These computers suck!

But I want to do some 'structural work' on my blog, so don't want to spend millions of hours on the internet at home, doig that and writing this! I have to answers to the quiz, will put them up then too - will just add them into the quiz, but this computer puts it all into silly writing if i click on the 'edit' button!

Thanks Kate for the weather update, ta whoever for the completely random gothic question, no you don't get teh 50c back....

Did you know they've found a new fruit? I found out when I was juice shopping! Looked along teh shelf, 100% orange juice, 100% pineapple juice, 100% orange with pulp, 100% Apple, 100% cloudy apple, 100% multi vitamin... yep - I can gt photographic evidence if you don't believe me... alhtough i'm sure that if you look it up, the brank is Rauch (smoke in German, i thought that was funny!) and I'm sure tehy'd list it if you're really that bored...!!

Finished Harry POtter! YIPPEEE! Went looking for hte enxt one yesterday, but only have the first and most recent inthe bookshop... Will go and look again (was scared they'd ask me if I needed help if i stayed too long - never sure if they're asking am I ok, or do i need help, so never sure what the answer should be!) Might read Hitchhikers Guide next though, although that was also disappeared, found it in English, the special movie edition, but not in german - the others were tehere though...

This morning on the train the Donau was amazing. The line goes rigt along the edge of the river, although away from it sometiems, and as we came to it for the firs time, I seriously felt as though (a) I was in a plane looking down through all the clouds (b) staniding on top of a cliff looking at the foamy sea below (c) on top of mount wellington looking closely at the snow on the ground. The river was filled with lumps of foam, as thoguh someone had used their bath babbles in it, and it was so foggy we couldn't see the other side. The result was that it looked like the actual water was just air, and the foam was the clouds or whatever... Hard to describe, but very special!

My class is amzing with the bludgin thing and the cheating thing. They always make tiny photo copies of relevant information for cheat sheets in tests (illegaly), write the stuff on the desks or, as was tried this morning, in small writing at te bottom of the board! teehee! I still get amazed however when they'll be chatting away, in class, the teacher will tell them to be quiet, they'll look at him, then go STRAIGHT back to the loud raucous conversation. No waiting for a while like normal people do... I can't believe it, feel so sorry for the teacher after a while!

Went to a Catholic baptism on Saturday, very intersting - I'm used to baptisms being part of hte normal sunday service, where the whole congragation is there, plus family and friends, but thi was just a private occasion for invitees only. Little MIchi was pased around after and we all had to cross his forehead (I think i did the cross stroke the wrong way though, but I'm sure Jesus didn't complain his cross bar was the wrong way around or anything). Then we all went for a massive lunch at the same place as a few weeks ago. Was good, I tried Cordon Bleu, very yummy (white meat, layer of ham, cheese all crumbed) I always thought it was a fishy thing, but there you go...!

They get SO many public holidays here! Have Christifährt (day of acension) and mothers day next week, plus just a rrandom day off, which means only 2 days of school! For the next month or so, every week has at least one day off!

Looks like no probs with the doing stuff with Michaela and Rose thing. Talked to Magdalena briefly yesterday, and all I have to do is check there's no visa issues, and check with my family! Otherwise she can see no problems! Hooray!

That's all on my list, but I'll be back later adding a couple of structure things (I think, at elast a good proverb i found) so may add more then, including a pic of my fingernails...! I find my artistic side when I'm bored I think

I got a library card!

Hooray! Now I can borrow books, and because I'm under 19, I get them for free! That's right, here you hve to pay 50c per book after you turn 19... bit weird, but anyway! that's good though!

Just had lunh at Maria's, she invited me after school. Her parents are divorced (her dad lives out somewhere, with a new wife and three kids, I'm being taken to visit them sometime!), so it's just Maria and her mum, Sabine. I don't know if I#d be able to cope with living with just one parent, without any siblings or anything... Anyway, she did the thing of I'm sorry the house is such a mess (they've just moved down from the top floor of the block of apartmenst (one of those really cool old blocks, with winding stairs and stuff) so any mess coauld be excused, but really I don't care!). I've been told to organise to go for lunch sometime soon, and I'll be cooked a proper Austrian lunch, rather than the (yummy) mishmash we got today - I thought it was fine...!!

Anyway, that's all...! PLayed dodgeball in pe today, too cold to go running, but I din't know what was going on at first, because I'd never played it that way before! Got the hang of it soon enough though!

QUIZ!! HAve fun procrastinating! WITH ANSWERS

ANSWERS ARE HERE NOW!HOPE YOU ENJOYED IT!

