My Name....

And.... Here I'm I-mogen ('I' as in irate), or Imo-g-en ('g' as in garden) or weird mixtures of that and the proper pronunciation!! They've never heard of the name before!!!

There was something, else, but haven't the foggiest what it was.... sorry! Must be off!

I wish they'd tell us how to say things like 'the Tasmanian Devil does not spin on its tail' in German lessons! I'm going to have to write an Excahnge student phrase book I think - lonely planet is lovely and all that, but it presumes your a tourist staying in hotels and things, not a student living with a family!! Ahh well! I#ll deal with it!

Imo

The Austrains have a favourite game...

It#s called, lets see how many people we can fit onto the one bus.... About 50 standing with all the seats taken seems to be the norm!! Blergh, in an internet cafge, because the internet at home isn't working at the moment, so on a timer, and being Europe, it's a smoking place... blergh! Must therefore be fast!

I've started school, finallz, and it's good, in a boring kind of schoool way... My class is cool, and a group of girls has befriended me, which is good, they all speak english though, and like to practise so I havent been speaking as much german as i should!! Been invited to a night out next week, to celebrate Bibi's birthday (sorrz SMem!), so that should be good. The man next to me gave me a dark look, I think its the fact that y keyboard is so loud!

Every calss seems to have stock personalities! In mine are the 'beautiful girls' who haven't spoekn to me, and there's the typical back row guys and there's thecould be gay, or just the most vain guy I have ever met and there's the loud people....!! It#s mostly girls.... THe classes here are weird, everyone is in onem ain class, and that's who they do all their subjects with, in their classroom. They get to choose one subject (I'm doing german, which means 7 lessons a week!)... A bit weird....

Anyway,m in my class there is a girl who reminds me of Nikkki Rogers, another of Sophie Watkins, the English teacher is a bnit like Barry MacFarlane, keeping the class as entertained!The religion teacher is a whol heap like the shop assistant in Notting Hill, commands no respect whatsoever!The English, Music and Choir teacher, who is also my class' form teacher will do anything to enforce his power, so the calss has to stand up when he comes into the room (a zthing that some teachers like yoiu to do and others don't!). THe Phychology teacher is very cool, I don't think she has that much english, but she is verz funny!! I basicallz understood thepsych lesson which was good! Histroy teacher seems nice, we're dping WW1, so I pretty much know what's fgoing on, which helps a lot!! The geography teacher is also an English teacher, which is very nice... I have to do a presentation (in English) for the class next week on Australia and Tasmania (so if You've got any really useful li8ttle facts for me, now's the time!). The chem teacher seems nice enough, alhtough he wears socks and sandals (not uncommon here though!), nd the physics teacher is just creepy! I understtod maths (in a vague, comparitive sense!), which was nice!

There aren't specific lunchtimes or anything, just 10 minutes between calsses, for people to eat, talk and have a quick smoke in the 'Rauchen Zone'... Btw Bridget, I think the smoker's zones in Vienna airport are funny as - a palypen type of thing under an extractor fan!!

Have found the coolest bookshop ever, called Amaedeus, about 5 levels (although oione is stationery and another is coputer stuff!) including a cool english language section! Lots of books I've been meaing to lread ofr ages! And they're not expensive!

I'm gettin better at understanding people, which is nice, and the accent is starting to make sense to me... Rather than just a muddle of sounds, I can actually hear individual words!

Quite funny, my host father (Hans) is learning to knit socks, or something.... They're not bad, but it is funny to see him and my host mother (Erica) watching tv knitting one sock of a pair each!!

My mornings start at 6am, when I'm woken in a very unsubtle way, door opened, light turned on, and 'guten morgen' exclaimed! I then have to either catch a train, then a tram, then a bus, or get a lift with MIchi and a friend or Hans... Never know how I'm going to get to school, until about minutes before departure!!

