Holy cow its Oktober!

I can't believe I have been here a month.... wow.
Well Thursday was another note-worth day. We finally received our "buddies" from another country. All I know so far is that her name (I think its a frauline) is Silvia, and she goes to Salzburg University. Beyond that... I guess I will just have to wait and see. But the most exciting news of the day for me is that I am now a part of the "Dom" (what the call the church) Choir. This means that every Sunday, (and some special concerts) I get to sing in an authentic 17th century church, the largest in Salzburg, and authentic masses. One of the first songs we're doing.... Kyrie... that's right chorale people, the same one from last year!! We are also doing Mozart's Mass in Cm, a piece by Mehendelson and another Mozart mass. I can't believe I get to sing a Mozart mass in the EXACT church where it would have been first sung, and presented to the arch bishop!!! The choir compromises 40-50 people (with a 10 person tenor section!) And ranges in age from 18-90 (there is another choir for the youth) It was really awesome in our first rehearsal to start learning music terms in German!!! It was also exciting to talk to many of the Austrian folk (many of which speak little to no English). There are also two students from California that have joined as well, so its also another opportunity to meet more people studying abroad. The most fascinating part of the whole rehearsal for me though, was analyzing the way that Austro/Germans pronounce Latin.... I never thought of it before, but since we come from very different backgrounds, our approach to pronunciation is extremely different! At times, when we would try not to sounds like Western New Yorkers, they are trying not to sound like Western Austrians!! This was something that I had never thought about before, and was extremely fascinating! Another perk.... we get to see any and all concerts(konzerts) that are in the Dom for FREE!!! (Which is rediculious considering some are upwards of 100€!) This has been a crazy week, filled with one surprise after another. To me, it is very exciting that slowly I am becoming integrated with the Austrian culture, my hope is that within a month, I will be able to walk around the street without someone saying "look another American" I don't want to experience this city as a tourist, but rather through the eyes of a person who has been living here forever. An every day I feel like I come closer to achieving that goal. My biggest hiccup is probably the language. Once I have a better command of it, I will hopefully be able to just talk to random people on the street, and find out even more about this magical country and its people.
Today however, I have a German test.... so I need to study. Dang. Hope all is well in the States!
-Christoph-