the-one-month-left-post

I have been trying not to think about the fact that I only have a month left here. I am in denial.  I cannot believe that 6 months have past sooo fast.  Its insane.  We (here in Freiburg) have agreed to not talk about leaving, because we get these weird, queezy feelings. 

But along with feeling gloomy about leaving, I have also been missing people more than ever!  The other day a German asked me what some things I missed about America were.  At first, I couldn't come up with much besides friends and family.  But then, I started doing some real brainstorming.  Surely there are things I miss!  This is what I came up with (excluding other human beings):

1. wifi. we are so spoiled in America.  

2. getting water automatically when you are out to eat. 

3. mexican food. just ain't the same here.

4. listening to music in the car with friends. I've ridden in a car twice in the past 5 months. so weird! 

5. living rooms. 

6. thrift stores. 

Not an extensive list, but nonetheless noteworthy.  

The past weeks have been really great and really busy.  I wrote my first two long papers in German and never want to do it again.  haha.  There have also been festivals here like every weekend, which makes it quite hard to get any work done.  Each student living complex has there own festival a weekend in june or july.  They all have live music, food, games, etc.  There was also a wine fest and a tent-music fest (Iron & Wine was there)!  We've had really nice weather.  Next week, I have an exam and a presentation, and then on Friday some other Americans and I are headed to Paris, I'm stoked!  

until then :)  

Pfingsting and such.

Last week was Pfingst break (pentecost break).  A lot of the other people in my program had their parents here visiting or went on other big trips.  I had two papers and two presentations waiting for me after Pfingst, so I stayed around Baden-Würtemburg.  


The first weekend, I went with my language partner, Julia, to Wertheim, which is right outside of Würzburg, which is the most northeastern part of Baden-Würtemburg, which is where she is from :)  It was awesome to be with her (whole) family for the weekend. Both siblings and their significant others were there, as well as her nephew and niece.  I got to see more of the beautiful German country side, go to a wedding, and cook out and play yard games.  We played Taboo for about 3 hours straight one day.  It was great because they gave me a time extension when it was my turn and it was good speaking practice with new words :) 


After Wertheim, I got to spend some time in Freiburg reading and writing papers.  I had a pretty big assignment on Wolf Biermann.  He was a communist musician living in the DDR.  He led a pretty interesting life, but by the time I had read biographies, analyses of lyrics, and watched numerous you tube videos of interviews, I was ready to be done with him.  


I spent the second weekend in Stuttgart with my friend Friedemann and his family.  It was a fun filled, relaxing weekend.  His parents are so funny and we always have a blast together.  I am hoping to get to Stuttgart one more time before I leave Germany, to visit his parents.  I am so thankful that I have gotten to know them and will truly, truly miss them!  


After getting all my school work finished this past week, I took advantage of my free time.  Stephanie, Kate and I went on an awesome hike up to some windmills, where you can see all of Freiburg.  It was beautiful!  We also found a few interesting creatures, giant slugs, namely.  That evening we went, with Friedemann, to an American diner, here in Freiburg.  It was hilarious.  I had a "Boston BBQ Burger" and a chocolate shake.  Not quite American enough. Yesterday I went to the swimming pool with some friends.  It didn't let me down with fulfilling the expected speedo quota.  Ha.  After that, there was a street music fest going on and also a wine fest in a neighboring town.  It was really cute!  


I am starting to get those inside mixed-y-up-y feelings about leaving Germany.  I have 6 more weeks here, but time is just FLYING!  I made a pact do to something new and adventuresome every weekend day that I have left here.  Some of the things on the docket are: 
-Titi See- a beautiful lake with nice hiking trails, also in the Black Forest
-Europa Park- water slides, roller coasters, festival food
-Paris- its booked!  We are going the last weekend in July! Yipee!  
-Bierbiking- Just what it sounds like, haha 


Making memories!  Missing you!  

well, its about that time!

