Cerebral Property

It's 5:30am and here I sit, wide awake. I still haven't had a big crash since I stayed awake for 24 hours flying home Friday.

But what a busy final couple of weeks in Wien it was. I had my last official day at school on the 30th. Christine, my contact teacher arranged for a little farewell in her office with Sekt and snacks. The Director came...it was the only time I had talked to him since the beginning of the year when we were introduced. Many, but not all of the english teachers had a chance to drop in. Thursday I had one final doctor's appt, celebrating my last day of health coverage, and worked a lot on packing and organizing in my room. Friday I got up and went to the Finanzamt again, only to learn that there had been absolutely NO change in the status of my taxes from a month before when I went in. I turned in my Lohnzettel once again and was told to call back on Tuesday. That was satisfying. ha. I then met Johnny for Naschmarkt lunch and griped to him about it. It was fun this year, since John works right next to Naschmarkt, and I often had plenty of time, we met up for lunch about a half dozen times, and he always introduced me to new good restaurants (including Tokori, which is the sushi place I went back to frequent many times thereafter).

Over the weekend I did some random walking around the city, saying some of my last goodbyes. I went out to Kirche am Steinhof one last time and took even more pictures. I ate one last Vegatarisches Sandwich at the Doener stand I like. I went into Minoritenkirche, which for some reason I had not been in before. It's the huge one right behind Heldenplatz with the big 'Last Supper' mosaic in it. And also, something I loved, was that Saturday was the Brass Music Festival....meaning a huge parade of marching bands around the ring, from all the different provinces, all dressed up in the traditional costumes. I liked the women from Vorarlberg who are in charge of carrying casks on their hips (which I am sure contain some sort of schnapps) just like the ones St. Bernards carry around their necks.

Sunday evening Katie and all her worldly belongings made it to the city. Rainer and I met her at the train station and helped her transport her luggage to Rainer's room, and then we went out to Siebenstern for dinner. They had Spinatnockerl back on the menu. I was so excited. And we drank good beer. After dinner we ended up staying a little too long at Rainer's, meaning we had to catch the Nightbus home, but it was worth it since we figured out that a Marder is a Marten (something that has been bothering me all year). And we discussed our inner party animals.

Monday Katie and I went and claimed the coffee's we had won from Hummel in October, and then she came to school with me for one lesson I volunteered to do with a couple of the Maturanten. They are practicing and preparing for their oral english Matura, and are learning how to give good book reports. I was asked to give an on-the-spot example of what a book report should be like, and after a short conference with Katie, chose to talk about Kite Runner, and think my report turned out well. She and I then headed into the city for a little pre-shopping. We hit up the Museums Quartier and Mariahilf. Then that evening we headed out to the Oberlaa spa for some swimming and sauna-ing. A good relaxing evening.

Tuesday I went with my bodyguard (Katie) into the Finanzamt once again. After talking with the lady in circles for about 15 minutes (and her claiming there is nothing they can do for 2006 til after a certain date in late June/ mid July/ late July (it kept moving the longer we talked), she finally said, let me look at something. And for the first time in months, someone actually checked the status of my second Lohnzettel and saw that it had been filed under the wrong insurance number, used 4 keystrokes and fixed the problem that has been hounding me for months. Oh Austria. We then headed downtown for Kaerntnerstrasse shopping where Katie picked up a Sacher torte and other assorted gifts. We had some hustling to do that afternoon to put together a picture frame of beautiful pictures (read horrible) that we had promised Rainer before meeting up with the boys that evening. We went back to La Norma, where we had been with Ashley in April, and after waiting awhile got a nice seat outside. We chatted through the evening, and did a short walk through the first district. This was supposed to be the last time seeing the boys, but turns out we saw them each once more.

Wednesday was our last day to do anything with opening hours (as Thursday was Froehnleichnahm). We spit up in the morning so that I could de-register myself from the authorities and Katie could close out her bank account. We also both did some post-officing, and then met up with Johnny for Sushi lunch. Yum. We stayed at the Naschmarkt a bit after that to buy yummy foodstuffs for the next day. And then one final shopping round included hitting up multiple Billas for Milka and other last goods. That evening we split ways again. I was invited to a lovely dinner with teachers Christine and Micheala at Silberwirt, a traditionally Austrian restaurant in the 5th district (off Margaretenplatz) where I had amazing Spinat-kaese Knoedel to compete with the ones at Braeuhof in Steyr. My teachers gave me a nice necklace as a parting gift (they had analyzed my jewelry wearing patterns and eye color before choosing).

Thursday we stayed in and packed all morning, which was rather necessary for both of us, and then headed out in the afternoon to the Kolo Moser exhibit at Leopolds I had been wanting to see. It was amazing. We somehow looked at the entire thing backwards, but I kinda liked it that way, because I like his early work when he was a leading member of the Wiener Werkstaette best. I am also a sucker for applied arts, so I really liked that they combined some of his furniture and design elements with his paintings and graphics. I bought a poster at the gift shop! Katie went to the opera that evening, but I felt I needed a little more time in my room to do some final sweeping and organization, which I think turned out to be a wise choice. Rainer also came over for one last farewell....and I convinced him to take all sorts of my crap that I had nothing else to do with (he really had no choice in the matter, but he was a good sport, and really, who doesn't need a wireless router, a cable modem, chinese book and a gadget that is a measuring tape/screw driver/light all in one??). Katie came back while he was over too, and we had a much better goodbye than the 'gotta run for the Ubahn, have a nice life' of Tuesday night.