Linz is pretty cool, reminds me a bit of Melbourne _ lots of alleyways and things! I haven't had a really good chance to explre yet, but am gradually doing it, while waiting for the Bim (tram), although I'm still a bit scared about going and buying food! Can't always work out what price the people are saying, and just gie them a 10 Euro note, in the hope it will be enough (has always worked so far!) THe girls from my class say tehey're going to take me around LInz and show me all the important sites and thigns, which is good!

Apparently this is the coldest winter in years and year and years, and it's been going for way longer than usual!!!

Anyway, must check my email, have 20 minutes left... the major smoker is gone now though, so that's nice.... Keep me informed or waht's going on in the world (I atually have no idea - they don't really have world news!)

Imo

Also!

I'm feeling a whole heap better here now! THanks! Starting to understand a whole heap more of the language, alhtough still not speaking all that much! Even the dialect is starting to become clear!

It#s starting to be all good, and I can't waitto start school - then I'll be albe to go about Linz and look at things, do things meet new people etc etc!!! This house reminds me a little of a lodging place - people appear for food and that's all....

Well, about to FREEZE to death in here, so will go and put some more cloths on, and sit by the fire....

there was soemthing else I had to say, can't remember what though! Can't be important then! Sorry people I've promised emails to (ie mum and dad!), will do that tomorrow or something, will be long prolly, been on computer too long today already! Will write it out as a letter, and then type it up for you!

Oh yeah!

And, I went skiiing in the backzard (well, paddock area....!) Twas fun, but all flat so kinda hard work!

Jono, youäd love driving here, can go at any speed in lots of places, (bt scary when eveythings covered in snow, and you're going at over 100km/hour on a windy road!) although it is worrying that they've put down concrete or metalmesh stuff on some corners for people who don't quite make the corner on the road... Is kinda fun in a 'Ah, we're all going to die' kinda way! Was scary driving home from the airport, wanted to scream out, 'oi, there's a car coming, get tothe proper side of hte road...!' Then I'd realise.. hey I was jetlagged! Meredith, knw how you must have fet coming here and driving for the first time!

Well, first it was 4 hours in a hospital, then a three year old dressing me...

...and now i look like a beaverchop again.... It has been a bit of a week really!

Now, donät start panicking people! I thought you a bit of a frright! The stroy is that Michi has a broken foot, done before I got here, and he had to get it checked, to make sure it was healing. I was supposed to be at school, going to be dropped off, on the way to the hospital. Unfortunately, my class is actually on an excursion to LONDON for the week (as you do!) so I could have either gone into another class for a week, and then swapped into the '7th form' or just stayed at home for the week....Yes that means I' on babysitting duty in a manner of speaking, but that's ok, I can occasinally sneak off and read or something, Sarah is cute though, although she loves hiding in my wardrobe.... ????????!

Anyway, I tagged along to get Michi's foot seen to, and was stuck sitting in the one plastic chair for 4 hours, while he went in had something done, came out again, went back in etc etc! The seats, for placcy, weren't that bad, baywest should look into them... I stayed sitting in the one seat for sometime, and didn't have a numb bum by the end of it....

Well, Sarah dressed me in coathangers... she took all the ones out of my wardrobe, and hung them through my belt loops until I clattered most impressivly!

Ans my infection has come back, although not nearly as badly as last time, this time, only a mild beaverchop!

Anyway, I have lots more to write about, should go and check in my journal for anything important though.... Monsters Inc is on sundaz night, dubbed of course...

Oh yeah! Me being the most musical person of my family (haha!), has been put into the class that is doing a Music Major thingo! Tee Hee! I have to sing in the choir, but donät know what else I'm expectd to do!

Anyway, been on the computer for a while I htink, anything major and I'll add it, but I think that's al really!

Ta for all the emails and stuff - would write more here ,but am busz reading them all!

Tschüs

OK, I'm back!

Now I have my own account thing on this computer... is XP, so can have own little thingo!

Went for a nice walk this afternoon down to the trainstation. That's right, DOWN, to the station, where I'm going to be catching a 6:30 am train to school... am so going to FREEZE!!! Oh well... Lift in tomorrow though...