1. From which country comes the new Pope? Germany
2. What film was Walt Disney making when he died, and what did he die from? Jungle Book, Lung cancer
3. What train station must I get off at? Gerling
4. What book in German am I reading at the moment? Was reading HArry POtter und der Stein der Weisen, now onto Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy!
5. Which bank is currently in lots of trouble for selling Jewish assets to the Nazis in World War 2? Swiss
6. What month did I leave Australia, and what month do I return in? February, December
7. What animal costume recently caused chaos at Sydney airport, when a baggage handler removed it from a customer's suitcase and wore it onto the tarmac? Camel
8. What kind of shoes does Sam Vimes wear? (mine are heading this way...!) Thin soled, can fee lthe cobblestones through them and know where he is!
9. What do they say here instead of OW? Aua
10. In which Star Wars film does Darth Vader have massive fingerprints on his helme? Return of the Jedi (if this is wrong, tell me, going from memory, can see the scene, but could POSSIBLY be in Empire Strikes Back)
11. Who wrote Incompetence? Rob Grant
12. The surnames of Fred and Ginger. Astair and Rogers
13. What'S the name of the journalist in Smallville? Chloe
14. Who originally starred in THe Italian Job? Michael Caine
15. What colour is the drink being drunk at the beginning of Star Wars: A New Hope, by Luke and family? Blue
16. What's the time difference between Austria and Australia at the moment? We're 8 hours behind Australian at the moment
17. What side of the road do they drive on here?Right
18. During the making of what movie did Michael J. Fox discover his Parkinsons disease? Doc Hollywood
19. What was I fed on arrival in Austria? Blaukraut
20. Slogan: 'No __________ in Austria' Kangaroos
21. What drama distracted me from writing my blog properly on SUnday? Kate's kidney
22. Did the Queen attend Charles and Camila'S actual wedding ceremony? No
23. Which of the following films have I never seen?
    Metropolis
    African Queen
    Bladerunner
    Passion of the Christ
    Miss Congeniality 2
24. Name this movie:
    A: Well, it's one louder, isn't it? It's not ten. You see, most blokes, you know, will be playing at ten. You're on ten here, all the way up, all the way up, all the way up, you're on ten on your guitar. Where can you go from there? Where?
    B: I don't know.
    A: Nowhere. Exactly. What we do is, if we need that extra push over the cliff, you know what we do?
    B: Put it up to eleven.
    Spinal Tap
25. From what book does this quote come:
    'But darkness was cheap, and Scrooge liked it.'
    Christmas Carol
26. Does Esmerelda die at the end of The Hunchback of NOtre Dame, the book, if yes, how? Yes, hanged
27. IN what year was the Battle of Hastings? 1066
28. Who rides a bicycle in The Muppet MOvie? Kermit the Frog
29. What squad is Fezzik in? Brute Squad (I'll call the brute squad! I'm o nthe brute squad. You ARE the brute squad! Princess Bride)
30. What is cold, clammy and kills? Cotton
31. What part of his body occassionaly gives Basil Fawlty a well timed twinge? KNee
32. To ignorant foreigners, what are seen as the national clothes of Austria? Lederhosen
33. Is 'trotz des Wetters' a grammatically correct phrase? yes
34. True or False: Albert Einstein was not an old man for his entire life (I was surprised by the answer to this!) He WAS young - I always thought he was born with the hair and wrinkles and started life at about 70, but saw a photo of him in his 20s! I was shocked!!
35. True or False: Almost all foreign movies and television here is dubbed into German. True, except Mr Bean ,that has subtitles...!!
36. What colour is my pencil case? Bright orange
37. Who voiced Mrs POtts in Beauty and the Beast? Angela LAnsbury
38. How is Hermione spelt in German? Hermine
39. What's the name of the teddy Phil made me? Chewbacca
40. What colour are peacock eggs? HAha, PeaCOCKS don't lay eggs, the peaHENS do!
41. Tasmanian Devils don't do what? Spin on their tails
42. Who directed The Village? M. Night Shyamalan
43. What was Timothy Dalton's first James Bond film? Living Daylight
44. Where i Imo getting good at power napping? Trains (although at the mo, we keep on getting hte horrible new ones that don't have comfy seats or the sticky out headreast bits (doesNn't make sense I know, but the old trains have head rests a lit like planes, kind of a C shape...) and it's just not easy to sleep on them... too space age - all white and bright inside!)
45. At what age is smoking legal here? 16, but like the sellers care, tehy'll sell to anyone who can pay for the cigarettes apparently)
46. Which phone network am I with? Tele-Ring
47. At the first Olympics with an Australian competitor, what falg was raised when he won something? Austrian
48. Harrison Ford's chin scar is from....? Motorbike accident (crashed into a cliff)
49. What did St Patrick kick out of Ireland? All the snakes
50. Who wrote the original story, A Knight's Tale? Geoffrey Chaucer

So how did you all go? Hope you did well, may make another in a month or so, altready have questions buzzing around in my head!