Then Friday was the big day. Katie and I awoke early (ok, I awoke early...I guess kinda nervous?). Got everything together, took one final trash and Caritas run. We had a taxi pick us up at the apartment and take us to Handelskai where we could take a direct Sbahn to the airport. I think it worked out as a good system. We got to Handelskai about a half hour early though...but that is better than late. We checked in at the airport without any lines, went to Billa for an Almdudler to chug before entering the no-liquids zone, and found our gate. We boarded on time, but the sat in the plane for atleast an hour waiting on clearance to enter the transatlantic air traffic, or something like that. Katie and I had asked specifically to sit together, which turned out pretty funny since the flight was only half full, and there were plenty of spaces to sit together. At one point I even took three seats to myself to try to sleep some (sleep didn't come, but stretching out was still nice). Disappointed with the movies, satisfied with the food. Even with the delay, got to ATL ahead of schedule. I had to ask about my connecting flight, because my boarding pass said something different than what I was told in Wien. Turns out it didn't matter, cause neither of those were correct. Due to delays, finally got into Chicago at about 9:45, where my parents were waiting at baggage claim.

We stayed at a nice extended stay hotel in Oak Brook that night. Slept in the next morning (well, laid in, in my case, not a whole lot of sleeping) ate a surprisingly nice breakfast downstairs and leisurely checked out by noon. We went to the mall at my request, where I got re-acquainted with America. Ate a nice lunch and drove home. Last night I learned that my Tax money came through (woohoo...just a little too late) and that we were probably at Oak Brook at the same time as Matt, but I am a jerk and didn't call him. We had a fun conference call with Cristin and Jim last night, with her new computer, and ate Jimmy Johns for dinner (american mayo is so much better).

Busy times ahead, seeing that we move to Arkansas in about a week. Dad is going to Arkansas and Madison between now and then...crazy. Mom and I are just doing Madison. Also have things to do and people to see in central IL while I am here. AHH! Let the fun begin.

I don't think I could have fit any more in to this week than I did.

Steyr: Last Wednesday I headed out to Steyr for Katie's birthday. We had a relaxing evening in that night, making some eggplant parm and chit-chatting. The next day we had all sorts of big ideas about getting out, maybe going swimming or to Garsten...but alas, it rained, and we stayed in most of the day watching movies and hennaing Katie's hair. That evening we met up with Kyrill and Estelle (Linz TA) for running sushi and drinks at Kyrill's place. Friday Katie and I did a little shopping. I bought a pair of jeans that I think I am going to return now that it is 85 out and I need nothing extra to carry home.

St. Poelten: Saturday morning we got up and took the early train to St. Poelten where we met up with Alice, a friend we met at the Fulbright seminar. She invited us to her house for the weekend, and had planned so much fun stuff for us to do. She had also invited Andreas, another friend from the seminar, but for some reason or another he never showed up...hrumph. So, our day began with a hike up a nearby hill. It was a beautiful walk which lasted about an hour each way. At the top we enjoyed lunch at a Huette up there. Had some wonderful, albeit meaty, Kaesespaetzle and fresh pressed apple juice.
After our hike we drove to the Wachau region (the area between Melk and Krems along the Danube). I have to admit I enjoyed being in a car once again (and a little red yaris at that). We drove to an out fortress ruins on top of the cliffs overlooking the river. This time we drove up, instead of hiked, as we had already been 'brav' once that day. The fortress was neat, dating back to the 12 hundreds. We got the listening guides which told us all the gruesome history.
When we were finished at the fortress we met with some of Alice's friends at Heuriger Graf(a wine restaurant that specializes in the season's wine) which overlook the Danube and St. P. It continued to be a lovely evening, and Michi and Herman were sweethearts. After dinner we went back to Alice's for homemade Kaiserschmarrn (think scrambled pancakes), and stayed the night there.
The next morning we got up and went to the local cinema, which was adorable and participated in the Cinema breakfast, where you have an Austrian breakfast buffet at your disposal, meaning cheeses, meats, soft boiled eggs, musli, usw. and then take it into the movie where there are little tables set between the seats. We watched Vienna's Lost Daughters about 8 jewish women who were all part of the Kindertransport out of Vienna when they were young, and now live in NYC. Good documentary. And the half english half german made perfect sense to me.
We took one last stroll in St. P along the Traisen river and some little lakes. There were a few poppies in bloom there, which I loved. The day was nice out, and many were out swimming in the lakes, and playing in a beach volleyball tournament. Alice drove us back to the train station at about 5pm, and we caught a train taking us into Wien by about 6:30.

