Bought a downie!

Teehee! They do good quality cheap winter clothing here well... (funnily enough!), so in my hunt for a winter jacket/coat, I found a downie, for about $Aus60. Is brown, not my first choice, but the only one in my size (is very popular, you should have seen how many were hanging on the 'on hold' rack!). Comes down just past my bum, has a detachable (zip) hood, and I thought, well it's not exactly the dressy coat i was hoping to find, but is perfectly in my price range, is a downie (note, I do actually already have one here, from my sister, but since she'll want that back, and i feel like a big grey elephant wearing it (warm, but BIG and grey!!) I thought this one, smaller (shorter sleeves! I can see my fingers!) was perfect! Very exciting! i'm sure all you outdoorsy types will sneer at such an obviously 'inferior' downie, but watch out, the wind might change and your face will stay that way!

Working out sending stuff home at the moment, I have well over the 20kg I'm allowed on the plane, so have tos end stuff. My host father is currently (well, next week is going to) looking into a possibly cheaper way that he knows (I have no idea, but he said is company uses it, I think, and he's pretty sure it'd be cheaper!), so that'd be nice! It's amazting how much stuff you can accumalate in 10 months! I currently have 2 daunting returning home areas,
1. looking at my bedroom, trying to work out what stays, what goes, etc etc (and also, when I should start packing... I think I need to post stuff first, but maybe I need to pack first...! I can't pack though, I need everything still! And that would seem horribly eager to be leaving!!) ) Also wondering what to do with my school work! Seems a terrible waste if I just throw out everything I've done this year, but can't take it home... WIll have to ask Magdalena about that one I think!
2. Looking at my to do list (or to buy)... I feel so good now that's I've crossed off a couple of items, but there's still a lot to do! And I have no idea what to buy for a few people (family members, not friends - no pressies for you really! Sorry, but there will be edibles...!) EEEK!

Well, still on the hunt for my count down clock!

Holidays (for a week) next wednesday! Hooray (they have a 'nationalfeiertag' - national day of celebrating being Austria!)

Yep, Erica, my relief religion teacher was called Devil... Now that, I thought, was rather funny!

And hooray, you commented!

Ok, train soon (now I'm procrastinating against searching for pressies!)

Hmmm, German.... (since edited!)

Well 'm sitting in German at the moment, the rest of the class is searching for information for their 'Spezialgebietes' - like the portoflios we have to do for exams and stuff... i'm on a good computer for once (good maybe exaggeration, but it works, accepts all the addresses I want to visit, so ok! The keyboard is really horrible though!) and i thought i should correct a couple of things in my last blog... The police here wearr grey, not green, but it's still completely militaristic! I was actually looking a group of different police type people when I wrote the note for that comment, and it got through my rather weak mistake sensor!

Love the quiz answers whoever that was... Kate or Susan are my two guesses, although the lack of Red Dwarf knowledge (unless it's my faulty brain going again) suggests Kate... I don't know...!!

i've since been informed that the ultrasound actually shows the two stomachs, not the two heads... Hmmmm... I'm not at all convinced, but the nurse with the maternal ultrasound decipheracation certificate said so, so it must be true!

Ok, my mother tells me my sister looked forward to returning to our toilet when she was on exchange in Denmark (whether or not this is true, I don't know) and continuing with the bathroom theme, i'm looking forward to own sink and shower, which actually DRAIN! Is really wrong - all the sinks here drain SOOOOO slowly, so the one in my bathroom (which is, I might add, only 1.5 metres wide, more an ensuite!) seems to have a permanent blue toothpaste scum rim (I'm not joking) and my shower has an icky old shampoo slippery patch...

Edit: cleaned my bathroom yesterday, but the vacuum cleaner is kaputt, so had to use dustpan and broom for all my hair (why do I always seriously moult in autumn....?) which was a wrong, because I forgot about the spot where I'd spilled water, and then dust hair and water combined to make this really rather disgusting mix in the dustpan... Blergh!!

Today, we had a rather appropriately named teacher for religion (although here, when it's a relief teacher, they just sit there and we all do what we like - the teacher doesn't leave work to be done or anything...) Who can tell me why I found the fact that our relief teacher was called Teufel really funny????

I'm getting suspicious of my friends here, lots of note passing, and 'don't let Imo see it' s (although half the time i have to pass the note and that message....!!) Bit worrying... i'm sure they're organising something lovely to celebrate my leaving them alone, but still....!!

Save the Last Dance on tv tomorrow, will try to tape it....

REading a very interesting book at the moment, Memoirs of a Geisha, is fiction, but seems very well researched. The author has written it in an interesting way, promoting it as non-fiction, with a 'note from the translator' at the beginning, about how he once sdaw this Geisha in Japan, when he'd just moved from the Netherlands, and how he then years later became friends, blah blah blah! At the end how ever is an Author's Note, saying it's all fiction... (haven'T actually read more than the first line of the author's note, but suspect there is more truth than he lets on in the story) Is fascinating though, a girl taken from her nearly dead mother (cancer) and elderly father, when she's 9 (her sister (16ish) is also taken but she barely features). SHe's taken to be trained as a Geisha, and has this amazing eyes, which make her stand ou from everyone else. Has a hard time, doesn't want to be a Geisha, trys running away, big mistake, but then nice things happen (well, she's used to get at someone else, but it's to her own advantage!!) I'm only about half way through, so I'm hoping it doesn't have a really weak ending, as such books often do!!

Ok, must be off!! See you all in about 48 days! (wow, that's so close!! Boohoo wahoo!)

Daniel Craig

Dunno what I think abou that choice... After all he was in Tomb Raider.... But could be ok, alhtough no one can beat Sean COnnery...

http://imdb.com/name/nm0185819/

Quiz!!!

1. What ingredient in Panteen Shampoo gives it it’s name?
2. A lot of people here wear what on their feet?
3. Mauthausen was what in WW2
4. From which book (and tv series) comes the quote: From this day you must be a stranger to one of your parents – your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr Collins, and I will never see you again if you do.
5. What is Spongebob Squarepant’s German name?
6. Complete this quote: In my day, television…
7. What is the common name of dihydroxide?
8. What do statt, stadt and staat mean?
9. What’s the name of the Austrian Bundespräsident?
10. How many states does Austria have?
11. Was Austria divided by the allied forces after WW2?
12. Where is Österreich?
13. What is mined in Halbstadt?
14. Is Princess Mary’s baby a boy or a girl
15. Which famous composer was born in Salzburg?
16. Who is Austria’s (current) biggest singer?
17. In which film about dancing is there a character named Baby?
18. What course does Imogen go into next year at Uni?
19. From which film comes this quote: We brake for no one.?
20. Austria was originally settled by who?
21. Who is playing Elizabeth in the new Pride and Prejudice film?
22. Übung macht der…
23. What is the romantic meal between Lady and the Tramp, in that film?
24. What are Rimmer and Lister fixing before the accident on Red Dwarf?
25. Who was Boris Karloff?
26. What is the currency of Sri Lanka?
27. What time does Imogen start school in the morning?
28. Is Terry Pratchett available in German?
29. McDonald’s is how old this year?
30. From which tv series comes the quote: We do anything, anytime.
31. What does James Bond drink in the books?
32. Beyonce Knowles’ boyfriend is which rapper?
33. Which actor, as James Bond, said: Excuse me, I was out walking my rat, and I seem to have lost my way.?
34. To whom is Katie Holmes (maybe/apparently) getting married?
35. The new James Bond actor is….
36. What is the chemical formula for sulphuric acid?
37. Bridget is now where?
38. Currer Bell was who?
39. What is the population of Austria?
40. Which traits were added to Sherlock Holmes and Frankenstein’s monster (respectively) for their screen incarnations?
41. Which country has been the first EU country to have the Bird Flu in the latest outbreak?
42. In Ancient Greece, the cutter of the naval cord had what name?
43. Does the spell checker know my name?
44. What is the first ‘shocking’ treatment Mac receives in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest?
45. In My Big Fat Greek Wedding there is a (perceived) problem with a cake, what is it?
46. Who won the recent German election?

And the New James Bond is.....

