Reflection

We left Graz on Saturday.  The summer's not completely over, we still have some travel time left, but it was a strange feeling to have that part of the summer come to a close.  Lots of goodbyes to people who we may or may not ever see again.  And I've definitely become attached to Graz.  Since we left, Shannon and I have hit Salzburg, Prague, and now Budapest!  I'll probably post more about our travel at some point, but what these last few days have proved to me once again is that while travel is exciting, overall I prefer to be a resident rather than a tourist.  A few comments on some differences between what I've seen this summer and what I'm used to:

     Likes

• Public transportation
• Drinking
• Kebap!
• German
• Diversity of people/styles
• Street musicians
• Architecture
• Men who carry purses and wear scarves
• Included tax

     Dislikes

• Smoking
• Short store hours
• Exchange rate
• German
• Nothing to do on Sundays, especially if you don't really know people
• No leftover boxes
• No guaranteed free water
• No guaranteed free bathrooms

Daily Life in Graz

Yesterday we moved into our new dorm, which is a huge step up from the last place!  Each suite shares a bathroom and kitchen, but we each have our own room.  The building also only about two blocks from TU Graz, and a more central location in general, which will mean a lot less riding the tram.  I like the trams, but I'm glad to have more things within walking distance.  Speaking of walking, unless there is a pedestrian signal, you can just walk out into any crosswalk and cars will stop.  And there are surprisingly few jaywalkers at the places that do have lights.  Right-of-way is just not intuitive for me here, but it seems to work for everyone else (we did once see a car pull out of its parking spot and right into our tram...) and luckily I have no need to drive.

New room!  So much space!

Most trams look like this...

...but not all!

Graz is very bike-friendly.  I wish I could stay longer so it'd be worth investing in one.  But again, bikes have their own whole set of rules of the road.  

At the new dorm, we're even close enough to walk to our favorite kebap vendor.  Kebaps are one of the most delicious (and cheap!) foods I've had here so far.  Shaved meat with cabbage, lettuce, tomato, onion, spicy sauce, and really good bread.  Also can get them with sheep cheese, falafel, and maybe zucchini?

Pamukkale Kebap.  Can't stop going back here.  

NOM. 

Every week we get a little more independent in the lab.  Shannon and I are working under two post-docs, and we alternate between them, so we work in a couple different labs on the fifth floor.  Today we weren't able to do much because the cooling water system was broken, but we've synthesized quite a few compounds by now.

The fifth floor - Chemistry and Technology of Materials. 

View from the office we share with three grad students who are under the same professor.

This is the lab where we spend most of our time.  "Lauge" means Base.  

We have our own hood, the closest one in this picture.  

We spend a good bit of time doing this: mixing chemicals and then testing the reaction progress on TLC plates.  

Front of TU Graz again.  This city is such a wonderful mix of old and new.  

In other news, it's ridiculously hot here.  And it takes a while to cool down in the evenings because it stays light so late.  My German is coming along, slowly but surely.  And this is not exactly "daily life," but last week we visited a huge chocolate factory called Zotter, where we were able to eat as much chocolate as we wanted, everything from 100% cocoa to mango chocolate milk to chocolate with hemp or cornflowers.  Then we got to see a castle called Reigersburg.  And finally, dinner at an "edible zoo," which was an awesome organic farm.  They get all of their energy (and then some!) from a few huge rotating solar panels, and they supply the restaurant there from their own home-grown meats and veggies.  

Cocoa beans from various countries.  This part reminded me of learning about the processing of coffee in Chiapas.  

Chocolate fountains!  This one was 50% cocoa.  

Reigersburg is at the very top of a huge hill, which served well to defend it from the Turks.  

View from the top of the hill.  

Almost every room had a painted or inlaid ceiling.  Beautiful!  

Lettuce growing in the flowerbeds at the edible zoo!  :)

Our whole meal was from the farm.  And it was delicious!  

Just Being a Tourist

Town hall at Hauptplatz, the main square.

Monument to Archduke Johann in the center of Hauptplatz.  

Cool building downtown with paintings of Greek/Roman mythology.  

At one of the churches downtown.  

This is how Glockenspielplatz gets its name...

These guys come out and dance while music plays!

The eternal snowman (made of marble) in one of the many courtyards off one of the many winding streets downtown.  