Didnt think you could get bad tasting mineral water...

...but here they manage it! I dont know waht the taste reminds me of, but it isnt very nice... So plain or something...!! Sometimes the tap water tastes the same, alhtough usually not, phew!! I think its just an ultra clean taste...!! Dreading having to buy a new bottle really!

In my additional English class is a guy who looks amost exaclty like Heath LEdger, with dreds... Scary I know! He's not the smartest bundle of atoms though... Freaked me slightly when I walked in for the first time...!!

The attitude towards the new pope, being German, is that it isn't good for the Austrians (well that's what Erika told me...!) but I don't know... I was hoping for the African guy, or the Indain one personally, just because I think they could be a lot better in terms of knowing what it'S like in thrid world countries first hand, and know about the aids things and stuff....

Harry POtter is now playing Quidditch, yay, more than halfway through, really didnt think I'd get this far, but I have, which is fantastic!

Yesterday we had Chor (choir) for 4 hours... that's FOUR hours... yuck yuck yuck! We have a concert soon, so it was practising for that... blergh blergh blergh! They've got a favourite song, which I really don't like, California Dreaming, I think they just love anything connected to California here though, love the OC... It's a tricky song to sing, and I'm sure theyÄ're just making it up half the time... The altos certainly don'T always follow the music!!

LIttle Erika has bought a new phone, also with Tele-Ring, which is the same as Hans and me... They're certainly doing well out of a house that barely has reception with them... I suspect it'S the same for lots of the server people though, we're prolly just in a dead spot!

iN CHemie, there are some very funny names for things... Sauerstoff (acid stuff) is oxygen, Wasserstoff is hydrogen... I'm not entirely sure where those names come from, can amost see it, but not quite!

I've made up a quz for you to continue procrastinating, wrote it in Chem and French this morning, will typoe up as much as possible now, but won't publish until it's all typed...! I'll give you the answers next week...!!

I've introduced my family to Tim Tams

Only now you might ask, but the first lot, that I brought with me were consumed by my class as a demonstration of typical aussie food... Mum sent me a couple mroe packets, and I'd say the posties had been trying to work out what was i nthe package of stuff, because they were a little crushsed, and had been a little warmer than recommende for chocolate (although they were still completely edible). I don't know what my fmaily thought about them, but the're all gone, and I didn't eat them all...

I'm abandoning my diary for you guys (actually, I've never been great at the diary thing), and much prefer to write about what's going on here for everyone to read (if anything happens that I don't want people to know about, I'll write it in my diary, but really, the likelyhood of that). Would anyone like the job of Blog printer? I want to keep my blogs, since they are my primary diary entries at th mo, but can't print them here easily. Would someone like to take on the responsibility? I don't care how often you do it, as long as all written ones get printed (don't need the pics though) and kept... Ta heaps whoever sticks up their hand and says 'pick me, pick me'

Plus City... Sorry, got so distracted about Kate's drama that I forgot to describe it! Plus City is BIG! It's got heaps of shops, mainly clothes, but I saw a computer shop, and there was a music/dvd shop that could be my home (it's quite lucky that Austria is a diffrent dvd zone to Australia, although I'm very sad about the loss of one of my favourite hobbies...). This shop was MASSIVE, alhtough the Australian section had 3 cds, all of 'traditional music' - digeridoos, folk songs and that kind of thing... I suspect the good AUssie music was stuck somewhere else. Speaking of Aussie music, I think I'm going to have to give a presentation on Australian music to my class for my music marks, and me knowing so much about music in general, could use some help! Don't know if I have to or not, but if anyone feels like making me a cd of decent aussie music, and sending it over, I#ll be very grateful (need new music anyway) and any info would be great too... I can give my postal address to anyone who wants it, mail is always fun to receive! The class has a very bad feeling about aussie music now though, because in English we had to listen to a song by Eric Bogle and John someone about Claire dying in Sydney and it was a little dodgey...

Anyway, Plus City, very cool, lots of shops, and I've found the Target equivalent here, H&M, and most of the stuff I bought came from there, even though we visited almost everywhere else... They have so many shoes here! Everyone wears converse all star shoes (lik the really old shoes, ummm, vans and stuff I think) and there are some very pretty ones, I'm considering getting some. Don't really know what else to say about PLus City, except it was big and fun!

In the movie we saw on Sunday night, Ein Koala-Bär Allein zu Haus, the boy looked exaclty like a hobbit - he had the square jaw, the longish curly hair, even wore the three quarter overalls over a long sleeve shirt and frolicked in the grass at one stage... IF the Germans need a hobbit, there he is..!