While in Australia, the slightly ‘more individual’ people carry beer cans, here they carry Red Bull. It seems to be the drink of the moment (was actually invented here, I’ve seen the house of the inventor, who is now stinking rich), and can always be seen carried by the people who’ve just had a Friday or Saturday all nighter in Altstadt. Maybe it’s like a status symbol or something, but kinda strange to watch all these punk-tartan-pant-wearing-mowhawked-young-people swigging from their Red Bull…

I think I have a Swiss German accent. Three times now I’ve been asked if I come from Switzerland by the people doing surveys on the streets. Conversation usually (thought I’d write in dialect, just for the novelty factor! Isn’t strictly correct dialect, but the best I can do!):
Them: Hallo, kon i bitte füe an koz moment dein Attention hob’n…? (hi, can I have your attention for a moment)
Me: Tu’ mia layd, i kom (or wir kom’n, when I’m with other people) nit aus Österreich. (Sorry, I/we don’t come from Austria)
Them: Oh, da Schweiz? (Oh, Switzerland)
Me: Nah, Australien… (no, Australia)
This then either turns into a discussion about the Australian girlfriend their brother has, why I am here and whether I like it, or simply, enjoy your stay have a nice day bye bye… Works nicely! But I’m intiguied about the accent thing… Not sure if it’s a good thing or a bad thing, they do think of a German speaking country at least, but that could just be because they don’t immediately think of German being a second language… I just nod smile an correct and run….!!

Freaky when I got up this morning… My bedroom was lit by moonlight… I have two sets of curtains in my room, the thin, lacy curtain ones and the thicker block out the light ones. I only use the first, usually, and on Sunday morning I was woken up because I turned over and the moon was shining right in my eyes. I thought this was at about 3am, but when this morning I woke up at 6:10am and the moon was beaming happily into my room, I revised my opinion… Walked to the train, 40 minutes later (yep, I still do my up in half an hour, including lunch making thing here!), by moonlight… Weird! I think the time goes to the hour earlier one soon though…

Police here have such militaristic uniforms! They have their trousers tucked into socks and boots, everything very green and ready for commando crawls looking! I’m worried about the trousers into socks fashion, is starting to set it… Hopefully just lots of people forgotten to untuck after bike riding….

Hey, best news! I’m going to be an Aunty again (don’t know if you already knew that or not, but there you go!) and of TWINS!!!! Oh lala! Identical twins! My mother tells me it’s one of those completely random and freaky non-genetic, one in three gazillion types of things…How exciting! I always wanted a twin sibling, but twin niece/nephews (not known) is almost as good! So HOORAY MICHAELA AND JIM!!!! Oh and I think they’re due in March, but I could be mistaken, maybe it’s earlier…. But I reckon prayer there, that everything goes well and healthily would be fantastic! Mum sent me a pic of the ultrasounds (20 weeks, you do the maths for due date!) and there are obviously two heads in one (my first thgout there was just Tassie genetics, but hey Michaela is first generation…!!! Sorry…! Had to say it….!) and a hand in another, but everything looks kinda blobby otherwise (I know Michaela, I’m talking about your insides here, but it’S true… Must be some special maternal degree to be abel to recognise things in ultrasounds!) Still VERY exciting, and amazing! Btw, CONGRATULATIONS Rosie and Keith on little Amelie! (Amelia? Sorry…!) Hooray!

Caleb, good luck with the house moving... The end of a era... No more bus rides, lift stinge-ing (maybe I'll actually have to get my licence now!) etc etc...

Hey, the biggest train museum i nthe world (or at least Germany) burnt down last night, I saw some footage on the tv. It was so.. surreal.. to see this burning building, and the outlines of trains through the flames... Peculiar, not sure why, but was a very strange thing to see. It was in Nürnberg, btw!

Hmm, new quiz for you, I hope it’s new, I wrote it so long ago that I can’t remember if I’ve already given it to you!! But will check…!

Why is it that the mention of lice is enough to make the scalp itchy?

There's an outbreak of lice inteh school at the moment, wahoo... Have no idea how it started, except that it was in the class of a couple of girls who come and spend every break in our room.... But everyone started feeling itchy as soon as it was announced that teh annual outbreak had arrived!! Horrible feeling!

Finished watching One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, must say I enjoyed it, in an 'I'm so glad it isn't like that anymore (hopefully no more lobotomies)' way! We're about to look at The CUrious INcident of the Dog in the Nghttime too!

REad Sherlock Holmes last week, this week Father Brown (G.K. Chesterton), which is really funny! This little priest just keeps on popping up all over the place and solving mysteries very quietly and inconspiculously!

Trying to find a countdown clock at teh moment for all you exctied bunnies, so you can see how long until I leave here! I dad that stupid thing of deleting my old one entirely, so now have to hunt it down again!!

And I had so much to talk about this time, but completely run out of time, as usual, so have to stop there for the moment, will prolly be back some time next week with something for all you busy uni people to use fror procrastination! Maybe a new quiz or soemthing... Alhtough what you could do at the moment is look for a simple javascript countdown timer for me!

Boohoo

I'll be back...

2 months today... 61 days... That's nothing... i'll be getting to Hobart on the 8th of December, sometime in the evening.. I have tried everything I can think of to get a later flight, have asked to fly to Melbourne (nothing between the 5th and the 30th), have asked if I can change Economy classes, even asked how much it costs to upgrade to business (hey, getting desperate! Don't ask by the way, I nearly had a heart attack!), but nothing! So I shall be seeing everyone sometime around thenish...

Got a ball dress, borrowing one fro Simone in my class.. Not exactly what I would have chosne had I been shopping, but it isn't bad!

Had a nice observation for everyone, but can't remember it now! WIll tell you sometime, I'm sure!

Watching One Flew Over the Cuckoo'S Nest in English (the extra class), I'm really enjoying it, is funny to see a young Christopher Lloyd (would pick those ears anywhere) and Danny deVito I see from IMDb is also there, somewhere... He's not as distiguishable as Lloyd though... Is interesting, reminds me of 1984 in some ways, not really sure why, although if it ends in the way I currently see it going (he's just been 'treated' after the boat escapade) then there are similar themes - outsider fighting the system, gets entrapped and put into the system (sounds like an old plot, is, but in these two cases it's much more comlicated, and I don't want to give away too much!)... Of course I could be complteley wrong! Will find out on Wednesday! We're looking at Mental Illness in that English, and in normal at Cosmetic surgery... Interesting juxtapostion (is that the right word? Is so long I always forget exactly what it means, excpet that its the placing to two unrelated things next to each other in a way they become connected... or something, that was Tammy in drama...!)

Btw, Mum tells me someone at the Student Excahnge office reads my blog! uh-oh! Nah, not really! Hello!!! Glad you read it! IS that why i don't have to fill out quarterly reports like I was told i would HAVE to...? Hmm... Anyway!

So, starting to get things organised now, amking (by hand) business cards, with all my Aussie details, for all those people who have promised to send me panicked 'help me with my english for th exams' emails, letters, phone calls and sms'!! Trying to work out my budget, so I can buy lots of pressies for everyone and all that (nah, that's too complicated, be happy with chocolate or soemthing, that's what i'll prolly end u getting for unrelated people!) Have to send home clothes soon... Ohhh! And write a list for mum to go host family pressie shoppping! So much to do... Getting my visa on tuesday... Teehee... I think that's very funny, that I get it NOW! Finally finished with the holidays and everything (the 'Bezirkshauptmannschaft' people that is!)

Well anyway, this was actually just to tell you when i'd be home (considered not doing it, arrive as a nice surprise and all that, but I'm terrible at that kind of secret, will forget who you like in a minute, but this kind... nah!) Hey, when's the dancing concert this year? Will I be back in time? If yes, I'm coming....!!

Laws of Attraction

Just discovered I have the most useful contact in the world in Dina here! Her father owns a restaurant at one of the cinemas here, so not only does that mean free before and after movie refreshments, it also means free tickets to the film.... Just saw Laws of Attraction (Pierce Brosnan, Julianne Moore), and i was pleasantly surprised. Was actually not too bad, and rather funny at times. I've never been sure of comments that say 'the actor Blah saved this film', I mean, maybe it was having that actor that made it seem to need saving - maybe they were jsut so good they outshone the rest, and i do have another argument, but I can't quite think about how to word it, is all in images in my head at the moment, (occasionally my mind does that...!), something about the script being already written, and the actors just having to act it out, so really the script needs to be good for the film to be saved - it isn't just on the facial expressions that a film is made... If I think up a brilliant way to explain, I will.... In 3 years! Anyway, that was said about this film, and it's the kind of film that made me wonder about the logic of the phrase... Well yes...!!! Umm the film... About two divorce attorneys, originally fighting against each other. Moore is super organised and has never lost a case (or something close) and Brosnan is chaotic, always late, and has also never lost a case. They get drunk together one night, sleep together (of course) and everything goes from there... She still 'hates' him, but then they are fighting against each other again in a celebrity divorce, have to travel to Ireland to see a castle, get married when drunk, and decide they have to pretend to be happily married... Blah blah blah! Predictable, but funny if you're in the mood for such a film!!

