I want to wish you Happy Holidays, and as they say over here in Germany a good slide into the New Year.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Merry Christmas!
I want to wish you Happy Holidays, and as they say over here in Germany a good slide into the New Year.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Peru!
Someone from Peru looked at my blog. Is that strange that I am excited about that? I'm kind of obsessively looking at my new flag counter on my blog. It makes me feel all multinational and therefore cool. Yes I do have a life. I promise.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
New look, same old blog
So today I attempted to reformat my blog. I have never learned how to use HTML so I am using a template. If you think it looks ugly, or have suggestions for me please tell me. I could have spent probably a lot more time messing around with it, but I wanted to update before I headed to bed.
Katherine visited me last week, and we had good times. It was great to catch up with her. It was weird to think we hadn't seen each other since she waved goodbye at the Freiburg train station three years ago. We adventured quite a bit, and I will have to steal Katherine's pictures since I didn't bring my camera.
Highlights:
Eating a three course meal of pumpkin soup, Käsknodle (baked cheese dumplings) with pumpkin sauerkraut, and finished off with Topfenknodle....I don't know how to translate that. Topfen is the Austrian word for quark which is like ricotta cheese ish. So a sweet ricotta cheese ball thing filled with apricot rolled in bread crumbs. Hmm... maybe food writer isn't in my future. Damn, cause I really do like to eat food, and getting paid to do it would be sweet.
Taking a short digesting walk, that was up to the castle which is a very small mountain or steep hill, and ended at Augistiner Brau one of the local brewery.
Heading to Bad Ischl, and despite the top of the mountain being encased in a cloud taking the cable car up to the top of Katrina. We couldn't see anything, which makes it quite a bit scarier when you have steep cliffs on either side of us that disappear into gray. Some how Katherine and I have a history of hiking in snow in sneakers and (knock on wood) not dying. (Yes I did really knock on wood)
Cake in Zauner cafe.
Spending three days in Vienna with Amanda, Alison, and Angela.
Turkish food in Vienna.
Doing a scavenger hunt made by Alison and Amanda in Vienna's cemetery. Teaching one of the other TAs Hummer, the word for Lobster.
Dressing up as Your Mom, going bowling and our group being one of the only guest who didn't know the bar staff at a Halloween bar.
Breakfast/lunch that cost 5 euros with coffee and filled me up with much yumminess.
Cake in the cafe at Hunderwasser Haus. Trying to understand the many different types of coffee.
Convincing Angela to stay an extra night so that we could watch The Cutting Edge.
Katherine and I cooking a tomato sauce with peas. It was yummy.
The next morning Katherine and I split ways. She headed to Bratislava and I headed home. Angela and I caught the same train, and I got to play some cards.
Then I had overall a good week of teaching. I did struggle some with a lesson about British English vs. American English. For me accents and dialects are connected with stereotypes, but this idea didn't fly with my students. I got a lot of blank stares. Side note watch Amy Walker 21 accents, and use the skit “who's on first” from Abbott and Costello.
Friday night I got to meet some more of the Salzburger Couch Surfers. It was quite fun.
Saturday night I had frozen pizza for dinner and then headed to a costume party. I felt like a college student, minus the going to class/studying etc. The theme of the party was go as what you wanted to be when you grew up. I couldn't remember what I wanted to be when I grew up. I am pretty sure I didn't want to grow up, and well at 24 still don't know what I want to be. Hmm.... So I decided to be a surfer/kayaker/rafter/water rat/beach bum. Sorry yet again no picture. I just wore my rafting clothes, a wood bead necklace, shell earrings, my towel around my neck, was bear foot, (the Germans/Austrians worried that I was going to catch a cold. They always wear slippers inside). and talked...you know...slow... with lots of hand gestures...dude you have to...experience the world....and be calm dude...and don't let things get to you, man.... I was very proud of myself that I could pull this off in German. I am fluent enough to imitate a surfer.
Today I slept in, cleaned, enjoyed not being in college and having to study, and generally took the day off. For next week I don't have much that I need to prep. Life is treating me pretty good...dude...
As always an overlong post, and I'm proud of you if you made it through it.
Katherine visited me last week, and we had good times. It was great to catch up with her. It was weird to think we hadn't seen each other since she waved goodbye at the Freiburg train station three years ago. We adventured quite a bit, and I will have to steal Katherine's pictures since I didn't bring my camera.
Highlights:
Eating a three course meal of pumpkin soup, Käsknodle (baked cheese dumplings) with pumpkin sauerkraut, and finished off with Topfenknodle....I don't know how to translate that. Topfen is the Austrian word for quark which is like ricotta cheese ish. So a sweet ricotta cheese ball thing filled with apricot rolled in bread crumbs. Hmm... maybe food writer isn't in my future. Damn, cause I really do like to eat food, and getting paid to do it would be sweet.
Taking a short digesting walk, that was up to the castle which is a very small mountain or steep hill, and ended at Augistiner Brau one of the local brewery.
Heading to Bad Ischl, and despite the top of the mountain being encased in a cloud taking the cable car up to the top of Katrina. We couldn't see anything, which makes it quite a bit scarier when you have steep cliffs on either side of us that disappear into gray. Some how Katherine and I have a history of hiking in snow in sneakers and (knock on wood) not dying. (Yes I did really knock on wood)
Cake in Zauner cafe.
Spending three days in Vienna with Amanda, Alison, and Angela.
Turkish food in Vienna.
Doing a scavenger hunt made by Alison and Amanda in Vienna's cemetery. Teaching one of the other TAs Hummer, the word for Lobster.
Dressing up as Your Mom, going bowling and our group being one of the only guest who didn't know the bar staff at a Halloween bar.
Breakfast/lunch that cost 5 euros with coffee and filled me up with much yumminess.
Cake in the cafe at Hunderwasser Haus. Trying to understand the many different types of coffee.
Convincing Angela to stay an extra night so that we could watch The Cutting Edge.
Katherine and I cooking a tomato sauce with peas. It was yummy.
The next morning Katherine and I split ways. She headed to Bratislava and I headed home. Angela and I caught the same train, and I got to play some cards.
Then I had overall a good week of teaching. I did struggle some with a lesson about British English vs. American English. For me accents and dialects are connected with stereotypes, but this idea didn't fly with my students. I got a lot of blank stares. Side note watch Amy Walker 21 accents, and use the skit “who's on first” from Abbott and Costello.
Friday night I got to meet some more of the Salzburger Couch Surfers. It was quite fun.
Saturday night I had frozen pizza for dinner and then headed to a costume party. I felt like a college student, minus the going to class/studying etc. The theme of the party was go as what you wanted to be when you grew up. I couldn't remember what I wanted to be when I grew up. I am pretty sure I didn't want to grow up, and well at 24 still don't know what I want to be. Hmm.... So I decided to be a surfer/kayaker/rafter/water rat/beach bum. Sorry yet again no picture. I just wore my rafting clothes, a wood bead necklace, shell earrings, my towel around my neck, was bear foot, (the Germans/Austrians worried that I was going to catch a cold. They always wear slippers inside). and talked...you know...slow... with lots of hand gestures...dude you have to...experience the world....and be calm dude...and don't let things get to you, man.... I was very proud of myself that I could pull this off in German. I am fluent enough to imitate a surfer.
Today I slept in, cleaned, enjoyed not being in college and having to study, and generally took the day off. For next week I don't have much that I need to prep. Life is treating me pretty good...dude...
As always an overlong post, and I'm proud of you if you made it through it.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
I update!
In case anyone was still wondering I am in fact alive, well, and in Austria again. I spent the summer in Maine working at Seaspray Kayaking doing just about everything you can think of involving kayaking, moving kayaks, teaching kayaking, etc. My big accomplishment is I can now drive a trailer. Yup I'm damn proud of that. I also got my white water rafting guides license in June. I worked for Three River Rafting, and did not kill anyone. It was pretty exciting. One of the high lights of my summer was taking my parents and brother down the river. I got to yell at my them, but my Dad says he couldn't hear me. He blames me since apparently I am known for screaming a lot when Curt hits me, and over the years he's learned to tune out that frequency. I say he just is deaf. So it overall was a good summer filled with much working, but fun working. I did not make millions, but I did buy a life jacket. It is my baby. Most of you wouldn't understand. I tried to make a case to bring it with me to the Austria Alps in the winter...skiing with a life jacket though warm might not be the classiest of things to do.
So at the end of September I made my way back across the Ocean. I decided to visit some friends in New York City and then fly out of there. My mom drove me down and she visited with Susan and Kinne. I learned that I don't like driving near New York City. They pass you on the right even if you are about to get out of the fast lane. But again I did not kill us. I then got to see Dee Dee from Ithaca in Time Square and the 3 floor M&M shop. I was amazed that one can fill 3 floors with M&Ms, but they do it. It was great to see Dee Dee. It made me miss the MathHelpRoom. Dee Dee is amazing, and I love hearing about her experiences teaching in NYC. I then met up with Angela from Bike and Build and wandered around Brooklyn, which I am finally understanding is not the same as the Bronx. I even admit I could live in Brooklyn, but not Manhatten. Final day I crashed at my friend Kelly from study abroad Freiburg and we went Kayaking on the Hudson. Yup I spent all summer kayaking, and then got my last trip in on sit on top doubles in a small enclosed area between two peers. It was free, and pretty sweet. (Side note: I hate sit on tops normally, because I am usually trying to get somewhere on them against the wind with a kid who can't paddle sitting in the front, and towing two more sot doubles behind me, but if you have no where to go they are pretty sweet minus the fact that you end up with a very wet butt.)
Then I hoped on a plane, and flew over to Munich. It was a bit of triple culture shock, Maine->NYC->Munich during Oktoberfest. I did not end up going to Oktoberfest, but Munich is invaded by people in Dirndls and Lederhosen who are very drunk. My friend Linda picked me up from the airport in her new VW bus. I have friends buying cars. I must be getting old. I then finally made it to my destination Salzburg. I am doing the same job as an English Teaching Assistant, but I have moved schools. I teach at the HAK2 in Salzburg, and the HBLA in Ried am St. Wolfgang. Ried am St. Wolfgang is about an hour from Salzburg by car. Luckily I only teach there one day a week, and my teacher has organized it so I get a ride there and back. It took a bit for me to get a schedule organized and I ended up having a lot of free time at first. I decided that I would not do very well not having a job. I can not easily amuse myself, but practically all my pictures from last year are online here. Thing have since then picked up, and I have started teaching. Currently most of my lessons are about me, Maine, and attempting to get my students to ask my questions. It is interesting what they ask. I am 24 and my hobbies are most things ending in -ing that can be done outside. No I don't have a boy friend. I don't know which I like better living in the USA or Austria, and have not meet any famous US people. Austrian food is a lot of meat, but I do love cake. Yes it is hard to live so far from my parents, but thanks to the internet I can talk to them often on skype. It has made me realize that I have lived now 4 of the last 7 years abroad. Not your typical American or Austrian, and my favorite color is purple. Today I got to do a lesson on Money Slang. I spent way to long preping it because I it was fun to look up different slang words. I am now going to use the word Cheddar for having money. I asked my students to give my German slang for money words, and was proud to know “Mäuse“ plural for mouse means the same as bucks in American English. My teacher had never heard this term, but I had!
