Viva la Vida

The easiest thing to remember in a foreign country is Carpe Diem but it is also the quickest thing that you forget. The best thing to do is DO the thing you want as soon as you can - the next minute, hour, or day. Don't say 'next week' or 'next month'. Time doesn't exist like that. Sure, you might say: I'll do that the next time the sun's shining or the weather is nice. You know what? Screw the weather. Unless it's a typhoon, blizzard, or some such other DANGEROUS weather anomaly. Then the weather will probably screw you.

BUT.

If it's just raining, run out and do it. The experience will be all the more original. I got caught in that trap over here too much and too often. Now I've run out of 'next week's and 'next month's. All I have is today (well, and a few more days).

I spent Saturday with my teachers grading the last little bit of Matura. My teach picked me up at 9:30am and I stayed with her till about 2pm. We lunched on Hendelsbacken, which reminds me of fried chicken. My teacher drove me from her beautiful house, situated deep out in the countryside, back to school in town. I then spent about 2 final hours with another teacher before finishing up the day with an hour of tutoring.

I've been tutoring a 16-17 year old Soccer Boy for the past few months and we've been working hard but he never manages to improve his grade. Tomorrow is his big test and I PRAY that he gets a decent score. Otherwise, I will feel pretty crappy as a teacher and a little guilty for taking his money.

On Sunday, I went to a different teacher's house by bike - after some minor detours and unnecessary turns. We ate a huge lunch of Bratel'in'di'rein, which translates to: Meat in the Round. Nice, right? Did I mention that vegetarians can have a hard time of it over here? Meat, potatoes, cabbage, carrots and dumplings all sit in one pot in the center of the table and it's 'help yourself'. I was in heaven, picking out large slices of pork with a thick, delicious rind of fat. Mmmm... Afterwords, I was shanghaied into a 'little' bike ride, which turned into a spastic speedy jaunt through the Austrian countryside. Little equated to 35km at high speeds. We biked along the Inn, oh famous river of the area. An amazingly chill breeze blew off the water as we biked up a path towards a castle that NEVER got any closer. We were on that same track for 10 years before we hit that castle. I drank an apple juice with seltzer water (Apfelsaft g'spritz) the Austrians, beer. Lots of beer. Dehydration works backwards here.

Tomorrow my mom comes to visit! As you can imagine, my months without contact are about to end. I am terribly excited to show her around!

Now, if only I could remember how to sleep...

Movie and Matura

Yesterday, all the students and teachers watched a movie called "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" (and fyi it's pYjamas here in England-town). It's a tragic story about a pair of boys who become victims of the Holocaust.

It may be ironic but I'm grateful that the Nazis are only appearing at the end of my time here. We discussed a movie called "Der Mühlviertel Hasenjagd", which roughly translates into "the Mühlviertel rabbit hunt". It tells the escape of prisoners, mainly Russians, from a concentration camp in Upper Austria. Local citizens were told that a group of criminals had escaped and that they were to be caught dead or alive. This lead to the violent and deadly "hunt" of the escapees about the Austrian countryside.

Austria has been in the news lately because of several events involving the dreaded National Socialists. A group of Austrian students visited Auschwitz, the most well-known and deadly extermination camp of WWII, to be kicked out a short time later for Nazi references or spreading Nazi propaganda. Then, a few weeks later, a group of young Neo-Nazis disrupted a commemorative ceremony by waving fake guns and bullying the participants. Come now, children, can't we play nice?

Warp Speed

I feel like I'm speeding forward into what could NOT be a new direction. Life is changing/going to change but is it all new? Does it have to be new? If it's 'old', maybe I'll be a little better at it this time. Practice makes perfect, right?

Questions, questions. This chill wind must be the culprit. Austria is amidst 'die drei Heiligen' or something similar (I'll check the name). What it roughly translates to is: the days in which the weather can turn freezing. Apparently it happened enough that the Austrians gave these few days in May a name. But it's cold, wet, and windy so I'm a firm believer.

The good news of the day: my money miraculously appeared in my Paypal account. After days of tense waiting, emails and phone calls, it's finally working. Now, if only I could somehow communicate with my credit card company with similar success.

Horizon looks good. If shadows are looming or pit falls are forming, they're doing so quietly. I'm looking forward to working the German out of my English. It's insidious, die Sprache.

Food

I just had a beautiful culinary experience! One of my teachers recommended that I try this Turkish food called Bulgur. Actually, I'm not 100% sure that it IS Turkish. Shall I adhere to today's lesson and say Middle Eastern?

Fantastic! I think I just found my rice substitute! Shhhh!

Recipe: Fry up some Bulgur (looks like chopped brown rice) in butter
Cook in a vegetable/beef broth
Let sit...
Enjoy!!

I made it with vegetable broth and had some mixed vegetables on the side. My gosh, I'm keeping this one a secret.

p.s. Sorry that I'm the anti-cook. You can see how 'cultivated' my culinary skills are. I usually avoid recipes that involve more than three steps. Eating is a step. Opening the refrigerator door is also a step.

Matura - Time

The students and teachers alike are in an uproar all over Austria. It is that terrible time of the year, Matura time.

The Matura is the cumulative standard examination that all Austrian students have to take (and pass) in order to graduate. In Britain, they are called 'A-levels'. My students say this as if it would make it easier for me to understand. Right.

Like I said, it's a cumulative exam in over three subjects. I believe the student has the choice of which three but still. I hope you kept your notes from that freshman year biology course 'cause you're gonna need them!

That's this week's chaos, which results in anti-chaos for me. I am left to observe and wave flags to root for the students (figuratively). This Saturday, the English teachers have enlisted me for an entire day of test correction. Woo!

Soccer Boyz

The first thing that the kids do when they get to the dormitory after a weekend at home is crank up their stereos and blast techno or, more likely, house music. I guess that they don't have this privilege at home (it's rare to pass an Austrian house and here ANY music) so being here is a sorta release for them. I imagine they really enjoy being here. For an example of 'house' music, see this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWMw6yW325Q

Good thing my musical tastes are flexible enough to do the limbo with the head bent back between the knees.

Today I took a bike ride. Not the original plan. Being sick this past week, energy had become a precious commodity. I was supposed to have spent Mother's Day with a teacher, her husband, and four small children. But after spending an afternoon with the little rascals, I had serious doubts that my semi-comatose brain could cope with an entire weekend of pure energy. I opted to stay home...and woke up today 100% better. Amazing! In celebration, I rolled the bike out of the basement garage and hit the trails.