Wowza!  Can you believe its June?  I sure can't!  May 28th marked 4 months in Europe, which sounds insane to me.  But I still have a little over 2 months in Freiburg so all is well.  I am pretty much in the middle of my semester and courses are going well.  After a terrifying and (now) hilarious experience trying to find courses that fit with my schedule, language level, interests, etc. I am knee deep in all things German.  I am taking a post WWII German history course, a writing tutorial, a course on migration and integration within Germany, a politics course on the European Union, and a (wild card) theology course on religious perspectives of freedom.  All of my classes are going well, for the most part.  The history and theology course are by far the hardest.  There is a heavy reading load, that takes 3 times as long to do because of the language.  But, honestly, I think the theology course would even be challenging if I were taking it in English.  My favorite course is the Migration/Integration course.  We spend a lot of time listening to interviews, watching film clips, and reading articles concerning the dynamics and challenges that Germany faces with their large (and growing) migrant population.  It is a very relevant topic and the teacher is great, so the class is really enjoyable!  


Other than classes, Freiburg life is just whirling along.  One of the things that I cherish so much about Germans is their appreciation of public space (gardens, parks, etc).  I think it probably has something to do with houses and yards being smaller, so people enjoy public green space more.  With the warm summer weather, people are out and about all the time.  My dorm/apartment is right on See Park, a beautiful lake and park that is always packed with people grilling out, swimming, playing frisbee, slack lining, or just hanging out.  Its so great.  


Last weekend I went to Strasbourg in France.  It was absolutely beautiful!  We visited the EU parliament building, the cathedral and walked around the city for the day.  There is a river that pretty much encircles the downtown, which was adorable.  I think its so cool that just across the border of France and Germany the architecture style changes.  The city had so much charm and character.  Accompanying Stephanie (from IU) and I, was Sarah who is from Paris.  It was so wonderful to have her along for the ride.  It was especially helpful because we knew no french!  She introduced us to baguette and macaroons, both delicious.  However, shortly after eating my raspberry macaroon, I had some acid reflex issues (first time ever) and I thought I was going to die on the train home.  


Last week we went to an Irish pub to play trivia.  There were 24 teams and prizes given out to the teams that placed 1st, 4th, 8th and 14th.  Kate, Stephanie and I pulled through for the win, placing 14th!  Haha!  We were pretty stoked because we won cheap peach schnapps, which actually tastes more like Haribo gummy bears.  The trivia was read in both German and English (it is an Irish pub).  I had a particularly proud moment when I answered the question about what an american president's term of office is called in 14 letters.  


This weekend I will go to Würzburg with my language partner, Julia, to visit her family.  I think we will be going to her friends wedding which is exciting!  Next week we have a break for Pentecost and I might go to Stuttgart again with my friend Friedemann.  But, I also have 2 presentations and 2 papers due the week after break, so we shall see!  Writing this blog post is really just a way for me to procrastinate researching Wolf Biermann.  Haha.  Anyways, Mama tells me that people have been asking about my new hairstyle that I am sporting.  Yes, it is true, I'm dreaded and dangerous.  Not really.  But here's a picture of the dreads if you aren't already a part of the facebook world!  I miss you all terribly and wish I could transport you all here :)  

Strapped In!

Oh boy!  So, this is going to be my attempt at roughly regurgitating the happenings of the month. The term 'strapped in' refers to the state of being ready for adventure, coined after strapping our bulging backpacks and whatever other goods we are bringing along the way. 


Stephanie (a fellow Hoosier) and I started out on our way to the great city of Berlin.  We stayed in a hostel on the east side of the city with a guy-wanderer named Dan from the U.K.  We really kicked it into high gear in Berlin.  We saw nearly all the 'to-do' things in Berlin and even made it to Potsdam.  Even though I had been to Berlin for a week in high school, it all seemed new and exciting.  I had forgotten how huge the city was.  One of my favorite things about Berlin (besides the history), is that it is kind of broken up into different neighborhoods.  On the last day we went to the Turkish market in the south eastern corner in a mostly immigrant neighborhood.  It was fantastic!  I ate one of the greasiest and yummiest phyllo dough pockets filled with spinach and cheese ever!  There were musicians busking and street vendors vending, anything from olives (score) to jewelry (score for my friends).  Berlin was awesome.