Because I am only at St. Wolfgang once a week I have a three day work week. Yup I have more time off, then I work. I must say I prefer working 52 hrs a month instead of a week like I did this summer. I am pretty psyched to live in Salzburg, because I have been finding many a thing to keep me entertained. I am learning to climb, met up with the other TAs, baked pies, been invited over to a friend of a friend for coffee, started running again, go to free heavy metal jazz accordion concerts.... So overall I don't have much to complain about. I mean I still am a master of complaining. I have to get up at 5:30....one day a week. Yeah I don't really get sympathy from anyone.
Tomorrow my friend Katherine who is a nanny in Freiburg this year is visiting on her way to somewhere. I'm pretty excited. We will the be headed to Vienna, or Wien to celebrate HalloWien with Amanda and Alison who both studied in Freiburg with me and are now TAs in Vienna.
So life is good, and I hope you my one reader are doing well. I tried to keep it short and sweet, but I have 6 months to catch up on. Maybe I'll do gooder this year, but I can't promise anything.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Monthlyish update written in May published in Nov
So April came and went. Happy May day to everyone. I spent it doing some serious spring cleaning. You are now invited to come over. Ok I do still have a ring of papers that I am organizing on my floor. It is amazing how much paper I collect.
As usual lots has happened in a month. I survived my half marathon. Here is a picture of me at the finish. I had fun doing the race, and it was great to have my former floor mates Regina, Matis, and Georg cheer me on. This is at the finish. They tried to pass me. I didn't let them. My legs were oh so unhappy with me later. Although after two days me and stairs were no longer in a fight. I am a bad person and barrowed this picture from
So after the Marathon I headed back to Bad Ischl for a week, and then two of my friends from Maine visited me over Easter break. We hit up Munich, Murnau, Innsbruck, Bad Ischl, Salzburg, Venice, Murano in a week. We had lots of adventures.
As usual lots has happened in a month. I survived my half marathon. Here is a picture of me at the finish. I had fun doing the race, and it was great to have my former floor mates Regina, Matis, and Georg cheer me on. This is at the finish. They tried to pass me. I didn't let them. My legs were oh so unhappy with me later. Although after two days me and stairs were no longer in a fight. I am a bad person and barrowed this picture from
So after the Marathon I headed back to Bad Ischl for a week, and then two of my friends from Maine visited me over Easter break. We hit up Munich, Murnau, Innsbruck, Bad Ischl, Salzburg, Venice, Murano in a week. We had lots of adventures.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Where o where is the spring?
The sky produced white again today. I do remember wanting snow back in January, but I take that all back now. I am proud of me though I did go for a run. I really really didn't want to go, but I run in a big circle on Sunday. Oh and I learned that the purple flowers are called Leberblume: Liver Flowers. In spite of the their name they are quite pretty. Also the Snow Drops were out in force before it snowed on them again Monday. Spring really is trying. I have faith it will make it.
Suz
Suz
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Much has Happened
It is the middle of March. Time for an update. The problem is that so much has happened in the last month that I am going to again to resort to list form. Otherwise this will be an update of epic proportion that no one really want to read anyways.
Lets see start:
Weekend of Feb 7-8th went to see Peter's final presentation of his car. He designed small electric cargo van for city contractors. It is quite interesting. I caught a ride with his parents. Because they were leaving so early in the morning I spent the night at his parents house without him. I also got to meet the grandparents who had just stopped by from Prague, and the cousin, and brothers etc. It was fun though.
Long weekend Feb 13-15th Peter and I went to Prague. His grandparents have an apartment there. Was great to be a tourist with your own apartment. We went to see a play at the national theater. It cost 50 Czech crown (koruna) which converts to less then $2.50. We sat way up high, and had binoculars and were all fancy. The National Theater is beautiful inside. The play was in Czech. I don't understand Czech. Peter speaks some. The play had enough action, and not a lot of really long dialogs, so with Peter's translations I could understand mostly what was going on. It was definitely worth the $2.50. It was a good imte
Feb 15-Feb 23 My mommy visited me. I went straight from Prague to Munich. I picked her up from the airport. The first two days we touristed, and visited in Murnau, and Munich. We ate, and then ate some more. Next stop was Salzburg. Unbeknown to us this would be our last day of sun/decent weather. We spent most of our time either eating, or going up to place where you could look out across the City. Salzburg has a burg (castle) it is very cool. Thursday night through Monday afternoon we explored Salzkammergut (the area of the Austria Alps where I live). We had miserable weather. It snowed...A LOT. My mommy saw no mountains. It was sad. I kept telling here behind those clouds are amazing mountains. She didn't believe me. Though she did get to experience some Fasching. This is the Austrian version of Marty Gra. She got to see the Fetzenumzug. It's celebrated in Ebensee, and is the opposite of Venice Carnival. Instead of elaborately beautiful costumes, they wear fetzen (rags), and have grotesque carved masks. Here is a picture: http://www.ebensee.at/foto/Fetzen1.jpg I did not take it. Haven't had the time to organize me pictures. Someday I'll put up my pictures. Despite snow it was a good time.
Feb 27th Sissi Party. Sissi was the Kaiserin of Astria from 1854-1898. She did not have a happy life. But there were films made of her life in the 1950s. Think Gone with the Wind without the Civil War. Pretty dresses, a love story, and a happy end. Chick Flick extream. Sissi met Franz Josef the Kaiser of Austria in Bad Ischl. Therefore I decided to have a Sissi Party. It had two types of cake, noodle kugel, Feuerzangenbowle. We did only watch the first of the three movies, and then Barfuss. An another chick flick, but a good one. It was a good time all around.
Feb 28th-March 1st I was a surprise guest at Rita's birthday party. She didn't invite me, because she knew I was having a Sissi party. When I walked in she was opening a present. So I stood next to her. Then I had to start laughing. She looked up confused because she couldn't figure out who was laughing. When she saw me her expression was great. The rest of her birthday was nice: Good food, and good company, aka a good time.
March 8th-13th I got to go on Ski Week with my school. All schools in Austria go skiing for a week. In the HAK (one of my schools) it is the 15/16 year olds that go skiing. I got invited along. I had not been skiing for about 2 years. SHAME ON ME. Yes I live in the Alps. Yes I should have done gone skiing more this winter, but me had no time. Plus ski boot hurt my feet. It was fun, but I was super tired by the end of the week. It was good to meet up with my students outside of school. I now have a much better at understanding the local dialect. Also on the last night we went out to the disco with about 15 of the students. Where I officially did not see them drinking any alcohol. It was definitely an interesting experience, and something that could never happen in the US. It was a good time.
March 13-15 I am home in Bad Ischl this weekend trying to get caught up on all the things I haven't done in weeks. Like updating my blog, writing letters, cleaning my bathroom, reading my book. (side note did you know: "Percentage by which the average incidence of fires and traffic accidents on Fridays the 13th differ from that of other Fridays: -4%" Harper's Index) On Friday I got back around 12:30 in the afternoon. I came home, ate some lunch, and then about 4 PM I decided that I wanted to read in bed for a bit. I am reading the curious incident of the dog in the night-time. It is a great book... After about 2hrs of reading I closed my eyes and woke up the next morning. Saturday was quite productive. Today it is raining cats and dogs. I'm staying home and continuing to be productive. Or at least that is my goal. I'm almost completely preped for Monday, and my blog is almost done and it is only noon thirty. So proud. Hopefully the rest of the day will be so productive.
Upcoming events: March 29th Freiburg half marathon. Yup not quite in the shape I should be, but I hope to survive, and not be the last person across the finish line. Yesterday I went on the slowest run ever. My head hurt to run. Might take today off due to pouring rain.
April 3-13th Nita and Chloe are visiting me!!!!
There I tried to keep it short. It is hard when I've been so busy. Does make one appreciate having a weekend at home.
Hope you all are doing well.
Lets see start:
Weekend of Feb 7-8th went to see Peter's final presentation of his car. He designed small electric cargo van for city contractors. It is quite interesting. I caught a ride with his parents. Because they were leaving so early in the morning I spent the night at his parents house without him. I also got to meet the grandparents who had just stopped by from Prague, and the cousin, and brothers etc. It was fun though.
Long weekend Feb 13-15th Peter and I went to Prague. His grandparents have an apartment there. Was great to be a tourist with your own apartment. We went to see a play at the national theater. It cost 50 Czech crown (koruna) which converts to less then $2.50. We sat way up high, and had binoculars and were all fancy. The National Theater is beautiful inside. The play was in Czech. I don't understand Czech. Peter speaks some. The play had enough action, and not a lot of really long dialogs, so with Peter's translations I could understand mostly what was going on. It was definitely worth the $2.50. It was a good imte
Feb 15-Feb 23 My mommy visited me. I went straight from Prague to Munich. I picked her up from the airport. The first two days we touristed, and visited in Murnau, and Munich. We ate, and then ate some more. Next stop was Salzburg. Unbeknown to us this would be our last day of sun/decent weather. We spent most of our time either eating, or going up to place where you could look out across the City. Salzburg has a burg (castle) it is very cool. Thursday night through Monday afternoon we explored Salzkammergut (the area of the Austria Alps where I live). We had miserable weather. It snowed...A LOT. My mommy saw no mountains. It was sad. I kept telling here behind those clouds are amazing mountains. She didn't believe me. Though she did get to experience some Fasching. This is the Austrian version of Marty Gra. She got to see the Fetzenumzug. It's celebrated in Ebensee, and is the opposite of Venice Carnival. Instead of elaborately beautiful costumes, they wear fetzen (rags), and have grotesque carved masks. Here is a picture: http://www.ebensee.at/foto/Fetzen1.jpg I did not take it. Haven't had the time to organize me pictures. Someday I'll put up my pictures. Despite snow it was a good time.
Feb 27th Sissi Party. Sissi was the Kaiserin of Astria from 1854-1898. She did not have a happy life. But there were films made of her life in the 1950s. Think Gone with the Wind without the Civil War. Pretty dresses, a love story, and a happy end. Chick Flick extream. Sissi met Franz Josef the Kaiser of Austria in Bad Ischl. Therefore I decided to have a Sissi Party. It had two types of cake, noodle kugel, Feuerzangenbowle. We did only watch the first of the three movies, and then Barfuss. An another chick flick, but a good one. It was a good time all around.
