Box of Tea Reads My Mind

Well, the amazing weather could last only so long.  This past weekend was spent in Germany by the Königsee on Jenner (6,000 feet), which is a small little mountain good for hiking. Monday was nearly 70 degrees and I spent the day riding around the city. 

Today, in the world of real fall weather, it was gray and cold and I couldn't believe how much it effected everyone.  

In class, I've been teaching Halloween, which, in my opinion (always right), is fun! We are watching parts of the Nightmare before Christmas, and learning about Stingy Jack and Jack O'Lanterns and watching a hilarious short film called The Life and Death of a Pumpkin.  Sadly, it was not only my students who were exhausted and excruciating to deal with, but after school I came home and took a two hour nap.  I felt completely weak, had all of the vitamin D been suddenly sucked out of my body? AH! 

Luckily, about two weeks ago Linde (whose name is short for Analinde, how pretty!) gave me a variety box of organic tea.  I can't tell you how many different teas are in here, but it seems no matter what my mood, the box knows how to accommodate.   Today, I was rummaging around searching for something to help my blah and voila:  Kutz-Kutz!

Right?

For my sake, the teas are all labeled with English translations which this time just said Stormy Weather. Now how on earth can Kutz means storm and weather?  Research commence! 

As it turns out, kutzen is the Austrian verb for husten which means to cough.  So, the Kutz-Kutz tea is the best tea for a wintry, gray, cough-filled day.  While I do not have a cold, the mixture of sage, camomile, elderflower and peppermint is really putting a pep back into my step.  Ha, see what I did there?! 

Now, did I strike your curiosity yet?  Have I not yet discussed the Austrian dialect I'm currently dealing with? 

For starters you always greet people with Grüß and some other word: Gott (God, very formal), di (you, less formal), euch (you all).  You can also say Servus which is hello and goodbye, a German Aloha!  And lastly, for goodbye: Pfiati/ Pfiat di (for one person) and Pfiat euch (for many people) which is a shortened version of Behüte dich Gott, which translates to something along the lines of God protect you, or God be with you.  I just think that is very pleasant and it sounds wonderful when spoken: LISTEN HERE!   

There are many MANY differences to standard Germany, but I'll leave that with you for now. 

Have a wonderful week and Happy Halloween! 

Pfiat euch! 

Autumnal Adventures

I got paid!

Such a feeling of relief and independence.  I actually saved up enough money (not to say that many people didn't help me save money by NOT charging me rent :) THANK YOU MAMZ )... to survive on my own for an entire month!  Mind you, there are many initial costs (particularly to fly over here).  But I did it!  And I even paid off my credit card and everything. 

*Big Sigh of Relief*

So, what does an ETA (english teaching assistant) do, once paid?  

THEY SPEND THEIR MONEY.

I go to pay off Seesee, my bike, (a teacher lent me the money initially) and then I planned a trip with a fellow ETA to Slovenia. 

The train to Slovenia is a mere 4 hours from Salzburg, without a single connection -- easy peasy. 

We chose Bled, because of it's natural beauty and hiking options and BOY was it worth it. 

After checking into our B&B on Friday we headed out dinner at a very disappointing restaurant called Chili's which was filled to the brim with Americans.  We split an appetizer and it was dismal.  

Saturday started off on SUCH a better note when we went to breakfast at the MOST adorable cafe Slovenia has ever seen.  

We then headed off to the Vintgar Gorge, which was only a short country walk away.  I couldn't believe once we got there that people actually take a bus or drive.  Such a beautiful walk there and in the gorge.  WARNING.  You may or may not believe that the pictures I took were real:

We then walked back, showered and headed to the Medieval village of Radoviljca, just a couple km. away.  There were were told to wine taste and have dinner.  We took a short tour of the town and then headed to Sodek, a little wine library.  We had a flight of 5 Slovenian wines, but our Sommelier, Monica, was so fabulous it took us 3 hours.  We chatted with her about all sorts of things, about her various careers, about Slovenian language and about all the drunks that hassle her in town :)

Then, we headed to dinner and ATE. 

Monica suggested to try some buckwheat mush with old milk.  Sounds delicious, no?  I opted out, but got the farmer's vegetarian plate which offered a lot of buckwheat options.  Buckwheat mush, Sauerkraut, and a variety of dumplings (made of buckwheat) filled with cheese.  We had dessert after and headed back to Bled. 

Our last day was spent hiking around the lake to get the best views.  I think we succeeded:

We headed home and so started a new school week!

Luckily, on Tuesday I was invited on a hike with an english teacher and an animal husbandry teacher to go to the Untersberg.  The Untersberg is a magical mountain with many legends.  We hiked for about 2.5 hours up to the top and saw sights you would not believe!

But take a look for yourself:

I went to track practice last night and am now recovering from a beautiful day of teaching, tutoring, running, biking and catching the falling leaves.  It was truly a BEAUTIFUL day. All in all, I'm staying busy and am thinking about having a relaxing fall-oriented weekend.  Any costume suggestions??

-Nelly

  

Erntedankfest & Frauenlauf Mattsee

Some very bizarre things have occurred in the past few days.

First, there was the "Erntedankfest" which is a very, catholic form of Thanksgiving.  In thanks of the harvest, the church has a special mass and then people eat a lot of food.  As a boarding school, all the students celebrate this festival in the school and then have a feast.  At the service, all the students and teachers dressed up in "Tracht" (think lederhosen & dirndl) and there was singing (in English?) and a band and communion.  This was bizarre because 1) I am not catholic and do no know what you are supposed to say to the Priest when he says x, y, or z.  2) Even if I knew what to say, I wouldn't know what to say in German.

