Moments

The nine months I spent in the US were filled with memorable moments and thanks to digital cameras, I'll be reminded of most of them for a long time to come. However, there are a few moments that stand out (slightly more) and will always make me smile :)

I'll never forget...

...dancing outside of Portland Mall with Travis while waiting for the bus.

...swimming in the river...at night.

...drinking wine in the hallway of Stodder. 

...singing and dancing with Yuna countless times.

...mac'n'cheese at 3 am with my beloved room mate.

...watching countless zombie movies. Mainly with Andy.

...the railway bridge in Orono. Mark, you know what I mean. 

...all the couchsurfers I had the pleasure of meeting and staying with this year (sorry if I forgot somebody): Dario, Andy, Travis, Fletcher, Allen, Mark, Madhav, Aaron, Michael, Ajay, and Jonathan.

...the one and only time I sang karaoke at the Asylum.

...a bloody nose after a snowball fight. Thanks Mark!

...Halloween in Salem.

...my brother's wedding.

...eating Ben & Jerry's while waiting for the bus with Yuna.

...going to the river at 7 am after staying up the whole night.

...Fitz and the Tantrums. Girl Talk. Big Gigantic. Grant Street Orchestra. 

...riding a tandem with Mark and a 30 pack of beer in New Orleans. 

...

Graduation Banquet for International Students

Three last stops: Portland, Boston & NYC

It took me almost nine months in the US to finally make it to New York City. When a friend from home decided to visit me in May, I realized that this would be the perfect time to finally head there. But before that, I made one last stop in Portland to say goodbye.

I miss Portland a lot and sure had an amazing time there, e.g. my first few days in Maine and Halloween.

After a last night out in Portland with my friends and singing Bye, Bye, Bye in a karaoke bar, it was time to say goodbye to one of my favorite places in the US.

With Andrew

With Fletcher and Andy. Right before karaoke.

Next stop: Boston. Here, I picked up Waldi, my friend from home, and we stayed for two days discovering the city before finally heading to NYC.

Finally Spring

My friend from home

Enjoying deep-fried Mars bars

Last stop (well, next to last, because we went back to Boston to catch our flights back home): New York City. The first two nights we stayed in Manhattan and even though it was a completely new and also great experience, I enjoyed the time we spent in Queens better. Since it was our first time in NY we did a lot of touristy things and ate and shopped a lot which was partly due to the fact that it was raining almost the entire time we were there.

The CITY.

View from MoMA

Chrysler Building

Times Square

Central Park

View from the Empire State Building

The weather

The FOOD.

Lunch at Le Pain Quotidien

Dinner and margaritas at T.G.I. Fridays

Delish Thai food in Chinatown

Strawberry cheesecake. Worth every bite.

Breakfast for champions: pancakes, bagel, omelette, and home fries.

Burgers. Duh.

The GIRLS.

In Central Park

MoMA. And a lot of ass.

Sipping Bloody Marys

Another great thing was that I could meet up with some friends while I was in New York.

After an amazing time in New York and one more day in Boston that we spent with some absolutely amazing people, it was time to say goodbye...

What happened in Texas

I guess after about 5.5 months it is about time to fill everybody in on what happened in Texas.

To keep it short and simple: My older brother got married. And I was the designated wedding photographer.

The ceremony.

Families.

My new and extended family

With my brother, his wife, and parents

The photographer.

Mardi Gras - need I say more

Again, it's been quite a while. Since my last post I've actually returned to Austria; however, I didn't just want to leave it at that. So here goes my report on Spring Break in New Orleans:

First of all, I absolutely love New Orleans. It's probably my favorite place in the whole of the US, if not even the whole world. It's still quite European which immediately gave me a feeling of home. Furthermore the music, the people, the architecture, the food, and so many more things enchanted me and made me fall in love with this unique city.

I went to New Orleans at the beginning of March with my friend Mark from Ireland. Luckily, our Spring Break overlapped with the Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans. Mardi Gras in particular, and New Orleans in general, is not only a party, it's a lifestyle. The second we arrived we were immersed into local culture, went to teeny tiny local dive bars, danced with people on the street, ate at little hidden culinary spots, and drank a local, and one of my favorite, drinks: Abita Purple Haze.

Basically the whole week before Mardi Gras (Faschingsdienstag in Austria) was one big party filled with beads, parades, celebrities (Stifler's mom anybody?), partying on the street, costumes, and a lot of amazing music. Needless to say, on Ash Wednesday I was a wreck but nonetheless extremely happy that I got to meet a bunch of amazingly friendly local people and I saw a lot of Nola.

Mark and me on the right: our costumes were very successful

You want to visit the US? Go to New Orleans.