Feb 28th-March 1st I was a surprise guest at Rita's birthday party. She didn't invite me, because she knew I was having a Sissi party. When I walked in she was opening a present. So I stood next to her. Then I had to start laughing. She looked up confused because she couldn't figure out who was laughing. When she saw me her expression was great. The rest of her birthday was nice: Good food, and good company, aka a good time.
March 8th-13th I got to go on Ski Week with my school. All schools in Austria go skiing for a week. In the HAK (one of my schools) it is the 15/16 year olds that go skiing. I got invited along. I had not been skiing for about 2 years. SHAME ON ME. Yes I live in the Alps. Yes I should have done gone skiing more this winter, but me had no time. Plus ski boot hurt my feet. It was fun, but I was super tired by the end of the week. It was good to meet up with my students outside of school. I now have a much better at understanding the local dialect. Also on the last night we went out to the disco with about 15 of the students. Where I officially did not see them drinking any alcohol. It was definitely an interesting experience, and something that could never happen in the US. It was a good time.
March 13-15 I am home in Bad Ischl this weekend trying to get caught up on all the things I haven't done in weeks. Like updating my blog, writing letters, cleaning my bathroom, reading my book. (side note did you know: "Percentage by which the average incidence of fires and traffic accidents on Fridays the 13th differ from that of other Fridays: -4%" Harper's Index) On Friday I got back around 12:30 in the afternoon. I came home, ate some lunch, and then about 4 PM I decided that I wanted to read in bed for a bit. I am reading the curious incident of the dog in the night-time. It is a great book... After about 2hrs of reading I closed my eyes and woke up the next morning. Saturday was quite productive. Today it is raining cats and dogs. I'm staying home and continuing to be productive. Or at least that is my goal. I'm almost completely preped for Monday, and my blog is almost done and it is only noon thirty. So proud. Hopefully the rest of the day will be so productive.
Upcoming events: March 29th Freiburg half marathon. Yup not quite in the shape I should be, but I hope to survive, and not be the last person across the finish line. Yesterday I went on the slowest run ever. My head hurt to run. Might take today off due to pouring rain.
April 3-13th Nita and Chloe are visiting me!!!!
There I tried to keep it short. It is hard when I've been so busy. Does make one appreciate having a weekend at home.
Hope you all are doing well.
Went for a run
So I did end up going for a run. I really do like running in the rain. I just don't like the idea of running in the rain. But I noticed two things on my run today. First small purple flowers on the side of the road. They look like snow drops, but were the color of purple crocuses. Second I was amazed at how many Austrians were simply out for a walk in the rain. It's not a nice day outside, but they were out and about.
Friday, February 6, 2009
A month in a list
Time for an update. The world of Suz is ticking along. There has been a virus going around facebook. I like to call it the facebook 25 virus. For the nonfacebook readers it works like this. Someone wrote 25 random facts about themselves, and then tagged (sent) it to 25 of their friends. These friends are supposed to write 25 random facts, and tag 25 new people. So everyday I check facebook, and find out random facts about friends/acquaintances. For me the byproduct is I've started to think in a continuous random list of 25. It's bad. So this entry is going to be a list of maybe 25 things that happened to me in the last month.
1. The 5th of January was Glöcklerlaufin Salzkammergut. This is a celebration to bring in the New Year. The fire departments, and boy scouts dress in white and wear large hats made of paper lit with candles. The kids have smaller hats. Here is some pictures from the Bad Ischl scouts: http://www.pfadischl.at/content/view/65/42/. It were pretty. It is called the Glöcklerlauf: Glocke: is bell. Glockle is a person who wears a bell. And lauf means run. Not only do they wear hats, but they also have massive cow bells on their backs which are constantly ringing. So it sounds like a huge herd of cattle have invaded the city. The festivities started at 5PM. I thought they started at 6, and so missed seeing the Three Kings ride through the streets, and sing, because I was in the middle of a run. The different groups parade through the streets. They run in figure eights, and then when the leader gives a signal they stop and kneel down to welcome in the new year. This lasted until 7ish, when the Glockler groups then disperse in different directions. This is also a fund raiser there was someone collecting money in town, and then the different groups knock on doors of those people who live outside of the center of town, and ask for money.
2. Suz keeps forgetting to bring her camera with her. So no new pictures in Picasa. Sorry.
3. School started again. It was difficult for me to get back into the rhythm of schooling. The first week that was only 3 days long was really really long. But this past week went really well. I feel like I'm getting the swing of things. Just in time for another vacation in 2 weeks. Yippy.
4. My mommy is coming to visit me. They are building a house, and apparently houses have to be build when the weather is above freezing. Aka spring and summer. Also my parents don't think a house can be built by itself, and supervision is needed. The moral of this story is they couldn't visit me later in the spring like originally planed, so my mother is coming in a little over a week to see winter Bad Ischl. I hope the weather is good for her visit. I don't know how much snow there will be. Yesterday was in the 50s, but a week before it snowed. We have very moody weather here. It can't make up it's mind.
5. I spent the first two weekend in Bad Ischl. My desk is (ok was) organized.
6. I sent in my application for being a Teaching Assistant again next year. After some last minute complication it hopefully is currently sitting in Vienna waiting for a YES we would love to give Suzanne a second year as a teaching assistant.
7. I cleaned my apartment completely for the first time. The dust bunnies in my bedroom were not pleased. I think I won the battle, the war is still undecided. (I do clean the bathroom/kitchen/living room about every 2 weeks).
8. I found that rice made with half coconut milk and half water and then adding fresh mango to it is amazing.
9. Cream of wheat made with half milk half coconut milk is also amazing. I have a weakness for both coconut milk and cream of wheat.
10. I have a new assignment notebook. Exciting, except for the part I put it in my bag with my cup that wasn't closed write. Now it's a tea-y assignmentbook.
11. I visited Freiburg again, and this time kept my nose out of the tea. I went for a dance/ball. I got all dressed up, and Regina did my hair. I looked all fancy. It was a good time. The real reason I spent 8.5 hrs of my life in the train was not to dance, but to see Regina's play. Alban Stolz Haus which is the dorm I lived puts on a play every semester. The actors a mix of experienced, and people who have never been on stage before. Regina is amazing. She was the maid in "eingebildeten Kranken" von Molière. It was great, and worth the 8+hr ride.
12. I've gotten old. Two days of going to bed after 3AM knocked me out.
13. I went snow shoeing. Florent, the French Teaching Assistant and I explored the Postalm. The trials that we fallowed were “well marked.” We never did get lost, we just weren't always sure that we really were going in the direction we wanted to.
14. I got a cold. It is lame. At the same time my back decided to inform me that it didn't like me. Lame squared. I have no heat pad, but my radiator worked great.
15. My lap top was sick. It inhaled too much stuff, and it's fan got clogged. I had to take it to the shop. They fixed the fan, and charged me only 20€ instead of 60€. Unfortunately they didn't hook up the battery and speakers right. So I had to go back again and get that fixed. Now it seems happy. A laptop without a battery kind of defeated the purpose.
16. This weekend I'm going to see Peter's final project. He designed the exterior of a small electric van for city construction workers. I've heard a lot about it, and it should be interesting. It is white.
17. I have started baking bread.
18. I learned why walking sticks are useful. If one were to say go hiking up a mountain say in the middle of the winter. Going up is fine, but coming down is really really slippery. Also probably not the best way to get rid of a head/chest cold. Pretty view from the top though. Also on the way down accidentally broke into the Kaiserville. The path went through a gap in the fence. It was a lot harder to find a way to break back out. I ended up climbing over the fence. Also learned you can let bread rise for 2.5 hrs instead of just 1 and it still tastes good.
19. Nineteen is a prime number.
20. I have made the executive decision that this will be a list of 20 not 25.
1. The 5th of January was Glöcklerlaufin Salzkammergut. This is a celebration to bring in the New Year. The fire departments, and boy scouts dress in white and wear large hats made of paper lit with candles. The kids have smaller hats. Here is some pictures from the Bad Ischl scouts: http://www.pfadischl.at/content/view/65/42/. It were pretty. It is called the Glöcklerlauf: Glocke: is bell. Glockle is a person who wears a bell. And lauf means run. Not only do they wear hats, but they also have massive cow bells on their backs which are constantly ringing. So it sounds like a huge herd of cattle have invaded the city. The festivities started at 5PM. I thought they started at 6, and so missed seeing the Three Kings ride through the streets, and sing, because I was in the middle of a run. The different groups parade through the streets. They run in figure eights, and then when the leader gives a signal they stop and kneel down to welcome in the new year. This lasted until 7ish, when the Glockler groups then disperse in different directions. This is also a fund raiser there was someone collecting money in town, and then the different groups knock on doors of those people who live outside of the center of town, and ask for money.
2. Suz keeps forgetting to bring her camera with her. So no new pictures in Picasa. Sorry.
3. School started again. It was difficult for me to get back into the rhythm of schooling. The first week that was only 3 days long was really really long. But this past week went really well. I feel like I'm getting the swing of things. Just in time for another vacation in 2 weeks. Yippy.
4. My mommy is coming to visit me. They are building a house, and apparently houses have to be build when the weather is above freezing. Aka spring and summer. Also my parents don't think a house can be built by itself, and supervision is needed. The moral of this story is they couldn't visit me later in the spring like originally planed, so my mother is coming in a little over a week to see winter Bad Ischl. I hope the weather is good for her visit. I don't know how much snow there will be. Yesterday was in the 50s, but a week before it snowed. We have very moody weather here. It can't make up it's mind.
5. I spent the first two weekend in Bad Ischl. My desk is (ok was) organized.
6. I sent in my application for being a Teaching Assistant again next year. After some last minute complication it hopefully is currently sitting in Vienna waiting for a YES we would love to give Suzanne a second year as a teaching assistant.
7. I cleaned my apartment completely for the first time. The dust bunnies in my bedroom were not pleased. I think I won the battle, the war is still undecided. (I do clean the bathroom/kitchen/living room about every 2 weeks).
8. I found that rice made with half coconut milk and half water and then adding fresh mango to it is amazing.
9. Cream of wheat made with half milk half coconut milk is also amazing. I have a weakness for both coconut milk and cream of wheat.
10. I have a new assignment notebook. Exciting, except for the part I put it in my bag with my cup that wasn't closed write. Now it's a tea-y assignmentbook.
11. I visited Freiburg again, and this time kept my nose out of the tea. I went for a dance/ball. I got all dressed up, and Regina did my hair. I looked all fancy. It was a good time. The real reason I spent 8.5 hrs of my life in the train was not to dance, but to see Regina's play. Alban Stolz Haus which is the dorm I lived puts on a play every semester. The actors a mix of experienced, and people who have never been on stage before. Regina is amazing. She was the maid in "eingebildeten Kranken" von Molière. It was great, and worth the 8+hr ride.
