of christmas

I’m on a train!  That means extremely detailed blog post! I’m currently about ten minutes to the Arlberg, heading west towards Zurich and have been on the train for about 3 hours now.  I’m deep in the alps with wonderful wintry countryside views.

The past week has been fantastic.  Last weekend I was in the Tyrollean alps in a small town called Fulpmes, staying with a fellow PNWerner/Teaching assistant.  We are not that rare of a breed I’ve come to find.  Rachel hails from Eugene and went to the University of Portland.  We of course have a couple friends in common, because it’s a small world.  Duh. 

She lives at a rentable mountain chalet/youth hostel called Doug’s Mountain Getaway (Doug makes a mean crocheted head band).  That means that sometimes she has a room, sometimes she doesn’t.  When I showed up there was a “Russian Invasion” going on, meaning we had to share a room with a youth-hostel employee and answer MANY thick Russian accented-questions: “Heff ewe heffer beeeen tu Moss-cow.”  

Terrifying? Sometimes.  Entertaining?  Highly. 

Fulpmes is just a bus ride away from Innsbruck and on Sunday we spent the day at the Christmas Market overlooking the city. And, I bought a snowboard!  I sadly didn’t get to see much from the inside of Innsbruck, but I think I would have a hard time living in such a severe valley, only having sunlight directly on me for about a quarter of the day.  SAD. I’m happy to live in a somewhat more exposed valley.    

But, the mountains scapes are unbeatable: 

It was good to check it out though, because I was thinking of reapplying for the program for next year in Innsbruck at the only ag. school out there.  But, now I’m happy to stay put in Elixhausen. 

That’s right!  I had to fill out paperwork this week to put in my application for an extension.  This by no means means that I am for sure staying for a second year.  But, I can only do one more year right now, never again.  Plus, it never hurts to have options, which I learned the VERY, HARD way.  Last, I love my school and teachers so much I just think I have a lot more to learn about education and agriculture.

So, that brings me to what I have been learning!  This week I got to attend the afternoon practical work session with the forestry class.  They were learning to cut trees with hand saws (we start chainsaws in January).  I’m also going to a few slaughter houses next month and was invited on a variety of class excursions.  On January 7th and 8th I’m going with a class to Heidelberg (which is so convenient because my friend Teddy lives there!) and then 3 grades are taking buses to the Schladmig Night Slalom ski race on the 28th :)  It shall be an experience? 

This week was also my last week of teaching leading into winter break (which now with this trip to Heidelberg is going to be three weeks long--like I didn’t not work enough already?).  So, we talked a lot about Christmas and sang carols.  Did I mention I went caroling (Anklöpfen) with a class?  We yodeled, farmers invited us in for schnapps and cookies and hey!  2 of my students can play the accordion (technically the Ziehharmonika is different than the accordion, but you get the picture).  

On Thursday, the 5LW (oldest class, Agriculture based, LW means Landwirtschaft) invited me to their christmas dinner celebration.  This involved many spare ribs, knödel, heublumen beer (which was NOT good) and did I mention knödel?).  They are sweet kids, they like to talk to me, I like to talk to them, but they all hung out on their cellphones and smoked outside a lot.  Typical teenagers :)  

Last, on Friday I went to my school’s concert .  I thought this was supposed to be a christmas concert and part of it was, and was lovely.  My students played in a band that was as equally as good as my middle school band (we were good for our age, right?).  But, can I quickly say that adolescents and clarinets do not mix well.  So. much. squeaking.  

But, then the concert took a turn for the bizarre?  First, good bizarre: more accordion, harps, yodeling, harpsichords, etc.  But then they sang a happy birthday song to jesus in English.  and if you know anything about german speakers and the word birthday... it becomes something like boerseday or buthday. Kind of painful and awful.  Why not something classic?  

Stille Nacht anyone?  

Oh Du Fröhliche?  

Oh Kommet Ihr Kinder?  

ANYTHING.  

Not a crappy birthday song for jesus! 

Don't you know that jesus doesn’t want you to sing bad songs, he wants classic german christmas carols.  sheeesh. 

For goodness sake Stille Nacht was written just ten minutes from my school!  

Then, it got even worse when a four person band dressed in flannel and leather (I have never seen these students before, maybe they are students?) sang more english songs.  Granted the girl’s voice was okay, but she kept smiling coyly which made me SO angry for some reasons and she did that diva hand things which is also annoying.  AND THEN she sang stand by me.  Really?  Is this a reference to god standing by you?  

Okay..... but why not something CHRISTMASY.  

THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A CHRISTMAS CONCERT.  

I EXPECTED CHRISTMAS.  

Needless to say, I was more than slightly disappointed on the note if left on... BUT a 14 month old baby named Magdalena found me and could not get enough.  She crawled right up next to me and then we danced and clapped and boogied until the concert was over.  She was adorable, had a huge head, and lots of drool.  But she could understand klatschen and tanzen, so it was pretty fun.  

Ah!  It’s 11:00 a.m. and I’m on the side of the valley where the sun is just ever so slightly peaking over, it’s absolutely breath taking being on the other sie of the Arlberg and on towards Switzerland.  Today I am training through all of the alps.  all of them :) 

Now, I hope you enjoyed this little run-down and that you are all listening to as many christmas carols as possible and eating candy canes for me (you know they don’t exist here, right?).  Oh!  And don’t forget the Muppet Christmas Carol!! MUST WATCH. 

Merry merry, tivis tam tame (that is not German, it’s Katy)