Ah, Austria is so beautiful at this time of year. It SMELLS wonderful - flowers, plants, fresh dirt, water. This time of year belies the true horror of summer: the heavy, humid air that chokes the lungs. These 'perfect' days are in short supply. But without the good, how could we ever recognize the bad? But they aren't really 'bad' days in summer. Just uncomfortable.

Anyway, back to the bike ride. My first goal was to bike until I saw cars that didn't have 'RI' on their license plates (RI stands for Ried im Innkreis, my town). Pretty soon, I diluted that goal to reaching maybe Braunau or another town that I am familiar with by name. Something that I could tell the teachers on Monday, you know?

Teacher: What did you do on the weekend?
Me: Went for a bike ride.
Teacher: Oh yeah? Where to?
Me: HELL-AND-BACK.
Teacher: ...

I usually stop biking when I get bored. But today inspiration was with me and I went until I was tired. NOT wise. Not wise, at all. By the time my bike was homeward bound, I was beat. My knees were screaming, my butt was telling me "oh you're going to regret this", and my arms were sporting an unnaturally red tone. In fact, I have a rather nice farmer's tan. Mmm, this is classy right here. *flexes arm*

A small note on the Austrian countryside: the area in which I reside is called the Innviertel. 'Inn' denotes the river that dominates the 'viertel', or quarter. Besides an overly developed regional dialect and a concentration of right wing socialists, Canola or Rape is a popular crop. And it's beautiful. Gorgeous. Enchanting. Lambent? Yes, lambent. Canola, when it is in bloom, is a bright shade of gold. This gives the hills a glistening, glamorous cape of waving gold. Not something I'm used to seeing in my side of Pennsylvania.

At any rate, I made it back after three hours and 45km (about 30 miles). Not so bad. And now I'm getting ready to do dishes, which I don't want to do. But the hot water is back on so this should make things easier. In theory.

Every problem...

...is just a cleverly concealed opportunity. I learned this bit of information from a friend and it's very helpful, if a bit self-serving. I mean, I started thinking "how can I use this situation to my benefit" for about everything: from the crowd of Turkish kids outside the grocery store to the schnuffly, schnotty feelings in my head. It works, I guess, but I can't help but feel a little bit like a cad.

But I have a few big problems that I am desperately trying to make into opportunities.
1.) Paypal ate 200euros and I can't contact tech services. No...
2.) Summer employment?

Today is another day all about the little things. The sun was shining and it was pretty warm. I escaped to the rooftop for an hour to read a book and lie in the sun; did laundry and carted everything (clothes and drying rack) up to the rooftop to dry; and I went shopping for food. That was the grand expanse to the day's activities. I chatted with a few friends online, did a bit of research, had my return flight date changed (I now return on the evening of June 2nd!), and basically did a grand nothing. The excuse is a pernicious sickness that just won't leave me alone. Tscha, I've gone through almost a liter of OJ today. Elixir of life, I hope it does the trick.

From the rooftop, I could hear the announcer calling out the score from the city soccer stadium not too far away. I also thought about Mother's Day tomorrow. Happy Mother's Day, all you mothers! :)

I'm watching Fruits Basket, a Japanese Anime. Alright, I can hear your clucking all the way from here! The Japanese have a good knack for capturing cute morals. Example: Onigiri are rice balls that are usually filled with salmon roe or some such sea flavoring or just plain with an 'umeboshi' (pickled plum) stuck to the outside. Now, the main character in this anime ponders about why people become jealous of others. She uses the Onigiri as an example. If an Onigiri were to look down at itself, it would think it was just plain rice but, in truth, there is actually a great big Umeboshi stuck to its back. Go figure. We can only see other people's Umeboshi and not our own. Some people have trouble recognizing their own beautiful qualities. Ah, well. I thought it was cute.

Happy Mother's Day!

Slovenia, Croatia, and Southern Austria - A Whirlwind Tour

On Monday night I got back from a vehicular jaunt around Eastern Europe. A party of three - two Americans and one Austrian - we started our journey in Linz late on Thursday evening. Well, I've already related much of the facts to family and friends so this post will be an email excerpt. I'll add certain anecdotes at a later call (I have class in about 30min).

Dear Reader...
Thursday, I jumped a packed train to Linz. I actually missed the first one because it was TOO packed. I met up with Mary, her friend Gregor, and Gregor's roommates, who are dating. The five of us drove down to Slovenia and dropped the roommates off at the dude's house. The girl was from Berlin (I had fun talking with her, you can imagine). ;)

We three continued on in the dark to Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. Along the way many bonfires dotted the hillside. The fires were huge and seemed abandoned; they looked vast and apocalyptic. May 1st isn't celebrated much in Austria so we got to witness a little fun in Slovenia. ;) We didn't have much trouble driving, except we passed the street for our hostel about 3 times. >.< When we arrived, there were two big guys in black leather jackets standing outside, looking quite stoned. Pedro, from Brazil, wanted us to go partying with him but we were bushed. Instead, we walked around the city till about 1am and then went to bed.

Ljubljana is a beautiful city! Our hostel was right near the "Dragon Bridge" - a bridge covered with statues/carvings of dragons. A river passes right through the city so there are many bridges, which are lit up at night in green and blue. I really enjoyed it. The city also has that 'old' kinda feel with broken cobbled roadways. On May 1st we walked around and visited the castle, walked around some more, and chilled because much was closed due to the holiday. We then drove out to Lake Bled, about an hour away. Beautiful lake with a few islands. We took a ride on this Alpine train ride thing - basically a luge down a mountain. :P That night we celebrated "Tag der Arbeit" (May Day). We played this game called "King's cup/corner", which is typical American: drink as much as possible as quickly as possible. It left me devastated because we played with wine. NO MORE wine for me. Never. :P Around midnight we went to a club and danced. We stayed out till about 3am. Pedro, the Brazilian, was our chaperon.

Next day we left for Croatia. About a 3 hour drive. Croatia and Bosnia were at war just a few years ago, ended in 1996 I believe. The only thing left over from the war were quite a few husks for houses. We went to the Plitvice Lakes National Park, which is famous for it's stunning waterfalls. This place was the best. I can't really describe it. You walk about the lakes and waterfalls, which seem to disappear and materialize throughout an entire forest, atop a wooden planked walkway. The water is emerald green and incredibly clear and there's always the sound of moving water. I could have stayed...

