I've been away for a bit, I know. Please be patient and soon the updates will resume their flow! I'm really tired right now but I feel like it's Christmas only the big man coming down the chimney is either going to be a Dem or a Republican!
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
How the Austrians Call it...
The Austrians are very confident, along with the majority of Europe. I barely have a clue myself as to how this election will run. In my opinion, Austria has a lot of chutzpah to run this cover story before the election (title: America votes for Obama).
I've been away for a bit, I know. Please be patient and soon the updates will resume their flow! I'm really tired right now but I feel like it's Christmas only the big man coming down the chimney is either going to be a Dem or a Republican!
I've been away for a bit, I know. Please be patient and soon the updates will resume their flow! I'm really tired right now but I feel like it's Christmas only the big man coming down the chimney is either going to be a Dem or a Republican!
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Dialect and Dinner Rolls
There are two things in Austria that one should NEVER, under any circumstances, take for granted: the thick, quirky dialect and the delicious seeming array of dinner rolls offered at any Austrian pub-restaurant.
Austrian dialect is insane, crazy, and above all frustrating. Even if you've spent 6-8 years studying German, you have little to no chance of getting by with any local. If you manage to convince someone to slip out of dialect and into the accepted norm of 'high German', you still face the bobbing, Scandinavian-like accent. Which, to be quite honest, is beautiful and not impossible to understand. The trick to the accent is that every 'a' turns into a Swedish 'å' (if you can't see that, it's an 'a' with a halo above it). Do not be fooled by its angelic appearance, however. It's an unforgiving character, making simple sentences like: "Was hast du gesagt" (What did you say?) sound almost Russian: "Wå' håst d' gesågt".
Dialect is still a tricky beast that has seen much mutation in the hills of Austria. Certain phrases have become nigh unrecognizable from their original German. Take, for example, the simple phrase "God be with you" or "Gott behütet dich". In Austria, it has turned into something resembling "Be-ith ewe" or "Füit dey", a queer coding of the language that even the young'uns can't trace.
So, you've managed to muddle through an Austrian's dialectical directions to the nearest pub-restaurant. You sit down, order the local white beer, show the waiter with your finger what you would like to order (there's little chance he would understand your attempts at dialect pronunciation) and you wait comfortably in the smoke hazy interior.
Pretty soon, the waiter is going to return with a yummy basket of freshly baked bread sticks and pretzels. How kind, thinks the average American, he anticipated my raging hunger with a welcoming appetizer! Ah, but be wary, naive American. Being hungry, you snack on one, two, possibly three of the delicious breads before your meal comes. And why not? The salt goes wonderfully with your beer! The meal comes, it's more than you anticipated, but extremely delicious. You finish, flag down the waiter to pay and stare aghast at a bill possibly 4-5 Euros more than you expected.
I have dubbed this the "Dinner Roll Trap." Coupled with dialect, you're bound to have an adventurous evening wherever you are in Austria! Hopefully, you now feel better equipped to face the dangerous, delicious, and dialectical pitfalls ahead of you on your next trip to Austria!
*I've exaggerated. Dialect is very difficult but never impossible if someone is there willing to explain it. I look forward to learning more as the months go by. The Dinner Roll Trap, however, is based on a true story that I have so recently experienced.
"Füit dey"!
Austrian dialect is insane, crazy, and above all frustrating. Even if you've spent 6-8 years studying German, you have little to no chance of getting by with any local. If you manage to convince someone to slip out of dialect and into the accepted norm of 'high German', you still face the bobbing, Scandinavian-like accent. Which, to be quite honest, is beautiful and not impossible to understand. The trick to the accent is that every 'a' turns into a Swedish 'å' (if you can't see that, it's an 'a' with a halo above it). Do not be fooled by its angelic appearance, however. It's an unforgiving character, making simple sentences like: "Was hast du gesagt" (What did you say?) sound almost Russian: "Wå' håst d' gesågt".
Dialect is still a tricky beast that has seen much mutation in the hills of Austria. Certain phrases have become nigh unrecognizable from their original German. Take, for example, the simple phrase "God be with you" or "Gott behütet dich". In Austria, it has turned into something resembling "Be-ith ewe" or "Füit dey", a queer coding of the language that even the young'uns can't trace.
So, you've managed to muddle through an Austrian's dialectical directions to the nearest pub-restaurant. You sit down, order the local white beer, show the waiter with your finger what you would like to order (there's little chance he would understand your attempts at dialect pronunciation) and you wait comfortably in the smoke hazy interior.
Pretty soon, the waiter is going to return with a yummy basket of freshly baked bread sticks and pretzels. How kind, thinks the average American, he anticipated my raging hunger with a welcoming appetizer! Ah, but be wary, naive American. Being hungry, you snack on one, two, possibly three of the delicious breads before your meal comes. And why not? The salt goes wonderfully with your beer! The meal comes, it's more than you anticipated, but extremely delicious. You finish, flag down the waiter to pay and stare aghast at a bill possibly 4-5 Euros more than you expected.