12. I've gotten old. Two days of going to bed after 3AM knocked me out.
13. I went snow shoeing. Florent, the French Teaching Assistant and I explored the Postalm. The trials that we fallowed were “well marked.” We never did get lost, we just weren't always sure that we really were going in the direction we wanted to.
14. I got a cold. It is lame. At the same time my back decided to inform me that it didn't like me. Lame squared. I have no heat pad, but my radiator worked great.
15. My lap top was sick. It inhaled too much stuff, and it's fan got clogged. I had to take it to the shop. They fixed the fan, and charged me only 20€ instead of 60€. Unfortunately they didn't hook up the battery and speakers right. So I had to go back again and get that fixed. Now it seems happy. A laptop without a battery kind of defeated the purpose.
16. This weekend I'm going to see Peter's final project. He designed the exterior of a small electric van for city construction workers. I've heard a lot about it, and it should be interesting. It is white.
17. I have started baking bread.
18. I learned why walking sticks are useful. If one were to say go hiking up a mountain say in the middle of the winter. Going up is fine, but coming down is really really slippery. Also probably not the best way to get rid of a head/chest cold. Pretty view from the top though. Also on the way down accidentally broke into the Kaiserville. The path went through a gap in the fence. It was a lot harder to find a way to break back out. I ended up climbing over the fence. Also learned you can let bread rise for 2.5 hrs instead of just 1 and it still tastes good.
19. Nineteen is a prime number.
20. I have made the executive decision that this will be a list of 20 not 25.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Update from a bus
Short version: I traveled, ate, burnt my nose, and overall had a good vacation.
Longer version:
I am on my way back to Bad Ischl after a two week trip visiting friends in Germany and celebrating Christmas and New Years. The two weeks before Christmas were filled with visiting Christmas Markets, drinking Gluhwein (mulled red wine) and Punch (sugared tea with rum), getting all my Christmas presents finished, baking Christmas cookies, eating way way too many christmas cookies...experiencing the usual before Christmas stress. I had school Monday the 22nd and Tuesday the 23rd before Christmas, but asked for them off. (I love my job that isn't really a job).
So my holiday started on Thursday the 18th of December. I had two classes and then headed back to my apartment, grabbed my as usual overly large back pack, and jumped on the bus-train-trian-Straßenbahn to Stock 12 in Freiburg, Germany. What is absolutely amazing about the following adventures around Germany and Austria is in the last 2 weeks I have taken 8 trians, 2 buses, and 2 Straßenbahns and have had a total of 5 minutes of delay, and no missed connections. I need some wood to knock on, cause under usual circumstances that is just not possible for the Deutsche Bahn/ÖBB. Stock 12 was the floor I lived on in the student dorms 2 years ago. We had a good time. I learned that there are such things as Advent Songs (sung during advent), and Christmas Songs (sung at or after Christmas). Many of the people who lived there when I did have since moved out, but the newbies seem to be good people too. The other exciting event that happened in Freiburg is I burnt my nose. I was trying out a new sort of tea and wanted to smell it after I had just poured boiling water over it. Yup I stuck my nose in boiling water, and ended up getting a blister on the end of my nose. It hurt, but I couldn't stop laughing, cause honestly who burns their nose in tea?
Next stop Munich to visit Peter. We went to a poetry slam. Which I was able to understand almost everything. So proud. It was more standup/poetry slam. Some people were good, and some not so, but there was a good balance.
Next stop Murnau to see the Glück family. As usual my kids keep getting bigger. We watch videos from when I was their nanny five years ago. Super cute, and luckily staring mostly the kids, and not Suz.
The Christmas stop was in the Rauth a 400 year old farm house in the middle of the alps in Tirol. I celebrated it with my German family. I am so lucky to have 3 families. My family in the US, my nanny family the Glücks, and the Büttners, the family I lived with the year I nannied. I was so glad to celebrate Christmas with the Büttners. I did have some moments of homesickness, but I got to talk to my Mommy and Daddy shortly which helped. I spent a week in the Rauth. I ate too much. Won at cards, (ok I lost too, but that isn't important). Unfortunately the snow was on the icy side, so instead of skiing I snow shoed up the ski slopes, and back down. Did get a few funny looks for that one, but that never stopped me. Read my book. And am almost finished with my application for doing a second year as a Teaching Assistant in Bad Ischl. (I hate writing applications, but Rita and Rupi helped me make it sound all smart.)
Final stop was Ebersburg to celebrate New Years with Peter. We had a good one inclusive Cheese Fondue, a night bike ride, and a small fire.
Now I am back in Bad Ischl with 2 weeks of dirty laundry. Oh so much fun, but I am excited to no longer be living out of a back pack aka living out of the pile of stuff that exploded from my back pack everytime I stopped somewhere.
That is the snooze from this side of the ocean. School starts up next week on Wednesday. I liked having vacation, unfortunately my bank account did not. Oh the real world.
I wish all of my blog readers (this sum I am assuming is greater then or equal to zero) a good 2009. Or as they say in German ein guter Rutsch ins neues Jahr: A good slide into the New Year.
Longer version:
I am on my way back to Bad Ischl after a two week trip visiting friends in Germany and celebrating Christmas and New Years. The two weeks before Christmas were filled with visiting Christmas Markets, drinking Gluhwein (mulled red wine) and Punch (sugared tea with rum), getting all my Christmas presents finished, baking Christmas cookies, eating way way too many christmas cookies...experiencing the usual before Christmas stress. I had school Monday the 22nd and Tuesday the 23rd before Christmas, but asked for them off. (I love my job that isn't really a job).
So my holiday started on Thursday the 18th of December. I had two classes and then headed back to my apartment, grabbed my as usual overly large back pack, and jumped on the bus-train-trian-Straßenbahn to Stock 12 in Freiburg, Germany. What is absolutely amazing about the following adventures around Germany and Austria is in the last 2 weeks I have taken 8 trians, 2 buses, and 2 Straßenbahns and have had a total of 5 minutes of delay, and no missed connections. I need some wood to knock on, cause under usual circumstances that is just not possible for the Deutsche Bahn/ÖBB. Stock 12 was the floor I lived on in the student dorms 2 years ago. We had a good time. I learned that there are such things as Advent Songs (sung during advent), and Christmas Songs (sung at or after Christmas). Many of the people who lived there when I did have since moved out, but the newbies seem to be good people too. The other exciting event that happened in Freiburg is I burnt my nose. I was trying out a new sort of tea and wanted to smell it after I had just poured boiling water over it. Yup I stuck my nose in boiling water, and ended up getting a blister on the end of my nose. It hurt, but I couldn't stop laughing, cause honestly who burns their nose in tea?
Next stop Munich to visit Peter. We went to a poetry slam. Which I was able to understand almost everything. So proud. It was more standup/poetry slam. Some people were good, and some not so, but there was a good balance.
Next stop Murnau to see the Glück family. As usual my kids keep getting bigger. We watch videos from when I was their nanny five years ago. Super cute, and luckily staring mostly the kids, and not Suz.
The Christmas stop was in the Rauth a 400 year old farm house in the middle of the alps in Tirol. I celebrated it with my German family. I am so lucky to have 3 families. My family in the US, my nanny family the Glücks, and the Büttners, the family I lived with the year I nannied. I was so glad to celebrate Christmas with the Büttners. I did have some moments of homesickness, but I got to talk to my Mommy and Daddy shortly which helped. I spent a week in the Rauth. I ate too much. Won at cards, (ok I lost too, but that isn't important). Unfortunately the snow was on the icy side, so instead of skiing I snow shoed up the ski slopes, and back down. Did get a few funny looks for that one, but that never stopped me. Read my book. And am almost finished with my application for doing a second year as a Teaching Assistant in Bad Ischl. (I hate writing applications, but Rita and Rupi helped me make it sound all smart.)
Final stop was Ebersburg to celebrate New Years with Peter. We had a good one inclusive Cheese Fondue, a night bike ride, and a small fire.
Now I am back in Bad Ischl with 2 weeks of dirty laundry. Oh so much fun, but I am excited to no longer be living out of a back pack aka living out of the pile of stuff that exploded from my back pack everytime I stopped somewhere.
That is the snooze from this side of the ocean. School starts up next week on Wednesday. I liked having vacation, unfortunately my bank account did not. Oh the real world.
I wish all of my blog readers (this sum I am assuming is greater then or equal to zero) a good 2009. Or as they say in German ein guter Rutsch ins neues Jahr: A good slide into the New Year.
Friday, December 12, 2008
I have been a bad Blogger
Somehow almost a month has disappeared since the last time I updated. I keep meaning to post, but then somehow I get distracted. So today I am not allowed to go to bed, before I finish updating. Then I can cross one more thing off the overly long list of things to complete before Christmas. Side note, how did Christmas go from being a long ways off to under 2 weeks away?
In the life of Suz things have been going pretty good. School has being going well. I am currently reusing many of my lessons, which means that overall I don't have that much preping to do. My current topics are Swearing, Ugliness, Bike and Build, Civil Rights, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Ugliness has been a really interesting topic to do. I have the students define beauty and ugly for me, and each class has approached the topic differently. One class had no trouble defining an ugly person, but a lot of difficulty defining ugly clothing, while another younger class said "we can't define an ugly person because that would be mean." I decided to do this topic because of the New York Times article http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/30/fashion/30ugly.html?pagewanted=all. I had to shorten it alot to use it in class. The problem with the NY Times is although there are often very interesting article its level of English is too hard for my students. I must also admit that I have been kind of bad with copy right laws. I do change my articles so that my students will be able to understand them with out properly documenting it. Ooops. Please don't arrest me.
I have spent the past week being pensive, because if I want to do a second year in Austria as a teaching assistant, I need to complete my application by January 10th. That is not far away. I am not ready to make such decisions. I have decided to apply for a second year, and then see if I get accepted. The other decision that I need to make is whether or not I want to stay in Bad Ischl or try and move to a city where I could study. I started to look into what I would need to do to teach Math in Austria, and I would practically have to start studying all over again aka another 3-4 years on the university in Austria vs. 1-2 years in the USA. So pretty much I have spent a lot of time thinking about the future, and haven't come to any decisions yet. I mean I might win the lottery, and never have to work again...Ok I would actually have to buy a lottery ticket, but even so this probablity is not equal to zero since I could find the winning lottery ticket on the street. One must keep all options open.
I have also spent a lot of time reflecting on the last 2 months. I feel like in I have made progress. One thing I am much better at is working with text in the classroom. I am getting better at realizing that the blank stares from a class means that what I just said made no sense. I am working on getting better at rephrasing questions in simpler terms. I need to work on having more discussion questions prepared for classes that don't speak. I have some classes, that you introduce a topic, and 50 minutes later you have to figure out how to bring the discussion to an end. Other classes you ask them one question after next and get only yes/no responses. These classes are much harder to teach. I also need to work on making sure that everyone in a class joins in a discussion, not just 3 or 4 people. This week in some ways has been really good for me because it has made me reassess my goals for this year. It has made me think about what I could do better, and what I do well. The problem is for my application I have to write the reasons that I want to be a TA again next year. It is hard to find reasons that aren't cliches. I want to stay cause it is fun, and I don't know what else to do with my life next year. I HATE writing applications, but I am starting to get somewhere on it.
