I studied abroad Summer 2005 in Vienna, Austria, while Chauncey sold pest control in Texas. The following are some emails I sent to my family while I was abroad:

Week 1
Hi everyone!

Everything here is going great. I don´t want to speak in English like
most of the other students here, so I eat in the cafeteria of a nearby
university. It´s a little odd to ask to sit at the same table as
other people when there are empty tables nearby, but after 1 awkward
minute I am able to meet lots of neat people and speak in German for
like an hour. Today I saw a guy praying over his food, which was
quite a shock, so I decided that I would sit by him. I learned that
he was a Seventh Day Adventist, doesn´t drink alcohol (also a shock).
He converted to that church from the Catholic Church 3 years ago. We
discussed Religion for about an hour, and I clarified the fact that
no, Mormons are not the Omish, we DO have electricity, No, we are not
Polygamists, and yes, we do dress like normal people. Anyway, I am
going to his church with him this saturday (don´t worry, my friend
Kelsy is coming with me), and he is coming to my ward with me on
Sunday. He was really interested in what I told him about the church,
and seemed like a good person.

There are so many things to do here, but they are all either very
expensive, or inappropriate, like bar-hopping for instance. The
church leaders are worried about the youth, because a lot of them fall
through the cracks, so they decided to provide wholesome forms of
entertainment for them for free. Yesturday was the grand opening of
the Jugendzentrum, or Youth Center, where they have English and German
classes, Ping Pong tournaments, and all sorts of other activities. It
will be open every day Mon-Fri 3pm to 9pm. It´s a great way to get
kids off the streets and perhaps let non-members know about the church
(I think any youth can go if they follow the standards and rules). An
elderly missionary couple runs the center. Anyway, I want to
volunteer there to help with the English classes and stuff, so today I
will ask the missionaries what I can help with. Next week I want to
start going on splits with the missionaries.

This week is the 50th anniversary of the independance of Austria, and
th 50th anniversary of the church becoming an official church here.
There are celebrations happening this weekend: on friday we are all
invited to a formal Austrian Ball (which I don´t have a dress for, but
I can still go anyway), festivities on Saturday (but I don´t know
what), and Elder Perry along with the mission President are coming on
Sunday. Everyone is really excited. Hmmmm. I guess that means that
my friend Markus will get to hear Elder Perry speak to us!

I´m going to Paris in 2 weeks, and to Italy in 4 weeks, and then to
Prague in 5 weeks (If we follow through with our plans). I was
invited by the family I´ll be staying with in Switzerland to go to a
Young Single Adult camp with their daughter for a week in Germany.
I´m so excited! Anyway, my touristy want to take pictures of
everything is wearing off, and now I just want to get to know the
people. I hope everything is going well in Utah.

Ich habe euch Lieb!
Tiffany