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.