Other then school life has been going pretty good. I have been keeping myself occupied with running, reading book/news paper, meeting up with Heather and Florent the other TAs in Bad Ischl, visiting Weihnachts marken (christmas markets), baking bread, eating cake, traveling... Two weeks ago I went to Vienna to celebrate Thanksgiving with Alison, Francis and other Grinnellians who are in Austria, Germany, and France as TAs. I know Alison, and Francis from my year in Freiburg. It was great to see them, and we made an amazing Turkey day meal. I ate WAY too much. My tummy hated me. Last weekend I went to visit Peter in Pforzheim, Germany. This weekend I am staying in Bad Ischl, kind of. Tomorrow I am headed with another TA to Salzburg to visit their Christmas Market. We shall look at kitschig(tacky) Christmas things, and enjoy Glühwein (hot mulled wine). It should be a good day. My first land lady has also taken me under her wing. We have English lessons. Which means she invites me out to eat lunch, or takes me to amazing places in Salzkammergut (the region of Austria I am in), and as payment we speak English. I think I get the better end of this deal. I just have to speak my native language. So overall I have been able to keep myself pretty busy. After Christmas I am hoping to start skiing, either cross country or down hill. The mountains opened up 2 weeks ago, but here in the valley we've only gotten a rain snow mixture. I have hope for snow when I return after Christmas.
My Christmas vacation starts next Thursday. I have 2 classes in the Morning, then jump on a train for 8.5hrs to Freiburg. I am super excited. Then I head to Pforzheim to see Peter. Then I am going back to Munich/Murau/Triol to celebrate Christmas with my German host Family. I am again super excited. The only problem is I've only bought 3 Christmas gifts so far. Hmm...
Ok I think it is time for me to head to bed, but I get to check off one more thing on my list of things to do. I love doing that the only problem is usually I don't get around to making the to do list. This time I have 3 different ones going. Oops, probably not the best organization idea. But three is greater the one, so three list have be better then one. Happy holidays if there is anyone out there that is still reading my blog.
In the life of Suz things have been going pretty good. School has being going well. I am currently reusing many of my lessons, which means that overall I don't have that much preping to do. My current topics are Swearing, Ugliness, Bike and Build, Civil Rights, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Ugliness has been a really interesting topic to do. I have the students define beauty and ugly for me, and each class has approached the topic differently. One class had no trouble defining an ugly person, but a lot of difficulty defining ugly clothing, while another younger class said "we can't define an ugly person because that would be mean." I decided to do this topic because of the New York Times article http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/30/fashion/30ugly.html?pagewanted=all. I had to shorten it alot to use it in class. The problem with the NY Times is although there are often very interesting article its level of English is too hard for my students. I must also admit that I have been kind of bad with copy right laws. I do change my articles so that my students will be able to understand them with out properly documenting it. Ooops. Please don't arrest me.
I have spent the past week being pensive, because if I want to do a second year in Austria as a teaching assistant, I need to complete my application by January 10th. That is not far away. I am not ready to make such decisions. I have decided to apply for a second year, and then see if I get accepted. The other decision that I need to make is whether or not I want to stay in Bad Ischl or try and move to a city where I could study. I started to look into what I would need to do to teach Math in Austria, and I would practically have to start studying all over again aka another 3-4 years on the university in Austria vs. 1-2 years in the USA. So pretty much I have spent a lot of time thinking about the future, and haven't come to any decisions yet. I mean I might win the lottery, and never have to work again...Ok I would actually have to buy a lottery ticket, but even so this probablity is not equal to zero since I could find the winning lottery ticket on the street. One must keep all options open.
I have also spent a lot of time reflecting on the last 2 months. I feel like in I have made progress. One thing I am much better at is working with text in the classroom. I am getting better at realizing that the blank stares from a class means that what I just said made no sense. I am working on getting better at rephrasing questions in simpler terms. I need to work on having more discussion questions prepared for classes that don't speak. I have some classes, that you introduce a topic, and 50 minutes later you have to figure out how to bring the discussion to an end. Other classes you ask them one question after next and get only yes/no responses. These classes are much harder to teach. I also need to work on making sure that everyone in a class joins in a discussion, not just 3 or 4 people. This week in some ways has been really good for me because it has made me reassess my goals for this year. It has made me think about what I could do better, and what I do well. The problem is for my application I have to write the reasons that I want to be a TA again next year. It is hard to find reasons that aren't cliches. I want to stay cause it is fun, and I don't know what else to do with my life next year. I HATE writing applications, but I am starting to get somewhere on it.
Other then school life has been going pretty good. I have been keeping myself occupied with running, reading book/news paper, meeting up with Heather and Florent the other TAs in Bad Ischl, visiting Weihnachts marken (christmas markets), baking bread, eating cake, traveling... Two weeks ago I went to Vienna to celebrate Thanksgiving with Alison, Francis and other Grinnellians who are in Austria, Germany, and France as TAs. I know Alison, and Francis from my year in Freiburg. It was great to see them, and we made an amazing Turkey day meal. I ate WAY too much. My tummy hated me. Last weekend I went to visit Peter in Pforzheim, Germany. This weekend I am staying in Bad Ischl, kind of. Tomorrow I am headed with another TA to Salzburg to visit their Christmas Market. We shall look at kitschig(tacky) Christmas things, and enjoy Glühwein (hot mulled wine). It should be a good day. My first land lady has also taken me under her wing. We have English lessons. Which means she invites me out to eat lunch, or takes me to amazing places in Salzkammergut (the region of Austria I am in), and as payment we speak English. I think I get the better end of this deal. I just have to speak my native language. So overall I have been able to keep myself pretty busy. After Christmas I am hoping to start skiing, either cross country or down hill. The mountains opened up 2 weeks ago, but here in the valley we've only gotten a rain snow mixture. I have hope for snow when I return after Christmas.
My Christmas vacation starts next Thursday. I have 2 classes in the Morning, then jump on a train for 8.5hrs to Freiburg. I am super excited. Then I head to Pforzheim to see Peter. Then I am going back to Munich/Murau/Triol to celebrate Christmas with my German host Family. I am again super excited. The only problem is I've only bought 3 Christmas gifts so far. Hmm...
Ok I think it is time for me to head to bed, but I get to check off one more thing on my list of things to do. I love doing that the only problem is usually I don't get around to making the to do list. This time I have 3 different ones going. Oops, probably not the best organization idea. But three is greater the one, so three list have be better then one. Happy holidays if there is anyone out there that is still reading my blog.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Thursday, November 13, 2008
An Article about schooling
An article I found interesting. It's from the NY Times about how important the education system in the US should be. Well in the same NY Times they are talking about how the spending cuts are going to affect the NY schools. Got to love education.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/13/opinion/13kristof.html?th&emc=th
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/13/opinion/13kristof.html?th&emc=th
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
I post!
I got sick. LAME. It is a very normal icky head cold. What can one do? Well get lots of sleep, don't go out without a scarf, don't go for 20 mile bike rides because it is supposed to be the last beautiful day this week. I mean I would never do the last thing, but I did wear my helmet. I mean I would definitely have worn my helmet if I were to have gone on said ride.
School has been ups and downs. Somedays I have great conversations and lessons with the kids, and other days I feel like I am boring them to tears. It is hard to be in so many different classes. I am just starting to get an idea of which classes I can do what material in. It is also hard jumping between so many teachers, because I usually only have about 15 minutes to discuss lessons with them. Hopefully today I did my last politics lesson for a while. It has been interesting being an American abroad. I was super excited when I woke up last Wednesday, and it has been great to talk to everyone over here. I am still amazed at how much the US elections affect the rest of the world, and am glade that I am not a conservative republican. You would have to defend yourself a lot. I am very proud to be an american again, and it will be interesting to see what happens. I must admit that because of being sick, and having a guest this weekend I am a bit behind on my news paper reading. Reading the news is hard work, and stressful. Everyday there is a new news paper. Although it does feel good to know what is happening in the world. Even if at the moment there isn't all that much good news. I am trying to no longer live in the suz bubble.
I must now prepare for my English lesson. Wednesdays are soo long. This post is kind of all over the place, but today it is hard to concentrate.
School has been ups and downs. Somedays I have great conversations and lessons with the kids, and other days I feel like I am boring them to tears. It is hard to be in so many different classes. I am just starting to get an idea of which classes I can do what material in. It is also hard jumping between so many teachers, because I usually only have about 15 minutes to discuss lessons with them. Hopefully today I did my last politics lesson for a while. It has been interesting being an American abroad. I was super excited when I woke up last Wednesday, and it has been great to talk to everyone over here. I am still amazed at how much the US elections affect the rest of the world, and am glade that I am not a conservative republican. You would have to defend yourself a lot. I am very proud to be an american again, and it will be interesting to see what happens. I must admit that because of being sick, and having a guest this weekend I am a bit behind on my news paper reading. Reading the news is hard work, and stressful. Everyday there is a new news paper. Although it does feel good to know what is happening in the world. Even if at the moment there isn't all that much good news. I am trying to no longer live in the suz bubble.
I must now prepare for my English lesson. Wednesdays are soo long. This post is kind of all over the place, but today it is hard to concentrate.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
I teaches the Children
The short version: I learned everything I needed to know to be a teacher in the week at Saalbach, and I proved this during my first month of teaching that I am in fact a super teacher.
Ok so maybe that isn't completely the truth....
The long version: I realized that I have now been in Europe over a month, and that it is due time for email number 2. I made it to Saalbach. We had to arrive between 2 and 4, and conveniently there was a bus that got there at 3. I figured going with the mean is always a good idea. It was very easy to spot the other assistants on the train, because a) they usually had large bags with them, b) they spoke English, and c) the American ones had the glazed jetlag stare. I was very glad that I had a week to dejetlag, and had stopped off in Bad Ischl and didn't have to lug all of my luggage around with me. There was a hoard of us that over took the bus to Saalbach. The program was not only for Americans, but also students from the UK. Now I had pretty low expectations for this extravaganza. How can one learn to teach in a week? There were 4 teachers that were in charge of us. They were great, and they gave us is a bunch of resources where we could look up lesson ideas. They explained exactly what our job is, and most importantly I learned about how to get paid, and that I am not insured if a helicopter picks me off the side of a mountain. I have to become part of the Alpinverein, or something. It's still on my list of things I need to take care of. That list is as usual rather long.