Nonetheless, I stood out very obviously.

This is very different from my experiences in Switzerland and Germany which are only half as catholic as the Austrians appear to be...

The meal was delicious (deer and boar were the meet of choice) and I sat near all new people, many of whom did NOT know I was the new English assistant and assumed that I understood their Salzburgerland dialect (pssst, I DON'T)... but I did get offered the chance to participate in the tractor driving class so PERK!

The next day I went on a hike with two other assistants.  We headed up the Gaisberg which was a HIKE. I was surprisingly out of breath, but the view was worth it. It had snowed the night before so it was a little chilly but the surround mountains were in full view!  Sadly, my phone died so this is all I have to show of it:

Today, I travelled to the end of the bus-line: Mattsee.  Mattsee is a lake town (see = lake, you pronounce it "say") in the Salzburger lake region.  

The weather was AMAZING today, sunny, clear warm and perfect for a 5k.  It was a women's only race and I took second.  

(a bit of the Mattsee)

(Running on the path)

This was an odd experience as the prizes were bizarre.  The race-swag was pretty awesome in general: chocolate, bread, water, a towel, gum, magnesium tables.  Post-race goodies included copious amounts of Red Bull (native to Salzburg) dozens of cakes and baked goods, bananas, apples and FREE MASSAGES!  I took advantage of it all.  

Then, the award ceremony took place.  I received a trophy for being the first in my age-group, a medal, a bouquet, a gift certificate to have breakfast at the castle in Mattsee (mind you second-place in the 20's age group got a hair straightener, which I needed :/ ), and best of all....

a prom dress?

I kid you not.

This is by far the most absurd and strange gift to have received.  Not only is it hideous, but it DOES NOT fit and I had to take the bus back from the race, so yeahhhhhhh.

I returned home and because it was so beautiful, I had to take Seesee out for a fall spin. 

Seesee (short for Sursee) is my new vintage road bike with shimano everything and mustache handlebars.  

It's love.  Here is a picture of our adventure today :)

First Day of School (teaching)

Monday, the last day of September, included a special event at my school. The former principal was officially giving over the reigns to the old history teacher, so there was an official assembly and lunch that I was invited to.  Before I could partake, I had some errands to run including picking up my residency permit and opening my bank account. 

First, my residency permit required 40 Euro and 2 minutes-- supes easy and now I'm officially NOT on my Schengen days! I can legally stay until July 12th!

My second task proved to be harder.  Opening a bank account requires an address, which can only officially be proved by an annoying document known as the Meldezettel, it is essentially proof that you registered with the city you live in, and even if you have a signed and stamped rental agreement it DOES NOT MATTER. The Meldezettel is the water of life in Austria. 

"Oh you'd like to climb out mountain's? Buy shampoo? MELDEZETTEL PLEASE. 

Strangely enough, when getting my residency permit, they actually didn't want proof of residency, weird, right??? So, when I brought my RESIDENCY permit with me to the bank BECAUSE I LIVE HERE, they still needed to see a Meldezettel, which I did have on me at the time.  

But, when someone in Austrian doesn't want to help you?

 YOU GO SOMEWHERE ELSE.

Austria is what is known as an asking country, not a telling country.  You just have to keep asking and asking and asking. For someone, like me, who is rather (or likes to think she is) independent, this is a tough task to get used to. 

So,  I went to the next Sparkasse down the road and explained my situation and the HELPED ME HAPPILY.  Mr. Gutjahr (great name btw) apparently already helped "one of my people" and was so enthused and confused as to why and American would come all the way to Austria.  With a bank account acquired I can hopefully begin to receive payment for my upcoming work.  How did this work go?  Let's discuss!

I arrived on time for the even on Monday, which involved meeting all of the teachers, around 40, drinking sekt and eating pretzel sandwiches.  One of the fellow English teachers, Linde, dropped me off at home (she was curious and self-proclaimed nosey, as to where I was living) -- there was something about her personality that reminded me of an American, maybe it was her openness?  She just seeming like someone you wanted to hug.  That might seem weird, but I got a very kind vibe from her. 

Today, I got up a little before 6 (class starts at 7:30 and my bus left at 6:50) and went to the first hour with Inge (she is very tall, fashionable, and organized).  My first class was of younger kids, all around 14, with wonderful english skills.  They could all tell me where they were from, their favorite hobbies and how many siblings they had.  They had just learned how to ask questions, so each student asked me very proper, non-offensive questions.  This differs greatly to the second class, who weren't originally students at Ursprung, rather they study agriculture vocationally and are now doing a Aufbaulehrgang, which is an additional certification, I believe?  They are all 19 or so and were VERY interested in whether I 1) was Married 2) had a boyfriend 3) did I have an Austrian number? 4) where did I live?.  We eventually got the conversation focused on them.  

I asked them where they lived, where they thought I should visit, and then I asked them all if they had Lederhosen and Dirndln -WHY SO MANY CONSONANTS?- and they looked at me as if I were a crazy person, "of course."  

So, I asked whether I should get one and why?  They were very enthused by this question and told me yes, because they are nice.  Especially if I am going to be there on the 1st of May.  On that day, which they could not tell me the name of, they stand a tree and you can climb it because there are bretzels and things on it. Adorable.  So, I guess I will be buying a Dirndl so I can climb a tree to get my bretzel. 

Can't wait for May!

Things are super well, I'm very peaceful and slowly getting settled in and not rushing a single thing.  

Alles bestens!