It is way to cold to be the 2nd day of summer and almost the end of June. It is some kind of sign that my time in Salzburg must come to an end. The weather really is bizarre though. I'll get off the plane in Huntsville and have to catch my breath with shock from the heat I am sure.
I have now taken 2 of 4ish exams. My lit exam is next monday and my other German grammar test is written part on Wednesday and oral part next Monday. Then I also have 2 papers to complete this week. It is all doable, but I have so much on my mind. This happens when I get a little stressed.
I can't seem to focus on whatever work I am doing. Instead I make mental lists of things I don't need to forget to do. Even when I literally write down the list, I am thinking about it. So weird, but it will calm down soon enough.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Survey: Save or Spend?
The very first picture is to show that I started collecting Euro coins. Each EU country has their own national design on the back of each coin piece. When I realized I had many different countries I figured I would hold on to some. Here is where I need your help. In the picture you see 21 Euros, which is probably 30 or so US dollars. The question is do I also save these 1 and 2 Euro coins for a collection or because of their real value spend them on groceries, or chocolate, or gifts to bring home? What would you do?
The second photo requires explanation as well. I clearly don't know the first thing about quality coffee, or maybe I am a natural blond like my sis Nancy, or maybe I there are just some parts of the German language I haven't mastered yet. I was grocery shopping and had coffee on my list because Kristen and I had run out of grounds for the coffee pot we keep in our room. I am looking at the aisle of coffee. 1) I must make sure I don't mess up and buy instant coffee. 2) I also don't want to accidently buy a capucinno mix (accidentally did that this fall). 3)I don't have a grinder so I can't buy coffee beans.
Well I see this bright yellow back with the logo "FRÜH BIS SPÄT". I think Wow that is clever. I like to drink coffee in the morning (early=früh) and sometimes if I need to stay up I will drink coffee at night (late=spät). Clearly this coffee is for me. I add it to my basket and go on my way. Maybe a day or too later, I glance at the coffee package again and gasp. I finally notice another word on the package "Entkoffeiniert". Mary what were you thinking? - says myself and my roommate as she laughs at me. Just guess what that word means..... decaffenatied. I can't actually spell it in English, but I can tell you what it tastes like in Austria.
The rest are mostly all random pictures about which I had comments to offer. Above is a slide show or you can click on this link.
The second photo requires explanation as well. I clearly don't know the first thing about quality coffee, or maybe I am a natural blond like my sis Nancy, or maybe I there are just some parts of the German language I haven't mastered yet. I was grocery shopping and had coffee on my list because Kristen and I had run out of grounds for the coffee pot we keep in our room. I am looking at the aisle of coffee. 1) I must make sure I don't mess up and buy instant coffee. 2) I also don't want to accidently buy a capucinno mix (accidentally did that this fall). 3)I don't have a grinder so I can't buy coffee beans.
Well I see this bright yellow back with the logo "FRÜH BIS SPÄT". I think Wow that is clever. I like to drink coffee in the morning (early=früh) and sometimes if I need to stay up I will drink coffee at night (late=spät). Clearly this coffee is for me. I add it to my basket and go on my way. Maybe a day or too later, I glance at the coffee package again and gasp. I finally notice another word on the package "Entkoffeiniert". Mary what were you thinking? - says myself and my roommate as she laughs at me. Just guess what that word means..... decaffenatied. I can't actually spell it in English, but I can tell you what it tastes like in Austria.
The rest are mostly all random pictures about which I had comments to offer. Above is a slide show or you can click on this link.
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Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Not NFL Europa but pretty close
Countdown for my return to America: 2 weeks
Exams start tomorrow. I feel like I am behind on homework and studying but it will all work out in the end. This semester has gone by so fast. I think I mentioned before that with Easter and all of the church holidays that follow, we have had many long weekends. Some of the time I stayed in town and enjoyed Salzburg, but mostly I traveled with one trip in Austria to Graz and the rest of the trips in Germany.
Kyle Horne, a classmate from Wofford, came over in May to play football in the German League. Of course I can't turn down the opportunity to watch a football game, no matter what continent I am on. So for 3 weekends in May I went to watch him and his team, the Schwaebish Hall Unicorns, play. It was great. I got to meet some of Kyle's teammates which made it tons more fun to cheer for people I know slightly. I wish I could see more of their games but I was glad at least that Kyle let me and my roommate stay at his house so we could see the town he lives in (pics from that part of the trip later).