We did not only spend all day learning, but we had to create a social network among the TAs. I learned that the British enjoy going out to what they would call a pub. I would call it a bar. They also had the advantage that they weren't suffering from jet lag, but I think even under normal conditions I would not able to keep up some of them. By the time Friday came around, I was looking forward to sleeping in my own bed. My head was full of information, and expectations, and my body craved sleep. The other excitement that I learned at Saalbach is there are two other teaching assistant in Bad Ischl. One is from England and her name is Heather, and the other is a French teaching assistant and his name is Florent. They are both nice, and it's good to have someone that I can hang out with on the weekends. We also bounce ideas off each other. I taught Heather all about the USA political system. Even though she is not American, she had to teach US politics. I felt sorry for her, and since I have also spent the last two weeks teaching politics. More on that later.
So somehow a month has gone by since Saalbach. I have lessons that go great, and I have lessons that could be better. My job is to make the kids speak English with me for 50 minutes. I am not supposed to be in the class alone, and it is not my job to correct papers, grade test, or do grammar (which is good cause I don't know no grammar). I am supposed to work 13 hrs a week, but last week was the first week where I didn't have a class canceled. I work 7 hours in one school the HAK, and 6 hours at a the HBLA. I'm still figuring out their school system, so here is a very simplified description of my schools: the HAK is a high school that specializes in business and soccer, and the HBLA specializes in social work, and tourism. The HBLA is mostly girls, so in a class of 26 there will be 1-2 boys, on the other hand at the HAK, because of the soccer I have classes that are only boys. An other big difference between the schools is at the HAK they often split language classes, so I only have 8-10 students in class, at the HBLA it's usually 20-26. I just figured out that I actually work with 22 different classes, because many classes I only go to every other week. (there is still a class I haven't yet met). Yup I have no chance ever learning their names.
The first two week I mostly just introduced myself to the classes, and then did 50 minutes of small talk. I am super good at small talk in English now. What are your hobbies? What do you do on the week end? What is your least favorite food? Apparently Maggie you are not alone, a lot of people don't like carrots. Then I had to start preparing lessons of my own. The first couple were a little rough. It was hard because I had only met the classes once, and I had no idea what level English they had. Apparently the excerpts I used from Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a Dream" speech was a bit to hard. Yup that lesson bombed. But on the other hand my lesson on American Politics is going quite well. So far I have done lessons on Civil Rights, Politics, Death Penalty, Politics, US government, Politics, Affirmative Action, Politics, and Halloween. All things that you don't really learn about as a Math/German major. I've actually spent quite a lot of time researching. I am even trying to read the news paper, and tried to watch the news every day when I had a TV. I'm becoming a real live adult. Another sign that I've entered the adult world, my bed time is now between 9 and 10 PM. Some days I don't even make it that late. This whole having to be at school before 8 am is lame, but I am usually done by noon, and I do get every other Friday off. I like that. I'm also working on the whole preparing for lessons a head of time. Still haven't managed to not to have to get up early on Monday morning to finish my lessons. Not good. I should be a real teacher now, and not procrastinate. I'm trying I really am.
There are also advantages to going to so many different classes such as I can reuse lessons. As you might have noticed I have been teaching politics a lot. First I make the students teach me about the Austrian elections. They just had elections in Austria where for the first time you only had to be 16 to vote, so they should know something about politics. Some classes do, and one class of 17-18 year olds couldn't tell me what it meant to be liberal or conservative. 16 is way too early to vote. In a class there was usually 2 or 3 kids who knew something about the Austrian system, but overall they have no clue. I must also admit that politics were very low on the list of things I cared at 16. Ok until about 2 weeks ago when I started teaching politics. Yup politics is a scary world. I hope that you all have/are going to vote. Until I came over here I did not realize how much the rest of the world is paying attention to this election. I have yet to meet a fan of McCain. They watch Obama with hope that he will indeed be a change from Bush's aggressive politics. Another thing that I have found very interesting over here is the Austrians are very cautious when talking politics. Most unless you know them well would never tell you which party/candidate they support. One student told me that they didn't even know how their parents normally voted. There are 5 major parties in Austria, but I don't really understand it well enough to explain it here. Oh the other super sad news is after spending the last 2 weeks of my life talking about politics, my absentee ballot never arrived. I applied for it almost a month ago. So yup the first time in my life that I actually really care to vote I can't. LAME.
So that is the skooling. Besides skooling the youths I've been gallivanting around some. Here are some pictures of the area of Austria I live in: http://picasaweb.google.com/smonaco1 Yup it's amazing. You should all come and visit me. This past weekend I moved out of the Ferienwohnung into my new apartment. It was the apartment of the mother in law of the teachers at one of the other schools in Bad Ischl. She want to be able to use it in the summer, so they rented it to me relatively cheaply and it is huge. I have 3, yup that would be THREE, balconies. I have a east, south, and north baconey. So I can follow the sun all day. No one has lived in it for the last three years, but they have been using it on an off. I did have to redecorate though. Every surface was covered with schnick schnacks. Unfortunately I did not take a before and after picture. My German friend Linda visited me last weekend to help me move. So instead of moving being a chore, it was fun. We work on one room, and then either take a break, play cards, eat, go for a walk, or just enjoy one sitting on one of my many balconies. I don't know if I can say it enough, but Bad Ischl is absolutely beautiful, and I have lots of extra room in my huge apartment for visitors. You are all invited.
Ok Congratulations to all of you that made it through my novel. I hope that it was at least a bit entertaining. I think next time I may have to write it in chapters like Claire writes her updates. I hope to revitalize my blog http://suzmonaco.blogspot.com/ Right now it is just the emails I have sent out so far, plus my Bike and Build updates. I will also try to keep my pictures up to date. I give you all permission to send me annoying emails if I slack.
Ok so maybe that isn't completely the truth....
The long version: I realized that I have now been in Europe over a month, and that it is due time for email number 2. I made it to Saalbach. We had to arrive between 2 and 4, and conveniently there was a bus that got there at 3. I figured going with the mean is always a good idea. It was very easy to spot the other assistants on the train, because a) they usually had large bags with them, b) they spoke English, and c) the American ones had the glazed jetlag stare. I was very glad that I had a week to dejetlag, and had stopped off in Bad Ischl and didn't have to lug all of my luggage around with me. There was a hoard of us that over took the bus to Saalbach. The program was not only for Americans, but also students from the UK. Now I had pretty low expectations for this extravaganza. How can one learn to teach in a week? There were 4 teachers that were in charge of us. They were great, and they gave us is a bunch of resources where we could look up lesson ideas. They explained exactly what our job is, and most importantly I learned about how to get paid, and that I am not insured if a helicopter picks me off the side of a mountain. I have to become part of the Alpinverein, or something. It's still on my list of things I need to take care of. That list is as usual rather long.
We did not only spend all day learning, but we had to create a social network among the TAs. I learned that the British enjoy going out to what they would call a pub. I would call it a bar. They also had the advantage that they weren't suffering from jet lag, but I think even under normal conditions I would not able to keep up some of them. By the time Friday came around, I was looking forward to sleeping in my own bed. My head was full of information, and expectations, and my body craved sleep. The other excitement that I learned at Saalbach is there are two other teaching assistant in Bad Ischl. One is from England and her name is Heather, and the other is a French teaching assistant and his name is Florent. They are both nice, and it's good to have someone that I can hang out with on the weekends. We also bounce ideas off each other. I taught Heather all about the USA political system. Even though she is not American, she had to teach US politics. I felt sorry for her, and since I have also spent the last two weeks teaching politics. More on that later.
So somehow a month has gone by since Saalbach. I have lessons that go great, and I have lessons that could be better. My job is to make the kids speak English with me for 50 minutes. I am not supposed to be in the class alone, and it is not my job to correct papers, grade test, or do grammar (which is good cause I don't know no grammar). I am supposed to work 13 hrs a week, but last week was the first week where I didn't have a class canceled. I work 7 hours in one school the HAK, and 6 hours at a the HBLA. I'm still figuring out their school system, so here is a very simplified description of my schools: the HAK is a high school that specializes in business and soccer, and the HBLA specializes in social work, and tourism. The HBLA is mostly girls, so in a class of 26 there will be 1-2 boys, on the other hand at the HAK, because of the soccer I have classes that are only boys. An other big difference between the schools is at the HAK they often split language classes, so I only have 8-10 students in class, at the HBLA it's usually 20-26. I just figured out that I actually work with 22 different classes, because many classes I only go to every other week. (there is still a class I haven't yet met). Yup I have no chance ever learning their names.
The first two week I mostly just introduced myself to the classes, and then did 50 minutes of small talk. I am super good at small talk in English now. What are your hobbies? What do you do on the week end? What is your least favorite food? Apparently Maggie you are not alone, a lot of people don't like carrots. Then I had to start preparing lessons of my own. The first couple were a little rough. It was hard because I had only met the classes once, and I had no idea what level English they had. Apparently the excerpts I used from Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a Dream" speech was a bit to hard. Yup that lesson bombed. But on the other hand my lesson on American Politics is going quite well. So far I have done lessons on Civil Rights, Politics, Death Penalty, Politics, US government, Politics, Affirmative Action, Politics, and Halloween. All things that you don't really learn about as a Math/German major. I've actually spent quite a lot of time researching. I am even trying to read the news paper, and tried to watch the news every day when I had a TV. I'm becoming a real live adult. Another sign that I've entered the adult world, my bed time is now between 9 and 10 PM. Some days I don't even make it that late. This whole having to be at school before 8 am is lame, but I am usually done by noon, and I do get every other Friday off. I like that. I'm also working on the whole preparing for lessons a head of time. Still haven't managed to not to have to get up early on Monday morning to finish my lessons. Not good. I should be a real teacher now, and not procrastinate. I'm trying I really am.
There are also advantages to going to so many different classes such as I can reuse lessons. As you might have noticed I have been teaching politics a lot. First I make the students teach me about the Austrian elections. They just had elections in Austria where for the first time you only had to be 16 to vote, so they should know something about politics. Some classes do, and one class of 17-18 year olds couldn't tell me what it meant to be liberal or conservative. 16 is way too early to vote. In a class there was usually 2 or 3 kids who knew something about the Austrian system, but overall they have no clue. I must also admit that politics were very low on the list of things I cared at 16. Ok until about 2 weeks ago when I started teaching politics. Yup politics is a scary world. I hope that you all have/are going to vote. Until I came over here I did not realize how much the rest of the world is paying attention to this election. I have yet to meet a fan of McCain. They watch Obama with hope that he will indeed be a change from Bush's aggressive politics. Another thing that I have found very interesting over here is the Austrians are very cautious when talking politics. Most unless you know them well would never tell you which party/candidate they support. One student told me that they didn't even know how their parents normally voted. There are 5 major parties in Austria, but I don't really understand it well enough to explain it here. Oh the other super sad news is after spending the last 2 weeks of my life talking about politics, my absentee ballot never arrived. I applied for it almost a month ago. So yup the first time in my life that I actually really care to vote I can't. LAME.