Next, we were joined by Kate (one of those boilermakers...) and were off to Prague.  For whatever reason, many of the jokes that were coined and carried into the following trips started the night we left for Prague.  It could have been because the snacks we brought on the train were called Crusty Crocs and Snacky Crackys, or because the man on the train selling us sandwiches just kept repeating the phrase "yes, yes, very nice, very nice," or maybe because we got zero sleep.  We couldn't complain though, there was a Spanish couple sitting in front of us that had made it to China and planned on going to Japan, before the catastrophe and therefor had been taking the trans-siberian train home.  Anyway, we got lost trying to find our hostel.  When we finally got there, we found out they over booked and gave us an address for some accommodations up the street.  We were bummed, until we found out that up the street was a 4 star hotel that we would be staying in for the price of a hostel (ultimate score!!!).  This made Prague that much sweeter.  Its a beautiful city at night.  The architecture is amazing and when the sun falls, the shadows and narrow streets become eerie and enchanting!  We went into a castle and walked around the city a lot.  We got something called a Trednik, which we coined 'turtleneck,' which is kind of like a cinnamon roll but not as buttery and roasted on a rolling pin.  And on the last day we got a little antsy in the touristy-ness so we found a nice park outside of a beautiful church to read and play cards in. 


Then, we made our voyage home.  10 hours on a train.   But it was only a 48 layover in Freiburg, seeing when as we left for Italy my laundry wasn't even dry from the last trip.  Oh well!


So, next stop was Cinque Terre.  We were joined by Katie, making us a group of four.  This is a series of five little towns along the north western coast of Italy that you can hike between.  We took a train through Switzerland and eventually into Levanto, where we had the worst nights sleep and camping experience ever, then hiked 5hrs into Monterosso from there.  It was a chore with our packs, but SO beautiful!!!  Cinque Terre was barrels of fun because we went on day hikes through vinyardy areas, hung out on the beach and climbed on rocks on the coast, and ate delicious Italian food.  


After our wonderful time in the sun, we were headed to Rome!  Stephanie broke off from the group, so Kate, Katie, and I got our fair share of ruins and renaissance art on our own.  We saw the colosseum, the roman forum, the pantheon, the spanish steps, trevi fountain, lots of sculptures of Triton, lots of churches, etc.  Oh yeah!  And Vatican City!  Sistine Chapel!  I took a picture...(shhh)  Overall, Rome was pretty neat.  We were very lucky to have beautiful weather our entire time there (in fact, we've been pretty lucky with our weather in all of our travels)  We ate the most delicious focaccia, which was extra yummy because we pretty much lived off of apples and nutella sandwiches the rest of the time.  Katie departed at the end, then Kate and I were headed to...


Florence!  I think this was my favorite Italian city that I saw.  It was smaller and the river that it sat on was gorgeous.  The hostel that we stayed at was alright, but the very short and round lady that ran it was SO nice.  She brought us bananas and espresso and italian goodies in the morning.  Florence has a huge street market with crazy vendors yelling at you and trying to sell you things you don't need.  Lots of leather goods, as well.  When we were in Rome, some other girls in our hostel told us that when we got to Florence we had to find Vivoli, supposedly the best gelatto in Florence.  So naturally, we took them seriously.  It was on a street called Isola delle Stinche (pronounced 'stinkay,' we had fun with that)  I got coffee, cinnamon, and dark chocolate, all together.  I don't have words to describe how good it was.  Its hard for me to pick what I liked more, the gelatto or seeing Michelangelo's Statue of David.  It was so cool. By the end of Italy, I decided that renaissance art is not my favorite, but David was truly unbelievable.  On the last day we hung out on this little island/damn thing in the middle of the river that runs through Florence and people/sunset watched.  It was quite nice :)  


As much as I loved seeing all of these places, by the end, I really missed Germany.  It's nice to be able to read menus, street signs, and such.  And it's especially nice to not feel like a total tourist.  So, we were all happy to be back in Freiburg.  But, it was only for another 48 hour layover, because I left for Stuttgart promptly upon my return.  One of my roommates, Friedemann's family is from Stuttgart, so he invited me home for Easter weekend.  This was nice because it also happened to be my birthday and his family was so sweet!  We went hiking and saw a beautiful waterfall, lit a firework a midnight for my birthday, and even hunted easter eggs the next morning.


