First days in school

Hey Everyone...

My first couple days as a teaching assistant has gone well so far... I'm still trying to set up my schedule and stuff. All of the teachers seem really nice, although the Gymnasium is a bit more conservative. Unfortunately it looks like my schedule will kind of suck, I was hoping to get either Monday or Friday off, but the way it looks now I'll probably have Wednesdays free. My contact teacher says she tries to give assistants 3 day weekends so they can travel, but we have to work with the way the English classes are set up. I have absolutely no schedule at the HTL yet. I went there, and they said they're making a brand new class schedule next week, so I have to go back Monday to figure out what's going on there. On Monday I went to a 3rd year English class, where all of the students were about 12 years old. That was kind of awkward since they couldn't speak much yet and I had forgotten the display adapter for my laptop (I was going to show them pictures of Athens and stuff). Nonetheless, everyone has treated me well and the teachers have all insisted I call them by their first names and in the informal "du". Tomorrow I'm going to a 6th level class, and I'm going to be sure to bring my display adapter for the projector this time!! Money kind of sucks... especially since I've had to buy some pots and pans, sheets, and things like that. Everyone I talk to is always astounded at my language skills, and they invariable say, "You speak such good German" and they give me a bewildered look and ask "How???". This makes me feel good.
The commute really sucks. It's about a 30 or 40 minute walk, and the busses are completely crappy and impractical. Everyone keeps asking what I'm going to do in the winter, and they usually recommend that I lease a car. I wish. Probably too expensive, and I lost my driver's license (AGAIN) at home. I don't know, maybe I'll ask at the embassy in Vienna if it's possible to get a replacement. Used cars are very cheap here (you can get an 80's VW for about 300 euro or so), so the idea is very tempting.
There's a girl on my floor that I think has a crush on me. She let me borrow her pots and silverware so I can cook. After making a nice meal of chicken curry, rice, and broccoli, she said "Ein Mann der kochen kann!! Heirate mich!!" (A man that can cook! Marry me!). She's so friendly I hate to rain on her parade... sheesh it makes me feel awkward though. Hopefully I can buy some silverware soon and return her stuff.
Mom- Got your package today! Thank you so much! Sorry the second one with all the books and stuff costs so much to ship... I didn't think it would be that expensive... The powerpuff-girl booties are extra special.
Until next time...
-Art