In our apartment, we found ourselves sharing the place with a lone Japanese girl, Atsuno, who is studying in Amsterdam. Cool girl, if a bit crazy. We offered to drive her to Zagreb the next day but she opted to take the bus. She disappeared quite early the following day so we didn't talk more. Sunday, we finished up the second half of the lakes (saw the biggest waterfall in Croatia!), randomly ran into Atsuno again, and headed out to Zagreb.

We had trouble finding our hostel in Zagreb; blame it on a non-existent sign for our hostel called: Hobo Bear. When we arrived, we found ourselves booked in a 12 person room with 9 rugby players! After some bed juggling, we were put in an 8 person room to leave the rugby players in peace. One of them had a face shaved into the hair on the back of his head. Classy. :P We dropped our stuff and hit the streets!

...to run right into Atsuno from the apartment! I ran up and shouted 'Konnichiwa'! Japanese style. ;) She stayed with us the rest of the day and had a blast. She's also an Aries and my same blood type (you know, Japanese are crazy about blood type). ;) So it was a big highlight of the trip for me to meet her and become good friends. She invited me up to Amsterdam for fun and Japanese cooking. We talked about anime, dramas, books, food, art, everything! She's really atypical for a Japanese person because she's loud and laughs a lot. But it's a laugh that makes you want to join right in! As the evening wound down, I began to feel sicker and sicker. Mary, travel buddy, had kindly shared her sickness with me. When I went to bed, I felt incredibly weak and on fire with fever. The hostel was loud so I popped in my earbuds and listened to music. I took a Tylenol and hoped for the best. The fever broke around 5am and I knew because I swam in and out of consciousness the entire evening. At 7am, I couldn't sleep anymore and got up. Mary went for a run and I went on a search for coffee. The weather was bright and the streets full of people commuting to work.

We didn't stay long in Zagreb before heading back to Austria. South of Graz, we randomly stopped at a winery and had a private wine tasting. Hey, there are perks to being American! We were 'exotic'. :P Well, I know that I said 'no more wine' but I did end up buying two bottles as gifts for my parents. ;) Then we drove back to Linz and I caught the train back here. Had to walk back to the Internat, drop my things, and get food before stores closed. You can imagine, I can barely lift my fingers anymore to type. And the annoying tickle in my lungs is turning painful.

That was my weekend. :) More crazy than I've had in a long time. The Austrian who drove works for a company selling cars so we got the gas for free! Therefore, I managed to save $$. But the dude had no sense of food/hunger. He said he didn't care about anything he ate. T.T And so he kept us running around, barely going on one meal a day!! Nargh!

And that's all for now...

I Had a Dream

And it's not what you imagine. My nighttime activities have become a bit strange. I'm only writing about them because it's hard for me to believe; maybe I'll need proof of these antics later.

I destroyed my bed last night, completely taking the cover off of my duvet. I woke up in a ball, gripping the cover, under a knot of blanket. Not only am I becoming more active in my sleep, but I'm also shedding my fetish for nightmares. Win some, lose some.



But let's move on to Austria, the star of the show!

This blog has been showing the effects of my last few months here. Suddenly the gray skies of winter ran off and left a cloudless ocean of sunlight! I'm wiping a golden layer of pollen off my laptop as I type. Everything is shouting out the reminder: Yes, I live! Everyday, I mark the progress of leaves on the trees outside the teacher's lounge. It occurred to me, I've known winter for the past 6 months. Only these last two are guaranteed to teach me the existence of color.

My old band director used to say, "the audience only remembers the beginning and the end of any piece, make it good!" What will I remember of Austria? Clouds and Sunshine, but for me, there's a long line connecting the two. So many months of waiting for this weather! Ah!

Highlights: In March, I went to Cologne for my first ever metal concert (I'm exceedingly proud). Cologne is a beautiful city; we toured the Lindt Chocolate Factory and climbed the cathedral's steeple - a terrifying experience. We had dinner at an American steakhouse. It brought back memories of Ohio, crunching on the peanut shells at Texas Roadhouse and admiring the buttery shine on the gratis buns. GodThe concert was wonderful. My only previous concert experience (excluding the sit-down one I had with Billy Joel and Elton John) was in Philly with my once most favorite band: Muse. The crowd was wild and, needless to say, I lost my shoe and feared life (not necessarily my own). One would think that a metal band, with blazing power chords and enough black leather to satisfactorily clothe a biker gang, would evoke more passion than a British pop band. Well, no. The metal concert wins in crowd kindness, comfort, and fun. Besides an overly large family of Dutchmen, it was perfect. We were front row; the lead singer sweated on me; the American guitarist pointed at me and played a rad guitar riff. I couldn't have been a happier cookie. Afterwords, we met the band in the local Hard Rock Cafe. Just enough notoriety for the band to be fun. Not enough to corrupt.

For Easter vacation I visited my family in Germany among other things. My uncle drove me around on his Porsche farm tractor; I was verbally abused by an Afghani lap dog; and I spent some serious time on a swing with a giant mystery novel. Generosity and love are blessings and deserve reciprocation. Pass it on. Well, do as I say and not as I do.

I'm taking knitting lessons from one of my teacher's stepmothers. We're working on knitting socks but my technique was so 'bad' that I spent the greater part of the lesson learning the 'correct' way to knit, which is actually just another style. But I don't question. Now I can knit with both hands - ambidextrous! But the lessons have petered out and I'm half way through a sock without further direction. Talk about frustration.

Now that I've completely unveiled the fact that my English skillz are rotten and growing mold, I'll leave this at that!

Working Stiff

If you can't beat'em, join'em. New motto that I adopted last night with the WG (wohnengemeinschaft) crowd next door. Usually loud and rambunctious, sleeping while the bears next door jump around to a wild bass beat is nearly impossible. And since I haven't been sleeping much anyway, why not? The Romanian exchange student living there (the one who has been a constant source of jovial entertainment) was celebrating his Geburtstag with a few buddies, which was the Grund for the effusive noise levels this time. I didn't much participate in the boys' koma saufen but things did get a bit wobbly. Afterwards, I walked the 20 meters back to my room and read a bit of a young adult novel called SPEAK until about 2:30am. My brother once told me, in all his eloquence, "Sleep is for fags." You know, a bundle of sticks.

But why has my work ethic gone to pot? This morning, bright and early 7:25 bloody bonny morning, my favorite teacher from the school next door called, asking if I'd take over one of her classes because of testing in another grade. "Bist du munter" she asked me. HAH. After the phone ringing in my ear, I am now, I wanted to say. Spontaneity frightens me in the class room because I suffer from stage fright. All those open faces and sometimes glassy eyes, they stupefy me. So for a few moments all I could think was, shit shit, in all MY eloquence. But then I gathered my Gedanken and decided, what the heck, we're gonna play charades today and a few vocabulary games!

