Friday September 27, 2013:
I returned from a four-day retreat with the Austrian-American Education Commission (a subsidiary of the Fulbright Commission) and around 80 other teaching assistants and am now living in my fully-furnished, studio apartment in Viehausen (part of the town of Bergheim).
Early on Monday, I ran a variety of errands before departing for Hinterglemm. First, I had to get a Vorteilskarte and buy my train ticket. The Vorteilskarte (card of benefits!)which allows me to travel on Austrian trains at a significantly lower rate (sometimes up to 50%!). That task was much easier than anticipated (the train station attendant simply took a photo of me on her cell-phone and I paid and signed: simple!), then I had to run up to Viehausen and officially commit to the studio on the farm. Following that I was to go to the Meldeamt of Bergheim (essentially the town hall). Upon arriving at the Gierlingers farm, Sonja (one half of the landlord team) enthusiastically led me into their dining room and gave me the rental agreement. After telling her I was heading to the Meldemant, she insisted that she drive me. This was a more-than-welcome gesture, as the bus from my soon-to-be house to the center of Bergheim is inconvenient. She is a very happy and curious lady and does not hold back the Salzburger dialect, which is Mittlebayerisch and nothing I’ve ran before.
All my errands ran so smoothly I ended up taking an earlier train to Zell am See (en route to Hinterglemm) and napping by the beautiful lake!
From Z.a.S. I took the bus up to Hinterglemm and arrived at our conference center early enough to walk around the town, grab a beer and chat with a few of the other assistants (one was a student at Oxford, the others were graduates from Texas and Virginia). It was not long until we were bombarded with herds of english-speakers, I almost felt sorry for this tiny resort town!
The first day we were split up into groups according to Bundestaat, so i was with the 17 other Salzburgers (the whole state, not just the city). We played name games, ate dinner, and then the AAEC served us plenty of beer and wine.
Day two involved intensive sessions on games and role playing activities to encourage conversation, how to properly work with texts and internet resources and most importantly, how to survive the Austrian bureaucracy and school system ( who is who? whose title is it MOST important to remember, etc.).
Day three included some sessions, but focused on developing a lesson to present in front of our peers. My partner and I worked on a presentation on renewable and non-renewable sources of energy and then we headed UP the mountain. The Reiterkogel was the name of the hike and my-oh-my was it worth it!
Day four involved our presentations, feed back, and then preparation for our celebratory evening. For the creative presentations our group opted for the Sound of Music in 60 seconds -- I was a hill, quite alive with some music. Then we learned scottish dance, presented our skits, and then headed to the Hexen Häusel for our celebratory evening. I headed back with enough time to join some singers at the piano.
This morning I rode back and my Betreuungsleherin, Karin, picked me up and we jetted off to Ikea and to fill in all the blanks of my apartment.