Well now waiting for my train! On Saturday nights there are no trains between 7:30pm and 11:00pm so I have to wait for another hour or so... That'S why I'm in this expensiver cafe, jsut time wasting, but have to go anyway! Dina is going to write something in English for you all to enjoy, but she'S going to email it to me, so you'll all get it later!

Gotta go now! Btw, lots of good looking films coming here soon!

Pray your little socks off please!

At the moment I'm booked to fly home on the 7th of December. I don'T want to come home so early, and it disruptes plans for my brother to visit me here. i'm on waiting lists for the 20th, 21st and 22nd, so please people, if you could just pray that a place will be found for me on one of those days, that would be fantastic! No anti-praying just because you want to see me again... I'm sure t could be all in the plan for me to come home earlier, but I DOAN WANNA!

Thanks! and enjoy the rest of our program...

i've written a poem!

And you can too! Here's a lovely procrastination thing for all you bored bunnies! We had to do this in Englisch WPK (Wahl Pflicht Klasse - our elective) and I thought you'D all love to read it! Please note, I used some poetic licence, so most things are not the MOST something, or I've just plain made it up or written the first thing that came to my mind, but take it to Shani, and i'm sure she'll tell you I'm a confused person with an affinity for kangaroos... Whereas an English teacher will probably decide I am questioning my place in life, using past memories as clues as to where i'll be going. A maths teacher I suspect would just see I was jsut wasting time in German arranging everything... BTW, most embarrasing/stupidest thing ever done, yes is a true story, if the victim remembers it, sorry bout that one, if not, don't try! Here goes!

Three aqua coloured cats swim in a pink bath
Bashing at a piano keyboard above my head
Why?
A kangaroo because they jump so much and so far
A kangaroo because they jump so much and so dar
Asking someone if he returned his girlfriend 'to the shop, like a toaster' because she 'just wasn't right'
A kangaroo because they jump so much and so far
Kayaks, home, books, chocolate, hugs
Asking someone if he returned his girlfriend 'to the shop, like a toaster' because she 'just wasn't right'
Huon River because I've had so many good times and made such good friends there:

1. Kayaks
2. chocolate
3. hugs
4. books
5. home

I wish I knew where I was going here!
Huon River because I've had so many good times and made such good friends there
Three aqua coloured cats swim in a pink bath
I wish I knew where I'm going here!
Why?

So there you go, my artistic masterpiece! Now here's how you can write one too! Call in the next 10 minutes and pay with credit card and get a FREE set of Steak Knives! That's right, so pick up that phone, our operators are waiting... It's actually not at all hard to do, despite the many instructions - they're telling you exactly what to write!!

1. take a blank piece of paper
2. write the letters A - H down one side, leaving a couple of lines between each
3. follow the sub instructions.

Sub-Instructions:

1. A - should include 2 colours and the first and last word must be of one syllable (must not start with A, these are just reference points)
2. connect part B5 with A3 and attach with screw 45x... Sorry... skip this one!
3. B - your first memory, in as few words as possible
4. C - the first question you remember asking that your parents couldn't answer
5. D - the animal you would choose to give your conciousness to, and why
6. E - most embarrassing memory/ stupidest thing ever done
7. F - 5 favourite nouns
8. G - Favourite place and why
9. H - 'I wish_________'. No more than nine words
10. See sub-sub instructions

Sub-Sub Instructions:

1. ORganise sentences like this (doesn't have to be in verses, that's just to make it easier to follow the letters now!):
   ABCD
   DEDF
   EGFH
   GAHC
2. Read through, adjust in anyway that makes it better and post it in my comments...!! Or just keep it to yourself!

Ok, well, my train isn't such a long time away now, so i'll be off, have to go and have a quick look for cheapish autumny water-proof shoes (only have my boots, and they're not good everyday - my feet hurt at the moment from standing for half the day in them, which is partly why i'm posting for the 2nd time in 2 days - good chance to sit down!)

I was invited to donate blood here!

Teehee! I got a letter from the Gemeinde (local council I guess would be the best translation) telling me all about a blood drive that was on last week, and how they'd love me to donate blood... Of course I don'T really want to leave traceable evidence of me ever being here, so I declined, but it was exciting! Actually, no I do want to donate blood, but would prefer to do it in Australia, as well as it said 'can'T have had contact with hepatitis in the last 12 months' and i was given my latest hep something shot in january, so I thought that might count against me... I feel special!

Well, I rang erica for her birthday, just after writing my last blog, and remembered lots of things I wanted to write here, but have forgotten them again (my memory has gone down hill since I've been cramming it so full of german!)...

So, currently sick, with a mild cold (although they all think I'm going to die or something here, because my nose is doing it's usual niagara falls thing) but have discovered asprin does a ver nice nose drying job, which meas I don't have to venture into the scary world of the apotheke for drugs...!! Did you know that here they don't sell ANY drugs in the supermarket or anywhere! Not ever asprin or anything, have to go for EVERYTHING to the Apotheke! Anyway, back to my cold. They have a really funny attitude to getting cold here, refuse to go outside even in summer just after hair washing in case they get cold (I've been forced to promise I won'T ever go outside again with wet hair - they think that me being outside for about 15 seconds on saturday with damp hair when it was about 12°C is responsible, I know it'S just the cold I expected to get from being back at school! Apparently the 12°C here is different to the 12° in Australia) Then last night when I said I had to wash my hair beofre I went to bed (I refuse to hair dryer my hair!) I was told I shouln't, just in case my head got a little cold from it... Argh! Never had a problem before, and i've been washing my hair in the morning before school in winter before waiting for the bus in almost frozen conditions for years! But just for the peace, I comply! What was funny that I then read in the paper this morning a quote from some Austrian kayaker at some competition in Sydney saying how she 'couldn't understand Australians because tehy wear shorts even when it's only 10°C or less'... I thought that was nicely ironic (maybe nt ironic, I've never been quite sure of what is and isn't irony, but you get the idea!)

Going to the movies on Saturday night, with Dina, who's parents own a restaurant at the cinema, so hopefully nicely priced tickets for us! Everyone else is going to a concert, but i'm not that keen, partly because it'll be so smoky and horrible for my niagara falls nose, partly because I don't really like the style of music (it's a group of bands, with guys from our class) and a few other reasons... Dina didn't want to go at all, so I said, hey, lets go do something different then! Dunno what we'll see, I'd like to see a film Die Weisse Massai (no idea what it's called in English, The White Massai?) about a white lady who goes to Africa, falls in love with an African warrior or something but then lots of issues etc etc... Is from a true story, and actually looks very intersting, was at the Toronto Film Festival, and I think a few others... Click here and read all about it!

WEll I think that's all snotty little me can remember for you at the moment... Must go, Dawson's Creek is about to start....!!

After 15 years of friendship, she turns 19...

...That right, today is Erica's birthday! (well, yesterday or a few days ago for most of you probably, but it's the middle of the day here...!) We've known each other for almost 15 years, which is a bit scary really, although I've known others longer! What'S scary is we've been to school together through ALL that, and still somehow managed to stay friends....! so HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERICA!

Anyway, back to the mundane world of Linz! I went to the uni open day on friday, which was scarily similar to tas unis! Everything even looked similar, although fewer gum trees.... I went along because it was far more interesting than sitting in school for a day, with only about 5 other people from my class! I was also interested to see what another uni looked like! I collectexd so much paper, as usual, and also about 5 pens... Will never have to buy one again I think! Now have pens with German writing all over them! The excitement!

Yesterday was a Kinder Flohmarkt, in the town square of where I live. That is a Flea Market, where lots of children sell all their old toys and games and stuff! Not where you can buy children... (I thought slavery was abolished here, but wasn'T entirely sure....!!!) I was going to buy the Lion King on video, in German, but someone else got in first! Bought Wo die wilden Kerle Wohnen instead... (where the wild things are... who knows this book? I love it)

I thought this was going to be a really long post, but now I can't actually think of any of the things I was going to say, or I've run out... Umm... HAve to find a Ball Dress, eeek! I've never been formal dress shopping before, but this time it's really hard because I want to spend as little money as possible... LAthough I could just buy an expensive one and sell it (apparently there's always a good market for old ball dresses...)... But it's kinda fun, in an Eeeeik! I look like a potato kinda way....!

Meredith, glad you enjoyed America, although mum tells me your return home was a little confused! JOno congrats on confirmation! Bridget, have fun in Mexico (do you gho this week?) And HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALL THOSE PEOPLE WITH BIRTHDAYS! I could list them for you, but that would take about half a year... There are a billion odd people out there...!

