or are just complete morons. We have already had drama, crying, and minor verbal fighting happen within the program. Last time I checked we all had been here for two full days. I cannot wait to get back into the city where I can start trying to not stick out like a drunken frat boy.

Speaking of leaving, it really saddens me to say I will be vacating the alps in a few hours today. I am very sad about this grim fact and hope that I will get the chance to be in them at least a few more times before I leave.

As far as the mountains themselves, the small portion of what I have seen has enlightened me into the more outdoorsy parts of Austrian culture. Mainly that these mountains are ridiculous Jagged. They remind me a lot of the Rockey Mountains, just covered in trees. Both mountain rages share similar properties of slope grade and overall steepness. I can understand why the alps produced some of the most amazing mountaineers the world has ever seen. You really do need to be that good to deal with these mountains. All this steepness brings me to my next point. The Austrians really love to ski. I thought it was the Colorado version of "we love to ski" where its mostly talk and less action. In the place I am staying at right now, there are two places to ski, we past about 4-6 of them on the way up here, and this isn't even the well known ski area in Austria. I can really connect a country that is so connected with snow.

Overall, my initial impressions of Austria have all been favorable (besides the drunk fratness). I find the people to be intelligent, but also extremely generous and genuinely kind. It turns out I might fall in love with this country after all!