The sun is shining with gusto this morning, first time it has done so in nearly a month, so I took a walk to rid myself of the wobblies, die von gestern übrig geblieben sind. I had a sudden, strong desire to see moving water before starting work. I geared up and walked the 8 minutes to a nearby bubbling brook. Today I felt like watching up stream. It's a whole different feel than watching down stream. The Up Stream mood is one filled with confidence and adventure. The water is rushing towards you, ambivalent yet compelling and it's sorta like Rose standing on the bow of the Titanic. Minus Will. Minus the boat. And minus freezing Atlantic Ocean. Alright, minus a lot of things. But the FEELING is similar. Standing on a bridge over water looking up stream - on top of the world, which seems to be going in the right direction and doing alright (please, don't disturb my illusion).

The Down Stream mood is an easy metaphor that maybe we can later besprechen.

Feeling much much more munter, I walked back home and completely fell in love with an old lady's back yard. The grass was a hesitant green and well tended, spring batting her flirtatious eyes, but the yard was inundated, nigh infested with snowdrops and small clusters of button-sized yellow flowers. They were überall. Gorgeous little flowers with hanging heads and graceful stems. Very humble but nevertheless stunning. How did I know that it was an old Oma living there? I didn't - pure assumption on my part. But I did see a walker beside the house and I thought, if I ever get old, I want my back yard to be full of Snowdrops too. It's comforting to think of aging like that.

When I got back to the room, the teacher who had called earlier met me to return a CD and tell me that another teacher wanted her class to join mine, the one I'm to take over. Spontaneity, bad! Suddenly, the count of open faces, glazed eyes doubled and I panicked. Shock must have been plastered all over my Gesicht because the teacher started shooting off suggestions on how to handle the class. I had to rethink my lesson plan that was geared towards a smaller group. It took a few minutes but I got facts straight in my mind. No worries, my initial reactions are always a bit übertreibt. It will work out. What's more, when I reported for normal work, they didn't need me. More testing. So I am free until this double class in a half hour. I need to prepare some more so this is tootles.

*What's with the German? Well, I want to prove to you all that you can understand a foreign language. German is not that difficult and, with a little context, I'm sure you can understand! If not, throw rocks at me and I'll post translations. ;)

What makes you sing

I know (and I'm glad) I'm alive when...

People I meet for the first time show me unexpected kindness.
Strangers say hello.
Laughter makes me laugh.
Smiles make me smile.
Oranges taste deeper than their color.
Something turns out good regardless of mistakes.
Friends are friends in unexpected ways.
Birds sing.
Known constellations shine and the unknown twinkle.
The heart weeps and the mind sings. Or vice versa.
The path ahead is a tunnel.
I don't have the energy to sleep.
I crave human company and I find it.
My lips and toes tingle.
Anything seems possible.
I do the unexpected - even of myself.
There is mail in my inbox.

I feel alive. And I'm happy about it. ^.^ Particularly thrilled.

Little Austria

On Friday I received a spontaneous call from a friend offering me to tickets to see the Vienna Boys' Choir, who were performing in our town. That sounded like the epitome of the Austrian experience; I gladly accepted. The Italian neighbor next door wasn't as inspired, unfortunately, so she didn't want the extra ticket. Melanie Von Trapp, who is in town for a few months, DID. That's how I met and became friends with one of the grandchildren of the famous Von Trapp family singers.

Melanie and I share similar preferences for music and books. She's an easy conversationalist and it was great fun talking with her. I really hope that we can hang out again; the weather is finally turning and she would be the perfect partner in crime to explore.

The concert was wonderful. The cherubic voices of the boys were something out-of-this-world, lifted up in mass harmony. They're actually an international bunch: Slovakia, Hungary, England, America, Canada, and even Japan. They sang a selection from Antonio Vivaldi that left me spell bound.

Saturday didn't equate to much except to two loads of laundry, which had been starting to ferment in the closet. I later met up with a friend to discuss our travel plans to Cologne this coming weekend. We're going to a concert to see the American metal band Kamelot. Yes, I do like metal but this isn't what you think. Metal, in my opinion, suffers under the misconception that it's all Thrash or Death Metal. What I didn't know, before jumping into the genre, is that there is also Melodic and Orchestrated Metal. Take this song, for example:



The band is American, by majority, but the lead singer is from Norway and the keyboardist is from Germany. Natascha and I are flying out of Munich on Friday. We'll tour Cologne Friday and Saturday before the concert saturday evening. Our flight back is at 10am on Sunday morning.

You think these things never happen

Thursday, I was whisked back to the home of one of my teachers. She lives in a neighboring village called Altheim, which roughly translates as Old Home. Bianca, the teacher, has two lovely daughters about 8 and 12 years old. They call me 'Big Sister', 'Good boy', and 'Little one'. With those two, I kind of get to see what life would have been like with younger siblings - dang, I feel old and big! It's great fun, though. We played Mario Kart on Nintendo DS, wailed out ABBA tunes on Singstar (Karaoke), and played with their two dogs:

The one on the left is a bundle of energy. You can just see the heartshaped "spot" on her back.

Anyway, I think that Singstar game is rigged. The girls don't speak or read English very well but they rock at that game! They shout the lyrics incoherently and wrack up the points!

It's all over the news here and I'm sure you've heard of it in America: the school shooting in southern Germany. I never expected it to happen in Europe, seeing as how they have strict gun control laws here but happen it did. And it isn't the first time. Apparently there was a similar incident in 2001. What isn't different is how people react. Here, as in America, somebody has to take the blame: teachers, parents, friends, neighbors. "Should've, would've, could've..." I guess you could say, "if your kid is undergoing psychiatric treatment, put a lock on the gun cabinet." But that wouldn't do much good for the now - only the then.

Past, present, and future

For a while there, I had wild hopes that March had broken winter's back but it seems that the old man was just lying in wait. The past few days have been windy, wet, and white with barely a moment of sunshine.

