SALZBURG, Austria – Fortunately for me, this week has been exceedingly less boring. I stayed up all night watching the Oscars on Sunday (it was 6 a.m. here when I went to bed). On Monday, I made pizza dough from scratch and hosted a pizza party. Then on Tuesday, two of the Bowling Green students participating in the second half of the study abroad year here arrived. I showed one around town Tuesday, then the three of us met on Wednesday for more of a tour, dinner, a G’uuml;nter Brus art exhibit and the Ash Wednesday service at the cathedral. The art exhibit was particularly interesting because I did a project on Austrian art for one of my classes last semester. I focused on the Viennese School of Fantastic Realism and Viennese Actionism, which is the category to which Brus belongs. Even though the Viennese Actionism art is a little on the gory side, it is quite fascinating to me that such art is produced. Going to church services of religions to which I do not belong also fascinates me. While I was in London, I attended an evensong service at St. Paul’s Cathedral, which is Anglican. The service was so interesting to me because there was no participation from the congregation, other than standing and sitting at the appropriate times. The formality and processions of the entire service were unlike anything I had ever seen. Wednesday night’s Catholic Ash Wednesday service was also different from the Lutheran service I am accustomed to, even though the Sunday services are generally the same. The bishop led the service with four other priests. It really was impressive. The five of them managed to fill the humongous altar space much better than one normally does so the service finally seemed to match the impressiveness of the cathedral. The point of most intrigue from the group of us was that the priest we received ashes from sprinkled them on our head, just past our hair line, rather than marking a cross on our forehead. None of us had ever seen this done before. The entertainment continued last night with a Cardiac Move acoustic session at a bar in town. Only half of the band performed, but it was a concert I did not have to travel to Vienna for. Today, I am traveling to Linz, one of the other state capitals in Austria, for a museum with an exhibit about Hitler. One of my Austrian friends I met in Bowling Green will be giving me the tour. He’s also picked out a restaurant for lunch, which serves the Austrian version of meat loaf in a variety of styles I have yet to try. After the museum and lunch in Linz, we will go to the Mauthausen Concentration Camp. Tomorrow, my other Austrian friend from Bowling Green is taking me snowboarding. I have wanted to go snowboarding in the Alps for years, and now my chance is close. Snowboarding on the Alps frightens me a bit, though. Ohio doesn’t have mountains, and the mountains I have skied (not snowboarded) on don’t really compare. I just hope that I come back in one piece because school starts Monday. Everyone at BGSU seems to be counting down the days until spring break, and here I am, just beginning the second semester. I am ready to start school again, refreshed from a pretty fantastic break.