I definitely learned a lot about train travel during those 3 weekend trips to watch games. I'm glad that the trains are available, but really I miss my car for taking road trips. Check it out here. Can you tell I am proud? http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2019010&id=54001446&l=789062c9a9
Below is a photo album, again with my commentary included. I think that my last posts here will be photo albums with comments or individual pictures that I post daily or so.
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Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Bicycles
I have had some unforgetful experiences in Salzburg. Anytime I hear people back in America talk about biking or cycling, here are the flashbacks and thoughts that I will have:
Tip: Fasten your bike lock onto your bike, otherwise it will fall off while you are riding and then you will attempt, unsuccessfully, to retrace your ride to find the lock.
We'll see how much my bike is worth, or if it looks valuable. A friend said that no one would want to steal my bike. I won't risk it for too long. After the holiday tomorrow I will go buy a new lock.
I felt completely unathletic aka lazy today. Usually I don't mind when people pass me on the bike path. I just think, well these older men and women have ridden bikes their entire lives, so their muscles are already strong. And the adults who pass me wearing the typical bike gear clearly spend a lot of time riding. BUT tonight I was passed by a guy who had is girlfriend riding on the front of his bike. AND I had passed them earlier, so he was clearly faster than me. Even when I passed him again 2 minutes later, it didn't count because he was biking two people.
The wind around here is pretty terrible. I don't notice, of course, when the wind is helping me bike, but oh my goodness when I am biking alongside the river... 9 times out of 10, the wind is against me and I feel so pathetic or pitiful trying to bike. I could probably run faster. Then I think well at least this is kind of a work out.
Countdown for coming home begins. 3 weeks from today (Wed July 1) I will be coming home. I will have to find a way to get rid of the bike aka sell it for more than 20 Euros even though I bought it for 50 Euros.
Well feel free to share your bike stories. Maybe I will have more stories in Ohio, if I decide to buy a bike again there.
... three days later...
Of course as soon as wrote this post more bike stuff happened. I hit a person while biking. I was following my roommate and the girl passed behind her without seeing me coming as well. I shouldn't have been biking on the pedestrian friendly street. For all I know there could be a law against biking on these roads downtown, but I was doing it. Since I began riding I've become more bold in using my bell around people. So I figured I could just ring at people so they knew I would be approaching to pass them. Apparently she didn't see me coming. So I hit her accidentally, kind lost of control and came off my bike and swerved to get back on. No one was harmed so all I could after was be annoyed and laugh it off.
Tip: Fasten your bike lock onto your bike, otherwise it will fall off while you are riding and then you will attempt, unsuccessfully, to retrace your ride to find the lock.
We'll see how much my bike is worth, or if it looks valuable. A friend said that no one would want to steal my bike. I won't risk it for too long. After the holiday tomorrow I will go buy a new lock.
I felt completely unathletic aka lazy today. Usually I don't mind when people pass me on the bike path. I just think, well these older men and women have ridden bikes their entire lives, so their muscles are already strong. And the adults who pass me wearing the typical bike gear clearly spend a lot of time riding. BUT tonight I was passed by a guy who had is girlfriend riding on the front of his bike. AND I had passed them earlier, so he was clearly faster than me. Even when I passed him again 2 minutes later, it didn't count because he was biking two people.
The wind around here is pretty terrible. I don't notice, of course, when the wind is helping me bike, but oh my goodness when I am biking alongside the river... 9 times out of 10, the wind is against me and I feel so pathetic or pitiful trying to bike. I could probably run faster. Then I think well at least this is kind of a work out.
Countdown for coming home begins. 3 weeks from today (Wed July 1) I will be coming home. I will have to find a way to get rid of the bike aka sell it for more than 20 Euros even though I bought it for 50 Euros.
Well feel free to share your bike stories. Maybe I will have more stories in Ohio, if I decide to buy a bike again there.
... three days later...