But, alas!  I am home, in Freiburg and tomorrow my classes begin! Uhh ohhh....

Ay yo!  I can't believe it but my first month in Freiburg is already finished.  This past month was a whirlwind of German speaking and people meeting madness, and I loved ever minute of it!  I had my last day of class before the actual semester starts on Friday, and it was actually kind of sad.  I met some really great friends there.  On Wednesday, in class, we watched some comics made by Loriot, a famous German cartoonist.  One especially funny one is about a old couple that are bickering at breakfast about a hard boiled egg that is too hard.  You can see it here: (warning: non-german speakers will probably not think it is as funny) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V13tFp-M1No  So, after watching this sketch our teacher gave us the text and we paired off to act it out.  Pretty fun.  Then, as the story goes, I must have zoned out.  When I snapped back to the class room, our teacher was asking for volunteers to perform the skit.  No body was budging; no body wanted to do it.  So, of course, I gave in.  No biggie.  I picked my friend Katie to do it with me, thinking that it would just be in front of our class of 12 on the last day.  Well, turns out I was wrong.   Friday rolled around and class finished up early because we had a closing ceremony with all the other classes from the Sprachlehr Institut.  On the way to the ceremony, Katie says to me, "Alena I cannot believe you volunteered us to do the skit in front of everyone at the ceremony."  Haha.  Good one.  "Wait, what?!"  Yes, it is true.  But, it actually went alright.  People laughed, at least.  It probably helped that there was free champagne (which I happily partook of before going on stage).  


So, now we have a break for all of April.  Such a long time!  The break would not typically be this long but because Easter (which also happens to be my birthday this year) is late, so they added another week.  On Monday I will be going to Berlin, staying in a hostel there for three nights, then going to Prague for another 3 nights. After that we will come home for two days, then leave again for Italy.  I am excited for all of the places that we will be traveling, but I think I am most excited for the first place we are going in Italy.  Its called Cinque Terre and it is a series of 5 little towns on the rockjaggedy/mountainy northwestern coast.  We will ride a train into Levonto and then hike our way down to La Spezia, making stops at the towns in between.  Super stoked.  After that, its Rome, Florence and Venice.  I guess I'll be getting in touch with my true, Italian roots ;)  Then home!  I am sure I will be completely dirty, smelly and and tired of cheap, street food by the time I get back to Freiburg...


I suppose I will be talking to everyone in a week or so.  tschau! 

brown paper packages tied up with strings...

These are a few of my favorite things!!!  (thus far) 
Hello people.  As of tomorrow I will have been here for 2 weeks.  These are some of my favorite things (hope everyone picked up on the Sound of Music reference):


1.  döner kebab: The most fabulously constructed Turkish sandwich you could ever ask for.  There are a couple places around Freiburg that sell them.  Its kind of like a gyro with vertically roasted lamb or chicken, spicy red onions, tomatoes and tzatziki and hot sauce and other delicious things.  I'm a döner-digger. 
2.  the tram system:  I love riding the trams into the city and to the little towns around Freiburg.   It's super fun and efficient.  Also, good for people watching.  
3.  the people in my language class/the people I have met through the language institute:  I have never met so many people from so many different places in my life.  It's crazy! Tomorrow, two japanese girls, and italian girl, and my friend Katie from IU are going to make real Italian pizza in my freshly cleaned kitchen.  I don't know if I am more excited that I don't have to worry about contracting a disease from my kitchen, or for the generations-passed down recipe we will be using...  
4.  my roller-blades:  A couple nights ago, two flat mates and I decided we wanted to make dinner.  So we ventured off to the Aldi, just a few blocks away.  We were walking around the store, looking for inspiration, when I saw them.  In-line skates.  Kid sized.  19 Euros.  I was so excited that I could fit my foot (comfortably) in.  So I impulsively bought them.  We decided to make Spätzle, a very traditional German meal.  It's kind of like German macaroni and cheese I guess...but way better.  You make the noodles out of eggs (a lot of them), flour, and water...and a noodle press.  I am sure thats not the word for it, but whatever.  Then, you combine them with sauteed onions, butter, and cheese, and let it brown in the pan. Yum. The meal turned out grand...the roller blades on the other hand...haha.  I took them out for a spin with Friedeman (same flat mate that hooked us up with the Spätzle) and probably looked goofier than the goofiest European I've seen thus far.  I'm actually somewhat surprised the wheels didn't fall off or something.  Ha! Oh well...
5.  Beer. 
6.  the metric system
7.  not!!! 
8.  bakeries, gelato, and other tasty treats.  Ok, so this makes 5 out of 8 things on this list about food...hmm...good thing the next one's about...
9.  the lake in my back yard!  Its so nice!  I have been jogging around it and the park behind it, and getting so excited for warm weather!  eek!  Its also great because there are so many families always chillin and playing with their kids :)  Also, yesterday I saw a guy walking his ferret on a leash.  It was a squirmy little thing.  