Wien: But no downtime for us, Katie was kind enough to come into the city for a LEO concert with me. Leo is an Austrian singer from Graz that I have become a fan of in the last year. He likes to think of himself as the Austrian Jack Johnson, but he writes his songs in half german half english. So, we went down to the danube canal, to Summer stage, where there are several restaurants set up around an outdoor terrace with stage. We chose our restaurant dependant upon location, right next to Leo. His set lasted for a little over an hour, and was mostly the songs off his CD, which I have. Now, I have to tell you, Leo is not exactly a star yet. Most people out that evening were not there for him, but simply to enjoy the outdoors and food. So, I tried to restrain myself from singing along. After the show, with a little courage Katie and I approached him for a picture. He asked if I wanted to buy his CD, and I said I already had one. He was so shocked, he asked, "why?". We got a picture with him, and finished off our drinks before heading back to my place.
Monday Katie left early in the morn, and I had the day off school. I had a doc appt (trying to get that all finished while on insurance) and went to Kristy's for dinner that night, as a kind of goodbye (although not my last goodbye). On the way to Kristy's, while I was on the Strassenbahn, I happened to look over and see the group of Welsers (the 7th form was having their Vienna week) which included several of my favorite teachers. When I got to Kristy's, she told about her trip to Ljubljana, and I about St. P. After getting home at about 11 or so, I gave Joel a call. Had a good chat with him, and he is now in India til December.
Tuesday morning Kristy and I met up at Kuenstlerhaus to see the Terracotta Army exhibit. Well done exhibit, kinda pricey in my opinion for what it was, but I guess it is an expensive exhibit to pack up and carry around the world. After grabbing myself a coffee, I headed to school for a couple of classes, one with a first form, and one with a fourth. When I finished class at 5, I headed home briefly for dinner before heading downtown to meet with Kristy and her church friends for another goodbye at her favorite cafe in town: the ice cream parlor. I had met many of her friends throughout the year, but there were some new faces as well. We sat inside where is was stifling hot, and ate out ice cream. She was given a T-shirt that we all signed, and chocolates. We then took the official Kristy stroll through the downtown, through the Hofburg before parting ways. Rose and I were joking that every time we went another block everyone would stop to chat again. So we deemed ourselves the leaders, and decided to see what would happen if we crossed the street. Our sheep did not follow at first, but we were determined not to go back, so eventually they joined us. Kristy gave a speech when we parted ways at the ring, and hugs (in American form) were given all around. I got home about midnight.
Wednesday I had just one class in the morning, and then had gotten a call from Kristy that she was doing some shopping downtown, so I met up with her. When waiting for her, I also got up my courage to call Ricki, my teacher from Wels who I knew was in town. She didn't answer. So Kristy and I went shopping, and chose some brooches for her and her mother at Swarovski's . Right as we were heading to look at shirts for her dad, my cell phone rang and it was Ricki calling back. She was so excited that I called (and in normal excited Ricki fashion), there was no discussion of when it would be good to meet up, but simply that they were heading to lunch in the 8th district and I had to come. So, I felt bad for ditching Kristy, but I headed to the 8th, where I found them at a really pretty beer garden having lunch. It was fun to see them again, and they are just as riotous as always. Kinda made me think what it would have been like to stay in Wels another year. But it's just one of those things I'll never know. So after lunch we split ways, but I was invited to the theater with them that evening. So after a couple hours downtime, and a much needed shower, we met at Schwedenplatz at a small theater to watch Johnny's Jihad, about an american soldier sent to Afghanistan only to turn to fight for Jihad, and the american officer who had captured him, and a soviet. It was a neat setup with scaffolding bars all over the place, which they climbed upon while talking. I had to let my ears adjust to the hochdeutch at first, but did ok with it by the end. All the teachers commented that it was such pretty language, and I should have been able to understand everything for once.....is it bad that I understand Austrian better than 'real' German? In crazy Welsian style we then all jumped into cabs which chased eachother across town so that Werner could get to the pub to see the rest of the soccer match. I went to a restaurant in Spittelberg with Ricki, Monika and Gerti, where they only reamed me a little bit about not staying in touch as well as promised. And I got to hear all of Ricki's adventures chasing her favorite band, Panteon Rococo across europe. We then went back to the little Beisl around the corner from their hostel where they had been drinking every night until about 1:30 when they all went to bed, and I went and caught a night bus home.
Thursday I once again taught one lesson, which meant I could not meet with the Welsers for their city bus tour, which would have been fun, but I did meet with them in the afternoon at Schloss Schoenbrunn where I was invited to take the tour with them, my first time touring the palace. It was pretty and baroque, just as to be expected...and I was glad to have not paid the €12 entrance fee....but probably good to have toured it once. Here for the first time I also got to chat with some students. Especially my girls from my WPG last year, who I was with each week for 2 hours, were good to see, and they talked to me. After the tour, I went to Mariahilf with some of the teachers for their souvenier shopping, and coffee and cake with Ricki and Werner before saying final goodbyes, and promising to be better about keeping in touch. What great people. And especially fun people to meet up with when they are not in school and are relaxed to (such as Dublin or this week in Wien). That evening I was invited to go to MacBeth with them, but chose instead to go to the Concert for Europe in the palace gardens. Both Rainer and Becca backed out on me, so I went alone, but loved it. It was a Russian theme this time, with a Russian director. I was also star-struck that Bill Clinton was there to receive €1 mill to go toward his AIDs campaign.
Friday I had one class once again, where I ended up being bad cop since I had planned a lesson and the teacher had already told them they could play a game. Oh well. After class I had to head home to work on a translation I said I would do, and never did for John's office. I was also able to squeeze in a half hour nap before heading back out for a Stammtisch with the AIEP. Despite John's late-ness, we were still some of the first ones there, and I got a seat next to Renee and Bruce, who were great to talk to. There was also a large showing of Austrians who are studying in IL next year. Also, to my surprise Lora and Heidi showed up, as they are currently taking a european vacation. After the Murray's left I headed down to the other end of the table and enjoyed chatting with them, and a couple of Austrians, giving a couple of hints about what to expect at U of I.
Saturday: And now it is the weekend, and I finally get to breathe a bit. I have no plans nor school til Wednesday (Pentecost weekend). I guarantee there will be naps involved, and also some more things to do around my city. I fly home in less than 2 weeks. Wahnsinn!!!

If you have made it this far, Phwah, an Austrian noise to you!

Classes are all rounding up around here for me. Most every time I have a class now, it is my last time with that group. All of the 5th formers (like seniors) are finished with their classes and are in the process of taking the Matura, which is a huge series of exams required to graduate. Last week for my last hour with the 5HB we took a field trip out to the UN complex in town. Truth is, I know very little about the UN. I did not know that Vienna was one of only 4 complexes. We got to see the big chamber where they hold meetings and our tour guide explained that Vienna's role is mainly dealing with nuclear weapons.

Besides classes I have also been keeping myself busy these days. Most every day I take a stroll downtown. Also I have been working on pulling things together, applying for a couple positions (I just had an interview for am RA position with SIT in the fall). Also getting my medical physical taken care of while here under better insurance. Although my policy does not really cover a physical, it is still cheaper here, and my doc wrote that I needed my blood tested for anemia so that I would not have to pay for my blood work. So, on Friday I went and got my blood drawn at the local laboratory. Although I was told to go early to avoid a wait, I did not, but was still the only person there. The first vial the lady took went really well, but something happened when she tried to switch them, and no blood would come any longer (smarty pants Rainer says that it's because the vial was not a proper a vacuum). So she worked on it for a long time, readjusting and trying to hold the vial in place better. And for the first time ever when having blood drawn, I was not feeling well after a while of this. So, I asked for a break and a glass of water. We decided to switch arms, and all went well...I wish we could have done that much earlier on...but so ist das Leben. Now I have lovely yellow bruises on each arm. Now that I have my blood results back, my physical is scheduled for tomorrow.