Well, I think I'm actually going to getto like fizzy plain water - they drink it by the bucket loads here, and must thik I'm strange because I drink orange juice straight, without adding fizzy water!!!!

Funniest church service this morning, didn't understand a word of it, but the songs were fantastic - electric keyboard, plazing with the organ tone, and a drum beat under it... as in one of those pre-recorded drum beats those pianos have... was quite funny!

Well, I think I was bveing told something about not being on the computer for too much longer because it's needed by other people, or something (I am actually improving immensly with my comprehension.....) so hoororoo!

BTW, have decided that in movies, when it's snowing, very ilttle of hte snow actuallz comes from the sky - most here just blows off one roof, onto another! There are also these fantastic big ice stalactites hanging off everthing, including cars that are driving around! I've got some speccy ones outside my bedroom, which incidently is litterallz about 4 times the siye of my room! Has a little 'bathroom corner' with a sink and towel rack and mirror and stuff, and mz bed is a double bed, well 2 bwds pushed together...

Anyway, please pray that I'll start to reallz enjoy being here, and my homesickness (especially the nighttime stuff - that's the hardest to get rid of!!) will go away!

Cheers!

Imo

Yesterday was cool!

Alathouhg i did spend the day being asked if I knew all these tv shows by a three year old, with a cold, speaking dialect rather than high german... That made me a little sleepy.. Actually I am very tired from having to concentrate all the time, and I really miss being about to just speak and be understood - I think my fmaily probablz thinks I'm a very quiet person because I barely say anything! we went 'rutchen' or bobsledding in their backzard (or someones field just over the fence) which was a lot of fun! Everything is covered in snow, looking all proper and winterish! I'm loving my downie, although i borrowed some better clothes, waterproof, fleecy trousers, snow shoes etc for sliding down hills!!!

Watched a fair bit of tv yesterday too, figured I was immersing myself in the language.. The simpsons in German is still funny! Am loving little kids tv though - has so much visual humour!

Am really missing home though, I think I'd actually rather be there right now, in a place where I can be understood, have all my fdamily and friends nearby and I kinda feel that this is too selfsih a thing for me to be doing right now, and should be doing something htat will really help other people, not just myself! If someone gave me the choice of being here or there, I'd probablz choose to be there...

Well I start school tomorrow, a bit scary scine I'm going to have to be catching a train there from tuesday i think, alhtough getting a lift tomorrow, whih is good! Hoping there will be another Australian exchange student there, i know there is a Melbournian in LInz, hopefullz she'll be at the same school! That'll give me someone to talk to....

Must be off... comuter is needed!

Be balck at some stage!"

Well I got here!

And have email and internet access at home which is good, although it is a slightlz freaky keyboarad with the z and y swapped, and other random characters on different keys and things (umlauts for instance - öäü)

Well the flights were good, 24 hours of actual flying time, 34 including airport time! Over to Sydney I was next to a lovely lady who was going to her nephew's wedding, and the flight attendents were all very cool and funny! The trip to Vienna, via Kuala Lumpur was interesting, I was window seat (so couldn't walk around as much as I'd have liked, but did mean i got about 5-6 hours sleep...) next to a Polish girl, with little English, had to use every part of mz drama skills there, but she was very nice! Next to her was an Italian lady with very good English (and about 50 other languages!)

I watched lots of terrible movies - Alien vs Predator, don't watch so predictable, Little Black Book, alright, to see for free! Mr 3000, awful and one good one, a German movie, Die Edukators, with te guy from Goodbye Lenin (and Ladies in Lavender...!) That was actually ok...

Anyway, if you ever hve to get from Vienna to LInz, fly! It was this little plane, about the size of a bus, with big wings and propellers and was verz funny! The distinction between first and general class is a little 20cm plasctic screen... all psychological! Although they got cups of coffee and stuff, for the half hiour flight.....!!