The assistant from a few years ago, Amanda from Michigan, was in town this week trying to coordinate her student teaching requirements in Austria (she's a graduate student). I met her very briefly on Tuesday at the BORG (one of my schools) and we immediately connected. How many other Americans have experienced Ried im Innkreis? She knew about everything - from the banshee screaming of the soccer boys upstairs to the radical polarity in the moods of a particular teacher. For the past few months, I seriously thought that I was at times crazy, inhuman and a mostly jumbled collection of depressed emotions. Even though I might have been depressed, I now know that it was NORMAL for the circumstances. Amanda helped me rebuild my notion of my own humanity. I thought that I was sick, weak, and not suited for this job. It seemed that all the other assistants were having a grand time while I was a radioactive sphere of negativity and sadness. Sir M, a friend in Ohio, shared a poem with me and one line really clicked:
I am gall, I am heartburn. God's most deep decree
Bitter would have me taste; my taste was me...
I was trapped within myself. Like a puddle of water in the hot sun, I was turning fetid. Even if I was, Amanda understood inside and out because she has been here before.

Even if there's just ONE person in the world out there who understands and is willing to talk, you're golden. And now I'm golden. I feel so much better.

On Wednesday afternoon I got a call from Hans, the orientation director, that he was going to the nearby hot springs resort in Geinberg with Amanda. We had a great time; Hans is a man with connections. He told us about an endeavor he had a few years ago to unite all the Aschenbergers (his family name) all over the world. Hans was able to uncover the sordid past of an Aschenberger in Brazil. I've never heard such a wild story in my life. It involved Nazis, Auschwitz, polio, suicide, love, America. And somehow Hans was able to bring it all together.

Hans is also well connected with the Von Trappe family. When I first got here, we sang to Maria, one of the Von Trappe children over the phone. It was her birthday. He's very close with the entire family and one of the grandchildren is coming to his school to learn how to cook traditional Austrian meals. I think her name is Melenie. Hans suggested that I help her with her German and she could help me with my guitar. But I've seen videos of this girl, a musical wonder, who travels the world with her siblings.

We ended up, on Wednesday night, grabbing food from the grocery store and cooking Käse spätzle, cheesey Austrian noodles, with salad and wine. After dinner, Hans whipped out an electric lap guitar that he had bought in New Zealand, handed me a guitar and Amanda a set of bongo drums. Musical mayhem? Pretty soon, I was on a marraca/rain stick and Amanda was doing some Ginger Rogers while Hans played piano. Then we watched Oh Brother where art thou to finish up the evening.

Next day, after work, we went to Salzburg in Hans' car so that Hans could check out a few apartments that he was looking at to buy. He dropped Amanda and me off in town and the two of us walked around in the drizzling rain, went dirndl shopping, and finally ended up in an Irish pub called the Shamrock. We sat at the bar in front of a Philadelphia Eagle's poster and ordered something called a Snakebite, a cider beer with a shot of black currant liquer. We talked and talked, Amanda's program is TESOL oriented (teacher of english to speakers of other languages). After Austria, she really wanted to be home and so she bummed for a year getting things straight in her head and heart before grad school. And this is exactly what I would like to do - this is where I am right now. I want to study again BADLY like it's an itch that I just can't reach but I DON'T WANT TO STUDY when I have no inspiration. I don't want to shoot myself down a path when I really don't know where I want to go, not to mention loading myself down with debts and a career that I don't find interesting. For this reason, I would like to put off grad school for a few months to a year and spend some time thinking. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to be a bum or baggage for my parents. I want to find some work and maybe take classes at the local community college at night. I want to talk to people in person and gather more perspective. The eyes that I have now can't see very far and that's the problem. All this occurred to me very suddenly but it seems right. I've been all over the place these past 5 years and maybe what I need is a little time for everything to catch up...

Breaking News

The teachers were in an uproar today because they had received information from the Austrian Ministry of Education dictating that every teacher would have to work an additional two hours the following year WITHOUT compensation. This would lead to the layoff of young teachers all over Austria. This news was blunted by the idea that "the teachers would be making a sacrifice to help the nation through this time of economic crisis." Apparently sending young teachers onto welfare is still cheaper than paying them a salary.

The teachers, however, are not up to taking one for the team. The word "strike" slipped in and out of conversations all about the break room, as uncommon a word in the Austrian vocabulary as "au fait" is in America. They'll start on Thursday with just an hour's strike, which will gradually grow into a day, days, and possibly weeks. Many teachers were skeptical that the strike will last so long. I'm reminded of the days in Berlin when public transportation was at a standstill because of union strikes.

That's the news.

This is Katie, reporting from the front. I'm not exactly dodging bullets or milking a yak but this is news nonetheless.

**EDIT: Apparently it's not in the plan to layoff any teachers. What the ministry is saying is that there is more work to be done and everyone should help. The teachers say that they already fulfill 40 hours a week with 20 in class and 20 in prep time - the just don't have the time. The ministry shot back that they should go for quantity over quality. A teacher argued that 2 additional hours in a class room is not equal to 2 additional hours in an office. I agree. The mood in one class can completely alter from day to day - positive one day and rowdy the next. Two more hours could equate to LOTS MORE STRESS. And I believe it. It's a hard job, teaching and keeping a class in line hour after hour, day after day. I guess I never realized how difficult it could be... I salute all teachers everywhere!

News from the front, side, back...

A new segment entitled, You know you're an American when...

1.) You have a indescribable fondness for sneakers and denim.
2.) The traffic circles look like turntables of death and disaster and you're amazed that there isn't more blood and burnt rubber at the scene.
3.) Thoughts about abortion and the death penalty are a muck in your mind but you feel passionately about both (although you don't know why).
4.) The thought of paying to use a toilet anywhere or for ketchup at McDonald's appalls you.
5.) You feel that trains are a novel and old fashioned form of transportation.
6.) Your mind explodes in a fit of ecstasy when you learn that higher education in Europe is virtually free.
7.) You think of Subway as fast food.
8.) Before crossing the street, you look both ways. Twice.

...and a little special one for Pennsylvanians:
- You are overjoyed to find beer and hard alcohol beside the bread and milk but disappointed that the gun boutique is nowhere to be found.

Little Excerpt

This is just a little something I jotted down hurriedly in my notebook on the way to Berlin.  Early mornings inspire me - when I'm awake enough to greet them properly.  This is an example of how my brain functions early in the morning.  I'm on my way from my home to the train station - about a 20 minute walk.