Yesterday it rained. It was cold and wet all day, which was fine, but so were my socks. I forgot about the puddles when I had to quickly put on my shoes, and by the time I got the meeting place for our lift into LInz, my shoes and socks were fairly wet. Bit squelchy.... I made up a German poem about it though... This is quite legit to say, google just translates it funnily!

Ich möchte (oder will) trocken socken

Am I the next Goethe or what...!!! Anyway, today I wore my boots, so I felt tall all day, but had dry feet (although it only started raining about 1/2 an hour ago, and it'now 8 at night...!)

They're doing psyco things with the trains, well train lines I suspect, so we all have to get off the train at Rottenegg and go by bus the rest of the way (two stops for me), ahich is ok, although I had to ask strangers what was going on yesteday, and i understood when they explained in german!! The scarier bit is getting too school, which I think I'm going to have to do by train soon beucase Michi finishes school tomorrow, and I've been getting a lift in with him and friend most days... For going into Linzz have to wait at the bus stop for the bus to take us too Rottenegg, but i don't entirely know how we know what is our bus... ahh well, it'll all work out!

Here's a map by the way of where I live, click on the zoom in cross and then the red cross with pesenbachweg blah blah blah next to it, and you can zoom in on my little wohndorf! My station is Gerling, which you can see there (when you zoom in!) and the actual St Martin town is a fair distance away! Will add the link to my links list too! MY HOUSE!!!! Click here!!

Must be off now though, been on here too long already, having a german conversation with a mexican... (rotary student)which takes concentration, and have to get away from that!!! Nah, just kidding, but do have to go! Have a good one, and peaswe someone take me up on my offers for more postcards (that'll be the rewartds of ayone who offers to print out,or make me a nice cd - more than the obligatory birthday postcard!)

They've got Freecell!

Yippee! Just discovered Freecell on the computer! I always liek the play a ame or two befaore getting off the comuter, and was resorting to solitaire, but now I can be truely hapy (Mark, my stats are 0 for everything at the moment!)

Ok, over it...!

Shopping was fun!

Even if Bibi and I spent the whole time groaning because our legs were sore... Although she only had sore calf muscles, from the stretching at the end of the run, while the tops of my thighs were so stiff! Walking down stairs was torture... Anyway, I bought clothes, yay! 4 t-shirts and a jacket which was good, they were things that I needed... Left home at 8 in the morning, got home at 6 in the evening (although there wee a couple of hours of travel i nthere too) so felt I'd really done well in the spending a day shopping thing..!!! There's a really good pizza place here, Leonardo's Pizza that does a 1/4 pizza (2 good sized pieces) for €2, so pizzy or lunch, ice cream for afternoon tea (that was rather funny, a flavour called Alpencaramel (Mountain caramel, mabe it was toffee, something like that though) and I thought ti was Altencaramel (old caramel, I thought it was just some strange Austrian thing) which is was I asked for.. quite funny i must say!)

Ok, Windows Messenger it is, don't need fancy things, just talking to people is enough!

Did have lots of things to say, but can't remember any of them, Kate's been telling me all about her drama with her crushed kidney and soccer and catheter... and I've gotten kinda distracted! That means I'm going to go now, and come back some other time when Ican actually remember what I want to say!

Saw a funny film last night, Australian/German production about a boy and his mum who go from Australia to Germany to live with his father (or seomthing - not entierely sure of hte specifics) and the boy takes (smuggles) his pet koala (in a backpack, on the plane, for well over 20 hours, am I missing so,ethign here...) blah blah blah.. was quite funny though...

Must be off, btw, I think for you guys to message me only costs a normal message amount (for me to send one to you is a bit more for me, but don't hesitate to send me one if you really want to! I will (prolly, depending on my credit and reception levels) reply!) and it's always exciting to get a messae from home!

Mum sent me this one... Blame her!

My bum, my poor poor bottom...

... Why is it always me that gets the strange aches and pains after exercise? My family thinks it's hilarious that it's my 'hintern' that hurts the most from this morning's run... Well maybe not hilarious, but they got a bit of a laugh out of it... Why? I ask you... my legs are fine, maybe a LITTLE tired (I'll see how they are tomorrow morning...!) but the tops of them, the fludgy bit (like my word, thought it was quite nice really, just made it up...!) where they connect with the rest of my body, specifically the fludgy bit I sit on is stiff... that's not natural I tell you...