I also had a good weekend with friends. On Thursday evening Kristy, Becca and I went to Oberlaa, a spa on the outskirts of town. We started with a little swimming, both indoors and out (there was a gate to swim through). We all enjoyed the massage stations in the pool where jets were aimed at different parts of the body, and a buzzer signaled when to switch from one to the next. We then headed in to the Kraeuterstuben, which were herbal-infused saunas. I especially liked Eucalyptus (but hay flower just smelled like bad room spray). Then back to the whirlpool and pools. It was dark out by this time, and there was one pool with colored lights and music which made for good floating and star-gazing.

Saturday night I got to hang out with the boys. John, Rainer and I went bowling!! My first game was good (a 169), but I got progressively worse from there. But I must say that I retained my title of bowling queen. It was fun also in that it was Rainer's first time bowling. Ever. After bowling we went back to John's place to watch Snakes on a Plane (oh my) and have a 'sleep over,' although I was disappointed in the lack of facials and toenail painting. The next morning John made us American pancakes and sent us on our merry way. Sunday night Rainer and I met back up to go see Blades of Glory. Funny.

Tomorrow after my Doc appointment I will take the train to Steyr to celebrate Katie's birthday. I will stay with her a couple of nights and then she and I will both head to St. Poelten for a weekend with Alice, a friend we met at the Altenmarkt seminar. It promises to be yet another fun weekend (one of very few left in Austria).

Last weekend I arranged a couple days off school so that I could go to a Seminar that Fulbright was holding in Altenmarkt (south of Salzburg) on Americanism. This was the first year that second year TAs were invited to attend, and to be allowed to come we had to submit a one page essay. Other groups attending included the combined Fulbrighters who are here to study and teach, the Fulbright scholars who are doing research here, and Fulbright distinguished guests who are profs here teaching at Austrian universities for a term (these were our speakers). Then on top of that were the Austrians who are either studying or teaching in America next year, or who have a general interest in studying there in the future.

Coming from Vienna, I took the bus that was arranged. I was the only 2nd year TA coming on the bus, and did not know anyone else there. Everyone else was a part of some other group. But quickly I got to know a couple of the combined Fulbrighters and chatted with them a bit. When we arrived at Altenmarkt, a tiny little town, a group of us, who ended up being all Americans and one shy Austrian, went out for coffee and walked around town til the others came in by train, and we all had dinner.

The vegetarians were sequestered off to their own tales to make serving easier. Somehow, on that first night the 2 tables of veggies were split between Americans and Austrians. Yours Truly somehow ended up at the Austrian table. That was fine though. I liked my table mates, and it became my Stammtisch for the entire weekend. It gave me a chance to talk to these people more in depth. The majority at my table are heading to the US next year to be TAs at Universities (Agnes Scott in GA, Montana State, Alma in MI....). Also I thought it was good that everyone was assigned rooms with people coming from other programs. I ended up with 2 Austrians and a German (who is going to the US to teach an English class-haha). They were all sweethearts.

Somehow in the first evening a girl named Alice and I became friends. She is from St. Poelten and is heading to Alma, MI to teach german. She already teaches german as a foreign language, so I know she will do well. She had made friends with Andreas on the bus, and the three of us spent the evening chatting. And Fulbright provided an Open Bar.

The conference covered all sorts of topics, from the war in Iraq to masculinity. The masculinity guy was a hit all around because he is also a comedian, so of course his lecture was 'infotainment' in form. We also split off into Breakout sessions a couple of times where we discussed different themes and reported back to the group. The rule was that one Ami and one Oesi had to present each time, and preferably one male one female. The first night my group talked about Americanization and the second day we talked about Masculinity in the US, which I, the only female Ami in my group, got to present on. Gotta admit, kinda fun to be the native speaker for once...felt like it was my turn to express my ideas clearly as Austrians had to sumble for words (I am very used to it being the other way around here).

Saturday Katie, Alice and I got a little special excitement when we went out for coffee in town, and the apartment above the cafe we were at caught fire. For a moment it was like a movie, as the woman inside came out onto the terrace screaming to call the fire dept, and the flames were spewing out behind her. Luckily she still had an escape route...but it was in my mind that she may have to jump. After she was out, we helped clear tables and umbrellas so that the fire crews could get their trucks in there. I was impressed with the 4-5 crews that showed up from neighboring towns, all volunteers, who spent a couple hours fighting the flames.

Since I have been home, Alice sent an email inviting me, Katie and Andreas out to her place in St. P for a weekend, which I am excited about.

I had Monday and Tuesday then off school for Labor Day. I went downtown on Tues to watch all the marchers, but this time I did not join in inadvertently as Joel and I did 3 years ago. I taught on Wed, Thurs, and Friday, and then Friday went with one of my classes on their field trip out to the UN site here for a tour. My teacher was disappointed that we got an Austrian guide for the english tour, but the guide did ok. I learned a little bit about the UN (which is more than I knew previously). That was my last time with the 5HB. I cannot believe how quickly this year is ending, but all of my seniors are now done with classes and just have their exams left.

This weekend I stayed in the city. Did Vietnamese dinner with Kristy Friday night, and roamed the town all day Saturday because there was a big festival going on with all sorts of stages with live music going on all over downtown. I am not really sure if there was a reason behind it, or just a spring thing. I would have stayed out later last night, but it started raining, and I was not as impressed with the girl on stage as I had hoped (good voice, so-so songs). And today I have done very little. I have beans on the stove and laundry in the washer...and I expect that to be as exciting as it gets around here.

Well, it seems like just one year ago that I was writing a very similar post, but I cannot say it enough: this city is amazing in the spring! The weather has just been amazing. I do not think I have seen but one morning of rain in a month (and even that day turned into a beautiful afternoon). I find myself just wandering the city. I go downtown most everyday. On Sunday, after visiting the St. Marxer cemetery (at the recommendation of one of my teachers) to admire the huge, fragrant lilacs in bloom there, I went downtown and took in many street performances (there is a new diablo (?) guy who is a lot of fun, and of course the Hungarian break dancers).