That's about it for now! Tomorrow I have to give a presentation in my German class on a person from Germany.  I chose Dietrich Bonhoeffer...hopefully I won't dishonor him in my ramblings... I am also trying to figure out where I am going to go during April, since we have a break. Thus far, in the running are, Prague, Berlin, Paris, Rome/Florence/Venice, Barcelona, and Krakow. Ahh!!!  

settling in...

I made it to Freiburg, Germany in one piece!  And made a mental not to never take a 13 hour train ride alone with a connection and a huge suitcase again.  Fun fact about that train ride was that I felt like the first three hours were out of a movie.  There was a creepy guy sitting across the isle from me with huge blaring headphones and a leather jacket...he was head banging to some french techno music that was loud enough for our whole car to hear.  The weird part was that the music kept cutting out, about a minute and a half into each song, but he just kept head banging and staring creepily... Anyways, between him and the little boy with a blonde curly mullet sitting in front of me and singing German children's songs, I was lucky to sleep at all.  


But, now I am in Freiburg and have been for about a week now.  I am so excited to be here, its pretty great.  Its funny, I don't know exactly what I was expecting, but mostly not this.  Right now it feels like a decently sized city.  I take a ten minute train/trolly ride into the city for everything.  The city is pretty awesome, lots of young people everywhere and super alternative.  Theres a huge, Gothic style church in the middle of the city that has been standing since 1330.  Its amazing.  Every day of the week except Sundays you can find hundreds of little tents and stands set up around the church until 1pm, a farmers market!  The city is all cobble stoned and still has lots of old and interesting architecture, along with the new boutiques, cafes, bakeries, and edgy clothing stores.  One of the most notable landmarks in the "Old City" part of Freiburg are the little freshwater streams that run on the sides of the streets and alleyways.  They were originally designed as a fresh water source and protection for fire, but now are just there for character.  Its pretty cool, because the University does not have a campus, really.  The buildings are dispersed all through out the city, making it extra lively in the day time.  

Hmm...apartment life...where to begin.  I guess I should say that I was super bummed at first when I found out that I didn't get into the dorm I wanted to live in.  Vauban is a little dorm/apartment village about 20 minutes south of the city that was built into a "sustainable eco-district" from an old French military base.  The buildings are all painted crazily, theres a pirate ship playground, and you can find hundreds of old buses and trailers made into to houses, lining the streets: hippie madness! In fact, there is somewhat of a sit in going on right now.  In protest against new office buildings being built in Vauban, people have constructed somewhat of a shanty town right on the plot of land.  and they are not moving.  They've made complete homes, all from recycled everything.  It's pretty incredible, I need to take some pictures of it.  So thats a taste of Vauban...if you know me well, I am sure you understand why I was bummed at first...But!  All is not lost!  