Anyway, over it now... Going to a big shopping place tomorrow, in Pasching (yes that's the real name and it's pronouced like that, for those of you who care...). Some place called PIm City or something what apparently is the best palce to buy clothes and stuff! Ohh how exciting! A nice cahnce to spend lots of money I'm not entirely sure I have (It#s ok, won't really!)

the run today was ok, long though (well, 1/2 an hour is a long time when you hate running for the sake of running!), but it was along the Donau (Danube for those of you who don't know, and go look it up if you're still unsure!) so was very pretty, I wanted to walk to look at everything - hadn't been that way before!! We have to do it again next week though, which is sad, I liked going to the gym... :-( After the run, we got to play games with flat basketballs (a game, pass the ball 10 times within the team, no touching the ground or the other team, get a point) while the guys got to play soccer the lucky people!

My schnupfen is all gone! Was amazing, fully blown cold on Wednesday (well definately growing into a full one) and after I#d taken my meds on thursday (revolting, didn't put them in enough water.... yuk yuk yuk!) my nose just dried and since then I've been fully better! Nice answer to prayer! Been other cool ones too, freaky drunk guy on the train, tlaking to the only other person in the cabin, poor boy, we all were getting off at the same station, and I just did the quick 'protect us God' prayer, and the drunk guy decided to abuse the train driver, so everyone had time to retreat to a safe distance (and watch) and it was all good! Poor man though... Can't help feeling sorry for people like him... There's lots of beggars in the streets too, and I'm never quite sure what to do, I know it's not sociallly correct to give them money (and I wouldn't give them money anyway I don't thinkg) but still doesn't make me comfortable ust to walk straight past. I've been tempted more than once to give food to the two in the underpass (they have amazing complicated underground things here, was very scary for the first few tiems, but now I know my way!) but still don't really know...

Having updated yesterday, that's all my news ithink... Will put on a funny picture mum sent me... And Elise sent me a funny things about Australians, but people have complained before about me posting emails, so I'll see if I can put it on as a document or something. Bit tasteless about Tasmanians (not taking it personally, you'll see!), but the rest is funny... Hmm, can't work out how to do it right now, have asked the blogger people, will try when I find out!!

On this computer is alread Windows Messenger. IS there any reason for me not to use that instead of downloading MSN Messenger? I don't know the differences between them, so please advise me, I'd rather not have to download MSN, when this is already on here and working, especially since it would mean asking HAns who is not the most ocmputer literate person i nthe world, and it would jsut get confusing and complicated!

Taaraa!

Sawa very strange site this morning...

... a drunk man raving about soemthing, shouting and all that, but in sign language. He was completely silent, but obviously was having an argument with something with his hands. Very strange...

Yum, just found somewhere that doe a very good MOcha (well, moccacino either dark or white...!) Yum yum, atlough the internet cafe guy wasn't very happy when I brought it in here.... oops! Forgot they do drinks here...! Don't do mocha's though!

Am moment hab' ich schnuppfen, und Österreich hat kein güte Taschentücher. Sie sind alles sehr schrecklich, und jetzt tut meine Nase weh. See what happens if that goes into google.. I have no idea!

WEll, going shopping for a 'Frühlingsjacke' or spring jacket today, with Bibi, and any other clothes that are nice!! Should check my bank account frist though I think... Ohh, looks good! Yay! Hopefully my nose will hold off the waterworks then, I am taking drugs though.... (you'll have to have a vague idea of the german sentence to work out that one i think...!) Although Hans asked me this morning if I needed to go to the doctor, whixch I thought was a little drastic... At least they care!!!

Hmm, should be in German at the moment, but since the class had their maths test thing this morning, and I was going late to school anyway, and don't actually have to go to German (provided I go to a german as a forign language type class) and never listen because they're studying a play that the class didn't understand... So I decided to do more important things instead!

How did Les Miserables go? Has it been? If not, should be soon right? Tell me all about it!

People stop using my blog as a procrastination tool! I feel used! You only want me for my writing... :-(

Lala! Trying to find somewhere I can get weekly reports of Aussie news or something, the Australian embassy suggested the ABC, so I've just emailed them, but everyone seems to only do daily reports (they clutter my inbox too much)... If anyone has any ideas where I ould go for weekly updates of Australian news, please tell me!! REading the age and smh online isn't fantastic because they always presume you've been following the story for days....!! Gotta go and do that now though...

Hooroo!

I had my longest converesation ever today...

...with a member of my host family that is! Was with Michi, started at the train station, talking bout how school was, stopped for the train ride, then all the way home... for the 10 minute walk from the station! I think my family is starting to learn that I'm not so quiet as they initially thought, and that should show them...!! Admitedly it was mostly about legal ages for things in Australia - drinking, smoking, 'discos', thanks mum for the stats on Aussie smokers (did you know only 1 in 6 people in Australia smokes... that's only 15% and is one of the lowest in the world!) very handy for backing me saying I hate smoking (this is just after he'd finished his ciggy... hmmm...!) but was a conversation! Can't explain how satisfying it is to do that, and only go 'huh/bitte?' (pardon?) once or twice!!