Saturday night I went to a dinner party at my contact teacher's city apartment. There were 9 of us there, all teachers and spouses from the school. She made a lovely, north african themed dinner with artichoke appetizers and more food than could be imagined.

Plaguing me lately though has been the fact that when I got back from Italy, I was rather broke. This has gotten better now that I have been paid for April...but it was a bit sad for a while. See, thing is that I am expecting some money to come this way (tax return, which I hope is as hefty of that of my friends, payment for translation work I have done, and a bit of a refund from ski week), but none of this has come in yet. So, this past week I also agreed to edit a guy's master's thesis, and I am glad to say that I finished it this morning. I put in 14 hours on it this week. And, gotta say, gets old after a while.

All in all, life is good. I have been accepted to go to SIT next fall, and even though leaving Wien will be so hard, having something else lined up that I am excited about makes it easier. I was having some doubts about SIT about a week ago, just because of the cost, but have swallowed that, and know that it is a good program, and what I want to do (and go into debt for). So, deposit is going in the mail today!

Tomorrow I head off for a seminar at Altenmarkt in Salzburgerland. It is run through Fulbright and is on 'Americanism.' I am looking forward to it, to feel somewhat academic again, and to meet some new people, both American and Austrian. So that is how I will spend my Thurs-Sun.

I can't believe how quickly time is flying! Home in about 6 weeks. Craziness.

Sitting here at school with my laptop with about 15 minutes before I have one more class for the day. It is a class that I am not regularly in, and we are doing mock job interviews.

Since I last posted I went skiing with the school for a week in Obertauern. I am still by no means a profi, but think I am slowly improving. And, had a great time, without getting injured. We stayed in a hotel that was right in the valley so that we could ski right out the door and access several lifts (which was nice since last year we had to take the bus). I roomed with Kitty, the female PE teacher. She was a riot, always telling me stories, and feeding me chocolate. I went with a mixed group of 2nd, 3rd and 4th formers (aged 16-19). We were lucky that we got about a meter of snow while we were there, and that the temperatures dropped from the week before.

Then back in Wien for a week. Back to school, and a good chance to do some laundry before turning around and having a week and a half off for easter break. Katie came into town that weekend, and on Sunday Ashley, who taught in China with me flew in. The three of us enjoyed Vienna at eastertime a couple of days (yay for Bowle). We then overnight trained it down to Venice. Venice was beautiful the way it lays on the canals. Rather crowded and expensive, and very glad that when we were there it was still considered off season. We ate wonderful pizzas, olive loaf and seafood. We took a boat out to Murano, an island known for it's glass blowers one day. We never saw a drop of rain the entire time, and temps stayed in the 60s-70s.

After a couple nights there we forged on to Ljubljana, Slovenia. It was a nice change of pace after the bustle of Venice. Quiet and pretty. We strolled the markets, went up to the castle on the hill, napped in the park, and had an adorable hostel to stay in at night. Also learned that we loved Slovenian food: groats, mangold, mushroom soup.

After a couple ticket mishaps (Caitlin should have read the fine print better) we overnight trained it back into Austria, and spent a day in Steyr re-couping and walking around the town.

Bell's ringing. Better go, but that's our trip in a nutshell. Pics later.

I have booked a ticket home for June 8th. Today I went into the travel agency and booked a flight which I had reserved last week. I think I got a decent flight (as good as it is going to get anyway) and am glad that I fly out of Vienna...no long train rides leading up to flights this time. And I will get into O'Hare at about 8:30pm.

Last night I was given a ticket to go see a play at the Renaissance Theater on Neubaugasse. I saw "Der Streit" about 4 teenagers raised in isolation who are meeting each other and seeing themselves in reflections of ponds and mirrors for the first time. Of course the result was a lot of narcissism and jealousy. Glad to have gone and seen it. What I thought was funny was that there was a fountain up on stage which the characters kept jumping in and splashing about. Apparently the lady in the first row did not find this so amusing, and after being splashed a couple of times stood up and looked for a seat further back.

Has been in the 60s and sunny here this week. Just beautiful. I am hoping it is colder in the mountains though next week, because I am no good at skiing on slushy snow. I'm getting excited about my ski week though. I am borrowing goggles from a teacher and pants from a friend, so I should be rather set. The group I am going with is a mixture of 2nd, 3rd and 4th formers, meaning that they will range in age from 15 to 19. I hope they are not all so much better than me.

http://caitlininaustria.shutterfly.com/action/

I have added some new pics, including ones taken when Cris and Jim were here. I let Jim take most of the pictures for the trip, so mine are a slightly random selection. I think he and Cristin are working on getting theirs uploaded and labeled on Flickr.

Enjoy!

So, I guess I have not been a very good blogger. It seems like either nothing worth reporting about goes on, or so much happens that I barely know when to begin.

The month started with a great visit from Cristin and Jim. We all met in Salzburg on their first afternoon (them coming from Munich, me from Wien). We walked the downtown that afternoon, had wonderful coffees at Cafe Mozart (Jim got the Fiaker, which was made with rum). We went into a couple of the churches, and walked along the Saalzach river. For dinner we found a cute pizza restaurant. Salzburg is super cute, but in my opinion is just a tourist trap and doesn't offer all that much to do. I am glad we spent an afternoon there, and think we saw all we needed to. That night we caught a train to Steyr to sleep in the best accommodations money can buy: Katie's room. We covered the town of Steyr the next day, of course hitting up the wonderful homemade hot chocolate and the goats. That night we trained on to Wien.

Their time in Wien went by in a blur. We did SO much here. Lots of animals: zoo, aquarium, Lippanzaner tour. Lots of creepy things: Narrenturm, Josephinum, Catacombs, Torture museum. I believe we drank coffee at a different Kafeehaus each day. Naschmarkt, Centimeter and running sushi were yummy. Cristin and Jim were amazed by my knowledge of the city and the public transportation (what good is a blog if it's not used to brag).