I have dubbed this the "Dinner Roll Trap." Coupled with dialect, you're bound to have an adventurous evening wherever you are in Austria! Hopefully, you now feel better equipped to face the dangerous, delicious, and dialectical pitfalls ahead of you on your next trip to Austria!
*I've exaggerated. Dialect is very difficult but never impossible if someone is there willing to explain it. I look forward to learning more as the months go by. The Dinner Roll Trap, however, is based on a true story that I have so recently experienced.
"Füit dey"!
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
REAL Coffee
My Italian neighbor stands by Italian coffee; it's the best in the world by her standards. She gave me a syringe full this morning, just a moment ago, saying that it had been cooked too long.
It tasted fine but just that little bit, cut with 4 times as much milk, has my eyes wide open! Hello, good morning!
It tasted fine but just that little bit, cut with 4 times as much milk, has my eyes wide open! Hello, good morning!
Familiar with debate
Today was a rare day of long classes full of taxing questions. It started at 7:30am and lasted for four hours of class discussion after class discussion. I faced many bouts of political-based questions: "Are you proud to be an American? Do you like Bush? Was it right that America went into Iraq?" ETC. One teacher wanted me to go over Barack Obama, the life and times of said dude. Two others requested that I review the American system of election. And a fourth was interested in education and general discussion.
One thing I noticed - explaining the electoral college is difficult. It's a bit hard for me to understand why something so undemocratic and old fashioned is still in place and to explain that a candidate can win the electoral vote but loose the election. I reasoned that equal representation is something difficult - almost as illusive as perfection - and the electoral college is there to help. Did you know that the British Labor Party uses an electoral college to elect its leader?
Plans are shaping up for Christmas. As you may or may not know, I am not returning stateside for the big day. That decision is going to be hard to bear the sooner December comes around but my plans are to visit a dear friend in Berlin. Besides, the days and weeks preceding Christmas were always more fun for me - putting up the decorations, breaking out the Christmas music CDs and DVDs, baking cookies, moving down a day on the advent calender, etc. Anticipation is beautiful and the Christmases of my childhood remain picture-perfect for me. I am very lucky to have such lovely memories.
Knitting project number one is almost done! A handy scarf. Soon, I will have the armor to combat an Austrian winter! Although, my students tell me that there could either be lots of snow - or nothing at all. *sigh* Sounds just like home!
One thing I noticed - explaining the electoral college is difficult. It's a bit hard for me to understand why something so undemocratic and old fashioned is still in place and to explain that a candidate can win the electoral vote but loose the election. I reasoned that equal representation is something difficult - almost as illusive as perfection - and the electoral college is there to help. Did you know that the British Labor Party uses an electoral college to elect its leader?
Plans are shaping up for Christmas. As you may or may not know, I am not returning stateside for the big day. That decision is going to be hard to bear the sooner December comes around but my plans are to visit a dear friend in Berlin. Besides, the days and weeks preceding Christmas were always more fun for me - putting up the decorations, breaking out the Christmas music CDs and DVDs, baking cookies, moving down a day on the advent calender, etc. Anticipation is beautiful and the Christmases of my childhood remain picture-perfect for me. I am very lucky to have such lovely memories.
Knitting project number one is almost done! A handy scarf. Soon, I will have the armor to combat an Austrian winter! Although, my students tell me that there could either be lots of snow - or nothing at all. *sigh* Sounds just like home!
Sunday, October 19, 2008
R23
Last night I couldn't find sleep. These past few evenings, I find myself talking my mind into a light rest as opposed to the deep respite from reality that usually precedes the shallow sleep of dreams. I have had too many dreams since my time in Sweden. I can't seem to stop or find "rest" from my own thoughts - the dreams start and snowball and then leave me at the brink, whereupon I abruptly wake up.
Maybe it has something to do with the lack of lassitude in my life abroad. English is my mother tongue; I can relax in English. But German, Japanese, and Swedish require a constant level of consciousness - no relaxing allowed - and that might slip over into my dreams, which are still in English. When my dreams start speaking in Austrian dialect, I will know that the situation is improving.
As I promised myself, I pushed the bike out into the sunlight and headed for the hills. Today was partly cloudy, moderately chilly, and burning bright with the colors of Fall; it was a perfect day for a bike ride.
I'm not the most exciting adventurer. When I start out towards someplace new, I like to glance at a map. It's not my style to shoot off into the sunset - I need to have an idea! And that classifies me as a certain type, I have no doubt, but if I were to do something extremely spontaneous then I would need a friend to come with me!