Of course as soon as wrote this post more bike stuff happened. I hit a person while biking. I was following my roommate and the girl passed behind her without seeing me coming as well. I shouldn't have been biking on the pedestrian friendly street. For all I know there could be a law against biking on these roads downtown, but I was doing it. Since I began riding I've become more bold in using my bell around people. So I figured I could just ring at people so they knew I would be approaching to pass them. Apparently she didn't see me coming. So I hit her accidentally, kind lost of control and came off my bike and swerved to get back on. No one was harmed so all I could after was be annoyed and laugh it off.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Imagine if this were your church...
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| Filipsu Mic |
I am in a picture with most all of the regular congregants. This house is where they met for church in the winter. Sometimes in the summer they meet outdoors or at another house. The pastor, Attila, loved the animals and on the Sunday we were there, some were newborns. Some background info about how I came to be in Romania:
Through contacts at Wofford, I became acquainted with Teleios Ministry. After prayerful consideration, I decided to join Floyd and Bonnie Parker, the ministry leaders, in Romania for a weekend during their Fall trip. Before flying to Romania I did not know what to expect. I'd been informed previously about Attila Toth’s work and about the multitude of needs within his congregations in and near Reghin. I didn’t know what role I would play or what my “purpose” would be in visiting on that October weekend. I only thought to myself, ‘I’m going to a wedding for someone I’ve never met, in a language I don’t know, and in a place I have never been.’ Since first hearing of Teleios’ work in Romania, I have looked forward to seeing the work there in person, as well as trying to envision what God’s mission would be for me in Romania, if, in fact, he wanted me to be there in February.
I was wholeheartedly welcomed by the wedding party on Saturday. I often recall the big smile Lala’s father had whenever I saw him. Each time he greeted us, it was like seeing an old friend. No one seemed to ask, “Who is this strange, new person?” It was natural to them for me to join in celebrating the wedding of Lala and Ester. The wedding moved me in such an unexpected way. I had been to weddings of Wofford classmates over the summer, but this wedding was somehow different. I emotionally watched as Ester’s family “gave her away.” The joyful emotion that the families felt, I, too, was experiencing. I was reminded that this bride and groom were also my family, and I could cry, applaud, laugh and celebrate this wedding along with their friends and family.
Visiting the Gypsy slum was also an important part of my weekend. I didn’t know how to prepare to face the level of poverty people just like me would be living in. But even in this place, I was welcomed into homes and greeted warmly by the children and adults whom Attila ministers. I know that Attila’s work with the Gypsies could be considered never-ending, but the list of challenges didn’t seem daunting or impossible because of his faith that all would work according to God’s plan.
The other time over the weekend when unexpected emotions rose within me were when I attended the church service in Filipsu Mic. I had to leave in the middle of our worship time to go to the airport. It was sad in one way for me to leave. On that day, I had been in Europe for just over a week. As I went to leave, they told me they would pray for me as I find a church in Salzburg. I was surprised by their compassion for me, a person they barely knew. Yet so quickly they thought to pray for my need. It was nourishing to spend time with these believers before returning to my new (but still a bit foreign) home in Austria. My hope of returning to Romania was strengthened by their love and faith.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Spring, Banking, Romania 2
Spring is coming and almost here in Salzburg. The weather is pretty inconsistent but I think very soon I will pack up my sweaters and scarfs. This week we had snowfall one morning, but now it has been 3 or 4 days in a row of sunshine. My roommate came back on Sunday with a dreadful sounding cough and she could hardly speak. I have stayed healthy and don't think I have allergy season to fear, but with the changing weather I do have a lingering and uncomfortable 'dry' cough.
As a precaution I am not riding the bike this week so I can be healthy and ready for travel over my 2 week Easter holiday/spring break. My dad and sister, Nancy, will be visiting for a week starting on Thursday. There is no other way to say it then to state that Nancy is pregnant. She is pretty pregnant in fact, maybe in month 5 or so. I believe it and know this to be true but I think I will still be surprised when I see her when she arrives.
Over this break I have plenty of school work to keep busy with before, during, and after my travels. If you decide you want to open a bank account or invest some extra cash in Germany or Austria, soon I will know all the right vocabulary to make that happen. Until then all I can tell you is ATM=Bankomat.