We took an overnight trip to Budapest as well, taking the early early train (just barely making it) in, and the late train back the next day. We had an early mishap on the subway, but in all the trip went smoothly. Our hostel was small, but cute. We walked around the city the first day, and headed to the Baths that evening. What fun! Since it was February, all the outdoor pools had steam coming off of them! Then inside there were dozens of baths, all different temperatures. And different saunas. One sauna was a wet sauna that was so hot, we had to just sit there and breathe slowly as to not loose our breath. After another sauna, it was customary to then dip quickly into the very cold bath, and rub yourself with ice. On the next day we went to the museum to see the Van Gogh exhibit, which is the largest in the world right now. It was a lot of his early works..very good.

When it was time for them to fly out, I accompanied then to Munich for an overnight. We got there mid morning, and headed to Dachau for the afternoon. I cannot say that the concentration camp was fun, but educational. We walked around downtown in the evening, and of course, had a beer at Hofbraeuhaus to finish off the day. The nest morning we got up early and caught the S-bahn out to the airport. I saw them off (well to security) and headed back into town.

I would say it was a very successful visit. I had a blast getting to show them around where I live, and took the opportunity to do a few things I had never done before.

Since they left, it has been back to normal for me. Cristin brought me 5 books, of which I have now read 4.5. I got my grad school application in, and have been working on the Peace Corps one. School continues to go well. I have arranged to go on a ski week in March, which I am excited about.

Katie came in one weekend, and we had a really good time, first going to a concert at a local jazz club on Thursday night (Rainer also in tow), and the three of us went ice skating in front of the Rathaus on Friday night. What a blast! There are 2 rinks, and paths in the form of a figure-8 that connect them. I am no Oksana Baiul, but I was proud that I did not fall.

I guess that wraps up the highlights of the month. Maybe I will do better about writing in the near future!

I giggled when one of my students confused the words rape and rapture. Apparently rapture is punishable by death.

What strange weather. I had put off going to the grocery store all day, and then when it was time to bite the bullet I looked outside to see lightning and hear thunder as snow was falling. This did not last for long, and by the time I was heading back from the grocery store, nothing was falling any longer. I would say that all in all we got about an inch of snow. Forecast says that it is supposed to warm back up by midweek though. But after that, who knows what comes next.

So I have been trying to work on applications for the rest of my life these days. So, that means I have been very good at doing everything BUT writing. Yesterday I stayed home all day (except for a quick run to Spar) to work on things, but I did not get that much further on my personal statement. If anyone has any ideas about how great I am, how I have created peace on earth and learned from my experiences, please let me know.

Right now I am working on applying to a Master's program at SIT in International Education, and to the Peace Corps. I think the ultimate goal would be to be accepted to both, and then using the PC as the internship portion of the masters. Sure, sounds nice doesn't it. I have no idea how likely that is or not.

Today I also do not have classes, but think maybe I should try to get out more, and see if that makes me more productive when I am home? Yeah. Probably not, but it'll happen...eventually.

Thursday night I was up chatting with Cristin online, reading the news when CNN was reporting all the damage the storm with hurricane force winds was causing across Germany. I switched to Austrian news and learned it was set to hit here that evening. Hurricanes in Austria, who knew? I guess I had never expected a Typhoon in China either (although less odd, since that was atleast on the coast). The news said that we were expecting these terrible winds, and that trains have been delayed across the country, and that Vienna should be hit the hardest. Also the brand new Minister of the Interior decided that every single student in the country should be excused on Friday from school because of weather.

Well, we all know how accurate storm tracking can be. Turns out we got nothing here that I would even classify as a thunderstorm. The wind picked up a bit, and it rained, but it was no hurricane. Apparently Oberoesterreich did get it a little worse...the rivers are up in Steyr, and limbs have fallen from trees.

The next day, even though there was no effect on Vienna, we had several students not show up to school...why should they? They had an excused absence. Teachers were not too pleased about that.

Then this weekend I met Kim, a friend of Kristy's, and subsequently Sarah, who are both doing a State Department internship here in Vienna. Both nice fun girls who I enjoyed talking to quite a bit. Also hilarious is that they live in the American quarters: they each have their own 2 bedroom townhouse, fully furnished with an American size fridge, washer AND dryer, and the Armed Forces Networks on their TVs...that means broadcasting in english. I hope to get to know the girls better, hopefully not only for their 'tight pads.'

Talked to Cris and Jim on Skype tonight. We are all getting excited for their visit to come to see me in less than 2 weeks!

Enjoying my time in the beautiful weather...no havoc wreaking ice storms here. Shopped a bit, went to Stiegl Ambulanz, watched a movie with Kristy and friends, did some Skyping. Tonight Kristy and I are going to go see Zauberfloete at the Volksoper. I am excited. I am trying to take advantage of living walking distance from the opera house. May wear my new shirt. Also have managed to get 2006 and Krakow up in the pics. Just use the same link from Nov 27th to access them!

In a couple of my classes I reused a worksheet that a teacher from last year made that has different 'appearance' words that need to be matched to categories such as face, body, eyes. One of the words on the list was 'pigtails.' I was asked what this word meant, and they were all thinking something cork-screw shaped. So, I started by making sure they all knew ponytail, and a couple of the boys in the class had their hair back. Then I described pigtails, but since my hair is pretty short, one of my boys, split his hair and put it up in pigtails for all to see.

It is now Wednesday afternoon and I am done teaching for the week. The weather is beautiful today and I hope it holds up for my long weekend.

Maybe I will be better at posting in 2007....but lately it has been getting worse and worse. Instead of droning on and on about useless things I have done, I am going to try to just list some highlights of the last month.

-Rebecca, the musical. My contact teacher Christine gave me her ticket that she did not want, and I loved getting dressed up and seeing a fun performance.

-Steyr weekend with Katie, accompanied by John and Rainer. We baked christmas cookies, visited the baby jesus, and drank more hot chocolate.