Let me give you a taste of my dorm, StuSie.  It is a pretty big dorm/apartment complex about 20 mins west of the city.  In my back yard there is a small lake and a nice park.  It's nice now, but I cant wait to really enjoy it when it warms up.  StuSie houses mostly international students and Germans as well.  I live on a floor with twelve other guys and girls. We share a kitchen, 2 full bathrooms, and 2 half bathrooms.  I by no means would call myself a clean freak, but the kitchen might be the death of me.  Its grimy piece of work!  It's hard to find clean dishes, fridge space, counter space, or really clean anything...we'll see what happens...  Anyways, my roommates are all pretty random and are from all over the world! 


I'm lookin' to buy a cheap, used bike pretty soon... Freiburg is the "bike capital" of Germany, and it's not kidding around!  Thousands and thousands, everywhere!  It's incredible.  I'm really excited for when I know my way around.  I'm also on the look out for my study spot/coffee house.  Thus far, German coffee has disappointed me.  We shall see... I think tomorrow my new friend Stephanie and I are going to go hiking in the Schwarzwald, which I am stoked about :)  Classes have been easy thus far.  It's so funny to be an international here.  In my intensive German class alone there are people from Japan, Greece, Italy, Romania, Brazil, France, Australia, and the U.S.   Talk about accent overload!  Last night I went, with a bunch of other Americans to a dub step concert...ha.  I am going to go explore the city some more this afternoon!  Hopefully I will take some pictures...but no promises...  


Peace.  

a bitter-sweet 'bis bald'!

So, today is my last day in with my Austrian family, and I'm going out with a bang!  Gisi turns 7 today and the whole family is in town for a celebration.  We will have a big meal for lunch, make homemade pizzas for dinner and top it off with Gerburtstag Torte :)  I'm really gonna miss them; I cannot believe that it has already been a month, crazy...  But also, I am super pumped for Freiburg.

But first, I must catch you up on the past week.  Last night we returned from a week long ski vacation in Ausseerland, a mountainous region (part of the eastern Alps) about 2 hrs away from Weiz.  It was wonderful.  The first day we got there it was a beautifully warm day for skiing, probably about 40 degrees.  Lets just say, I didn't exactly know what I was getting into.  I wiped out a good hand full of times.  The mountains are bigger, steeper, snowier, bumpier, I guess all around more intimidating than my previous skiing experiences (even CO).  Probably any black diamond I have ever skiied would be an intermediate slope here. So, I have some gnarly bruises...none the less,  I caught the hang of the runs and had so much fun.  I have never skiied so much in my life; we skiied 6 full days in a row.  They don't kid around ;)  Gerda taught me some new tricks and we had a blast gunning it down the mountain and through the trees.  Also, just so you can get a better picture (also you an look at my facebook pictures), you have to ride 3 pretty lengthy chairlifts to the top.  On the clear days, being at the top was absolutely breath taking!  Gahhh!  I really love mountains... Even on the cloudy days it was awesome because we would ride a chair lift up through clouds and then ski through them again on the way down.  Your ears even pop on both trips.  We would eat lunch about half way up the mountains at a Gasthaus, usually a toast (grilled cheese with ham) or a Riesengerm Knodel (a soft yeast roll filled with plum preserves and drenched in vanilla sauce :)

But yeah! Overall the skiing was fantastic.  Also, one day we went to a indoor spa-poolish thing...oh my, it was so funny. It was everything you would expect...speedos, hair, and naked kids.  I guess thats four words...whatever. 

But alas!  It is Sunday.  Tonight I have a 13 hour train ride to Freiburg, where my German friend Betti will meet me at the train station (that is, assuming I will make all the correct train connections and not end up in Prague!) 

Quick list of things I will be leaving/thing I am going to miss:

-hilariously adorable kids

-homemade bread, butter, milk man delivered milk

-the thick Austian dialect of German

-days with absolutely no schedule

Quick list of things I am leaving here:

-hopefully a good (or better) impression of Americans

-a hand full of new card games

-the knowledge that all Americans don't all survive on McDonalds diets and media centered entertainment

And last but not least, some tings I will be taking with me:

-6 cuts of meat, 3 jars of marmlade and 1 liter of juice (all from their farm) and a bag of Lebkuchen!

-hopefully better German speaking

-and so many priceless memories and some good laughs

Sorry this was so long!  I miss you all and will be able to use skype soon, if you are interested.  Bis bald! 

when cultures collide!

