Ending of October

Been a great month with many events and the most amazing opportunity to work with Secretary Kerry's staff. Above is myself with the U.S. delegation that came out for the conference  of parties who are from the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. It has been an exciting month and have been blessed with an amazing supporting team. I'm also preparing for my upcoming GRE exam! Lately myself and with Larry have been able to find ingredients and the right ones not what we think is right and have Cooked some nice meals! 👏🙌

This past week we celebrated our friends, August & Leyla's birthdays which were a blast. August had sent us the website of the bar we were to meet at well  i immediately input the address from the website on "Quando" the local "mapquest" and it literally took us 45min to reach the destination to find out there were 5 of these in Vienna, we were at the wrong one and needed to get to the one on the other side of town. Crazy adventure trying to head back as we had many mishaps and the Strassenbahn we were on had a malfunction in which they had to kick us off so we had to wait for the next one to come by. All in all we made it and had fun ! Although I almost died trying this "salmiakki" candy that August passed around. 

The following day we hanged out with our friends to make soup and while we waited for Leyla, Larry our resident Mr. Grandpa decided to take a nap! Had fun making fun of him. 

BB made a comment that he looked homeless in which we decided to prank Leyla and say I had brought a homeless guy to eat soup! Larry hid his face and when Leyla came in she was completely shocked and unsure how to approach me that here in Austria that's not allowed and thought that it could be a custom in Texas. This went on for 7minutes and she would freak out when we said lets wake the homeless guy and tell him to leave! We laughed so hard and Leyla was completely astonished! 😂😂 Best prank on her. 

For the weekend we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and went exploring around my neighborhood & found the Crime Museum. We then headed off to the  Belvedere Palace grounds. On the way we found some embassies. 

Great ending to October and November is going to be super busy & my last month of the internship!!! Also have my best friend coming out to visit me which I can't wait to see! 

Will continue to keep ya'll updated!

Love,

Stefany 

Busiest Week

Quickly after the conference week we found out Secretary John Kerry would be coming to Vienna to the Iran talks. Preparations and logistics were worked out between UNVIE and his team. Normally the interns will stay at the office working from there but both myself and Larry were asked to part of the team in helping. Grateful and honored that my UNA team felt confidence in me to help! We had a great time working behind the scenes with Kerry's staff who are amazing people! 

During this exciting week I also got even more awesome news!! I received my care package from my family 💖👪💞🇺🇸 In it came the most beautiful letter from my baby brother, snacks, favorite drink, and winter accessories! 

Had a blast this week and I'm ready for the weekend go relax and complete my mid-term exams! Will continue to update ya'll!! 

Much love,

Stefany 💖

09/08-13/2014

The week has flown by! This week has been simply the best yet. Had various UN meetings where I had the opportunity to write-up briefs on! 🙌 Had the opportunity to use all my skills including translation. 😁 On the plus side the "Hooligans" aka Interns, we're having a blast in our office! Never a dull moment with Lilah & Larry. Had a lovely night out with them & Connie. They took us out to eat GELATO!!! They had so many flavones and cute designs, it was super hard to pick one. They even had one called "Spaghetti" and really looked like it but it's just vanilla with strawberry topping. I decided on a simple one with hazelnut, nutella & coconut gelato. As Larry said "Is this Heaven?" 😂  Then headed down to MuseumsQuartier, such a relaxing place! The next night we went out as well to meet other interns. Had a great evening talking even with all the political jargon going on lol 😂😋 Felt really grown up when I cooked my first official full meal in my apartment. Although I don't have all my equipment I did a pretty good "Sandwich de Pollo estilo Slavdoreño"! Have completed all my shopping, cleaning & homework for the week so my weekend is free!!! 🙌🙌 Super uber excited for tonight, celebrating my friends bday! Well I think that covers this weeks events :) 

8/29-30/2014

Had a great Friday and loved my first time to the VIC center, can't wait to go back! Went out to Big Smoke-which according to my coworkers it has Texas BBQ & it's delicious! I had the Texas pulled Pork Sandwich with Texan Beans. Have to say it wasn't that bad but it definitely does not have the full Texan flavor. Walked around the Danube & can't wait to go back. Today has been a relaxing day and trying to get some homework assignments out of the way! Also here are some pictures of my view from the office! 

8/26/2014

My flight to Instanbul was amazing! I got really lucky, whole seat row to myself 😳🙌!! 

Met a new friend who had an incredible accent or so he says, just kidding! He did, we had tons of fun which made the flight seem shorter than it was. Turkish Airlines is really great, they made sure I felt comftorable and the meal options were great! Also the seat even came with a gaming controls ✈️😋. After waiting forever for my luggage I exited the airport and was greeted by Mr.Wagner,  who quickly led me to the Mercedes. It was a super relaxed drive to the center of Vienna, then got a bit hectic to reach my apartment downtown! 😳 The roads are tiny and not much room to park, but Mr.Wagner professionally maneuvered the vehicle in front of my apartment. It felt as if I was in a movie for a bit when he said wait In the car, exited and pushed the front buildings button to speak with my landlord to open the door. 🎥  My apartment is located on the top floor, took the "lift" which was interesting as to exit the elevator it opens like a door, than opening. FINALLY INSIDE MY APARTMENT!!! 😁😍💖 My landlord is awesome and my apartment is simply the best!! I'll soon be posting about my first day here in Vienna, as I am beginning  at 0930 with my coordinator. 🙌🙌🎉👏😁

💖Stefany 

08/25/2014

Luggage Packed √
Electronics  √
 Book √
Jacket √


The list goes on and on, the endless journey of packing. Today's the day I leave for adventure of a lifetime and a 1st in so many ways. I'm beyond excited, nervous, intimidated, amazed, etc for this opportunity. As many know or may not know I am headed to Vienna, Austria; the City of Dreams. I am the U.S. Dept of State- US Mission to Int'l Organizations in Vienna, more specifically in their United Nations Crimes & Drug section Fall 2014 Intern. It has been a year long process to acquire this position which I am humbly honored to have been chosen to fulfill. I leave tonight and will have one layover in Istanbul, Turkey. I have decided to start a blog to not only document my experience but to also to inform my loved ones and friends of my trip.

Thank you for reading & until next time.

Stefany ♥