I have another photo album about my visit to Romania. I've also saw an NCB news clip that related in a subtle way. It is about shantytowns developing in US cities where homeless people are living together in tents and makeshift 'housing'. The Hungarian pastor, Attila, asked me if I thought America would become poor like Romania because of the financial crisis. For now I'm of the mindset that a lifestyle standard has developed in the last 60 years. We have become comfortable in this norm and will do everything possible to stay relatively close to that standard. People in the video don't seem to have a choice anymore in that matter.
My church here in Salzburg personally delivered their Christmas shoeboxes to orphans and other children in Romania. On a "thank you" brochure there are some stats I can pass on to you. "Over 40 % of Romanians live under the poverty line... Family violence is a daily occurance. One in 5 women experience this in their lives. In Bucharest (capital of ROM.) over 3,000 children live on the streets."
As a precaution I am not riding the bike this week so I can be healthy and ready for travel over my 2 week Easter holiday/spring break. My dad and sister, Nancy, will be visiting for a week starting on Thursday. There is no other way to say it then to state that Nancy is pregnant. She is pretty pregnant in fact, maybe in month 5 or so. I believe it and know this to be true but I think I will still be surprised when I see her when she arrives.
Over this break I have plenty of school work to keep busy with before, during, and after my travels. If you decide you want to open a bank account or invest some extra cash in Germany or Austria, soon I will know all the right vocabulary to make that happen. Until then all I can tell you is ATM=Bankomat.
I have another photo album about my visit to Romania. I've also saw an NCB news clip that related in a subtle way. It is about shantytowns developing in US cities where homeless people are living together in tents and makeshift 'housing'. The Hungarian pastor, Attila, asked me if I thought America would become poor like Romania because of the financial crisis. For now I'm of the mindset that a lifestyle standard has developed in the last 60 years. We have become comfortable in this norm and will do everything possible to stay relatively close to that standard. People in the video don't seem to have a choice anymore in that matter.
My church here in Salzburg personally delivered their Christmas shoeboxes to orphans and other children in Romania. On a "thank you" brochure there are some stats I can pass on to you. "Over 40 % of Romanians live under the poverty line... Family violence is a daily occurance. One in 5 women experience this in their lives. In Bucharest (capital of ROM.) over 3,000 children live on the streets."
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| Appalina |
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Currently in Salzburg, Romania Part 1
The summer semester is already flying by. I had to give a presentation today and I will admit my mind has not completely left the vacation-mode it was in for the whole month of February. But now that my class schedule is set in stone, I am working on time management again. The weekends are always a bit dangerous. With Fridays off there is so much free time to keep a handle on. There is the possibility that I will do an internship so maybe than can fill up some Fridays or Saturdays for me.
Currently my laptop is on the brink of extinction, so I have become reliant on the university computers. Not to mention our dorm internet is functioning only for Skype. But I will survive and this problem only forces me to get important computer-requiring schoolwork done during work hours.
The weather here in Salzburg cannot make up its mind about Spring. One day the sun is shining, the next it is rainy. Then all in one day today, it has been windy storm grayness, then partly sunny and partly cloudy, then (again all in the same day) snowstorm whirling around everywhere. I am just hoping to never get in town somewhere and have to bike home in awful weather. I haven't had any accidents riding the bike yet either. Soon I will have gotten over the fear of being hit by a car or doing something wrong and getting yelled at.
Also I'm not embarrassed to admit that even though I am 22, I woke up during the stormy weather last night and (roommate-less) I had to tell myself not to be scared, it was just the wind and trees outside my window.
As the financial crisis continues in America and worldwide, I want to start sharing with you about the people I have met and spent time with in Romania. The pictures with today's post have writing with each photo. So please enjoy the album.
Currently my laptop is on the brink of extinction, so I have become reliant on the university computers. Not to mention our dorm internet is functioning only for Skype. But I will survive and this problem only forces me to get important computer-requiring schoolwork done during work hours.
The weather here in Salzburg cannot make up its mind about Spring. One day the sun is shining, the next it is rainy. Then all in one day today, it has been windy storm grayness, then partly sunny and partly cloudy, then (again all in the same day) snowstorm whirling around everywhere. I am just hoping to never get in town somewhere and have to bike home in awful weather. I haven't had any accidents riding the bike yet either. Soon I will have gotten over the fear of being hit by a car or doing something wrong and getting yelled at.