-Chinese food with chinese classmates...really enjoyed talking to them late into the evening.

-Christmas markets with Katie and her sister Stacie. We definitely drank our shares of Gluhmost and punsch, hitting up Rathaus, Spittelberg and Schoenbrunn in just a couple of days. Also enjoyed the Raclette, a big wheel of cheese that they heat under a flame and then scrape off onto bread.

-Christmas services at Stephansdom and Michealerkirche

-Christmas meal consisting of Salmon, roasted potatoes, sweet potatoes, salad, green beans and bread. Then going to see Hansel and Gretel the opera, stuffed.

-Opting out of trips with Katie and Stacie to stay home and nurse my cold

-New Years in Vienna--many stages with live music downtown, streets packed, lots of fireworks, and a waltz at midnight. Set off our own jr firecrackers on the way home and felt so rebellious.

-Poland! Took the overnight train to Krakow, and stayed there 3 nights. Really loved the city...so pretty. Took day trips to Auschwitz and the salt mines. Went on a walking tour that consisted of just me and the guide. Loved the polish prices, and a Georgian restaurant.

Now it is back to the 12-hour a week grind for me. Also Chinese picks back up this week, and I have not done my homework! Goals of the week also include getting a few applications out that I have been working on, and starting on others. Should have done more of this during break, but will just have to focus harder now.

Hope all of you had a great slide into the new year! May it be a happy, healthy 2007!

Wow, so I have not updated here in a while. I will try to think of some highlights for you:

I tried to go to the Christmas market at Schoenbrunn, but got there right as they closed for the night. I am sure I will make it another evening. (I have walked around a couple of the other markets though. Spittelberg may be my favorite.)

I got my hair cut off. It didn't quite end up like the picture I took in. I went with Katie in Steyr to "Hair Killers" It is a new young salon with a Harley in the front window. The music was fast and upbeat, and I think my stylist tried to keep pace. May have been the fastest haircut ever (esp for the volume of hair she took off). All in all I think it is ok. Requires little to no work, which is I guess what I was going for...

I babysat. The 3.5 year old did not stop screaming mostly the entire time. The baby, Constantin, was cute though.

I worked 2 hours last week. One lesson on Tuesday, one on Wednesday.

Wednesday night I boarded the train with Kristy and her friend Rose in Vienna. I hung out with them in their car till Linz when Katie joined us. Katie and I were in a 6 person sleeping cabin with a really nice woman above Katie who talked to me (and everyone else) a lot. We slept enough to be rested somewhat in Berlin the next day. We arrived into the spankin' new Hauptbahnhof that they just opened before World Cup soccer this year. We figured out subway tickets and made our wat to the hostel. Kristy and Rose waited downstairs while Katie and I checked into our room, which was super clean, and had its own shower. Rather impressed with the place. After brief freshening up, we all headed downtown, through the Brandenburg Gate, past the Tiergarten, and on our way to a public jewish memorial that takes up a whole city block. I thought it was really well done, with all of these stones of all sizes around you, sometimes enveloping you, and the ground curved up and down beneath you. It is said to give you a feeling of being lost, and confused, as though in a concentration camp. I am not sure that I got ALL that from it, but I did think it was nice, and I love any public space that involves hiding and climbing. Also there was a museum below which had a lot of reading to it, but just tons of information about the holocaust. You could read family histories, learn about specific concentration camp sights...not exactly a pick-me-up. After the museum, we continued on our way to Potsdamer Platz, an area that was in 'no mans land' when the wall was up, and since, has been totally reconstructed. All of the architecture is very modern, a lot of glass. We were amused by the Saalbach Hinterglemm advertisements, and partook in tubing down a fake hill covered in snow brought in on trucks. Best 1.50 ever spent. We perused Christmas markets. Katie and I ate Rothersdam balls. yum. Went inside a shopping center. They had Eddie Bauer! Sadly, this really excited me. Went up near Gedaechniskirche, a bombed out church which they have left portions of standing, found dinner, and made our way up into the glass dome on the Reichstag to look out at the city at night. A full day I would say! At 10, we split ways for Kristy and Rose to meet with the friend they were staying with, and Katie and I headed back to the hostel, beat.

Friday we all met up and started the day by heading to Check Point Charley. Went through the museum there, which was quite extensive, talking about all the different ways people tried to (and sometimes succeeded in) escaping the East. Ate lunch at Schlotsky's. Who would have known. Funnily, Kristy took us there saying she had eaten there before in Berlin, but had no idea it was an American chain. Oh well free refills (no cherry coke though). In the afternoon we walked through more christmas markets (I pet a donkey), peeked in the Dom, saw a rainbow over Alexanderplatz. As it was getting dark, we made our way to The Jewish Museum (I think there is a theme to this trip). I was impressed by this museum structurally and overall. The architecture was done by Libeskind. The inside was also good. Interactive, which was refreshing after so many museums of just reading things (I think the Dinosphere has influenced me). Ate quick, cheap hole in the wall chinese food for dinner, and met with Kristy's friend Summer (see Thanksgiving) for ice cream back at Potsdamer Platz. After everyone left us, Katie and I stayed out to finish the night with an Apfelpunsch.

Saturday Katie and I checked out of the hostel in the morning and met with the others. Top of the list for the day was the zoo. The Berlin zoo boasts the largest number of species of any other zoo. I was not disappointed. The zoo was large, and right downtown. They had an extensive monkey house (my favorite) and the best Hippo exhibit I have ever seen (and to think Katie wanted to pass it up). Not all of the exhibits were wonderful; I thought the polar bear looked rather sad. But all in all a good zoo. We certainly got out €8 out of the place: we stayed from 11-5. Afterward we found pizza for dinner. Just had a couple hours left after that for some downtown shopping (nothing bought) before heading back to the train.

Now back in Wien. I will always love Wien. I slept all day Sunday and had my big day of classes today. I have 3 classes tomorrow, and was then given a ticket to go see Rebecca, the musical, which I am rather excited about.

