Today was the first day of classes. We did some orientation stuff, handed out the textbooks for the culture class, then figured out how we were going to divide up the classes. It seems like we have a pretty even spread of abilities this year, so we divided the group in half. David and I will have four students each.
In anticipation of tomorrow's visit by a virologist who is going to explain why we should check for ticks, Rex reviewed body parts. This ended up somewhat hilarious due to the fact that he started out by acting as if various body parts were talking and asking what they were called, only to realize that there were body parts on the list that should not talk under any circumstances.
I wanted to visit a castle ruin that I didn't get to visit last time, so I told the students to meet me on the Hauptplatz if they wanted to join in. David and four students were interested, so we took a bus to Gösting and started up the hill.
WHY DID I THINK THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA?
One giant asthma attack later, we made it to the top of the hill. We spoke with some hikers on the way up only to discover that the interior of the ruin was closed for the day. I should have realized this because attractions and museums are often closed on Mondays, but I haven't gotten into the swing of things yet. Regardless, we were able to take some nice pictures and see some great overlooks of the surrounding valleys. The lack of photos of us going up the hill was due to my having to concentrate on the more important matter of processing oxygen.
Proof that I made it up the hill. Yeah, I look like a tomato. Deal with it.
There were some really pretty outcroppings of rock.
View from the trail.
Another view from the trail.
The overlook was not a spot you wanted to fall off of.
One of my duties is to document any wildflowers I encounter for Grandma.
View of the castle ruin from the overlook spot.
And now we started to make our way down the hill.
I really enjoyed the texture of the rock.
On the way down, I could breathe normally, so I took more pictures of my surroundings.
Flags painted on trees means you're on an official hiking trail.
More interesting rock textures.
More pretty flowers that I'm too tired to properly identify at the moment.
I fell behind the students a bit on the way down because I stopped to take pictures, so I missed the great snake encounter. They found a snake by the side of the trail, which amused everyone.
View of the Schlossberg in the middle of Graz. I need to read more on how the Schlossberg formed geologically at some point because it's an odd little lump in the middle of a river basin.
I was amused by this graffiti.
We took the bus back to Jakominiplatz, where I bought the students a round of ice cream as a thank you for having patience with my wheezy ass. I'm really looking forward to class tomorrow.
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