Also I'm not embarrassed to admit that even though I am 22, I woke up during the stormy weather last night and (roommate-less) I had to tell myself not to be scared, it was just the wind and trees outside my window.
As the financial crisis continues in America and worldwide, I want to start sharing with you about the people I have met and spent time with in Romania. The pictures with today's post have writing with each photo. So please enjoy the album.
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| Zoltan's Village |
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Today's turn of events: Germany and Uganda
So today started out with my field trip to see a history exhibit just across the Salzburg, Austrian border in Germany. There in the town of Berchtesgaden I was reminded of events which took place not that far back in our history, of a man who frequented the very same cities I have toured, and of those victims who must never be forgotten.
( http://www.obersalzberg.de/obersalzberg-home.html?&L=1&cHash=89852a3347 )
Later today I spoke with my granddad on Skype and he commented that some people in our culture/country/world suffer from short term memory. Whether it is a problem of remembering the past or being ignorant of the present, I write this post to remind myself and anyone who reads this that we learn history so that good decisions can be repeated and so that bad events will never re-occur.
It is with sadness that I write tonight about the bad events which have occurred and are occuring still now. Your question might be what do Germany and Uganda have in common? I can't easily wrap my mind around how another genocide is taking place and it doesn't cover the front of our newspapers everyday. There is (a lot of) evil in this world and yes it can be uncomfortable to think about it, even overwhelming at times. But where the darkness of evil exists, the good light of God can shine through and create change.
I publish this not to guilt anyone, pull at heart strings or expect anything in response. I have simply been moved by the remembrance of one evil that was stopped only by people who took action. And I am reminded again of the evil that is in our midst today which can be stopped when we take action. I don't have all the answers, and these guys from Invisible Children may not either but here goes...
Watch this documentary and hear (maybe for the first time) about what is happening.
http://www.invisiblechildren.com/april2009/index-en.html
A few of my thoughts from the film:
- What will I do? What can I do to stop the Jospeh Konys and Adolf Hitlers in the world? Something I heard regarding the Holocaust was that so many people did not realize what was happening in the Concentration camps. With technology, globalization and information at our fingertips, ignorance can no longer be my excuse.
- It is not just an Acholi problem, it is MY problem. It is not just a problem for the young 25 year olds. Every person can learn from this and take action.
- Where was I December 25, 2008? Complaining that I was in Austria rather than with my own family to celebrate Christmas.
- "The world is my community" As I move from state to state, country to country, the world is my community. Just like my parents wanted the community in Athens Alabama to be safe for me, I want my world-community to be safe for my children.
"To bring the 3,000 child soldiers home, it will take an army of at least 3,000 individuals to pledge $3 a week through TRI."
A Dream for the future: http://www.invisiblechildren.com/media/videos/detail.php?id=1993739679
http://www.invisiblechildren.com/home.php
http://www.resolveuganda.org/take-action
( http://www.obersalzberg.de/obersalzberg-home.html?&L=1&cHash=89852a3347 )
Later today I spoke with my granddad on Skype and he commented that some people in our culture/country/world suffer from short term memory. Whether it is a problem of remembering the past or being ignorant of the present, I write this post to remind myself and anyone who reads this that we learn history so that good decisions can be repeated and so that bad events will never re-occur.
It is with sadness that I write tonight about the bad events which have occurred and are occuring still now. Your question might be what do Germany and Uganda have in common? I can't easily wrap my mind around how another genocide is taking place and it doesn't cover the front of our newspapers everyday. There is (a lot of) evil in this world and yes it can be uncomfortable to think about it, even overwhelming at times. But where the darkness of evil exists, the good light of God can shine through and create change.
I publish this not to guilt anyone, pull at heart strings or expect anything in response. I have simply been moved by the remembrance of one evil that was stopped only by people who took action. And I am reminded again of the evil that is in our midst today which can be stopped when we take action. I don't have all the answers, and these guys from Invisible Children may not either but here goes...