Mariatrost Basilica.  I went to mass here last Sunday.  Interestingly enough,  in one of the side rooms was an exhibit on  scientific discoveries concerning DNA, evolution, the big bang... Couldn't understand much of the actual content, but I was impressed!  

The basilica was amazingly ornate, and the entire ceiling was covered in paintings.  

Near the basilica.  This place definitely belongs on a postcard!  

Schlossberg, the mountain in the middle of Graz.  

The most famous landmark of Graz, the Schlossberg clock tower.  

We didn't realize there was so much on Schlossberg, but there are several restaurants, a bunch of ruins whose historical significance I already forget, and these canons.  

View from the top of Schlossberg.

The strange building is Kunsthaus, the "friendly alien," museum of modern art.  

Inside the Kunsthaus, overlooking a gallery.  The skylights here are all the weird protrusions you see from the outside.  

An exhibit on Liu Xiaodong, a Chinese artist, and his creative process.  

Bridge over the Mur River.  The locks mostly have couples' names on them.  

Murinsel, the man-made island on the Mur.  

Week One

We started at TU-Graz on Monday.  Shannon and I are both in the same working group, doing different reactions with polymers.  I have pretty limited previous lab experience, and of course EMU's labs are much different than those here (mostly just smaller and older, actually...), but luckily we're starting off with pretty basic stuff.  It's nice not to have homework, but we tend to come home pretty tired in the evenings.  On Friday we got out of work early, which was quite nice, and then in the evening we got a taste of the nightlife.

This morning I went to a nearby farmers' market, which was probably my favorite part of Graz so far.  It was huge and bustling and delicious and not too expensive and just all-around great!  I managed to get the things I wanted using my limited vocabulary plus some hand gestures, but it feels strange to me that no one knows I can't speak German until I open my mouth and/or stare blankly.  In Guatemala, where I could actually speak the language, I was easily distinguishable and people would approach me in English anyway, but of course here it's much different.  Graz is also much more diverse than I expected, so even skin color is not necessarily a giveaway.  After that, I walked around the main campus of the University of Graz (which is somehow affiliated with TU-Graz, but the "technical" building where we work is in a separate location).  It was absolutely lovely, but unfortunately I forgot to take my camera with me today.  Checked out a large botanical garden on the way back home, and now I still have the whole afternoon ahead of me.

Hallo aus Österreich

I am in Austria!  I had never traveled on my own before, but the trip went smoothly.  I met up with Ben, Shannon, and Andrew, the students from Syracuse University, in Vienna, and the four of us took the train down to Graz together.  The day after we got here was a holiday, so almost everything was closed, but luckily we had time to get some groceries the night we got here (stores typically close around 7).  Since then, we've caught up on sleep, walked around downtown, gotten to know the bus/tram system, and seen TU-Graz, the university where we'll be working.  We're settled in now at the dorm where we'll be for June, and then when the semester here is over we'll be able to move closer to the university.

A couple of the streets downtown

My (first) dorm

TU-Graz.  There's supposed to be some kind of a
molecule pattern in the glass windows but  it's hard to see.  

From a park near the dorm

 

Despite not knowing German, I feel very comfortable with the way things work here.  It's different, but I don't think it will take long to adjust.  Starting next week, we'll also be meeting for a German crash course.  But yeah, Graz is lovely.  It's cool to see so many bikes around the city, which is also very pedestrian-friendly.  Our dorm even does composting!  So it's like I never left EMU.  :P  I love the look of old European buildings and new European fashion.  I enjoy public transport, although I can't help think of Guatemala: part of me misses the crowded chaos of those bus rides.  Typical Austrian food includes a lot of meat, and doughy things, and fried things.  Oh, and pumpkin seed oil is a regional specialty, so they put it on everything.  I like what I've had so far and have actually finished food for some of the others.  Haven't tried the beer yet, but that will come.  We start work on Monday so I'm excited to get into a routine here and to be able to be more independent.

If you feel inspired to send me something, it'll be expensive I'm sure, but you can send things through the chemistry department:
     Ruth Maust
     c/o Dr. Frank Uhlig
     Institute of Organic Chemistry
     Graz University of Technology
     Stremayrgasse 16
     A-8010 Graz, Austria