Leaving Salzburg... For now!

It is with mixed feelings that I am now back at Hawaii Pacific University.
As excited as I am to be back, I am also sad to leave behind so many new friends and lovely Salzburg itself.

As an update, my Robot Kinematics partner, Martin, and I won the robot tower building challenge, for the tower which can be seen in the image below:

A feat which earned us a case of beer, which can freely be drunk on school premises.
This, and many other things have made me realise just how large the cultural differences are between America and Europe. I had noticed it during my first two semesters at HPU, but for some reason it just became more clear to me while I was on study abroad in Austria.

Here is the view from my dorm room, with the FH on the right:

 Of course, one of many benefits I would have to mention to anyone considering going to FH Salzburg on study abroad is the incredible convenience of living on campus once it starts snowing. It got quite cold at times, but with a 20 meter walk from the dorm door to the FH door, it was always possible to go there to study.
...Which we did a lot! It has been an intense semester, but also very rewarding, and full of friendly, helpful classmates. Here an unsuspecting classmate and I are studying for our final exam in Parallel Computing:

Here is the FH from the front:

As a final remark on my study abroad experience at FH Salzburg in Austria, I would say that it is one of the best decisions I ever made, and I would encourage anyone interested in the programs they offer to go there! I absolutely loved it!
If you are still in doubt, here is a photo I took one morning on my way to buy groceries:

Well, I have to get back to work now, since I only just arrived back. The semester in Austria is different from the one in America, therefore I had my last exam on Friday, Feb. 5th, hopped on a plane to Denmark to change my bags on Feb 6th, and got on the plane for Honolulu at an ungodly hour on Feb. 8th.
No rest for the weary, for the semester here is already full under way, and I have some catching up to do :)

Alles Gaude, Elisabeth