Have to help Dina find a good Bill Bryson book (naturally i'll guide her towards Down Under) for her English study! Then in a few hours I've got p.e.... wahoo! Hopfully we'll play a game... And i'm not getting the back to school cold... The rest of my class may have it, but I refuse, and I know my sore throat is just a result of talkign to my parents for too long yesterday... wink wink...! Tschüssie!

Robbie Williams sings falsetto

I don'T actually know what categories a voice needs to fit to e singing falsetto, but Robbie Williams seems to be doing pretty well in his new song that's HAUNTING ME! It's following me, whenever I turn on the radio, what do I hear, but him singin ridiculously high... Don't get me wrong, despite his slightly dubious personality, i've always thought he's gt a fairly good voice for a famous person, but this song (what's it called, Spin?) is following me... It actually reminds me of some of our After Juliet music for some reason, which is a bit scary, because that was all 80's music.... I don't know if te song is as big there as here, but since almost all the websites are teeny boppy, I can't avoid it (Hanson'S MM Bop is also getting a little too much air time....) OK, over it, but thought you should know!

Well I’ve had one week now, of school that is, and this time classes are shaping up to be far more enjoyable than last semester. I actually understand far more now, which is a fantastic feeling, and I feel much more comfortable in the class (not that I didn’t before, just that now because I can speak far more, it’s easier to join in with everything!) Today I ‘understood’ maths, I have no idea how to do the maths, but that’s because it was all the silly graphing functions with vectors and high and low points and comfusing stuff that I don’t understand without a graphics calculator in English! Where am I going to need it anyway!! This is probably going to sound really silly to all you people who’ve never been in a foreign speaking school before, but I’ve never before appreciated being actually able to work in class! The timetable for this week is not permanent, is just for this week, but today I had English (where I had to concentrate to talk in English – when I started to read out loud, I couldn’t for a bit, wanted to say all the names with a nice German accent! Is a strange feeling to have to concentrate to speak in one’s own native language…), then French (where I just sit and decorate my notebook – I’ve done the equivalent of joining a TCE French class, taught in a foreign language, when I don’T have any French already! I’d like to see you trying to learn something there!), then German, where we just discussed a film we saw last lesson (Wiener Waldgeschichte or something, apparently the girl was the daughter of a Zauberkönig… umm, Wizard King? But I personally didn’t pick that (wasn’t exactly concentrating on the movie spoken in very strong Viennese dialect…) so I just listened and learnt, so next time, part two will make more sense! In maths we did evil things with lots of y = and stuff (they’ve even got different signs for maths here, . is x, , is . and / is ,) so we’ll skip that one! After that was music… where we just listened to lots of snippets of classical music from the romantic period, and had to say what they were (I picked Schubert’s Ave Maria, and Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite… That was a highlight of the day!) Then a break, I went to the library, got out a whole heap of books, in cluding a few ‘must reads’ (reading a lot of them at the moment, the library is stocked up well! Read Hard Times last week, by Dickens, very unDickensish I must say! Enjoyed it though…) I felt insulted in English today (and you know how hard it is to insult me) because the teacher basically said that if we hadn’t read Stevenson’s Treasure Island, then we mustn’t read at all… This is me he was talking to….!!!! Got that out though…

Anyway… Supposed to have had history this afternoon, but the teacher had a meeting, so had to wait around until religion, which was fine… Did ‘know yourself’ test things. I was in a group with the beautiful front row girls, who aren’t actually too bad (I’ve known that pretty much all along, but they’re still the ‘beuatiful ones’ in my mind!) and we just had to cross the box for lots of questions, scaled from good to bad. Was kinda funny – wasn’t entirely sure what all the questions meant, but did my best, and don’t think I offended anyone…!! After that went into Linz, posted (yet another) birthdaypostcard (people stop getting older!), went to the internet café for a bit, read my email, blah blah blah, bought yummy food for afternoon tea (kebap, as in pita bread with meat and salad… Mmmm!) then found I had a message from Kate (yay, but why were you smsing at midnight?) and then got home… And that’S been my day… Fascinating I know!

Yesterday however I had an extra English class! I think it’S the same one as last semester (or last year as they call it here, which is very confusing!), but with a different teacher, who, I think, has an Irish accent! Not certain though, sometimes she sounded totally neutrally British, occasionally American twang, and then there’d be these massive Dr-Sam-Ryan-on-how-Jane-Doe-died moments! She mentioned something about how something’s said in Britain, so I guess she’s spent time there. Seems really nice though, and I love being able to go somewhere where I can help other people (some people CANNOT understand why I’d want to go to an English class, where it’s not going to help me and my German… Please kick me whenever I have moments that are as selfish as that! Actually starting to get fed-up with just how selfish and self-centered some of the people here are, but they say the faults that irritate us the most in others, are our own, so from now on, I’m going to be watching myself so much more closely!)

Well someone did THAT count recently, and we discovered 13 weeks until Christmas… Wow, less than 13 weeks and I’ll be home… that’s 13 Saturday morning sleep ins, 13 episodes of Desperate Housewives (not actually that many left, but anyway), 13 missed Sunday Night Lives… Not much really! Maybe I should stat thinking about pressies and stuff for home… Actually have a lot of stuff to do soon… Can feel it all just piling up, but I have to find a cheap Ball Dress, will go second hand shopping, but they don’t have many second hand shops here… Dunno what I’ll do about shoes… Worry about that when I get there! Will have to definitely get my hair cut though – the water here is tearing it to shreads or something – so split! Will prolly come back with a crew cut or something… Nah, not really! But do want to get something different!

Oh, and my brother is coming to visit me in December, just a couple of weeks before I leave! Hooray! Someone else to load up with stuff to take home for me… No, don’t worry! Not really! But I’m looking forward to that now!

Spirited Away is on tv tomorrow night, will try to tape it, Save the last dance as well, but Bibi wants that one, and the repeat is at 3 in the morning, and it might be a little triky to change tapes for it… Wilt al kto her though, and see! Found where I can buy videos, so will buy a couple as well, want to buy the Incredibles, but a bit expensive, so will stick to Lord of the Rings or something instead… Can’t get too much though…. Stupid baggage weight restrictions…! Don’T actually know what I’m going to do there… Is amazing how muchjunk one collects… and when you’Re like me, and can’t throw anything away….

Ok, bibi needs the computer in a moment, so will post this (there was actually a point, but as usual, I’ve forgotten it! Will start writing all over my hand again soon!) Oh, she’S practising piano, so bi more time, but I think that’s enough blabbering for a while (when I defined blabbering in class today as what I always do, everyone understood, funnily enough!)… Homesickness all gone, hooray! But still looking forward to going home a bit, although I reckon it’ll be a bit tricky to leave all my good friends here… Most have promised to come and visit me, when it’s winter here, so that’s good!

Going to make a recipe book (bought the book, just have to get the recipes) so I can make everyone real apfel strudel and stuff when I get home!

Remembered the point of this blog! Well done on getting this far though! There’s a BIG thing here called Matura Reise, basically a trip after the final (final final) exams, that almost everyone makes. There are a couple of organised ones, for thousands of people, called Summer Splash and Mission 2 Beach, in Turkey, for 1-2 weeks, or people go off to other sunny places for lots of fun… Now why don’T we have such a thing…? But they’re SOO expensive! But everyone is organising already… Is crazy… Is the lack of a year off between school and uni that does it I think – they have to cram a years worth of school break into a couple of weeks (few people take a gap year or anything, so they all presume I’m here as a part of my academic studies.... Pah, if only they knew….!) Anyway… There you go…. I've been trying to persuade them a nice Matura Reise to Australia, for a winter trip would be great, but so far they don'T seem to convinced...

This should be about school, but moves on to tv fairly quickly...