Watch this documentary and hear (maybe for the first time) about what is happening.
http://www.invisiblechildren.com/april2009/index-en.html
A few of my thoughts from the film:
- What will I do? What can I do to stop the Jospeh Konys and Adolf Hitlers in the world? Something I heard regarding the Holocaust was that so many people did not realize what was happening in the Concentration camps. With technology, globalization and information at our fingertips, ignorance can no longer be my excuse.
- It is not just an Acholi problem, it is MY problem. It is not just a problem for the young 25 year olds. Every person can learn from this and take action.
- Where was I December 25, 2008? Complaining that I was in Austria rather than with my own family to celebrate Christmas.
- "The world is my community" As I move from state to state, country to country, the world is my community. Just like my parents wanted the community in Athens Alabama to be safe for me, I want my world-community to be safe for my children.
"To bring the 3,000 child soldiers home, it will take an army of at least 3,000 individuals to pledge $3 a week through TRI."
A Dream for the future: http://www.invisiblechildren.com/media/videos/detail.php?id=1993739679
http://www.invisiblechildren.com/home.php
http://www.resolveuganda.org/take-action
Friday, March 6, 2009
Summer Semester, International Dinner, Stolen Bike
Hello again everyone. I have a new goal this semester.
I would like to post an update once a week (the minimum) instead of the random barely once a month post you have been getting so far. Hold me to this goal; make me feel guilty or email me; ask me if I am still alive so that I remember how important this communication line is for us. There is always something I can share I just let them pile up or forget what I want to tell before I get to writing the next post.
Okay now for an update:
School started last week and I am still straightening out my schedule and deciding between a few classes. Last semester was incredibly stressful so I am trying to lighten my load enough so that I am able to accomplish the challenges.
There are some new students in my dorm. Mostly they are Americans here for a semester replacing the Americans who were here last semester. But we also have new Austrians and Italians. Then last Thursday our hall had an International Dinner. We all cooked foods from our 'mother country' and shared it with the rest of the group. I decided to cook 2 dishes for the first time: sloppy joes and oven-baked macaroni and cheese. Other American dishes were barbecue chicken, potato skins, and puppy chow. We ate so much food that night and aside from the Australian vegemite sandwich, I liked everything I tried.
A funny story to end with:
Over Christmas I bought a bicycle. In January it was too cold outside to ride and I had a bus pass that I could use to get everywhere. In February I was not here but now my bus pass has expired and last week I wanted to start riding my bike to school. It is a 30 minute walk so maybe just a 15 minute bike ride. I went to the front of my dorm where I thought my bike would be and saw my bike with a flat tire. So last week I used the bus or walked to school. On Saturday I took this bike to a shop to get the tire and light fixed, I rode the bike into the city, and then I came back home tired but glad to have exercised a bit.
Then yesterday I went to the front of my dorm where I had locked up this bike on Saturday and the bike was gone. Salzburg is known for bike thieves so I wasn't surprised but I was annoyed. A friend in the dorm, who had been taking care of my bike in February, didn't believe it was stolen because he saw it at the bike rack behind the dorm when he came to school. Nothing really added up until I got home last night. My friend, Kenny, confirmed that my bike was in fact safe and sound behind the dorm.
So I stole someone's bike on Saturday... My key worked on the lock with some struggling involved. I also repaired their bike. I guess if they unhappily discovered it missing on Saturday they were very relieved when it was back in better condition than before.
Yes now you can laugh at me. I am laughing at myself now too.
I would like to post an update once a week (the minimum) instead of the random barely once a month post you have been getting so far. Hold me to this goal; make me feel guilty or email me; ask me if I am still alive so that I remember how important this communication line is for us. There is always something I can share I just let them pile up or forget what I want to tell before I get to writing the next post.
Okay now for an update:
School started last week and I am still straightening out my schedule and deciding between a few classes. Last semester was incredibly stressful so I am trying to lighten my load enough so that I am able to accomplish the challenges.
There are some new students in my dorm. Mostly they are Americans here for a semester replacing the Americans who were here last semester. But we also have new Austrians and Italians. Then last Thursday our hall had an International Dinner. We all cooked foods from our 'mother country' and shared it with the rest of the group. I decided to cook 2 dishes for the first time: sloppy joes and oven-baked macaroni and cheese. Other American dishes were barbecue chicken, potato skins, and puppy chow. We ate so much food that night and aside from the Australian vegemite sandwich, I liked everything I tried.
