The Ultimate Helper

Five situations in which coffee makes your student life easier

by Mokka

5 Have you ever been totally out of energy and couldn’t go any further with your reading assignments and preparation for classes the next day? A double shot of espresso might be the answer. Especially if you are the procrastinating type of student who can never decide which of the thousand things on his To-Do List to start with and later realizes that he hasn’t actually started with anything at all. In cases like this nothing is more helpful than a midnight coffee. It not only wakes you up but also gives you new ideas and hopes.

4 Student life can be uncomfortable and unpleasant. This is definitely the case when the person responsible for the university heating system has once again taken a day off (or even a week), which regularly seems to be the case in more than one of the buildings at Salzburg University. Sound familiar? Well, you might want to prepare yourself for the next lecture and bring along something hot to cling to (and I’m not talking about the student sitting next to you). A big cup of steaming coffee does double duty.

3 Honestly, did you ever think that a whole shelf of books in your faculty’s library would be rightfully yours? No? Then you can regard yourself as lucky, one of the ten percent of students who don’t have problems bringing back library books on time. Computerizing the card catalogue just hasn’t made our life easier. Even though you would just have to log onto the library system and press the “renew all” button, but it’s just not as easy as it sounds. Next time you bring back your library books and they are once again - not quite on time - try to bribe the library assistant with a cup of delicious coffee. Investing in that cup of coffee could save you a lot of money.

2 Imagine a perfect lunch break: sitting on the grassy bank of the Salzach River totally absorbed in your soon-to-be favorite book from your reading list. It is a warm and sunny afternoon and you finally have some time to relax from your busy morning What could make such a hypothetical afternoon even better? Of course, a delicious and cooling iced coffee…. Admittedly, this scenario sounds quite utopian for Salzburg weather conditions since you usually spend your lunch breaks in a cafeteria that is so packed that you have to sit at a table with totally strange people. Reality has you back. What remains is the iced coffee (though you’ll have to venture beyond the cafeteria to get one).

1 According to the almighty wisdom of Wikipedia the Ethiopians were the first to discover the energizing effect of the coffee bean. Over four centuries ago these people might not even have realized what great deed they performed for humanity. Thanks to Leonhard Rauwolf (unfortunately a German botanist not an Austrian), who was the first European to recognize the magic of the coffee plant, it is now easier for students to deal with their daily struggles and frustrations. No matter if you are an early bird and usually get up at 4:30 a.m. to finish your homework and cram for the upcoming test, or if you are a night owl, coffee has no time limit and keeps you awake whenever you need it.