P.S. The Berlin pics are up...just use the link from the last post!

I'm at school using the super fast internet and loving it. I uploaded more pictures to the album Fall 2006, and added all of my Rome pictures (although I have not labled these yet).

Enjoy: http://caitlininaustria.shutterfly.com/action/

Well, actually Happy couple days after Thanksgiving. For Thanksgiving day itself I did nothing too much out of the ordinary: taught a couple lessons, grocery shopped, napped and such. Friday I also taught (4 hours, more than the rest of my week combined), came home briefly to drop off my bag, and then met up with Katie at the train station. We had some heavy-duty shopping to do to get ready for our Thanksgiving celebration. We each bought a new sweater at H&M, stopped by Mercur for marshmallows, and enjoyed a leisurely dinner at Centimeter (first time this year). Saturday began with even more shopping (good thing I finally got paid). Katie bought cute winter boots. I had to leave her to her own devices to head to massage class (acupressure points), then we met back up for more grocery gathering.

When we got back to the apartment, we cooked and cooked and baked. Between us we made Sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, 2 pies (cherry and pumpkin), broccoli, mixed veggies, and cranberry sauce. Yum. We both also were happy to have squeezed showers in there, and wore our new sweaters. Guests began arriving at 18:37, just as planned. In addition to Katie and I, Kristy, and 2 of her friends, Summer and Natalia (who are studying in Berlin) came. Rounding it out was John, our only male. Kristy also brought a pork roast, salad and rolls. YUM. I had cleaned up the livingroom, and we all gathered around the table to eat. Good food, good conversation, a good night. We sent everyone home with food, and still had plenty for Katie and I to eat all day today (sunday).

And that's about all we did today, eat leftovers, watched a movie, and now she has headed back to Steyr. My schedule got shifted a bit, so now every other Monday I have a class at 8:50, and then have a huge block of time off till 1:30 when I teach 4 more classes. I am thinking about taking my laptop tomorrow and using the schools wireless to upload some pics (hopefully faster than here).

Also back-tracking a bit I should mention that I really enjoyed the Picasso exhibit, with guided tour, so I knew more of what I was looking at, and also enjoyed meeting up with John and Rainer Wednesday night at Siebensternbraeu in celebration of Rainer's birthday.

Although I have been back in Wien a couple days, I am just getting around to finishing telling about my Rome trip.

Friday was probably my most 'down' day. The tiredness was setting in from all the walking and sightseeing I had been doing. Also I had stayed up a bit later than usual playing cards with Dirk the Aussie who had had his wallet stolen earlier in the day. I estimate that I probably walked a good 15 miles a day while I was there. I never rode the bus, and only took the subway twice (which I also attribute to still having all of my belongings). Walking is a good way to see the city, especially if you're just wandering around like I was. But I must have gone in SO many circles. I started the day at San Clement, a 12th century Basilica built atop a 4th century Basilica, built atop an old Pagan alter site. I paid to go down into all the different layers of the church. Pretty fascinating. The day was probably the prettiest of all. I walked through a few parks, took even more pictures of the colosseum from the hilltop, marveled over the palm trees and flowers in full bloom in November. I also made my way across town to a church that has a big round stone face. Legend has it that if you stick your right hand in it's mouth while telling a lie, it will bite you. The monks used to help this along by putting scorpions inside. (this is the new pic I have up). I visited the 'smallest inhabited island' in the world in the middle of the river, and ate the best gelato of the trip. Other highlights of the day included a man riding a bike with his cockatoo and a boyfriend taking a close-up of the gf's butt without her knowing it.

Saturday was my last day in Rome. I got up, ate breakfast and had to pack up my things. I left my bag at the hostel and went out for one last day of sightseeing. The first place I hit was amazing. It was an old crypt where they had excavated thousands of bones of Monks and used them to decorate the crypt walls in elaborate patterns. There were 6 vaults, all filled with bones. It was a throw back to good old Osteology days. And I was glad that I *thought* I could identify most everything. After the crypt I wound my way up a street hat lead to the top of the Spanish steps. There at the top sits the Villa Medicci, now a luxury hotel. There were masses waiting outside trying to get a glimpse of Tom Cruise who was staying there. I have to admit, I joined them for a bit. I have never been a part of the paparazzi scene before. I am pretty sure I saw the van that Tom left in (two pulled out and went in opposite directions). He was off to his wedding. I got a great picture of the back of a guard, but nothing else. I watched a photographer chase the van down the hill. Pretty entertaining. I continued walking through town, along the river. The day was spitting rain every once in a while. I climbed to a park on a hill that overlooks the river and city. Also up there was a door with a peephole that when looked through gave a perfect shot of Peters Basilica. I wandered my way down the hill through some residential neighborhoods, and ended up near the Colosseum one last time. I tourist watched a bit (still not in a hurry). As I was tourist watching, I saw a familiar face. I could not decide whether or not, and how to approach. But I went for it, and asked this girl "do you speak English?" She said yes, so I asked "Did you TA anthropology at U of I?" Turns out it was Jodi, my Ta from Osteology. She was in europe on a research grant, traveling and taking pictures of different Neanderthal skulls in museums for her research. Pretty funny to bump into her. We talked for maybe 15 minutes or so. She had just gotten in the day before from U of I. I ate some pasta (not all that impressed) and made my way back to the hostel. I still had plenty of time, but it was dark and rainy, and there was nothing else I felt I needed to see. I watched part of a movie at the hostel, checked email, and then went to the train station where I bought a sandwich for the train ride. My train ride was more crowded than the last, often with 5 of us, plus a poodle, in the car. I slept ok, but was glad to come home and crash all day Sunday.

Yesterday I spent cleaning in the morning, and then in the afternoon went shopping a bit. Bought nothing spectacular (unless you count double-sided tape), but looked around in lots of shops. Today instead of teaching I am going with my class to the Albertina museum's Picasso exhibit for a guided tour. Then Chinese class tonight (I really need to study), and back to school tomorrow for the first time in over a week!