The path was windy and long, dodging in and out of small towns and through tilled fields of earth. I had set out around noon so the smell of lunch was strong as I went through town after town. Lunch here has a particular smell, like cooking butter, fat, onion, and meat. It pleases me. I could also taste that bitter gray smell of burning wood. There must be plenty of wood stoves in Austria, judging by the piles of stacked wood outside many of the homes. Like my dad, they must be ready and excited to light up the stove for the first time of the season!
I stayed out for an hour - long enough to get covered in gnats, sweat, and excitement - before I headed back. Two hours total. I really enjoy my contact teacher's bike, which I'm borrowing. The gears change when I move some levers with my fingers. This would be really good for people with sore hands...
Well, that was my weekend. Weekends tend to be less 'thrilling' than weekdays. Is that how it should be or is that contradictory to my age and situation? ;)
Love to hear from you! Thank you for the comments - it's good to hear 'bout the States and how you're doin!
Maybe it has something to do with the lack of lassitude in my life abroad. English is my mother tongue; I can relax in English. But German, Japanese, and Swedish require a constant level of consciousness - no relaxing allowed - and that might slip over into my dreams, which are still in English. When my dreams start speaking in Austrian dialect, I will know that the situation is improving.
As I promised myself, I pushed the bike out into the sunlight and headed for the hills. Today was partly cloudy, moderately chilly, and burning bright with the colors of Fall; it was a perfect day for a bike ride.
I'm not the most exciting adventurer. When I start out towards someplace new, I like to glance at a map. It's not my style to shoot off into the sunset - I need to have an idea! And that classifies me as a certain type, I have no doubt, but if I were to do something extremely spontaneous then I would need a friend to come with me!
The path was windy and long, dodging in and out of small towns and through tilled fields of earth. I had set out around noon so the smell of lunch was strong as I went through town after town. Lunch here has a particular smell, like cooking butter, fat, onion, and meat. It pleases me. I could also taste that bitter gray smell of burning wood. There must be plenty of wood stoves in Austria, judging by the piles of stacked wood outside many of the homes. Like my dad, they must be ready and excited to light up the stove for the first time of the season!
I stayed out for an hour - long enough to get covered in gnats, sweat, and excitement - before I headed back. Two hours total. I really enjoy my contact teacher's bike, which I'm borrowing. The gears change when I move some levers with my fingers. This would be really good for people with sore hands...
Well, that was my weekend. Weekends tend to be less 'thrilling' than weekdays. Is that how it should be or is that contradictory to my age and situation? ;)
Love to hear from you! Thank you for the comments - it's good to hear 'bout the States and how you're doin!
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Flavor of the Day
It already seems like the days are whizzing by. Apparently, my preferred lifestyle is 14 hours of work a week with plenty of time left over for my hobbies and interests - aka lallygagging. I am a world class lallygagger.
This week, a pair of teachers from the Bakip (the school for kindergarten teachers), invited me along to a spa/bath resort in a town 30min away by car, in Germany. It was FANTASTIC. And I don't DO water. I'm like a tail-less dolphin, incredibly awkward and out of place in water. But this place was wonderful. The pair of teachers picked me up at the school, conveniently located right next door to my room, with a child apiece around 6pm. We then drove across the border, a river called the Inn.
The spa cost around 8.50 Euro and we stayed for three hours. The town, Füssing, has been the sight of several spa resorts for many years, ever since the natural hot springs were discovered. The water has a high sulfur content and is slightly radioactive (in good, natural ways). Many people visit from both Germany and Austria. There were many many different pools, all located outside and quite warm. We floated around from pool to pool, some with bubbles, some with fountains, some with currents, some boiling, some freezing - all different kinds! After we had spent time floating around, we took a rest in a 'quiet room', of which there were several different kinds as well. In some of the rooms even reading was prohibited. This was my first experience visiting a place devoted solely to relaxation. Hmm, I could get used to this!
Located on the same resort area were at least 7 different kinds of saunas. If you are like me, you only recognize one kind of sauna - HOT ones. Well, in Europe the art of heat has been well researched. There are all different kinds of saunas that involve applying various substances to your skin: everything from honey to cocoa. I only tried one, a "Dampfgrotto", a steam sauna. At the door to the inside, I could see a room that was heavily shrouded in steam, with walls and ceiling that resembled a brown cave. I grabbed a blue plastic mat to sit on (you wear clothes in this type of sauna), and stepped in. It was like breathing lava. After a few quick breaths through my nose, I gave up and breathed through my mouth. It was too uncomfortable. After a few moments, steam began to condense all over my body and I felt slick but not overly hot. I'm not sure how long I sat there; between focusing on breathing and noting the interesting sensation of boiling air filling my lungs, I kept my eyes on the exit. It was probably only five minutes that I was in there before I dashed outide, admnitting defeat. Several glances watched me with pity as I left, when, in fact, I pitied them and wished for nothing but cool air!