Had a good German day today! Somedays it really feels possible that I'll be fluently speaking in the near future, and other days I just have no idea how I'm ever going to get there... Of course I know I will, but sometimes it's just so far off and seems such an impossible goal... Talked a fair bit to my classmates in German, they've adopted the attitude or 'we've got plenty of time, have a go, we'll correct you and if it makes no sense go in English..!' Sometimes there are things that I have to say in English though... but it's a start! Had three lessons of Englisch today as well, which made me more pleased that I was able to speak in German...!! Had the elective two lessons this afternoon, taught by the principal of the school, who's really nice, and just about insists that I come to his lesson, says he always likes having someone to be an assistant English teacher! For my Thursday elective I do religion, which doesn't make al lthat much sense, but hte teacher is nice, and I can understand bits here and there, and it will be itneresting when I can understand, I'm sure!

They get to choose two electives, Monday and Thursday, then everything else is chosen for the whole class (although they choose between French and Latin). I'm going to French.. only cos I'm meant to go to everything, and I can just sit there and watch Amelie..!! Without subtitles... Or dubbing... The French teacher now thinks I speak French though, because I was laughing, since I knew what was going on. Apparently she said something to me in French, the class told her I don't speak it, and she was insisting that I do because I understood the film... Oh dear...!! DUnno if she's convinced about my inability yet!! Understand bits and pieces here and there though, from listening to people jabber at school in Tas, but mainly from the similarities to English! Could work out what a question was, atlhough not a clue as to how to do it (Michi in my class (a different one) always gives me the French sheets anyway... kinda funny!)

Have officially chosen my subjects that 'll be graded in. Managed to avoind Maths, Physics, Chemie and French... I'm marked on my improvement apparently, rather than my knowledge, so that's good! There's a saxaphone group here, but not having a sax means I can't be in it... May take up the drums or something instead... (says she who sometimes has issues singing and clapping in time... :-p)..!!! FInally got my textbooks today... Get them for free because I'm an exchange stdent, yay, although apparently they usually only cost like €20 or something, then get returned to the school at the end of the year, I think... Dunno really!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! On Friday, I have to RUN! RUN!! RUN!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! I hate running for no purpose with a vengance, and we have to run to somewhere for Sport. Don't mind if it's in a game of something, and you have to chase the ball or soemthing, but just running for the sake of it... Last year they were apparently given 2 hours for it, this year we get one... Here I was thinking all those hours at the gym (well, all 3 sessions or something) had been for nothing... Maybe I'll just be sick.. Like on wednesday, when we've got chem instead of maths (despite the massive maths test being on thursday, and the class not knowing a thing....)...

I don't acutally have to do any of the exam type tests, except English, because they're all the subjects I've cleverly avoided! Am going to be going to a German for non-native speakers clas hopefully though, so somy be something in that... Hooray though!

Well, that's all folks, may be downloading MSN sometime, although very rarely on the computer when you're all awake (but I'll be able to talk to people from here), but have to check with Hans first!

Here'sa photo of a photo of my class...

Here's a photo of my school pic... with a lovely flash thing! IN my defence, I forgot it was school photos....

Here are Euros... just so you can see what I'm dealing with everyday!!!

My lovely bed (actually two beds joined together, so there's a really hard bit in the middle, hence the fact I definatley only sleep on one side, nearest the heater!!!

My bathroom... well... sink! This is on the other side of the cupboard you can see in the photo of my door...

The view from my sofa (It's only a little sofa really!) Where I sit to write letters etc! Like my map? And the line of drink containers...

My bedroom from my door... see the plants!! All are real (cept the sunflowers!)... I tidied my room to take these shots! Feel spesh!

I'm not homesick...

... Susan, Bridget, Erica, Imo and Claire, reading your comment made me laugh! Bit sad it's not as crazy without me, and that you managed to be so quick in the video shop! Hope the fritatta was good!

Well, I'm reading Harry Potter und der Stein der Weisel at the moment (first Harry Potter, auf Deutsch), because I know the story, and was going through English books too fast, so I thought I'd take it on as a challenge! Once I get going, I can read it fairly well though, and only have to look up a few words on each page (the first few pages are covered in notes though!)... some pages are almost impossible to not look up 50 gazillion words though... Anyway, it's very satisfying!