So that is the skooling. Besides skooling the youths I've been gallivanting around some. Here are some pictures of the area of Austria I live in: http://picasaweb.google.com/
Ok Congratulations to all of you that made it through my novel. I hope that it was at least a bit entertaining. I think next time I may have to write it in chapters like Claire writes her updates. I hope to revitalize my blog http://suzmonaco.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Long Update
This post is actually an email I sent out on Sept 30th. If I didn't send it to you it's not cause I don't love you. Send me an email, and I promise to write back.
The Short Version:
I made it to Austria, and it is nice here. Next week I have a seminar on how to teach, and the week after that I start teaching.
Long Version:
After Bike and Build my life became quite a bit less exciting. I worked at the Anchor Inn as a waitress, and slept, and worked, but made quite a bit of money. I also got rather sick of people. I have officially decided that being a waitress, even though if you work at the right place it pays well, it is not my dream job. I did manage to have some fun while I was back in Maine. I baked some cakes with my new Kitchen Aid Mixer that my grandparents got me for graduation. Unfortunately it was too big and heavy to make the trip across the big pond. In typical college/American tradition this usually occurred around midnight since my partner in crime Katherine Koch also waitresses and our days off never coincided . I also was able to have
a party on Louds Island with some of my friends. There was a full moon and sitting the Bushnell's Beach I realized it is one of the pretty places in the world. I guess I'll just have to go back there someday. I wanted to keep riding, but in Maine it was unsafe to ride home from work in the dark. My days off were usually filled either with sleeping, or attempting to get ready for Austria I did not get that many rides in. OK I will be honest I got two over 10 miles rides
in. My poor bike. I miss it already. It did not make it to Austria, because as much as I love it, it wasn't worth the $250 it would have been to fly it one way. It would almost have been cheaper to buy it it's own seat on the plane. I also finally got the quilt that my mother and I have been working on since the beginning of college put together. Now we just have to finish the boarder, put the back on, and quilt it. Yup it should be ready in time for my great grand children.
So after putting everything I own in a suitcase, and 2 backpacks I was off. First stop was Munich. In typical Suz fashion of leaving everything to the last minute I didn't actually know I had a place to stay in Bad Ischl until about a week before hand, and then I didn't know when I could move in until two days before I left the country. Oops. Although I was proud that I had one of my two bags pack a whole 40 hours before my plane left. They were on the heavy side. I knew that I could bring 50 lbs (23 kilos) per bag with me. So I am standing there checking my bags in, and my Dad asks me how much my suitcase weighs. I tell him quietly 23.8 kg. He then proceeds to ask me how heavy it can be. I roll my eyes and tell him 23 kg, and that I really can't take him anywhere. Luckily the guy behind the counter pretended that he didn't hear this discussion, and I was not forced to pay anything extra. Yup really can't take my father anywhere without him embarrassing me.
My flight was very uneventful I was in a new Jet so each seat had it's own TV. It was exciting. Linda and David picked me up in Munich. Back story: In high school Linda studied abroad at my high school for a year. We became friends. I then lived with her and her parents Rita and Hans when I was a nanny for another family in Murnau. David is Linda's brother who lives in Heidelberg. So in essence I blame her for my learning German. We then met up with Rita for lunch at the same restaurant where they took me the first time I came to Germany. It was where I stood before the bathrooms and wondered if I was Herr or a Damme. My German has come a little ways since that first day, and although I was super tired slipping back into German is going quite smoothly. Other highlights of the first week. I visited Rita and Hans in Murnau, and had a delightful evening with them and their neighbor Heidi. Linda and I baked The Chocolate Birthday Cake for one of Linda's friends. It turned out well although was not as
good as my Grandmother's. I went to Oktoberfest twice. The first time we just walked around, and the second time I met up with Art, one of the other students from Freiburg, and did what Oktoberfest is known for: drank some beer. It was a fun night. The next day me and my large
amount of luggage traveled from Munich to Bad Ischl. I survived changing trains twice. By the time I arrived I had decided that next time I travel anywhere for a year it will be only with my toothbrush and Pandy. Everything else I can buy when I get there. The last train ride was beautiful through the Austrian Alps. I managed to stay awake for the entirety of it.
In Bad Ischl my landlady picked me up at the station and drove me the 200m to her house. I was so relived that she did. I am living for the first month in a Ferienwohnung and then hopefully will be moving into a regular apartment. A Ferienwohnung is an apartment that is
used primarily tourist, and rented for the week. It has a kitchen with utensils, and a bed with sheets, and my own bathroom. Mine is quite nice, and located right down town. Bad Ischl is small, and so I can get to everything by foot. Although, I am still thinking about buying a bike to get around. First I have to get the more important things such as cell phone, and my own internet. I am sending this from an internet café, and miss Dave Getchel's amazing ability to find
Internet everywhere. This morning Karl, who is one of the teachers I will be working with, and the one that arranged the apartment for me woke me at 9:50 am. I had been laying in bed considering getting up, when I hear a knock at my door. I quickly throw on some clothes, and
answer the door. Oh well so much for first impressions. He took me out to breakfast, and showed me the school where I will be teaching. He also showed me where I can get a cell phone, and hopefully a mobile internet card. So soon I may be contactable! He seems very nice, and
I hope someone good to work with.
The Future: Tomorrow I head to Saalbach, and where I learn how to teach in a week. It should be interesting. I am excited because I will be meeting some of the other Freiburgers that are doing the same program as I am. It should be fun, and we are supposed to bring our hiking shoes. Therefore I conduced that there are mountains there. Then I return to Bad Ischl, and start teaching the following Monday. I'm nervous about jumping right into teaching. I know that in Karl's class I will be responsible for teaching the whole class although hopefully not on the first day, which is good. It will give me lots of experience, but nerve racking at the same time. He will be in the classroom with me though. I also actually read some of the emails I got from my program, and found a whole bunch of lesson plans. EXCITING! I will be responsible for teaching 13 classes a week, and will be working in two different schools. It is supposed to work out
that I teach 4 days a week. Hopefully I can get a Monday or a Friday off so I can do some traveling. I went to the train station today, and surprisingly the Ticket guy was very helpful.
Umm that is the news from this side of the ocean. I hope to post pictures of my new apartment soon.
The Short Version:
I made it to Austria, and it is nice here. Next week I have a seminar on how to teach, and the week after that I start teaching.
Long Version:
After Bike and Build my life became quite a bit less exciting. I worked at the Anchor Inn as a waitress, and slept, and worked, but made quite a bit of money. I also got rather sick of people. I have officially decided that being a waitress, even though if you work at the right place it pays well, it is not my dream job. I did manage to have some fun while I was back in Maine. I baked some cakes with my new Kitchen Aid Mixer that my grandparents got me for graduation. Unfortunately it was too big and heavy to make the trip across the big pond. In typical college/American tradition this usually occurred around midnight since my partner in crime Katherine Koch also waitresses and our days off never coincided . I also was able to have
a party on Louds Island with some of my friends. There was a full moon and sitting the Bushnell's Beach I realized it is one of the pretty places in the world. I guess I'll just have to go back there someday. I wanted to keep riding, but in Maine it was unsafe to ride home from work in the dark. My days off were usually filled either with sleeping, or attempting to get ready for Austria I did not get that many rides in. OK I will be honest I got two over 10 miles rides
in. My poor bike. I miss it already. It did not make it to Austria, because as much as I love it, it wasn't worth the $250 it would have been to fly it one way. It would almost have been cheaper to buy it it's own seat on the plane. I also finally got the quilt that my mother and I have been working on since the beginning of college put together. Now we just have to finish the boarder, put the back on, and quilt it. Yup it should be ready in time for my great grand children.
So after putting everything I own in a suitcase, and 2 backpacks I was off. First stop was Munich. In typical Suz fashion of leaving everything to the last minute I didn't actually know I had a place to stay in Bad Ischl until about a week before hand, and then I didn't know when I could move in until two days before I left the country. Oops. Although I was proud that I had one of my two bags pack a whole 40 hours before my plane left. They were on the heavy side. I knew that I could bring 50 lbs (23 kilos) per bag with me. So I am standing there checking my bags in, and my Dad asks me how much my suitcase weighs. I tell him quietly 23.8 kg. He then proceeds to ask me how heavy it can be. I roll my eyes and tell him 23 kg, and that I really can't take him anywhere. Luckily the guy behind the counter pretended that he didn't hear this discussion, and I was not forced to pay anything extra. Yup really can't take my father anywhere without him embarrassing me.
My flight was very uneventful I was in a new Jet so each seat had it's own TV. It was exciting. Linda and David picked me up in Munich. Back story: In high school Linda studied abroad at my high school for a year. We became friends. I then lived with her and her parents Rita and Hans when I was a nanny for another family in Murnau. David is Linda's brother who lives in Heidelberg. So in essence I blame her for my learning German. We then met up with Rita for lunch at the same restaurant where they took me the first time I came to Germany. It was where I stood before the bathrooms and wondered if I was Herr or a Damme. My German has come a little ways since that first day, and although I was super tired slipping back into German is going quite smoothly. Other highlights of the first week. I visited Rita and Hans in Murnau, and had a delightful evening with them and their neighbor Heidi. Linda and I baked The Chocolate Birthday Cake for one of Linda's friends. It turned out well although was not as
good as my Grandmother's. I went to Oktoberfest twice. The first time we just walked around, and the second time I met up with Art, one of the other students from Freiburg, and did what Oktoberfest is known for: drank some beer. It was a fun night. The next day me and my large
amount of luggage traveled from Munich to Bad Ischl. I survived changing trains twice. By the time I arrived I had decided that next time I travel anywhere for a year it will be only with my toothbrush and Pandy. Everything else I can buy when I get there. The last train ride was beautiful through the Austrian Alps. I managed to stay awake for the entirety of it.
In Bad Ischl my landlady picked me up at the station and drove me the 200m to her house. I was so relived that she did. I am living for the first month in a Ferienwohnung and then hopefully will be moving into a regular apartment. A Ferienwohnung is an apartment that is
used primarily tourist, and rented for the week. It has a kitchen with utensils, and a bed with sheets, and my own bathroom. Mine is quite nice, and located right down town. Bad Ischl is small, and so I can get to everything by foot. Although, I am still thinking about buying a bike to get around. First I have to get the more important things such as cell phone, and my own internet. I am sending this from an internet café, and miss Dave Getchel's amazing ability to find
Internet everywhere. This morning Karl, who is one of the teachers I will be working with, and the one that arranged the apartment for me woke me at 9:50 am. I had been laying in bed considering getting up, when I hear a knock at my door. I quickly throw on some clothes, and
answer the door. Oh well so much for first impressions. He took me out to breakfast, and showed me the school where I will be teaching. He also showed me where I can get a cell phone, and hopefully a mobile internet card. So soon I may be contactable! He seems very nice, and
I hope someone good to work with.