Got to Linz, was met by my family, went home, was feeling a little jetlagged (having just gained an extra 10 hours of life...!), ate some weird purple cabbage stuff, rang my family, went to sleep for 15 hours... I think that'st hte best way to beat jetlag, don't staz awake for as long as possible, just go and sleep umtil it's a normal time to get up (normal here being about 7am...!)

Anzwaz, I'll ocntinue this in the next post, so go and have a break if you fel this is too much reading!

My last night in Tassie!

Roast dinner tonight... yum yum... feels kinda weird to be finally going, have been waiting forever I swear.... anyway... please keep checking... Have finished packing, just about, bit scared to weigh the suitcase though... have my onboard entertainment just about sorted... Almost ready... still not scared though... should I be?

Tomorrow, Tomorrow, I'll leave you, Tomorrow, it's only a day away!

The roast calls.....

Given the all clear!

Apparenlty my mouth is not longer an oozing pussy mess now, looks all lovely and healed, which is good!

Oh, only have one more day before i go! Still now scared! Excited though... funnily enough!

Finished the shopping for pressies today! THink I just about ahve everything I'll need, hopefully... alhtough need another pack of tim tams!

Yada yada! Hi to everyone who's only just looking here for hte first time!

Imo

Now that's just silly!

My mouth has been perfectly happy just calmly healing for the past 3 weeks, was looking lovely last week apparently, but now I have an infection! I ask you, what is the world coming to? It's so much fun, I'm on some antibiotics, seen the pens, but can't remember the name, they're capsules, so I can just mix the powder in with mushy food, did try swallowing the whole things, but they just do a magic disappearing act under my tongue..... Anyway... the powder smells like gas, as in Bunsen burners, and tastes like it too... very bizarre! Apparenlty there's a great big hole, but it's sealed over on the top kind of thing, trapping the germs in... not much I could do to prevent that, except have taken antibiotics from the beginning, but I wasn't offered them.... I don't think....

Well, The Elephant is on, then Lost, then Cutting It (yep, I have an evening of worthwhile tv in front of me!), so I must be off!

See you all on Saturday! IF you could bring some chips or drink or anything, feel welcome to! WE've got a few packet of chips, and several bottles of liquid sugar, but any more would probably be quite welcome! I'll be sending an email about that though...!

Imo

I leave NEXT WEEK!!!

Eek! Next Week! That's so close! I think I should be scared... and I'm starting to get a little anticipative!

Hada nice movie night on Saturday night... watched 6 movies, ate way too much sugar, got too much sleep!! Isn't natural to sleep at a sleepover...!! Silly billies who have to go and do things that make them exhausted...!!

Anyway, leaving NEXT week! Don't forget my farewell thing on Saturday, if you need the details ask me, and I'll tell you (although if I don't want you there, I'll tell you the wrong details... Nah, just kidding!)

Here's a postcard I received from my host family! I'll be living in this area, although 5km out from the town, or somthing along those lines!

I'M GOING TO AUSTRIA!

I GOT MY TICKETS AND VISA AND FINAL DETAILS TODAY! WAHOO!!!!!!

(is that short enough em?)

I have lost 1.5 hours of my life...

... and two of my wisdom teeth! It's a very strange feeling to wake up from the anesthesia to have no idea about what has just gone on for the past 1.5 hours - there's a difference between waking up after sleeping, and waking up after being drugged and operated on!

Anyway, the operation went well, it was fine and dandy, and alhtough I now have quite a square jaw, I don't hurt too much, just a slight ache, and I've only had one panedeine today (that was this morning, and it's now 6:30pm)... Will go and take another soon though, after dinner...! Speaking of which, I have decided there is only so much custard you can eat, and I may reach that threshhold soon, may not though, but do have lots of apple sauce, jelly, yoghurt, icecream, scrambled egg, and tonight, cool bolognaise sauce, as well! it's quite hard to think of mushy foods that do not have lots of sugar in them, so my poor teeth are going to suffer - can't really open wide enough to brush many of them, so will have to mouth wash, but currently on my favourite - warm salt mouth baths... yum yum! Blergh!