Funny, I was expecting the death of the Pope to affect heaps of people here, for there to be memorial memorabilia stands popping up out of nowhere, lots of people crying around the churches etc etc, but there's NOTHING! went and checked out Marien Dom a couple of days after, expecting at least a little shriney typue thing outside somewhere, but there wasn't, couldN#t go in to look though, too early... Only the media really seems that interested (finally, something other than Charles and Camilia's wedding!! They're obssessed with that too!) and Shrek was interupted (during the sad Shrek and Princess Fiona are seperated bit) for the news flash that he#d ust died. There have been plenty of photos of mourning Italians, lining the streets of Vatican City etc etc, but I barely see any signs of it here. I know there is a lot of passive Catholocism practised here, but still...!!

Went to a very cool candle factory today. NBever know there were so many different tyoes of candles - they were all so pretty!! Then we went and had lunch somewhere (dunno where) and ate this weird traditional Austrian thing, can't remember the name, but was a bit lit miny gnoccis cooked with a cheee sauce. Was quite nice, but there was SO much of it - massve plate, couldn't finish it, there was salad too, but was yummy! Lots of eating places here don't actually have menus (or they hide them away so thy don't wear out...) so xyou have to know what you want! My family decided for me, so that was good!

Raining lots here at the moment... not too cold though...

Erika's back (been back for a while...), her toe is getting all better, although it looks a little gross - they cut all the skin off the end or soemthing, so now it's kinda black (which sounds really bad, but apparently it's healthy...)...

Must be off... people to see, places to go... well no actually, just food to eat!

Any questions?

Me with a frog on my head....

The back row....!

Bibi, Dina, Maria and Melanie

Bibi looking lovely!

Maria eating authentic Austrian Food and Dina looking slightly bemused

Here it is...

finally! I've gt 50 minutes to write all about my karaoke experience, but that should be plenty!

Having a lovely time here now, had a moment when I was in LInz on Saturday when I just went 'Hmmm, I like being here' which may seem very weird thought, but was special to me! Been talking to Michaela and Jim, and they'Re going to be in POland in August, when I'm on Summer holidays, so will hopefully come and see me!! Yay! Have to talk to Magdalena, but we'll at least be able to meet up for a day in LInz...

Spent last night being a Kangaroo, hopping all over the garden, hiding from the dangerous Tasmanian Devils, who Sarah eventually banquished... IT was fun in a strange way, although the rest of hte family was laughing at me, the pyscho Australian girl pretending to be a Kangaroo...!!

Karaoke... Hmm.... Met up with Elise after school, and some rotary people she's hooked up with, Bristol (American), Ruth (Canadian) and Josh (Mexican), and we all bludged around for a while, went to her house, played Trionimoes, then went out to the train station at the other end of Linz (the big one...) to meet another rotary, australian girl, who's Josh's girlfriend. (can't think in English or German at the moment, so excuse me please!).. Lots of funny moments. Went to Karaoke. Small room. Lots of smokers. Not many open windows. By the time Elise and I got up to sing our duet (Tainted Love) we were so hoarse... blergh blergh blergh!!! Everyone seemed to be having lots of fun though, Magdalena reassured us that they weren't typical examples of Austrian people though. Very glad about that!! It was an interesting group of people - one 'liberated' woman, an interesting love triangle where the women seemed as interested in each other as the slightly intoxicated man. Everyone else was relativlely normal, but those four people kinda overpowered the others a little!!! Was good fun though. Got into the singing, which surprised me (normally I'm not much of a karaoke singer, just a watcher! Mabe it was knowing people couldn't hear me...)

After that, we went back and stayed the night at Elise's, four of us (Josh and girlfriend didn't come karaoking) into her tiny room, me on a couple of blankets (I was a last minute addition, wasn't too keen on staying at Magdalena's in the end..:!)...

Bristol is very... American (sorry Meredith, you aren't American in the sense I mean it) - just like an American in the movies (not the fashionable people though... slightly grungy...) and Ruth is quite funny... Didn't feel fuly comfortable though, not sure why... Would have preferred to have been with my school friends. That's ok though...

Blah blah blah, need to start writing my list of things to write about again - have no idea what else I had to say...

Will think of more later, so will update again, but with piccies of my class and stuff - have to do that at home!

Hope all is good with everyone... Great to hear from people I've heard from (there are replies coming to the letters that have been sent to me - I'm sending them when I'm done here, so expect them next week!)

What's up with Kate Meijers?

Come on people, I say, what's the goss/news and you don't tell me she's in hospital suffering from horrible soccer injuries? What's the story? Are you ok Kate? Is everything gonna be fine? Sounds a little painful...

Lots to say...