Nun, wir sind wieder in der Schule… We’re back in school, as of Wednesday, and it’s lovely, fantastic and as much fun as ever…. Hmmm! Actually, it’s really nice to be back, to have other people to talk to, and, wait for it, wait for it, to ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT THE TEACHERS ARE SAYING!!! I hadn’t realised how much my German has improved, but now I actually understand what they say, most of the time, although there are still a lot o times that it’s just so boring I can’t bear to listen! But the option is there…. Nah, don’t worry, I do listen as much as possible, but when the rest of the class isn’t listen, it’s kinda hard to! This year we’ve got philosophy instead of psychology, biology (but they di the cutting up a few years ago… sadly…) and pretty much everything else is the same… Still cant understand the English teacher’s English (he asked me SOMETHING about my holidays, not entirely sure what, but that may have also been the chattering ‘beautiful girls’ wall in front of me…!) Speaking of which, hey Claire (or anyone else) what’s the best Beautiful Girls cd (do they have more than one?)… Anyway… Umm, had pe today… blergh, tiring! 20 minutes of laps around the netball courts (well 12 in the end), then situps, push ups and other random strengthening things… I enjoyed it, made me not feel like SUCH a lazy bum, but was tiring… Then played a weird version of baseball, which was weird but kinda fun…

Umumum… Our classroom is at te top of the school, right in the middle, so we have to go up 4 BIG flights of stairs to get it, and the toilets are really far away… Rather funny though, the smokers have to go down the 4 flights, and another little one, to get to the smokers zone, and there are some who like to go out every break (10 minutes between all the classes)… They come back puffing anf panting… I shouldn’t laugh, and I don’t, but I think it… I haven’t got a window seat, which is very sad, instead I’m RIGHT in front of the teacher, but back a row, which is kinda weird… At least now I understand them, and can nod and look interested! It’S funny, the front row beauties don’t know I actually speak German now, well they know it now, but this morning Paulie was asking Bibi how many Ball tickets I need (Ball!!!), and all my friends told her I understand (it’s always nice to hear people saying ‘sie kann foi gut deutsch’ (she can speak really good german)… bit of a ego booster really.. Hmmm..!) Then later, another was telling me I was the ‘lucky’ one to be the team captain, started in English, then the other beauties corrected her… Rather funny! But quite a few people have asked me, or asked my friends, if I understand it now… Was I that bad before… Ja, wahrscheinlich…

I’m so ashamed of myself, now addicted to Dawson’s Creek… HOW DID THIS HAPPEN???? It’s on every afternoon at 5, and Bibi watches it, and I kinda gravitate towards the tv, and now I’m addicted… Will Pacey and Dawson ever be friends again? What’s the story with Jen and the weird Ben Fraser look alike from her old life? Is Jack really gay? I now understand however the quote in 10 Things… It’s such a bad show.. At least I’m not addicted to the Bold and the Beautiful… Although looking forward to Desperate Housewives on Monday (and started watching Lost again, 2nd series, still don’t really like it all that much, but is intriguing!) I don’t actually watch too much tv, prolly more than at home, but there are just so many channels, so much Simpsons, Malcom, Scrubs, terrible MTV reality shows (Date my mum… guy picks girl after going on date with her mum… funny) Then there are also some classic ads as well… One of my favourites is for a bank, for a youth account or something. Lady looking at cloths in shop, pushing pram. Looking at nice men’s shirt, and a long arm reaches out from the pram for a Marilyn Manson t-shirt. Look into pram and there’s a teenager. The mum takes away t-shirt. Next scene, another 16 year old guy sitting in trolley. Pram guy and trolley guy do the 2 finger ‘I know what you’re going through’ wave (like a salute, without the head)… Is very funny… Contradictory is one where there’s lots of rich people campaigning against some big lotto jackpot, man says ‘the rich will never be happy’… The slogan is then ‘you’ll be richer than rich’. Does that make sense to anyone else???? I understand what they’re getting at, but it seems all very contradictory to me!!

Hmm… I’m sure there were other things I wanted to tell you all about, but can’T remember! Dina’S birthday tomorrow, I bought her the Blue Day Book, in German (the shop didn’t have it in stock in English…) so hopefully she’ll like it…

Just worked it out, I’m replacing Blue Heelers with other bad tv!

Guardian has changed it’s format, which I don’T mind, except they seem to have just changed it to put in more ads… Bigger more irritating ads as well! The Guardian is the newspaper I buy here, btw, when I need a dose of English news (please take note, I also ‘read’ the Oberösterreichichen Nachrichten and the Standard, in German (well, read is perhaps a little strong, I look at the pictures, and read the articles that are short and movie related, or other big event, like the hurricane or something!).. .SO it’s a bit disappointing that it’s been changed for such mercenary reasons, but they were saying the new Saturady one will have a cooler review section, so will see before I really make my judgement… There realls is no completely international newspapaer though, which is just sad! Maybe that should be my life’s aim…

Interesting evening

Well, I was bought my first drink by a complete stranger last night, while we were out and about in Altstadt enjoying our last weekend of freedom. It was rather random and alarming, considering the guy (while rather funny and with very good English, part of a strange phenomenon here where guys will try to talk to you in your own language, presuming I guess you don’t speak theirs, or that it’ll impress… I don’t know, usually it’s not all that good anyway, but this guy’s was just about perfect) was a little ‘happy’ due to either alcohol, drugs or both. Don’t panic concerned parents, I wasn’t in any danger from these strange Austrian men. But I’ll get to this incident in a moment, after a nice summary of our evening in Altstadt (which is btw, in case you haven’t taken all this information down from previous posts, the nightlife area of Linz, is very cool with millions of pubs, bars, clubs (maybe, sorry, haven’t seen any like in the German movies, so don’t really know if they do other sorts here and I just haven’t recognised them!)

First event of the day. Host parents having big (well, 8 people, but still means lots of flaffing about) dinner party, so lots of doing random small things just to look like we were helping (both Bibi and I wanted to help, but were refused!) and a bit of stress in the house. Left at 5:50pm… Got into Linz, walking to Maria’s, and were stopped by two men in suits. ‘Uh-oh’ I thought, they want to talk about Jesus… Yep, two Mormons (that is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints yeah?)… They asked if we’d heard of them before, and I told them, ‘yeah, but in English’… Suddenly, we were away from Jesus, and onto randomness… One of them was from America (possibly the worst American accent I’ve heard) and the other from Germany. Suddenly we were into English (it’s that freaky phenomenon again), and the American was talking about Dumb and Dumber…. Don’t ask me why… Not a clue! Chatted to them for a bit, said that yeah I knew about Mormons, had a friend, but I was Christian… ‘oh ok’ they said, ‘that’s nice’ And that was that… I looked at my watch, said ‘we’ve gotta go’ and we were off… Kat, is that normal? Do they usually give up so easily, or let themselves be sidetracked so easily? Was funny….

I was with Bibi and Maria, and we set out from Maria’s (she lives in the centre of Linz, very handy!) sometime after 9, after they tried to find me something different to wear from Maria’s (large) wardrobe, as all my clothes seem to be in the wash, and they thought I wasn’t nearly colourful enough! Couldn’t find anything, I’d worn the wrong bra to go under all the possibilities, so I was happy sent out in what I’d started! We first went to Walker’s (where I’d spent Friday night too, but with other people, and only until 10:30pm because of trains) but wasn’t anything happening there, so prepared to move on. Stepped outside, and the rain started to POUR down. Cats and Dogs and Hippos were falling from the sky so we stood around for a while under shelter, then ran, under newspaper, into the centre of Altstadt. We dropped into a few places, looking for people we (well, Maria – she’s very useful to have around when we ‘fahrt gehen’) knew and settled in a place with not too loud music (the place before, Segabar, had SUCH loud doof doof music it was just stupid) where we sat and played hangman on the newspaper, and wondered where everyone was. Met a friend of Maria, he asked that inevitable question ‘Australien… Gibt’s Kangarus da?’ and I told him yes, too many, I’ve tried the meat (can’t actually remember if that’s true or not, but I know on the Kakudu trip was something about eating kangaroo, and it gets such a funny response – they can’t imagine wanting to eat the big furry jumping things, they’re too novel!) etc etc… Moved out from there, after Maria’s 3 tequilas and something else… (that was her alcohol for the night though) and roamed a bit more before settling into the Living Room. This was where the slightly too enthusiastic guy comes into the picture…

The Living Room is a very skinny but long bar place, with two levels, first go in and there’s a long counter and booths and dancing area, then up just afew stairs into a section with more booths and a shorter counter. We sat down at one of the booths, and almost immediately these two guys came over and started to talk to us (well to Maria. Bibi and I thought she knew them, can never tell with her!) It came out that I was from Australia, and the attention switched to me, one of the guys having disappeared. Suddenly he reappeared with 2 rum colas, and gave one to me (I’d just like to mention at this stage that it was actually the friend of the weird guy who did this, I think for his mate… Anyway!). The other guy told me to drink it, I had a little sip, and while I don’t mind rum and cola (for alcohol), my brain was going into paranoid/stubborn mode and I wasn’t that keen on drinking it (actually it was more stubborn than anything) The eventually it was drunk by the happy guy (never found out his name) and they disappeared, after he had displayed his enthusiasm for shrieking and being ‘happy’. (Can you tell this week has been a bit boring… this was probably the most exciting thing that’s happened all week…. I need a life….!) Other people we know (well Bibi and Maria, I vaguely recognised the faces) came and sat down and we talked to them. Suddenly Happy Guy was back again, sitting next to me, trying to get me to have fun by shrieking with him. My stubborn thing kicked in again (You know, when the more people tell you to do something you don’t really want to do, the more you resolve not to) and eventually he went away (finally) after trying and failing miserably to convince me I wasn’t having fun because I didn’t want to shriek (not scream, shriek!) he came back a couple more times, before we finally decided to run away to somewhere else…. So there you go!