Strange thing is, it was THE BEST THING I COULD HAVE DONE FOR MYSELF. I've been breathing better than I have since coming here. Mom, Dad, and anyone else who wants to quit Claritin, you must try this Dampfgrotto! Best thing ever, I swear. :)
Thursday night, I played sports with some teachers for two hours - realized that I really do suck at that "be aggressive, hit the ball" facet of life. It was fun and afterwords we went to a traditional restaurant - went in through the BACK door, the perk of coming in with "regulars". I had knödel (Austrian dumplings) filled with three different variations of pig; on the side, I had sauerkraut and a white beer brewed in my town. I met some very fun people, including a retired teacher who made me happy about life through her smiles, laughter, and descriptive hand gestures. I got a ride back to my place, thankfully, because it was raining.
Friday was a day of little note, except that I finished "Monstrous Regiment" by Terry Prachett and started "Die Undendliche Geschichte" (The Neverending Story) by Michael Ende. It is, of course, quite good. The text is printed in two colors, red and green. The "real world" text is red and Phantasia text is green. The colors make me happy.
I went running for a bit this morning, discovered some nice back roads with bright orange ponies, and worked out in the tiny gym on top of our building. Refreshed, full of coffee and müsli, I contemplate the next part of today.
This week, a pair of teachers from the Bakip (the school for kindergarten teachers), invited me along to a spa/bath resort in a town 30min away by car, in Germany. It was FANTASTIC. And I don't DO water. I'm like a tail-less dolphin, incredibly awkward and out of place in water. But this place was wonderful. The pair of teachers picked me up at the school, conveniently located right next door to my room, with a child apiece around 6pm. We then drove across the border, a river called the Inn.
The spa cost around 8.50 Euro and we stayed for three hours. The town, Füssing, has been the sight of several spa resorts for many years, ever since the natural hot springs were discovered. The water has a high sulfur content and is slightly radioactive (in good, natural ways). Many people visit from both Germany and Austria. There were many many different pools, all located outside and quite warm. We floated around from pool to pool, some with bubbles, some with fountains, some with currents, some boiling, some freezing - all different kinds! After we had spent time floating around, we took a rest in a 'quiet room', of which there were several different kinds as well. In some of the rooms even reading was prohibited. This was my first experience visiting a place devoted solely to relaxation. Hmm, I could get used to this!
Located on the same resort area were at least 7 different kinds of saunas. If you are like me, you only recognize one kind of sauna - HOT ones. Well, in Europe the art of heat has been well researched. There are all different kinds of saunas that involve applying various substances to your skin: everything from honey to cocoa. I only tried one, a "Dampfgrotto", a steam sauna. At the door to the inside, I could see a room that was heavily shrouded in steam, with walls and ceiling that resembled a brown cave. I grabbed a blue plastic mat to sit on (you wear clothes in this type of sauna), and stepped in. It was like breathing lava. After a few quick breaths through my nose, I gave up and breathed through my mouth. It was too uncomfortable. After a few moments, steam began to condense all over my body and I felt slick but not overly hot. I'm not sure how long I sat there; between focusing on breathing and noting the interesting sensation of boiling air filling my lungs, I kept my eyes on the exit. It was probably only five minutes that I was in there before I dashed outide, admnitting defeat. Several glances watched me with pity as I left, when, in fact, I pitied them and wished for nothing but cool air!
Strange thing is, it was THE BEST THING I COULD HAVE DONE FOR MYSELF. I've been breathing better than I have since coming here. Mom, Dad, and anyone else who wants to quit Claritin, you must try this Dampfgrotto! Best thing ever, I swear. :)
Thursday night, I played sports with some teachers for two hours - realized that I really do suck at that "be aggressive, hit the ball" facet of life. It was fun and afterwords we went to a traditional restaurant - went in through the BACK door, the perk of coming in with "regulars". I had knödel (Austrian dumplings) filled with three different variations of pig; on the side, I had sauerkraut and a white beer brewed in my town. I met some very fun people, including a retired teacher who made me happy about life through her smiles, laughter, and descriptive hand gestures. I got a ride back to my place, thankfully, because it was raining.
Friday was a day of little note, except that I finished "Monstrous Regiment" by Terry Prachett and started "Die Undendliche Geschichte" (The Neverending Story) by Michael Ende. It is, of course, quite good. The text is printed in two colors, red and green. The "real world" text is red and Phantasia text is green. The colors make me happy.
I went running for a bit this morning, discovered some nice back roads with bright orange ponies, and worked out in the tiny gym on top of our building. Refreshed, full of coffee and müsli, I contemplate the next part of today.
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