I was in Hobart Private, and they're all really friendly there I've decided, but if you do go there, don't accept their offer of jelly - I found it REALLY strong - as though they'd only pyut half the water in - forgotten to put in the cold water or soemthing! They do give you a dixie icecream though, yummy, and juice or water... really it's all lots of numb fun... I hate having a numb tongue though - one of the most irritating things...

WEll SUsan came and visited me at home, about 20 minutes after i got home, which was very nice of her, except that then she had a little car accident at the bottom of my hill, and had to come back, until her dad could come and convoy her home... Poor poppet.... That is an evil corner! According to both Susan and her father though (who is a doctor) I was one of hte most alert people they'd seen who'd just come out of anathesia... I really woke up from ti and felt refresehd though... Not at all tired - people told me that I'd just go home and sleep, but I went home, listened to an audio book for a while, until the power came back on, and then watched Cheaper by the Dozen, then ate MORE custard and jelly (dribbling half of it all over myself cos I couldn't feel it running down my chin) and then Wire i nthe Blood. Hmmm.... too energetic and talkative apparently!

Well no one's going to read this because it looks too daunting and long, so I might as well stop now....! Still trying to work out how to set the default font though.....

And there's the mountain looking pretty in pink!

Here's the actual sun! Smem took that one!

The Sunrsie of the 24th of January, from Mount Wellington, at approximately 6:00 am.

Rise and Shine!

WEll, this morning's sunrise was most pretty, and for those of you who slept through it, here are a couple of pictures!

Hmmm, not entirely sure of how this whole thing works, but there you go! I'll see if I can put another one on there!

What an odd film!

Dune... can't decide if I liked it or not! It was intriguing, I can see why very few people liked it, but it also has a certain likability!! It reminded me a little of a mixture of The Matrix (prophecy about a super-human person coming to save the world from an intruding evil... for one!), Tremors (big worms going around eating people and destroying things) and Star Wars (desert island, especially Return of the Jedi and the big eating machine in the middle of hte desert - very similar mouths!). Overall it was weird, with the director loving the use of psychadelic imagery, or maybe starting to use computer imagery, and going over the top! The use of the water drop started to get a little repertitive though...!!!

Hmmm... I shall think about whether I liked it or not, wouldn't want to see it again.. I know that much, but that doens't mean it isn't worth seeing once....! Hmmm....

The Count of Monte Cristo

Well I saw the Count of Monte Cristo the other night, the one with Guy Pierce and Jim Cavezial, and I must say it has put me even more off seeing The Passion, I don't want to see a more than one block of wood, and I think the crucifix has that aspect quite covered! The movie was alright, alhtough Dad was complaining it isn't anything like the book (I personally cannot get into Dumas' books, get to about the 2nd chapter and realise I haven't taken anything in...!) but as a movie, it was good entertainment! I'm told the version with Gerad Depardieu is far better, and I'm inclined to believe that, and will see it some day!!

Well, the feather duster has just walked past the window (being the double ended pomeranien dog down the street!), mum tells me it's quite nice once you get to know it, but that's the scary bit, don't really want to go there - how will I know if I'm talking to it's bum or head? It's only when it walks that this is (probably) obvious!!

Bought a suitcase the other day, very exciting, but it's so small - only allowed to take 20kg, so that could be tricky - will actually have to choose what books to take! I'm starting to get ready, kind of, though - been taking all those lovely city shots, went to the market today, so i can say ' this is where i live'.... "this is the drunk with a didge who posed for my friend, and hid the 6 beer cans and bottle of wine from the camera!!"

Anyway, off to watch Dune, not expecting great things, but our video store is $3 per weekly video, or 3 for $5, so FAR cheaper to just get three!!!

I've heard from my family!

Yippee! I faxed them, and emailed and sent a postcard, and got a fax and email reply today (both were the same, long story, but that deosn't matter!) How exciting! The weather sounds a bit extreme (well, compared to Tassie weather!), I'll give it to you in German, but you should be able to understand, not rocket science!