Walking to the station before the break of dawn.  A bird calls.  Somewhere music plays but where?  I can't find the source.  Is there always music and I hear it now only because the world is asleep and silent?  Barely anyone is awake.  Have to be careful on the ice.  Walk tenderly.  McDonald's is open.  Comforting, like home.  I know that at least one other poor soul is awake.  Bakery is just opening too.  Woman on bicycle.  Creak of a sign somewhere sounds apocolypitic, repetitive, erie.  I hurry on in mock fear.  Music is stilly playing loudly in a bar.  It's night music but it's early morning now. People still crowded in for a drink.  I can nearly smell the cigarettes.  A car passes and I wish he'd give me a lift.  Another car passes - same wish.  The font on that sign is interesting.  Looks hand painted.  Getting closer the station now.  Restaurant is called something - something Gastronomie.  Another punnish names comes to mind: Institute der Gastronomie.  Cute but somehow unappealing.  There's vomit nearby.  It isn't frozen yet.  Also unappealing.  I can see the train station.  Looks dark.  Man walks out to his car but his door is frozen shut.  Should I help or say hello?  Acknowledge his struggle?  He has it open.  Hurry along.  Ticket room is unlit but there's a young man inside pacing back and forth.  No response to 'Good Morning.'  Not so good afterall.  Buy ticket and it's more expensive than I thought.  I double check.  Five minutes to go.  Waiting in the waiting room.  Boy starts to play Green Day loudly on his cell phone.  Train arrives.  

Hemingway and Berlin

Before I left on the semester break, I visited a cocktail bar in town called "The Hemingway" with Vicki, the daughter of my archery instructor. Inside, it was a comfortable cabana paradise with robust wood paneling, high oaken tables, and vintage photos of Hemingway. The constant companion of any public gathering scene in Austria, smoke, curled about the ceiling but fit the atmosphere. Hemingway probably enjoyed chewing on a fat, Cuban cigar. Vicki and I ogled the mile long list of cocktails . Variety is not always a virtue - we were hard pressed to decide.

Afterwords we did a run to McDonald's and had an interesting encounter with a mob of pre-pubescent Turkish boys. Let's not do details - it involved spit, straws, and paper. It was the 'freaky' part of Friday the 13th.

And so I was able to welcome in Valentine's Day with a friend. The day of was spent listening to death metal, ceremoniously burning pictures of happy couples, and packing for my trip to Berlin on the following day. Well, two of the three are truth. ^.~

The next day, snowy and chill, was my epic train ride to Berlin. I clocked about 14 hours traveling time and around 8 trains. I couldn't imagine doing this sort of travel in a country lacking the stability and conformity of Germany. EVERY single train was on time. Only a few, the closer I got to Berlin, were especially crowded but I knew from before to scramble to the next train while in Leipzig and Falkenberg. The whole trip, one way, costs 41euros (55 usd). That's a lot of train for so little cash, imo.

Berlin was snowy and gorgeous. The city is usually gray and cold in winter but when I got there, it was turning swiftly into a winter wonderland. It snowed on and off the whole time and I really got to enjoy the weather. Gabi, Mariko, Felix, and I (host mother, guest student, and son respectively) went sledding down the one hill in Berlin. Located in Kreuzberg, if you ever find yourself in need of a park or adventures. Now I can say that I've experienced winter. I went sledding, had a monstrous snowball fight (ate snow in said fight), made a snow angel, and walked across a frozen lake.

Gabi's house was under siege the whole week - the kitchen required work and painting. A constant stream of painters and plasterers filed in and out the door for a few days - along with a random (yet cute) chimney sweep. He rode up on a bike laden with tools, binders, and the stereotypical black bristle brush. It was love. <3

ANYWAY, back on track, being back in town was like rediscovering humanity. I could actually communicate in German (Austrian dialect sounds like a Texan with a mouth full of molassus) . Imagine breathing through a straw for 3 months and finally standing up to realize that the water is only waist deep. Deep breath, fresh air. Wonderful.

I spent Thursday evening with the family I tutored during my time of Berlin study. I ended up staying for dinner - a German dinner of coldcuts, fresh bread, cheese, salad, and a hunk of pig. Helmut, the father, dashed out the door to the garage and came back inside with a pig's leg mounted on a wooden block. It looked like something you would hang on the wall, except it didn't have any skin, fur, or antlers. Helmut took out a knife and sawed away at an already established groove in the meaty part of the leg. Siegrid, the mother, laughed at my face and said that this chunk of meat would last them all winter and stay fresh in the dry, cold garage. Trust me when I say that it was the best smoked ham I have ever had. On fresh farmer's bread with German whipped butter? I had to be pried away from the table.

The kids went to bed and Helmut and I stayed up chatting. Siegrid fell asleep tucking in one of the younger boys; she's an artist with three sons - I'd be exhausted too. Helmut and I talked about careers (a subject haunting my life in transition) and I probed him about how he came into the career that he has now (property value estimator for a bank). Considering Helmut studied Geography and traveled all about South and Central America and even Pakistan, the answer to 'how did you get to where you are now' is not simple. For anyone, I imagine. I'm excited and terrified - where is my life going?

Friday was the last day but as brilliantly wonderful as all the rest. I met up with a friend from my high school back in America. Who would have thought that someone else from Boyertown, Penssylvania, would be in Berlin? We ate wonderful Indian food at my favorite Indian restaurant in town, Bombay, reminisced about high school, and caught up on each other's lives. We also went to Schloss Charlottenburg, a prussian summer palace on the outskirts of Berlin. I've been meaning to see it since eternity began. I could literally cross it off of my 'do before you die' list. Not that the castle was very impressive, or that we even went inside for a tour (10euro ouch!), but I SAW it. I stood before the gated door and admired the statues and tall windows. We walked through the gardens in the back and it occured to me - this is something I've built up in my mind, a mountain of sorts, that I've spent a year fabricating. And it's gone - poof! No more Schloss Charlottenburg. Fine. Oh, I felt empty later, a little lonesome. It's hard to describe... I'm scrambling for words. It's just a palace, right?

Now I'm back and refueled for a thrilling month and a half without break! Then it's Easter and we have another week off. My job is terrible, right? How is everyone doing? Friends, family, passersby?

After school...

I have one student for English tutoring who distinctly reminds me of a Golden Retriever puppy: cute, blond, and perky - which is how all the young men are here in my town. I live on a puppy farm and all I want to do is adopt.

Said student, in a conversation regarding school lockers, responded so in the following dialogue:
me: "Everything is bigger in America."
student: *snigger, laugh*
me: "Cars, houses, hamburgers..."
student: "Pamela Anderson!"
me: *...*

Good news! Boys are boys everywhere! Damn.