Many of you know or can read from my February post that I stayed in Romania last month. That experience requires its own post(s) which are soon to come. In the mean time, here is a link to one picture I took there. It was on a day during the last week when I went sightseeing in Targu Mures. My friend/tour guide Zozo and I took a picture of the same building. He thinks he took the better picture. If you have an opinion feel free to let me know your preference.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2019012&id=54001446&l=bffa5
Last week I went to the airport and had my return flight date set for coming back to America. The time is flying by and now I have less than 4 months left in Salzburg. It is a bit sad to think about another chapter of my life ending, but I am excited about coming home. (July 1 if you were wondering)A funny story to end with:
Over Christmas I bought a bicycle. In January it was too cold outside to ride and I had a bus pass that I could use to get everywhere. In February I was not here but now my bus pass has expired and last week I wanted to start riding my bike to school. It is a 30 minute walk so maybe just a 15 minute bike ride. I went to the front of my dorm where I thought my bike would be and saw my bike with a flat tire. So last week I used the bus or walked to school. On Saturday I took this bike to a shop to get the tire and light fixed, I rode the bike into the city, and then I came back home tired but glad to have exercised a bit.
Then yesterday I went to the front of my dorm where I had locked up this bike on Saturday and the bike was gone. Salzburg is known for bike thieves so I wasn't surprised but I was annoyed. A friend in the dorm, who had been taking care of my bike in February, didn't believe it was stolen because he saw it at the bike rack behind the dorm when he came to school. Nothing really added up until I got home last night. My friend, Kenny, confirmed that my bike was in fact safe and sound behind the dorm.
So I stole someone's bike on Saturday... My key worked on the lock with some struggling involved. I also repaired their bike. I guess if they unhappily discovered it missing on Saturday they were very relieved when it was back in better condition than before.
Yes now you can laugh at me. I am laughing at myself now too.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Romania!!! I can hardly believe it.
Hi Everyone, I apologize for not writing on the blog. But I did warn most of you at Christmas that January would be busy as I finished my first semester in Austria. I will be honest and say that it wasn't my best semester. I couldn't give 100% even for just one of my classes so the grades that I will get will be worth whatever they are. I'll have to take and try better the second time.
Right now we are in between semesters and I am staying with new friends in Romania. Actually I am teaching English to Hungarians in the baptist churches here. I'm in a little bit over my head, but it is fun.
I don't speak any Hungarian but after listening to Austrians speak their dialect of German I am used to just zoning out when I don't understand the language. Everyone is very friendly and I am glad to be here for a time. The two photo albums I will admit are long over due for being posted. They are from my first visit to Romania just last October. I attended a wedding here and made plans to be doing what I am now.
The photo album starts out with comments then half way it stops completely. If you have a question about the blank photos, just type it into the page and I can respond. Otherwise there is no time now to give details but there is so much I could tell you about this place.
The second link is videos of the gypsey band that played during the wedding reception. The bride and groom are gypsey's as well.
I must prepare a lesson for tomorrow's English classes. So I must leave you for the night. Take care.
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| Romania Oct 3-5 |
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| Gypsey Wedding Oct 4 |
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Salzburg Church Experiences
Luke 18:27 Was fuer die Menschen unmoeglich ist, das ist fuer Gott unmoeglich.
I have visited several of the churches here in Salzburg. Especially over the Christmas break I could go to many in one week because they were holding services on the holidays as well as Sundays. Their verse theme for 2009 is above. It was preached about on various occasions as I church-hopped.
So far the visits have been good. There is a church I've visited a few times and a guy and I were talking in German and he asked where I was from but formed it as a statement/question, so you're British? I thought that was funny for him to get that impression of me. I guess he couldn't hear a southern American accent while I spoke German.
At one church I sat by a woman, Connie, whose native language is Spanish but we were able to chat in German before the service started. Afterward this church always has coffee and cake. So another woman in the church who knew Connie asked if I am also from Spain because had been sitting next to her and I guess I look like I could be Spanish.