Jänner, Februar, März = Schnee (snow), Regen (rain), Nebel (fog/mist), Sonnenschein (sunny) – Temperatur -10°C bis +20°C
April, Mai, Juni, Juli = Sonnenschein, Regen, Nebel – Temperatur -4°C bis +32°C

On second thoughts, I'll add translation! That';s a big range of temperatures though! Sounds cold!!

Anyway, I need some lunch, and Mum needs the computer, so must be off!

Go and see Garden State!

It's a really cool movie by Zach Braff (Scrubs guy) about a guy who's been on lithium since he was ten, to surpress bad memories, who has to return home to New Jersey for his mother's funeral. He decides to try not taking the drugs, and for once in his life isn't numb. This movie shows his reunions with old friends, new friendships blah blah blah, but is really worth seeing. It's Braff's first film - does a bit of an Orson Welles and wrote, directed and stars in it, but it has a refreshing newness - none of the old '*sigh* the 20th time i have to direct the same plot with subtle differences' feel. It has a good mixture of comedy and sadness and drama and all that, and there is no sense of 'well it's worked before, so lets do it again'. I really enjoyed this film, although did think it was little slow to start, but that could be intentional, to show the lithium induced numbness of Andrew Largeman. Natalie Portman also stars in this, as Sam the compulsive liar who help Andrew along. Bilbo is also in it, see if you can spot him! (I spent most of the movie trying to work out where I knew him from, wasn't until i saw the 'assistant to' list that I realised!)

Garden State

Go and see it, on at the State at the moment, or wait for it to come out on dvd or whatever, just see it at some stage!!!

Well, all you who have been hanging on tenterhooks....

...the wait is over! The wait for what I hear you say. The wait for the date of my tooth excavate! (lovely rhyme don't you reckon!)

My wisdom teeth were supposed to come out tomorrow (Friday the 11th), but my dentist had to go and identify bodies in Thailand, and gets back on the 24th. Therefore the great facial delve is occuring on the 28th of January. That's really quite a bad date - means i miss out on Tessa's partay, and probably Elly and Stu's engagement party... :-( That's sad man Lorenzo... so ******* sad.... (sorry, quote from drama...!)

Anyway, thought you should all know, hopefully all will go well, and my face won't cave in or anything.... WOuld wait until after I get back, but apparently the teeth are growing sideways, and the roots are starting to knit with the nervew, which could result in permanent numbness if left too long...

At least it's only two teeth - the top two seem fine apparently, but the bottom ones are troublesome.... blergh! So now that you all know the details of my teeth i can go and say hello to the Canadian strangers we have for dinner..... ;)

Hooroo!

Imo

Well, Mayfield is over!

And it was FANTASTIC fun. I love being a leader so much more than a camper! There are too many stories to tell, but ask me, and I may go on about how cool it was, but get in quick, I'll be over it soon! Have to get back to normal life now... start work tomorrow... eek! But even eekier is the fact that I'm having my wisdom teeth out on Friday! Ahhhhhh!

Blergh, so tired, 4 hours sleep last night... silly late night fishing, games, bonfire and early morning leader meetings...! Eyelids drooping already, and it's only 6:30.....

Hello to all from Mayfield who've actually looked at what i wrote on their folders! HELLO!!! Here's where you can find out about what I'm up to... PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE keep in contact with me, email is prolly the easiest!

Well, now that I've washed off half my fantastic tan.... but gotten a lot of dirt out of my hair as well, I feel much more human! Feels weird because I should be going to church tonight, but family dinner, roast lamb (smells SOOOO good!) so must stay here!

Btw, people who know I hate fish would be proud of me, I tried a tinsy winsy bit (after Robbie basically forced me to) and for fish, I thought it tasted very nice. Still didn't taste right though! Not like real fish... fingers...!!! It was freshly caught on one of the night trips!

Lalaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Was sad to find only telstra had sent me a message, but 13 people thought I was worth sending spam to... Ahh well, such is life!

Taaraa... will right more when I have mroe to write about and have had a little more sleep on a very comfy bed!

Imo