After that we heard him in Segabar (went back, just to check it really was so loud), and then went back to Walker’s briefly then walked home to Maria’s, at about 3am (Linz is fairly safe). We have no idea where everyone was, or why the streets were so empty at that time (normally they’re full of ‘happy’ people at that time) but it was a fairly quiet night everywhere… And home by 3am… For Maria and Bibi they tell me that’s about 1.5 hours too early!

Got home at 2ish pm, and have just blobbed about, proofed an English essay thing (ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!! I understand the pain of teachers when they say SPELL CHECKER!) and will go and eat something soon… Is funny with the English though, some pages are now just covered in writing (I do try not to change too much, but so often they’re just typos!) but others are just about perfect… Bit suspicious… But now I know all about Stephen King… Wow his books sound so pattern based…!

And I think that’s all… Will check emails, and add anything relevant! Nup nothing relevant, except the best reaction to my early home coming, thankyou person who squealed in the middle of meeting on reading my sms....!

She'll be coming 'round the mountain when she comes....

Hooray! Hooray! I’ll be home for christmas! PRolly only a day or two before, but I’ll be there for the first with all the family in several years! Here’s how it happened.

THE STORY OF A BROWN CHRISTMAS
Once upon a time was a 18 year old Girl living in Austria, as part of a cultural exchange. She was there for a terribly long time, and began to miss home a little, but enjoyed being in this strange country with funny toilets and lots of dubbed bad American tv. Thinking a White Christmas would be lovely and novel, not to mention the opportunity to let off fireworks at New Years, she opted to return home at the beginning of January. This felt like a very long time, and the Girl started to wonder what Christmas without all the normal traditions would be. Slowly she started to think that really it would be nice to be back in Australia, but since there wasn’t much she could do about it, she decided to just embrace the new opportunity and deal with it. The only thing she could really think of to do was to pray that she’d feel comfortable and not miss home terribly for the most important celebration in the year. She did this, and after asking for support from her friends, she knew she’d make it through. January the 4th still felt a long time away, and the Girl was starting to feel rather homesick. She called her Local Support/Representative, and asked if they could meet and discuss a few things (although going home earlier was not one of these). Suddenly a change was in the air, and an opportunity was presented. The Local Supporter told the Girl her Host Family wanted to go on a long holiday over Christmas, the Host Father being ultra-stressed from his job. The Girl was given an Ultimatum of three choices. First stay until mid – end of January, and holiday with the family. Second have Christmas with a different family, just for the experience. Third, go home just before Christmas. The first two options were not particularly appealing to our Heroine, and having plans for January and not really wanting to gate crash a random family’s Christmas, she opted for the third choice. Having not heard this option before, the Girl was very surprised at how excited she got when she thought of having Christmas at home. She realised this was an answered prayer, and after a short discussion with her Host Mother, and a slightly longer one with her Normal Mother, she rang the Local Supporter with jubilation. ‘I want to go home for Christmas!!’ she exclaimed, thinking of all the things she’d previously resigned herself to missing out on; whatever gets offered at BeeWaa, Midnight Mass at All Saints, seeing the whole family together, Taste of Tasmania, camps! From then on the homesickness that had previously plagued our Girl was gone, replaced by a sense of ‘I’m going to be home for Christmas!!!’ This is a true story, it happened to … Me!

Hooray! I’m serious when I say that I’m genuinely excited about being home for the most important celebration in the year, I hadn’t thought it was an option, and was amazed at my brain jumping up and down with happiness when I heard it! Of course, I don’t know if I’ll get to do all the things I look forward to – if I get in on Christmas Eve, BeeWaa might be tricky, but my jetlag should be perfect for getting me off to Midnight Mass! I’m sure it’ll all be sorted and looked after!

Anyway, that’s my news for the week, back to school next Wednesday, so last week of freedom! Doing lots of German grammar revision (even bought a grammar book), sitting in the sun that’S finally come out (must be the school effect – always happens in Tassie too – nice weather when back or almost back at school!) But anyway, this is meant to just be a short post, so will stop now! Btw, if anyone has any requests for anything small cheap and portable from here, tell me! You may not get it, but I’ll think about it, and it’s the thought that counts! Nah, I’m largely thinking of things you can’t get in Australia (like the chocolate people always have to buy for us when they visit Denmark)…!

I'm bored!!

Hello all! This is a 'it's the last full week of holidays, and i'm bored' post! First of all i'd just like to say hello to Lisa, and anyone else as Dad's office who reads this (well he tells me you read it, could jsut be a ploy to get me to update...!)

Hmmm, now that I think about it, what can I write about? Have I already told you about the zoo we visited in Vienna? Was very cool! Lots and Lots of animals, not nearly enough Aussie ones, but anyway! We went there because I was too poor to visit Schloss Schönbrunn, the famous castle of Vienna, and i've already seen so many old buildings - completely churched out now! So we went to the zoo instead! Was fantastic - penguins, tigers, pelicans, goats, giraffes.... etc etc! Koalas and a few reptiles were the few aussies there though... But there's often Australian docos on tv... Yesterday was one about the prehistoric animals that ate all the aboriginies... Or Steve Irwin was on, dubbed, for a while... As was Blinky Bill, with even teh song dubbed... Dubbing maniacs here!

i miss Aussie tv... Never thought I coul d actually miss the goings on of Mount Thomas, although Kath and Kim was slightly expected, but i do... Used to be British tv i craved, now it's aussie movies and tv... Argh, so sad really! I'm a tv-holic! Maybe it's just a result of the small homesickness i've got at the moment! I imagine it'll all be good once i'm back at school, at the moment I just don't have anything to occupy my mind!

Going to go and see the new film from the Spirited Away guy soon, maybe today, or tomorrow, hopefully will be able to understand it all in German! Hope it's as good as SPirited Away, which is on tv soon, will tape it (and other random movies, maybe a James Bond!)... Ok, actually, isn't a very new film I don't think, 1986, provided I was looking at the right one, alhtough the English name fits with the german one... Don't know why it's only just on... But there you go!

Anyway, want to read Sydney Morning Herald or the Age or soemthing, so better get going before all my time runs out! This was my, I'm bored, looking forward to going back to school (which for some reason I associate only with snow, as though it's going to snow on the first day or something!)...

Hello once again to the random (but very welcome) people who read my blog!

New Links

Hello all! Am going to post the prizes as my next task today! I think you'll love them (btw, Kath, have you, well Matt, but anyway, still got Spinal Tap?? And who else out there has our dvds? Would be nice if they slowly made their way back home really!)

But i've just received two fantastic links, are now in the fun stuff category. The first, the Uncyclopedia (Click Here) is very very funny, is set on the Tasmania category, worth looking at John Howard too, and everything else really! And just for fun, here's Austria

The second is the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest, a contest to write the worst opening lines for a book.... VERY VERY funny! Click here for that!

There you go! Look at them for procrastination! Have a good laugh! Gotta go and post some prizes now! (they're in the mail!!!)

And we almost have winners!

OK you've been given clues now!

Nacktschnecke - naked snail (think about it susan, and you'll get the exact word meaning!)

Dudelsack - The Goodies and the Dudelsackspinne... Yeah good one mum, they're going to understand that!! Good scottish tune, that's a bit more like it!

I'm still waiting fof the actual words to be said!

Off to Vienna on thursday!

Bumper sticker

Here's a bumper sticker I thought was kinda cool (saw it one tv) but then it got me thinking about why jesus was perfect, and i decided it wasn't so cool, but still good:

Next time you think you're perfect, try walking on water.

And I've finally realised what I don't like about the expression 'people being found' as in turning to christianity. Came to me in the shower. It implies no one, especially God, knew they were there, and it was God that did the work and found them. Really its the complete opposite, he knows everyone's there, and they find him. Perhaps the question 'did anyway find' is a better one... Anyway, that's my d and m for the month! REad on good people...

Random musings!

