Still alive!!
Okay, it’s been nearly two weeks, so this one’s gonna be fairly long…again.
I have a 5-day weekend this week, due to Austria’s national holiday being on Monday and my schools being nice for making me work afternoon classes this week. And NEXT weekend is a long weekend, too, due to All Souls’ Day! Yay! Sometimes I love that Austria is so Catholic.
Anyway, I think I’ll go to Vienna for part of the weekend, but on Saturday and Sunday there is a Kürbisfest (pumpkin festival) in Zellerndorf, which is a very small town about 20 minutes north of Holla by train. I have no idea what this festival will be like, but I really want to go, just to see what a festival outside of Vienna would be like. I guess that’s something that kind of bothers me about a lot of TA’s (or just Americans) in Vienna - I know the city has a lot to offer, but it actually isn’t that representative of the rest of the country, and there IS culture in other places. I also know we don’t get paid until mid-November, but it seems like a lot of people don’t even have the curiosity to explore. But I guess we’re all here for different reasons. I, however, think it could be really cool, and if nothing else, it’s not too far from where I live. Plus, I invited the Italian TA from the HAK, who also invited our French TA, so it could be a good opportunity to get to know them both better, since they both live in Vienna.
So THAT’S potentially exciting.
Teaching has been going alright these first few weeks, though my schedule is even more flexible than last year. The way it works this year is that both schools will tell me the week before which classes I am to visit the next week. Ultimately, there are only so many to choose from, but with 10 teachers at the Gymnasium and 4 at the HAK, it can get a bit complicated. Plus, the Gymnasium has me visiting the middle school classes on occasion, which is something I didn’t do last year, so that also complicates things. But! I get to do fun topics with them (like Halloween!), so I’m not complaining. The younger kids also seem more willing to speak to me in English (or at all!) because they haven’t yet gotten to the point where school (or doing well in school) is like, SO LAME. All in all, it’s just been a LOT of new faces and a little hectic to place them, but I think it will turn out well in the end.
Oh! And after doing SO MANY introductions to classes, word got around at the Gymnasium that I like to sing, so now I am in the little choir they put together for the Christmas mass. Sure, it’s nothing fancy, but it’ll be the first time I’ve really sung since graduating…which is pretty freaking ridiculous. So I’m definitely looking forward to that.
Another part of Life in Austria is food. Obviously. You should all know how much I love food, thinking about food, going grocery shopping, looking at food, and eventually trying to cook it. Last week a couple of teachers at the Gymnasium had their birthdays, and since it’s customary to provide a mini-feast for the fellow teachers in between classes, they brought Leberkäse and Käseleberkäse, which are basically like hot baloney loafs (the second with melty cheese chunks). It sounds really gross, but they were actually quite tasty. And they had mimosas, which were just exciting due to the idea of drinking booze in between classes.
Naja…
I asked my students to recommend some Austrian food to me, since I haven’t really had THAT much of it. Aside from Schnitzel and Schweinsbraten, both of which I’ve already had, they recommended something I forget the name of, which was basically a pickle wrapped in an egg and bacon that sounded pretty good. I might have to hunt that down. Then there was some kind of dumpling made from pig fat that sounded positively disgusting. All part of the learning process, I guess. OH! And I went to the grocery store today and took some pics of "interesting" food, so I shall post those soon if any of you are up for a game of "Name That Food" or something similar.
I’m also looking for ideas of what I can cook at home, since all I have is a stovetop. No microwave, no oven, no blender, no toaster, no can opener, though that last one will probably change. I have a fridge the size of the one in my college dorm room and an itty bitty freezer to go with it. And lots of cabinet space. My most recent culinary triumph was…..(wait for it!)…….oatmeal. That’s right, oatmeal. From oats and not a packet. With brown sugar and honey added. SO ADVANCED. So please, help me out. I’ve also been having a lot of pasta and soup, both of which I really like, but variations would be appreciated. Oh, and super tasty grilled cheese sandwiches with turkey slices and tomatoes. Nom nom. Please? I’m hoping to get some pumpkins and/or recipes at the festival, so we’ll see what I can do with those.
Other news, in a shorter, less-chatty format:
- My students ooo’d and ahhhh’d at pictures of Winona and fall at Macalester this week, which made me a little homesick. But also glad that they were impressed.
- We tried to start up the knitting group again last week, but only one new person showed up, so I don’t really know what to think about that. I don’t live in Vienna, and I can knit at home, so I don’t really want to go out of my way to facilitate meeting people if no one cares enough to make an appearance. Also, I haven’t been knitting that much lately - but I HAVE completely unraveled my sweater, washed the yarn, and am halfway through winding it into skeins. Now I just need to figure out what to do with it.
- The rest of Austria got a visit from Winter last weekend, but somehow the snow missed Holla (even though it hit Vienna!). I’m not complaining about that, though the wind was pretty awful. Supposedly it’s supposed to warm up again this weekend, which would be nice, since fall seems to have lasted about a week and a half.
- TV update: They did, in fact, pronounce the V in Vader. Also, apparently Burn Notice has made its way to Austria. The dubbing on the main character is pretty good. And I’m watching Die Simpsons a lot, which is odd, since I hadn’t done that in the States in years. ALSO also, there was a documentary on about the Neues Museum in Berlin, which is the new home of the Nefertiti bust. I saw it in the Altes Museum, but the Neues Museum JUST re-opened (after being pretty much destroyed in WWII), and now I suddenly want to go back to Berlin to visit. But preferably when the weather is better.
Alright, that’s way more than any of you cared about, so I think I’ll stop there. Maybe I’ll have pics to post from the Kürbisfest next time. And/or news about my wireless internet situation. So far, no change.
Please comment if you’re actually reading these, so I know who to cater to, information-wise. You can do it without a LiveJournal account, don’t worry.