In other news, a sophomore class of mine might elect Twilight to read as a class. The other book hanging in with tooth and nail is Lord of the Flies but it might lose out because the teacher doesn't like it. It's too sad.

Last note to this horribly tangential post: I found the following picture online at the local disco's website:
**No barley fields were harmed in the making of this picture. -> Mostly a lie.

The Sequel

So many people are enjoying Ski Gymnastik to the extent that the instructor has agreed to keep going until Easter. YEAH!!! Otherwise it would have ended tonight and I would have been on the prowl for future Monday night entertainment.

Tonight I was able to guide an Austrian by car back to where I live. I feel quite competent. HOWEVER, last night on the way home, I learned for the first time about the connecting train between the larger and the smaller train stations in my town. I cannot say that I will miss that 1.5 mile walk home.

As for books, I finished A Thousand Splendid Suns and have moved on to the classic Catch-22. I shall no longer complain about a dusty vocabulary. Joseph Heller is taking my lexicon on the limbo dance of its life. "How low can you go - OH - how low can you go!"

Bathroom time

I just walked in on a boy peeing in the bathroom. Who was more surprised, him or me? That was the quickest u-turn I've ever performed in reality.

VIRGINS

Just back from a theater visit and I am torn inside. The play is called VIRGINS and it is about a teenage boy who gets trashed at a party and cannot remember if he has had sex with one or two girls. He finds out shortly thereafter that he has an STI (brit equivalent of STD). Meanwhile, the husband/father of the family is sexually frustrated by his work horse of a wife. The daughter/sister is the sane, pure responsible child running around, trying to mediate. They all run around, mixed up in their own and eachother's problems. The family tears apart but reunites at the end. The son finds out his 'best friend' lied to him about the second sexual encounter of the fateful evening. The husband and wife, for reasons unknown, reconcile and the daughter is happily in love with a man who 'understands and respects her.'

I am completely vexed by the whole thing. After this play and several other 'reality books', I am quite convinced that love, happiness, loyalty, and virtuous values don't exist. Life is quite impossible and happiness is a fleeting thing that we chase after blindly and impotently.

Something needs to happen, read something, experience something for me to believe that the values I grew up with actually exist in real life.

BLOODY DISNEY FILMS

Word from class

Never take your language or culture for granted:

Today the students defined 'congenital' as 'genitals', which brings a colorful new meaning to 'congenital heart failure'.

During a session on first aid, many traditional Austrian remedies were discussed. If you have a fever, be advised to soak your socks in vinegar and salt and wear them overnight OR wear a necklace of sliced horse radish root. If you have a cold, slice an onion in half, put the halves into socks, and sleep with them pressed against your ears. If you have a nosebleed, put a handkerchief under your tongue or a wet towel against the back of your neck.

Lyme disease and deer ticks were also discussed. The teacher asked the students how many of them had been vaccinated: they all raised their hands. Apparently, Austria is THE European breeding ground for deer ticks. o.0 They even designed a special tweezers for easy tick removal. As the tick and mosquito delicacy of my home county in PA, I'm quaking in my boots at the thought of spring...

A new fun method of reading in the class is having a student read until they make a mistake - then the next person picks up until he/she makes a mistake, then the next, etc. It creates a fun, competitive atmosphere while picking up faults in their pronunciation.

Warning Label

Besides the fact that my English skills are swirling downward into an abyss of grammatical and syntactical chaos, life is good.

I just finished reading Stravaganza, by Mary Hoffman. It's the story of a young, English boy who is transported into a parallel world, a parallel Italy to be exact. Every night he visits a town similar to Venice in the 17th century by way of a Talisman. The kicker/twist is that the boy is dying of cancer in the real world. Although the plot was a bit transparent, it made for a fun read. Great description!

Now I've moved on to a different genre; it could be called "historical fiction." I'm reading A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini. I'm only about 25 pages deep but it seems to focus around a bastard child, a girl. Since it takes place in Afghanistan, I'm not holding my breath for the Happy Ending. This book falls into that "life is really hard for women" genre that seems to have swallowed my life lately. I recently finished Desert Flower, by Waris Dirie. It's her autobiographical tale of life as a nomad in Somalia. At the age of 14, she runs away from her family and an arranged marriage and, after much struggle, ends up in London as a clothing model. A very easy read but also very informative. The students have to be able to understand (mostly) what's going on so most of the books they read are simple but deep. Sort of like that Volvo commercial: boxy but safe. I enjoy it although my vocabulary doesn't.

Other than reading, my life focuses on my future life. I imagine that sounds a bit like the Ouroboros, the snake that's eating its' own tail: devour and recreate, the circular quality of life. That works for me because, in the beginning, I wanted to become a librarian. But that dream is fading with each new ipod, computer, larger jump driver, smaller laptop. Pretty soon, a librarian will watch over empty shelves. The job is changing - here today and gone tomorrow.

The trick is imagining myself in some other form of work. Work that will hopefully land me in a river of cash that I can use to build my own Beauty and the Beast worthy library. In the meantime, because my brain is mostly fried explaining the present perfect continuous tense, send me a note: where do you see me at work?

Down in the deep blue sea

Little bit on Austrian culture oddities today, which might become a regular feature of blogs to come (ah, so what! I should have been doing this all along).


The Austrian Ball
The Austrians love a good ball, which is definable as: a dance for any special occasion, event, or organization during which - but not limited to - the consumption of excessive amounts of beer, wine, and liqeour as well as dancing, and various performances that exceed rational proportions.

My graduating students at the BORG (the Bundesoberstufereal Gymnasium and not the Star Trek space oddity) had their ball on Saturday evening. They brought in a big brass band and a lot of community members who I never expected to see (including quite a few older ones) showed up and cut up the parquet floor. When Austrians dance, they don't do the bump-and-grind that Americans find so pleasing. They prefer ballroom dancing from waltzs to foxtrots to tangos. Even though the liquer flows, they still swirl about the dance floor in one form or another.

It's difficult to compare an American high school prom and an Austrian ball. Balls aren't limited to students - adults, and teachers come too. The young and old mix freely and happily through the fact that the drinking age is 16 for beer and 18 for hard liquer; most of the students are slightly fluid.

Alcohol and age. Two As that summarize the big differences between American and Austrian balls. Oh, and Dancing. AAD. Alcohol, Age, and Dancing.