Well hello again! I thought it was about time you got just a random blog about the life and times and state of living in Austria! First of all I’d just like to state that this seems to be a country of many long lasting things… First it was the everlasting winter, then the multiplicities of strawberries, followed by the neverending (but sadly now ended) apricots. The latest in this list of holder ons in Austria is that of the Saturday morning (or indeed, any day of the week, and any time) lawn mower… I don’t know hoe many lawns they have here, but there certainly must be something in the soil to make them need so much mowing…

We’ve had summer… It seems official, but there were three days of sunny blue warm loveliness, and we’re back to the grey skies (although today it is not cold, I’m only wearing two layers…).. I fare ye well summer… Actually, still suffering from weather jet lag or something, so really all the rain now seems fine to me, it’ll be the snow at winter and new years (haha) that’ll get to me… I’ll prolly leave here, it’ll be -30°C get to Australia for 30°C temps!

Bibi has had a cold/flu thing for the past week, I’ve avoided it, despite spending inuman amounts of time watching trashy tv with her… Worst was a talk show, they’ve got millions of Oprahs and Dr Phils (including one really popular one where the guy is orange), with a 30 year old man, still lives with his parents.. Ok, that’s not SOOO terrible, but it got worse. This man’s mother was on the hunt for a girlfriend for him, he didn’t want one (the moderator lady’s decision was he had made himself neutral on women and men)… Ok, so far, bearable… It got worse. This man’s poor father sleeps on the couch because his son sleeps in the same bed as his mother, because (according to her) he ‘needs his mother’. Now at this stage I was thinking, can this scenario really get any worse? It then came out, when the mother was saying how her son is really lovely, not bad looking (if one goes for the spends 23.9 hours a day in front of computer in a cellar look) and divulged that his body wasn’t bad, which se knows from washing his back when he bathes…. I at this stage got a little weirded out and went on a food search…. That is strange right? It’s not just me?

Well anyway, enough about strange German men (ruth, are you sure I should be looking for sven here?) Last night my body decided to do its camp ‘hey lets be really hungry, and be the rubbish bin for everyone’s leftovers’ thing. The one catch was that it wasn’t camp, and ruth wasn’t around with half a plate of spag bol for me to finish, followed by half a carton of left over custard with tinned fruit… Instead, after eating 2 rather large bowls of salad and some chocolate, I moved on to greener pastures (well actually I moved from greener to whiter, but that’s not really the point at this stage!) I moved onto the toast. Now Imo K can also verify this, the toast here is weird. They buy bread specifically for toasting. This means it has no ends, is already slightly dry, and is almost always white. It takes practice to spread butter on it when it’s toasted without tearing massive holes all the time… I ate 5 pieces of this, with delicious strawberry (and rhubarb) jam (and one piece with milka choccie spread), then moved on to cheese and walnuts by the fire, while thinking (and saying) what a beautiful fire it was for marshmallow toasting (which they don’t do here, although apparently marshmallows are a lot rarer and different…)… I could have kept on eating, but there was unfortunatle nothing else that I really wanted (could have kept going wit hteh toast, but was a little toasted out, after the 4 pieces I’d eaten for brekkie)… and it was bed time… My host mother thought this was because it was a full moon (everything at the moment is blamed on the full moon) but I think it was because it was my ‘hungry time of the month’ (sorry, too much information? I could complain about the lack of range in feminine hygene products too, but don’t really want everyone to stop reading my blog for ever and ever!) Anyway, moving on now!

I have a word of warning for all you people out there at schools with your own laptops… DON’T GET ATTACHED TO YOUR LAPTOP! I don’t mean like Adrian Mole and the model plane (just read that this afternoon), but emotionally attached… This is a very sad confession, but I miss my laptop! I think it’s actually missing unlimited internet, having everything organised just for me, the games (donkey kong especially), and just the general aura of my own special workspace. Sad I know… But after 6 years, I think there is bound to be a little pain at our first parting…

Well I think that’s all really, will go read my emails (and I know I have about a million! Hooray!) and se if I should add anything, then post this once and for all!

Btw, saw Mr and Mrs Smith last week, wasn’t expecting much, so I really enjoyed it! Good action sequence at the end, fairly predictable, but good for a rainy afternoon! There is a strange movie routine here though, you don’t pay more for adult or student or pensioner or whatever. There are two costs, the first 4 rows (dad, you’d like this) are the cheapest, then the rest is about €1.50 more. You choose your seat (or they ask, is this one ok) and you go and sit in your numbered seat… Different cinemas have different cheap days, although Cineplexx is Monday Tuesday and Wednesday for €5.50 (about $8.50) which is rather good! Confusing system though!

And, coolest german words so far: Nacktschnecke (pronounced: knacked shneka) and Dudelsack (doodle sack). The first person to tell me in a comment what they mean will win a prize... of sorts... and yes you may guess, they don't mean anything rude, particularly obscure (not medical or anything)

Snow!

I hear it'S been snowing down there! I think the tassie normal winter has come to austrian summer too, about 14°C for the past few days, lots of rain.... I want photos though! Typical that the snow would go to hobart when i'm away!! Typisch!

Prague Prague Prague Prague!

I’m BAAACK!!! Had a fantastic time in Prague, is a beautiful city, everyone should visit it sometime – MILLIONS of tourists, but still very cool and old and pretty and all that stuff! Was strange travelling with a nearly 2 year old, not in a bad way, just different (oh dear, that doesn’t sound clichéd or anything! Hey look, Word puts in the little French symbols over cliché and cliché and cliché!! TeeHee!) Anyway, back to the future… Well not really… Btw, saw Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure in German last week Susan, just as funny! Also saw a Monty Python (or at least by the Monty Python people) yesterday, ummm… Time ______ about dwarves… Missed the beginning, so not entirely sure what it was about really….

Anyway, Prague! Got up unnaturally early to catch the first train into LInz, the train was at 5:30, so lets leave it at that, I don’t think the time I got up actually exists… Got on the train, choo-chooed to Prague, were met there by our host for the stay (have NO idea how to spell her name, may look in up when I get to my emails) and caught the tram to her home. Basically this lady was a contact of Michaela’s flute teacher, who has 3 rooms downstairs in her house for guests, who are referred to her. She kept telling me I had to come back with my friends! Was very friendly and helpful, a little over helpful in many ways (explained to us EVERY step of the journey by tram, bus or underground to get into the heart of Prague, made it all sound very scary, reall isn’t!) but was good to have a local to really help! Her house was very much as I’d expected for ‘Eastern Europe’, as was the neighbourhood – watch an old film set in the Cold War era in Eastern Europe, and it all looks very similar today stil (but better living conditions). She was telling us what some of the tram stop names meant in English (all stops here have names, even the buses, not just numbers like in Tassie) and I was interested to note that a few of them had names like Our Trainstation, Our Hospital etc. I wonder if this is a Communist, everything belongs to everyone legacy (btw just read Animal Farm (George Orwell) last night, very good, worth reading, all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others…)

We spent that afternoon in Prague, with our guide showing us some of the important parts in Old Town, a funny clock where all the apostles come out on the hour (it also has the date and other stuff), a cool church, St Tyn’s I think (although I bit too much gold for my liking!), of course St George’s bridge (the bridge in Mission Impossible, that whatshisface ‘dies’ off (saw that a few nights ago too, got very excited that I could recognise things!) and just the general coolness of it all. Theres’s so much amazingly interesting history here, the Europeans just don’t understand what it’s like for those of us who come from somewhere that was colonised for the bad guys only 200 odd years ago. There are buildings here that were built a thousand years ago, that are still in use – I would LOVE to be able to see all the interesting things these buildings have seen!

The most stressful part of that day was probably buying dinner. Macdonalds (Rose was getting DESPERATE, it was fast, there and we could take it back to eat from home watching tv). Nothing against there all new healthy menu, but it’s so hard to order in a foreign language!! I wanted dressing for my salad, but when they asked I had no idea how to ask for the one I wanted… Plus I think I got the trainee… Eeek! Anyway… got there in the end...!

Next day we wanted to see the Prague castle, but set off a bit too late, and there was a massive queue for tickets, so instead we went on a wander through the Old City again, looking out for nice souvenirs on the way. Bought a few things here and there (I got a very cute TINY glas dragon wearing a top hat…) and dinner and generally just soaked in the atmosphere! I wanted to see the Museum of Medieval Torture Instruments (don’t ask me why, it fascinates me that people could actually have thought up some of those instruments…) but Michaela wasn’t too keen….!! That’s ok, we saw lots of other things instead!