I got perterbed (spelling?) one night when I went to a church and a polite man shook my hand and after finding out I'm American he spoke English the entire time. I realize I stand out and don't look like an Austrian but when I told him in German that I am studying and know German, it didn't seem to affect him. He just wanted to speak English. It was strange because usually as I meet people and go through the basic info, they are surprised that I speak German and compliment me on my German but never switch languages.
Most of the time when I introduce myself I say that I am from Alabama when the question comes up. That leads to them coming up with a connection... the Lynyrd Skynyrd song "Sweet Home Alabama" inevitably. I just say yep that's the one. But if they as me about my church back home I'm not really sure what to say. Baptist would be the easy answer. But I also don't think I like categorizing myself by a denomination. But I haven't discovered the word in German for non-denominational.
Also I was proud of myself at a service this past week. I've decided that jokes and humor are the most difficult things to translate between language and culture differences. Sometimes even in English I am slow to catch a joke, so then it is awkward. But while a preacher was speaking he made a joke and I immediately understood it. And when he said "the disciples caught a lot of net in their fish" I understood the mixup there and kind of quietly chuckled with others in the congregation.
Here below are videos and pictures from New Year's Eve. Alison (senior at BGSU) and I were pretty much the only two still in town so we celebrated along with hundreds of tourists and Salzburg folks. It was strange because they did the 10...1 countdown in English. The second video is better than the first.
I have visited several of the churches here in Salzburg. Especially over the Christmas break I could go to many in one week because they were holding services on the holidays as well as Sundays. Their verse theme for 2009 is above. It was preached about on various occasions as I church-hopped.
So far the visits have been good. There is a church I've visited a few times and a guy and I were talking in German and he asked where I was from but formed it as a statement/question, so you're British? I thought that was funny for him to get that impression of me. I guess he couldn't hear a southern American accent while I spoke German.
At one church I sat by a woman, Connie, whose native language is Spanish but we were able to chat in German before the service started. Afterward this church always has coffee and cake. So another woman in the church who knew Connie asked if I am also from Spain because had been sitting next to her and I guess I look like I could be Spanish.
I got perterbed (spelling?) one night when I went to a church and a polite man shook my hand and after finding out I'm American he spoke English the entire time. I realize I stand out and don't look like an Austrian but when I told him in German that I am studying and know German, it didn't seem to affect him. He just wanted to speak English. It was strange because usually as I meet people and go through the basic info, they are surprised that I speak German and compliment me on my German but never switch languages.
Most of the time when I introduce myself I say that I am from Alabama when the question comes up. That leads to them coming up with a connection... the Lynyrd Skynyrd song "Sweet Home Alabama" inevitably. I just say yep that's the one. But if they as me about my church back home I'm not really sure what to say. Baptist would be the easy answer. But I also don't think I like categorizing myself by a denomination. But I haven't discovered the word in German for non-denominational.
Also I was proud of myself at a service this past week. I've decided that jokes and humor are the most difficult things to translate between language and culture differences. Sometimes even in English I am slow to catch a joke, so then it is awkward. But while a preacher was speaking he made a joke and I immediately understood it. And when he said "the disciples caught a lot of net in their fish" I understood the mixup there and kind of quietly chuckled with others in the congregation.
Here below are videos and pictures from New Year's Eve. Alison (senior at BGSU) and I were pretty much the only two still in town so we celebrated along with hundreds of tourists and Salzburg folks. It was strange because they did the 10...1 countdown in English. The second video is better than the first.
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| Madness of Fireworks on New Years Eve |
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| New Years Eve |
Friday, January 9, 2009
Paris, France
Although it seems like I haven't written anything for this post, I have indeed.
As you enjoy the Paris photo album, I have made comments on almost all of the pictures. There are backstories of photos, random stories of the trip, and whatever else that I thought to share as I was putting this together. Sorry that it is so big, but believe me when I say that culling it down to 90 pictures was a task.
Enjoy!
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| Paris Dec 18-23 |
As you enjoy the Paris photo album, I have made comments on almost all of the pictures. There are backstories of photos, random stories of the trip, and whatever else that I thought to share as I was putting this together. Sorry that it is so big, but believe me when I say that culling it down to 90 pictures was a task.
Enjoy!
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