Second Austrian cultural oddity.
Ketchup packets at McDonald's. If you're any average American, you love ketchup on your fries (no gainsayers allowed). There is nothing odd with reaching into the bin and grabbing 10 or 15 packets of ketchup at any fastfood chain in America. If you come to Austria, check your ketchup urges at the door or BYOK (bring your own ketchup) because it costs 25euro cents extra for about two packets worth. A terrible injustice to anyone who enjoys that red sauce crafted from the wiles of Zeus on the top of Mt. Zion... Mixing religions. Anyway, DAMMIT. I want my ketchup'd fries!!

Change of scenery...

...thank goodness.

Memory Lane

It's snowing and I can't sleep, just like when I was a kid. I'd rest my cheek against the window glass and watch and watch till only the numbness spreading along my face forced me to bed. I wanted to see the change take place, that subtle transition from brown sleep of fall to white enchantment of winter (which I hoped would be too deep for school buses). From my pillow case, I couldn't distinguish individual snowflakes from the darkness but I could close my eyes and watch them change through a kaleidoscope of color.

Many things are different now. The window isn't where it's supposed to be and the angle is all wrong. I can't see the snow unless I open the window and step outside, which is exactly what I did. It's still powdery, the snow. Timid, unsure, weak and yet I want to run about outside in my stocking feet and shriek.

What's it about winter that makes you feel so alone?

But snow is snow and although I'm far away from many familiar things, snow is still cold, still melts in the hand, and throws very well when formed into a projectile, preferably a ball. ;)

Sleep

Nighttime. Foggy sky, yellow from light pollution. Chilly, damp. Walking to the grocery store.

Things I like:
The feel of my heel-to-toe on the pavement.
Listening to tranquil metal music and watching snowflakes reappear and disappear through the light of a street lantern.
Crossing the street.
The tingling in my nose and cheeks as I walk through the grocery store.
Smiling at the cashier - a severe situation of sympathy.
That proud feeling in my gut that I went the extra 15minutes for the good yogurt.

Things I dislike:
Half a pair of mittens lying beside the train tracks.
Getting closer to my pad.



It's quite comforting to me that I enjoy more than I suffer. Huzzah! Btw, I just invented "tranquil metal music." If you believe in big foot, believe me in this - sightings are rare and usually fabricated. But enjoy the fact that McDonald's sells cans of Red Bull. We're halfway to a Jägerbomb, kids!

Around town

This morning I didn't have class so I went around town for a walk.


Catholicism is THE religion in Austria. Wherever you go, the odd bit of religious oddment pops up. In this way, Austria sort of reminds me of Japan. Instead of shrines, there are crosses and mini churches:

Second straight day of sun in a row! I am flabbergasted. It's all going to end, though. Tomorrow has a forecast of snow, which translates to rain in Ried.


And that's the end of the tour. Have a nice day and enjoy the weather.

Tadaa- - - - - !

One thing I can't keep track of is the dishes. Like magic, everyday there are more and more. They keep multiplying and, what's more, they like to hide about my room. It's my one goal, at the beginning of the day, to clear up last night's mess.

Today is the first sunny day in a long time. I can't remember the last time it was this sunny. For me, it comes at a time in my life when I'm writing again - as you can tell by the presence of a blog entry today.

I've picked up the keys and decided to start throwing them out in odd arrangements again. My only problem, it's a sunny day - why does this happen now, when I should be outside doing something?

All in good time.

I'll finish up the Christmas holiday with some travel tips:

1. Avoid travel in the winter unless you are Scandinavian.
2. Never use a taxi in Prague. We paid 40euros for a taxi ride that would have cost us 1euro in public transport. Ouch!
3. People in Prague are incredibly cranky. Bring thicker skin with you or a HUGE can of bug spray to attack that beetle that's up their _____.
4. The Czech Republic is not a part of the EU. They have their own currency and their own way of doing things: haggling. If you're not in a restaurant, it's perfectly reasonable for you to haggle over prices.
5. Smoking hotels, where every room is smoking, exist in Prague. My friend and I stayed in one, to our chagrin.
6. It's hard to find accommodations during the holidays, especially near New Year's. We paid 35euro per person, in Vienna, for a shared 6 bed hostel room. Moral of the story: French young'uns are loud. If you choose to travel directly after New Year's, it is incredibly cheap. I went to Vienna a week later with a friend and we got a private double room - with kitchen, bathroom, and living room - for 30euros in all. See this site: www.booking.com Off season travel is very cheap.

Christmas pt.1

Christmas in Berlin. I guess you can say that the strong face you put on in your mind is more often than not weaker than you expect. I knew that Christmas was coming; I could see it creeping closer like a giant tsunami wave of impending emotions. Even though the mask you wear seems infallible from the inside, the reality is that it's more holey than Swiss cheese on the outside - the side always hidden.

When I got to Berlin, I stepped inside a warm house and a warmer family, suddenly realizing how chilly the past few months had been. The porcelain face that I had built slipped from my tear stained cheeks and shattered... OK, OK. Enough poetics! I was terribly sad and I did miss family and loved ones very much. But we three girls, tied into spending a Christmas together, were all separated and in pain. The result was a beautiful week of tissues, Audry Hepburn, cookies, Champagne, tears, and laughter. The whole thing was a giant success. By the end, I did not want to leave.

Christmas eve, I was half tempted not to go to church. Traditionally a family event, church on Christmas eve is like green following red at the traffic light. Without family, however, I had no lust to go. But go I did, dragging my feet the whole way, which resulted in me being late. I went to the Church of Memories, quite near Wittenbergerplatz, ironically. The Gedächtniskirche is a ruin of WWII - a bombed out husk of a church that remains standing amidst the wealthiest shopping district of Berlin. Beside the ruins, a new church hall was built and to this church is where I went for service.

It was late and I barely squeezed inside. I came in out of the cold just as the congregation started singing Stille Nacht. It was good that I was pushed underneath a staircase with barely a view of the blue tiled wall behind the crucifix. No one could see the tears. Ah, I have a weak soul for separation and German song! Turned out to be a good choice - church - time to focus on nothing but the ritual of service. No worries, no thoughts. The pastor quoted Thomas Mann. I like literate sermons.

Other highlights from Berlin include a visit to the city opera and a very modern version of Turandot. Let's just say that Kalif summons Turandot by jumping on the keys of a giant cellphone and later sings Nessun dorma in front of a giant stuffed animal that is Turandot's palace(resembling a giant moogle from Final Fantasy). Basically, it was opera meets anime. There was even a Karma Sutra scene. Thank you, Berlin!

My Japanese travel companion came and I showed her the sights. Too soon, Berlin time ended. But what happened next is another story...