The Future: Tomorrow I head to Saalbach, and where I learn how to teach in a week. It should be interesting. I am excited because I will be meeting some of the other Freiburgers that are doing the same program as I am. It should be fun, and we are supposed to bring our hiking shoes. Therefore I conduced that there are mountains there. Then I return to Bad Ischl, and start teaching the following Monday. I'm nervous about jumping right into teaching. I know that in Karl's class I will be responsible for teaching the whole class although hopefully not on the first day, which is good. It will give me lots of experience, but nerve racking at the same time. He will be in the classroom with me though. I also actually read some of the emails I got from my program, and found a whole bunch of lesson plans. EXCITING! I will be responsible for teaching 13 classes a week, and will be working in two different schools. It is supposed to work out
that I teach 4 days a week. Hopefully I can get a Monday or a Friday off so I can do some traveling. I went to the train station today, and surprisingly the Ticket guy was very helpful.
Umm that is the news from this side of the ocean. I hope to post pictures of my new apartment soon.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
I made it!
So we done did it. All 30 of us made it across the country on a bicycle. In then final three days of the trip I had one of my least favorite days of the entire trip from Brawely to Julian, and then the next day was one of my favorites. Brawely lies about 400 ft below sea level, but to get to the ocean we had one last mountain to climb. On the day out of Brawely we did 4,000 ft of climbing over 30 miles, and as the physic major on the trip pointed out the profile for the day looked like an exponential growth graph. That is not a happy graph to bike, because it kept getting steeper as the day went on. By the end of that day I was so excited that the trip was almost over because we not only had to climb lots but it was into a head wind in the desert. It is hard to get more demoralizing conditions to bike in. I was 2 hours away from the church for hours. First we had 30 miles to go if we could continue to go 15 mph, and what seemed like an eternity later there was 8 miles left at 4 mph. Me and just about everything were in a big fight. I did manage somehow to make it up that beast, and rewarded myself with a homemade ice cream cookie sandwich.
Shortly before we entered Julian we left the desert behind us, and the next day we climbed 1,000 ft through apple orchards, and then spent the rest of the day descending. It was amazing. There were some hills that we had to climb, but when you were ready for them to end they did. I could have kept riding for months in that sort of terrain, but the next day we ran into the ocean, literally. I dipped my front tire in the Pacific, took some pictures, and then carefully set my bike down out of reach of the salt water so I could run full speed into the water. In San Diego the Pacific is pretty warm, and the beach is beautiful. We had many cheering friends and family as well as normal beach goers who stopped to ask us what all the commotion was about. It was so great to tell people "we just biked across the country for affordable housing."
I spent two extra days hanging out in San Diego, but unfortunately got a stomach bug. It was not my favorite thing to have, but at the same time I would have rather missed hanging out in San Diego then not having been able to ride the final days of the trip. I flew back to Maine on Saturday night, and luckily by that time I was feeling better. My bike is still making its way across the country. I had to take it apart and put it in a box so that it could be shipped. I realized that I had really made it across the country when I looked at my bike sitting there all disassembled. I am keeping my fingers crossed that it makes it here in one piece.
I would like to thank everyone who helped me complete this trip. Thank you to everyone who that donated money, or gave me encouragement. My fund raising total was over $5,500, and after the trip was paid for my route will donate over $55,500 to affordable housing. Donation can still be made at bikeandbuild.org. We will be giving grants of various amounts to chapters of Habitat for Humanity in Orange County NC, Memphis, San Diego, and Winston-Salem NC, as well as another affordable housing program called Mountain Housing in Asheville NC. Routes that started in the North East will give grants to this section of the country. I would also like to thank Sherwood Olin, and the Lincoln County News for running my weekly updates.
Now it is time to be part of the real world of life after college. I think it is going to contain less biking and building, and more working. It was a fun summer. I learned a lot, had some fun, and have a pretty sweet shorts tan to show for it.
Shortly before we entered Julian we left the desert behind us, and the next day we climbed 1,000 ft through apple orchards, and then spent the rest of the day descending. It was amazing. There were some hills that we had to climb, but when you were ready for them to end they did. I could have kept riding for months in that sort of terrain, but the next day we ran into the ocean, literally. I dipped my front tire in the Pacific, took some pictures, and then carefully set my bike down out of reach of the salt water so I could run full speed into the water. In San Diego the Pacific is pretty warm, and the beach is beautiful. We had many cheering friends and family as well as normal beach goers who stopped to ask us what all the commotion was about. It was so great to tell people "we just biked across the country for affordable housing."
I spent two extra days hanging out in San Diego, but unfortunately got a stomach bug. It was not my favorite thing to have, but at the same time I would have rather missed hanging out in San Diego then not having been able to ride the final days of the trip. I flew back to Maine on Saturday night, and luckily by that time I was feeling better. My bike is still making its way across the country. I had to take it apart and put it in a box so that it could be shipped. I realized that I had really made it across the country when I looked at my bike sitting there all disassembled. I am keeping my fingers crossed that it makes it here in one piece.
I would like to thank everyone who helped me complete this trip. Thank you to everyone who that donated money, or gave me encouragement. My fund raising total was over $5,500, and after the trip was paid for my route will donate over $55,500 to affordable housing. Donation can still be made at bikeandbuild.org. We will be giving grants of various amounts to chapters of Habitat for Humanity in Orange County NC, Memphis, San Diego, and Winston-Salem NC, as well as another affordable housing program called Mountain Housing in Asheville NC. Routes that started in the North East will give grants to this section of the country. I would also like to thank Sherwood Olin, and the Lincoln County News for running my weekly updates.
Now it is time to be part of the real world of life after college. I think it is going to contain less biking and building, and more working. It was a fun summer. I learned a lot, had some fun, and have a pretty sweet shorts tan to show for it.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Hotness
Cartoon cacti really do exist. We hit the desert in Arizona this week, and instead of having bushes and trees in their front yars they have Saguaro Cacti. I wondered if nusries here sold cacti plants instead of shrubs, but have not had the time to investigate. I have been worried about the Arizona desert since the beginning of the trip, but it was actually in California that we hit our hottest temperatures. Today we rode 90 miles from Blythe to Brawley and I was sweep. We left the church before 6am, and when I arrived at 2pm the bank thermomiter read 104 degrees. We rode across the Empirial Sand Dune and it was beautiful, but I was diestracted by the fact that I was in the desert on my bike and it was hot. 6 miles from the church some of my fellow riders were stopped sitting under a tree. As sweep it was our job to be the last people into the church, but I really did not want to stop. We had been pushing it hard so that we could get out of the heat as soon as possible. But after running through the sprinklers on a stranger's lawn, life seemed so much better. Instead of the last 6 miles being tourture they were actually quite enjoyable. Then once we got to the church everyone took naps to try and recover from a very long day. I decided that of the places that I want to live some day the desert is not high on my list, but I also decided that air condtioning is amazing.
We have only three days of riding left till we dip our tires in the Pacific Ocean. I still can't believe it when I look at a map and see how far we have gone. I have rode across the country to a place where they have Palm Trees and Cacti.
We have only three days of riding left till we dip our tires in the Pacific Ocean. I still can't believe it when I look at a map and see how far we have gone. I have rode across the country to a place where they have Palm Trees and Cacti.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Many updates
So I finally loaded all my weekly updates onto my blog now that we have only one week of the trip left. I do not know if anyone actually reads this anymore, due to the fact that I have not updated in literally months. Oops sorry about that. Now I must sleep so that I can survive the desert and cactuses. They are big and I was kind of excited about to see my first real cartoon looking cacti. I will update next week. I promises.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
two for the price of 1
Sorry last week I did not report last week. I wrote it but then we
did not have internet for me to email it in. In the last two weeks we
have gone from flat Kansas to the Rockies to the desert of Arizona.
It is amazing to watch the landscape change in such a short time.
I had some of the best rides of this trip while in the Rockies. My
favorite stretch was from Gunnison to Durango. In these two days we
started off along the Blue Mesa Reservoir, and then road into Box
Canyon. We then went over Red Mountain pass on the Million Dollar
Highway. That section of road cost a million dollars a mile to build
back in the 1930's, which was profitable because of all the mining in
that section of the Rockies. The roads that we were on were amazing
with wide shoulders, and newly paved. This gave me room to climb up
safely, and then go down the other side fast. I got a new top speed
of 44.8 mph. It was great fun. The views were amazing everywhere we
looked.
After Colorado we crossed the four corners into Arizona where I stood
on a bronze circle and took a picture of an arbitrary spot on the map.
There I heard Polish, French, and Japanese so I knew I was in a
tourist place. The four corners lies on the Navajo Nation's land. We
have been on it for the past few days, and poverty is more evident
then at any other point of the trip. Along the roads that we were
riding on there are many empty bottles. We were informed by a cop car
that we had to be careful and ride far on the shoulder, because they
have a problem with drunk drivers 24 hours a day. Unfortunately the
shoulders were not always bike friendly. So far we have had not had
any incidences. It has been hard riding through such an area, because
I know that there are many issues that confront these communities
before affordable housing.
Tomorrow we are headed to the Grand Canyon, and camping on the south
rim. I am so excited, but also the realization that I only have 11
days left before San Diego is slowly setting in. Soon I will be
headed back to Maine.
did not have internet for me to email it in. In the last two weeks we
have gone from flat Kansas to the Rockies to the desert of Arizona.
It is amazing to watch the landscape change in such a short time.
I had some of the best rides of this trip while in the Rockies. My
favorite stretch was from Gunnison to Durango. In these two days we
started off along the Blue Mesa Reservoir, and then road into Box
Canyon. We then went over Red Mountain pass on the Million Dollar
Highway. That section of road cost a million dollars a mile to build
back in the 1930's, which was profitable because of all the mining in
that section of the Rockies. The roads that we were on were amazing
with wide shoulders, and newly paved. This gave me room to climb up
safely, and then go down the other side fast. I got a new top speed
of 44.8 mph. It was great fun. The views were amazing everywhere we
looked.
After Colorado we crossed the four corners into Arizona where I stood
on a bronze circle and took a picture of an arbitrary spot on the map.
There I heard Polish, French, and Japanese so I knew I was in a
tourist place. The four corners lies on the Navajo Nation's land. We
have been on it for the past few days, and poverty is more evident
then at any other point of the trip. Along the roads that we were
riding on there are many empty bottles. We were informed by a cop car
that we had to be careful and ride far on the shoulder, because they
have a problem with drunk drivers 24 hours a day. Unfortunately the
shoulders were not always bike friendly. So far we have had not had
any incidences. It has been hard riding through such an area, because
I know that there are many issues that confront these communities
before affordable housing.
Tomorrow we are headed to the Grand Canyon, and camping on the south
rim. I am so excited, but also the realization that I only have 11
days left before San Diego is slowly setting in. Soon I will be
headed back to Maine.
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