... but not right now! Here's some piccies to get you started... I'lltake some of my class and things tomorrow, alhtough school photos are out, so my class pic'll prolly be on the website soon (I'll stick a link at some stage!).. I'm sending htem home, so ask Mum if you can see my lovely class and individual photos...!!!

Lala, gotta go... Will report on Karaoke etc sometime soon...!!!

Here's a panoramic shot fro mteh Neus Rathaus, stuck together a little dodgily, sorry about that, but there you go! This is Linz from the other side of hte Donau (Danube), I never know which side is called which!

Marien Dom entrance! One of many! Sorry about the neck strain to look....!

Marien Dom entrance (one of many!) Sorry about the angle...

Suse, your Rathaus photo (government house kinda thing)... Felt such a tourist taking this one!

Marien Dom, beuatiful church in Linz. Real Hunchback of Notre Dam Territory!

Old ramshackle house, don't know if people live there oir what hte story is....

Talking letterbox!

My Street (and shadow!)

Easter lunchtime!! Lots of family!! And that isn't everyone!

Sarah in my bedroom with my sunnies!!

SNOW!! On a walk from the house with that cool gateway!! All this snow is gone now, but still...!!

A cool gateway!!

Some random comments!

It's 10 in the morning, I've alreaddy been to the gym, consumed a croissant and bottle of drinking yoghurt (yum, healthy brekkie!!), walked all over Linz but not been to school! Gym is a school subjet though, so I guess that almost counts! They've got French at the mo, thoguht it was better use of time for me to update! I think it's german next, so that's another waste of time, but better go!!

Tonight going to the karaoke party, but before that get to go and watch my class give presentations in English about their recent trip to London... Could be funny!!

My host family has a very funny cat (well, they've got three, but this one is my favourite) that actually likes having its tummy scratched, just like a dog! I've never met a cat that enjoyed that before, or that would roll over, tummy up...!! Very funny but random!

There was an ad on tv, around christmas for Lamb, bagging out Vegetarians. Apparently there was great coverage of it here, because Australian vegetarians were all unhappy with it, saying they felt discriminated against... The Austrians think it was a serious attack on vegos, had to explain that it was a joke, and that I hadn't heard about uproar in my own country... Anyone know anything about this (personally I thought it was quite a funny ad!)

HAd school photos taken a couple of weeks ago, the organising lady, who arranged us and stuff was South African. Never heard someone sound so relieved to meet an Engilsh speaking person before - she' been here for 3 years of something, prolly doesn't meet that many native speakers... was funny though... one of those little things!

It's SOOOOO peaceful i nthe area where I live. Went for a walk last night, before sunset (I actually wanted to wach that, but took forever to get there, and I got sick of walking...) and it was a beautiful afternoon, pure blue skies, birds singing, people, music, general peaceful sounds. Took lots of pics, will put them on once I get round to working out how to do that at home!

The gym wego to is funny. It's very upper market, with matching equipment, wooden floors, silly music (miss Triple J, they've only really got
I love being in LInz way before school, all the bakeries are open, with delicious things, I often don't eat brekkie at home, because it's all strange bread and strange jam which just doesn't do me for breakfsa (although there are also cornflakes) and it's jsut too early at 6:30... My current favourite is a yummy croissant from Ring Bakeries (they've got millions of chain bakeries here), with bacon (well ham type stuff) and I think cheese. Nice and healthy...!!! Like a cheese and bac roll, but with the contents on the inside of flaky pastry... Yummmmm!!!

Finally found decent juice! They water it down, we had a hillirious lunchtime, when I finally made a comment on preparing juice like strong cordial, think it's too sweet otherwise...!! Anyway, impossible to buy pure, sugar and water and preservative free juice in small bottles, but I found 1L cartons, with pulp. Lovely. Got some strange looks when I was sitting on the train driking straight from the carton...

Saw Crossroads (with Britney Spears, ahhhh!) a couple of nights ago. OUt of 30 tvchannels, that was the best thing that was one (Tuesdays aren't great for tv), but I was surprised and how good it was, in a terrible way. Was actually bearable. May have been the fact that I didn't really understand much of what was actually said that helpoed, but you know! Last night watched a movie with Daniel Brühl (guy from Goodbye Lenin) called Schule, he definately only acts one cahracter, that was the third movies I've seen with him, and he had a very similar character!! Was alright, dunno what it was about, but not bad!! There is something slightly strange about watching sex scenes with host parents though... especially when your host mother enjoys things like the OC, and finds all the crude humour funny...

Erika C (sister) is in hospital from an infected ingrown toenail, apparently her leg was all swollen, and he's on drips and stuff, so prayer there is good... Owwwwwwwwwwa (they say OWa here!)

Gotta go.