So, I have decided that if food and music aren't the quitessence of culture, than I don't know what is.  

Cultural Collision 1:  Thus far, the most of the music that I have experienced from the radio here has been either 80's pop/rock (think ABBA), hip-hop hits of today (think Flo Rida) or occasional German pop artists.  It has been both funny hearing Austrian kids singing the words to American rap songs, because they don't always know what they are saying. 

Cultural Collision 2:  When I got here two weeks ago, the Artners asked if I would make them a 'real American meal' sometime.  Yesterday one set of grandparents and an Uncle were in town, and guess who was cooking??  So, I decided that I would make beef chilli and twice baked potatoes.  I was able to get most of what I needed at the market and in a grocery store, but everything is just a little different.  For example, cheddar cheese does not exist.  None the less, I managed to do ok and only spilled one whole pitcher of milk into my sock :/  The meal went splendidly and they all wanted to know what was in the potatoes (butter, milk, cheese, garlic, and onions).  None of them had ever had an American meal, so it was fun to see them enjoy it.  I told them this type of food would probably be eaten when watching football...they said they wanted American... We finished off the meal with my favorite coffee that I brought them from the Pour House. Nifty!  

Weiz life, etc.

The weather here has been beautifully warm and windy, so I have enjoyed spending time outside playing with the little ones, reading, or walking around downtown Weiz.  This past weekend we had a grill-out and enjoyed delicious kabobs, grilled potatoes and veggies, salad and wine.  It was great!  Often times in the morning I attempt to read the local news paper, but mostly just end up reading the titles and looking at the pictures :)  None the less, I understand that there is a lot of violent conflict occuring at the moment in Egypt.  During the grill-out Herr Artner asked me what I thought of American involvement in foreign affairs...it was a pretty commical scene, trying to explain what I thought of American politics with a limited vocabulary. Over all, it has been really fun to tell them about my life in America and experience the way they live here.  Much is the same and much is different.  Kids aren't allowed to wear shoes in school!  So cool!  On Sunday, I met their grandparents, which was awesome. If you have seen the movie My Big, Fat, Greek Wedding, and remember the grandfather character, that is who I met.  It was so funny, the entire time he was talking about root words and language evolution and also loved talking to me in english (score!).  Yesterday I wandered around their town of Weiz for awhile, enjoying the scenery.  And today, baked some bread with Tina, one of the nannies and the two yougest kids.  I miss you all and hope life in America is just swell :) 

good thing I am no longer a vegetarian :)

Gruß Gott! (my new favorite greeting, translated means something like, "I'm greeting God in you."...roughly...but really, it is just a way of saying hello.)  Anyways, I made it!  I am in a small town in Austria called Weiz.  The family I am staying with has 4 children, Gerda, Georg, Gisela, and Güdrun.  They are ages 12, 7, 5 and 3, and all adorable.  Also, they have 4 cats, 2 dogs, 1 donkey, 12 horses (not all at the house), and many chickens, ducks and geese.  Thus far, I have survived the jet lag, eaten great food (lots of meat), and seen a bit of the Austrian country side.  It's very beautiful here, rolling hills, winding roads, and houses settled in the woods.  Tomorrow, I am going into Gerda's English class to talk to them about the American school system.  And after that we are going to go to Graz, the second biggest city in Austria, to do some exploring.  My German speaking is pretty challenging as they speak in dialect, but they are all very patient.  I have found that the cartoons that the little ones watch are as beneficial for me as they are entertaining for them.  More stories to come...peace!  

to friends and family that want to follow me :)

I am leaving for Europe tomorrow and will be gone for seven months.  For the month of February, I will be living with a family in Austria.  The rest of the time, I will be studying in Freiburg, Germany and exploring Europe as much as possible.  So...this is my blog!  I am not promising that I will be good or consistent in writing posts, but hopefully you will be able to enjoy some cool pictures and funny stories.  If you would like to be a possible recipient of a super-neat postcard in the coming months, let me know what your address is.   
I'm stoked for the adventures that lie ahead, but will miss you all dearly.  
Bis später!