Prague Castle therefore was the next day, and we got there fairly early, and there was no sign of the massive queues of people (we think they were actually there for something different). The castle is great though. We spent I think 5 hours looking around at all the things our tickets would let us see, from the ultra touristy (but understandably tourist filled – is massive, beautiful and gold plated) St Vitus’ Cathedral to a prison (wasn’t very interesting, I reckon there are prolly far more interesting ones under the castle, was very small) to (my favourite part) a display of different suits of armour. There was a very cool one, would have suited someone in Lord of the Rings I reckon, the helmet was like a bird or something, with a big pointy nose/face… Scary really! There were also weapons, from spears to those spiky balls on chain on a stick and a torture cahmber display… All very interesting…! This was in this really cute little lane, shops built into the fortification wall (the armour was in the soldiers guarding part, above the shops, I reckon it must be SOOOOO cold in winter there!), and although Lonely Planet though Golden Lane was missable, I disagree, was very pretty – people were living there until the 1950s!!

Other interesting things in the castle were the MASSIVE ballroom in the palace (and a displays with pictures of the Defenstration of Prague!! Teehee!), St George’s chapel thing (much more churchy, fewer tourists) and the tower with between 200 and 300 steps, but an amazing view over Prague! There were other things, but you’ll just have to visit to see for yourself! The funniest was the 15 minute queue for the loos (I was busting, anyway, why do the women’s loos have massive queues and the men’s no queues – we can hold on longer!) with a lady behind me examining her map as though maybe she thought they were an attraction everyone was lining up to see… There’s also a massive display about the history of Prague, but Rose was getting a little fidgety by that stage, so we just went through quickly! She was very good generally though, hours of sitting in the backpack, not much running time (hehe, so cute when she walks or runs!) and strange eating habits (ie, Aunty Mog eying off all her food…!).

After the castle we went back down the hill (and it was was hill) I bought a wooden frog that hangs on a spring (so cute though!) and a nice poster of Prague and after going through Old Town once more, we went back to our lodgings!! The next day we got up a bit later, had brekkie, ran to Spar (supermarket, they ad Cadbury’s chocolate there! Why can’t Austrian Spar’s have Cadbury’s????) then drove to the station. Eventually got on the train, got settled, only to discover our cabin was actually reserved and there was only standing room remaining! Michaela got a seat after an hour or so, I got one after 2ish. It was fun to stand and look out the window though (between watching Rose run up nd down the corridor charming the socks off all the people in the cabins!) Got to Vienna, said bye bye Rose and Michaela, got to the other train station in Vienna (although by that time I was so confused about where I was) and got on the train to Linz, then to home… Overall it was a 7 hours in 3 trains day…. Long, but worth it!

Prague was great, was good to see Michaela and Jim (for one day in Vienna, spent in the VERY museumy Natural History Museum, I think it was in Inspector Rex once, but really a proper museum – built as one in the 19th century!) and Rose, so overall I had a good week! Anyway, going to see Mr and Mrs Smith this afternoon (I NEED to see a new movie! Wanted to see Batman Begins, but not on today!) so need to connect to the internet, check my email and of course post this!

Watched most of American Beauty last night, the voice they use for Kevin Spacey (and always use apparently) is not right! Everyone else is ok they! Also saw The Glass House on Sunday, that was fairly good and suspenseful.. Read Wuthering Heights last week, not bad, not as good as Jane Eyre (different sister I know), a bit sad, but still good! Ok! Bye now!

Downhill stretch now

Btw, (don't forget to read the longer post too) for those of you who've been telling me how much they miss me, how it feels so long until I return (wow, I feel loved!) it's the downhilll slope now - past the halfway point - was last week (ok, so not that far away, but anyway)... I'm now in a mixture of wanting to come back and not wanting to... Bit sad that I'll prolly have to miss camps (maybe one at the end, summer fun) but will get to set of fire crackers instead, and have a white christmas, so nyah nyah!

4 countries, 2 days...

But unfortunately no stamps in my passport... Silly open borders of the EU!

Well, my adventures were fun! Italy was stinking hot, Switzerland was raining and now Austria is a combination of the two!

The LONG drive on Friday, not too bad, long, but bearable, didn't get carsick, wahoo! Discovered sleep is the best prevention against that - I slept for a lot of the drive!

Arrived in Fumane in Italy, in time for lunch, ate tortellina that the rellies there cooked (just for me!). Rellies were Hannah and Hugo, Hugo is my host mother's brother. We hung round there for a while, I pulled faces at the 6 year old boy, son of the cousin of Bibi (yes, it was a little bit of a Spaceballs scenario, saw that in German by the way) then went on to our lodgings! The coolest place ever! Very cute! Fumane is about 20 minutes drive from Verona, and this was the most italian hotel you could imagine! Only one person workign there spoke English, the (rather good looking and Italian) son of the owner, so we did lots of sign language and stuff with the lovely owner! I think she loved the fact I was Australian! Bibi and I were left there, while Fritz and Magrete stayed with business important people for 2 nights in Verona, so we spent our evenings at Hugo and Hannah's, which meant ghetting fed lots of icecream!

On Saturday, we were supposed to catch the bus into Verona, but were a little unsure of how or where or how much or anything, so we asked a couple of German visitors who ewre also going to Verona (they were very nice, and I felt it was ok to ask, after praying for protection), so we got into Verona. It was about 38 degrees when we arrived, so we wandered, slowly, around, saw the Arena (the colleseum of Verona), Juliet's grave, the Romeo and Juliet balcony, and other nice old buildings (alhtough I'm starting to get a little old buildinged-outed now!). Because it was so hot we only managed about 4 hours, including lunch with Magrete and Fritz and their friends. Then we went back to the hotel, watched tv (in Italian) for a while (even the ads were funny!) then went to the rellies.

Sunday we slept in, then went for lunch at a pizza and pasta place (mmmm, gnocci) then went back for an afternoon sleep (it was just SOOOOO hot!) then back to the rellies! Did so much really! The one event was that a waitress accidently spilled an espresso in Hannah's lap, to which I think I was the only one feeling really sorry only for the waitress. I know it's not a nice thing to happen, but it does, and the poor waitress (Bibi says Maria once spilled a whole bowl of spag bol down someone, from chin to legs type of thing, I think that's far worse). Anyway, that was really the biggest thing that happened!

MOnday we packed, had breakfast, said goodbye to the laovely owner, wrote in the guestbook, drove onto Switzerland, over a whole heap of mountains! So much fun, I wanted to get out toeh car and go for a bushwalk in the mountains - just make one feel like doing outdoorsy stuff! Definately going back there! Was 30ish degrees at the bottom, 10 where we originally stopped to eat (too windy, went down a bit further). Switzerland was beautiful, reminded me of what you see of britain on tv! Lots of window boxes and flags!! Imo K is very lucky to be working there! The german is munted though.... Got to our hotel, went out for dinner (spag. cabonara... mmm!) then watched fireworks! It was the National Holiday, for liking your country type of thing, and it is legal to set off any fireworks you like here!! Looking forward to New Years now! There were so many different shows all over the place, and we had a perfect view of about 3 from our hotel window. Filmed a bit on my camera, before the battery died! Watched Dead Ringers on BBC, finally some british comedy (not the best, I'll agree, but still good for a starved girl!)....

Tuesady we had about an hour in Basel, while Fritz had a meeting, but it was raining, so we sat in a cafe for most of it. Will definately have to return to Switzerland! Drive home was fairly plain, 7 hours though. Slept a bit, listened to lots of cds, including Findet Nemo (understood most of it) and we stopped at a autobahn cafe place. Saw a few brits driving right hand drives on the autobahns... Looked kinda funny, and now I can't decide which side is the correct side! Freakiest thing was when I was (for some reason, can't remember now) listing what sports i've participated in over the years, fell asleep (or dozing) on Canoe Polo. Woke up and literally the first ting i saw was a car with 3 kayaks on the top..... Mildly weird!

So that meant I was in Italy, Switzerland and Austria, but what was the 4th country? Lichtenstein? No, not quite (we drove past thoguh)... It was Germany, because you have to drive through germany to get from one part of Austria to the other - too hilly for autobahns in that part of Austria!

Well overall it was good. Watching Hornblower and Ghostbusters in Italian was funny, as was driving around in the car of Hannah. She has a (I think) Megane cabriolet thing, which does a very cool thing wehen the lid folds up! We drove around Fuman at midnight in that, and were whistled at by Italian boys (ohlala!)... Although we think they were actually whistling at the car...

Well, must be off, have to go and buy a bag before the shop closes (is like my kathmandu blue small bag but bigger and therefore better for sightseeing), but must first decide whether I want the lilac or the red.... thik the red.... will match my new shoes!

Now I really want to go and see a movie, tempting to go and see Somersault (the aussie one, in English at one of the arthouse cinemas) but not entirely sure where it is, maybe tomorrow! Maybe I'll see Mr and Mrs Smith, or Batman Begins instead...

Hooroo then, Prague next week! Yay!