I have a 5-day weekend this week, due to Austria’s national holiday being on Monday and my schools being nice for making me work afternoon classes this week. And NEXT weekend is a long weekend, too, due to All Souls’ Day! Yay! Sometimes I love that Austria is so Catholic.
Anyway, I think I’ll go to Vienna for part of the weekend, but on Saturday and Sunday there is a Kürbisfest (pumpkin festival) in Zellerndorf, which is a very small town about 20 minutes north of Holla by train. I have no idea what this festival will be like, but I really want to go, just to see what a festival outside of Vienna would be like. I guess that’s something that kind of bothers me about a lot of TA’s (or just Americans) in Vienna - I know the city has a lot to offer, but it actually isn’t that representative of the rest of the country, and there IS culture in other places. I also know we don’t get paid until mid-November, but it seems like a lot of people don’t even have the curiosity to explore. But I guess we’re all here for different reasons. I, however, think it could be really cool, and if nothing else, it’s not too far from where I live. Plus, I invited the Italian TA from the HAK, who also invited our French TA, so it could be a good opportunity to get to know them both better, since they both live in Vienna.
So THAT’S potentially exciting.
Teaching has been going alright these first few weeks, though my schedule is even more flexible than last year. The way it works this year is that both schools will tell me the week before which classes I am to visit the next week. Ultimately, there are only so many to choose from, but with 10 teachers at the Gymnasium and 4 at the HAK, it can get a bit complicated. Plus, the Gymnasium has me visiting the middle school classes on occasion, which is something I didn’t do last year, so that also complicates things. But! I get to do fun topics with them (like Halloween!), so I’m not complaining. The younger kids also seem more willing to speak to me in English (or at all!) because they haven’t yet gotten to the point where school (or doing well in school) is like, SO LAME. All in all, it’s just been a LOT of new faces and a little hectic to place them, but I think it will turn out well in the end.
Oh! And after doing SO MANY introductions to classes, word got around at the Gymnasium that I like to sing, so now I am in the little choir they put together for the Christmas mass. Sure, it’s nothing fancy, but it’ll be the first time I’ve really sung since graduating…which is pretty freaking ridiculous. So I’m definitely looking forward to that.
Another part of Life in Austria is food. Obviously. You should all know how much I love food, thinking about food, going grocery shopping, looking at food, and eventually trying to cook it. Last week a couple of teachers at the Gymnasium had their birthdays, and since it’s customary to provide a mini-feast for the fellow teachers in between classes, they brought Leberkäse and Käseleberkäse, which are basically like hot baloney loafs (the second with melty cheese chunks). It sounds really gross, but they were actually quite tasty. And they had mimosas, which were just exciting due to the idea of drinking booze in between classes.
Naja…
I asked my students to recommend some Austrian food to me, since I haven’t really had THAT much of it. Aside from Schnitzel and Schweinsbraten, both of which I’ve already had, they recommended something I forget the name of, which was basically a pickle wrapped in an egg and bacon that sounded pretty good. I might have to hunt that down. Then there was some kind of dumpling made from pig fat that sounded positively disgusting. All part of the learning process, I guess. OH! And I went to the grocery store today and took some pics of "interesting" food, so I shall post those soon if any of you are up for a game of "Name That Food" or something similar.
I’m also looking for ideas of what I can cook at home, since all I have is a stovetop. No microwave, no oven, no blender, no toaster, no can opener, though that last one will probably change. I have a fridge the size of the one in my college dorm room and an itty bitty freezer to go with it. And lots of cabinet space. My most recent culinary triumph was…..(wait for it!)…….oatmeal. That’s right, oatmeal. From oats and not a packet. With brown sugar and honey added. SO ADVANCED. So please, help me out. I’ve also been having a lot of pasta and soup, both of which I really like, but variations would be appreciated. Oh, and super tasty grilled cheese sandwiches with turkey slices and tomatoes. Nom nom. Please? I’m hoping to get some pumpkins and/or recipes at the festival, so we’ll see what I can do with those.
Other news, in a shorter, less-chatty format:
- My students ooo’d and ahhhh’d at pictures of Winona and fall at Macalester this week, which made me a little homesick. But also glad that they were impressed.
- We tried to start up the knitting group again last week, but only one new person showed up, so I don’t really know what to think about that. I don’t live in Vienna, and I can knit at home, so I don’t really want to go out of my way to facilitate meeting people if no one cares enough to make an appearance. Also, I haven’t been knitting that much lately - but I HAVE completely unraveled my sweater, washed the yarn, and am halfway through winding it into skeins. Now I just need to figure out what to do with it.
- The rest of Austria got a visit from Winter last weekend, but somehow the snow missed Holla (even though it hit Vienna!). I’m not complaining about that, though the wind was pretty awful. Supposedly it’s supposed to warm up again this weekend, which would be nice, since fall seems to have lasted about a week and a half.
- TV update: They did, in fact, pronounce the V in Vader. Also, apparently Burn Notice has made its way to Austria. The dubbing on the main character is pretty good. And I’m watching Die Simpsons a lot, which is odd, since I hadn’t done that in the States in years. ALSO also, there was a documentary on about the Neues Museum in Berlin, which is the new home of the Nefertiti bust. I saw it in the Altes Museum, but the Neues Museum JUST re-opened (after being pretty much destroyed in WWII), and now I suddenly want to go back to Berlin to visit. But preferably when the weather is better.
Alright, that’s way more than any of you cared about, so I think I’ll stop there. Maybe I’ll have pics to post from the Kürbisfest next time. And/or news about my wireless internet situation. So far, no change.
Please comment if you’re actually reading these, so I know who to cater to, information-wise. You can do it without a LiveJournal account, don’t worry.