Grüß Gott, Österreich!

It’s not even been a week and a half since I arrived in Austria, but it feels like a much longer time. Strange to think that just two weeks ago I was hanging out at home with my family and going out to dinner with my grandparents. However I have made it, and the last days have been packed with new adventures, people and a language which perhaps explains why it seems so long ago I was home. My parents have already chided me for not letting them know how it was going, and I suppose that I have been neglectful of blogging and emails. In an attempt to catch up, I’ll give the quick and dirty details of my first week and a half here.

After the happy delay in NYC, I finally made it to Vienna 24 hours later than planned. As a consequence Dr.L and Dr. H who are so kindly letting me stay with them in return for giving their girls a chance to practice their English had work all afternoon so they had a driver pick me up from the airport. First day in Europe and I was already having new experiences. The driver had a sign with my name on it! I have always wanted to be one of those people who was so important they couldn’t be bothered to take public transportation. At least once. Once I arrived at their office and connected flats, Dr. L gave me a snack and showed me where I could (gladly) take a shower and nap until they could leave the office for home in the late afternoon. I was only too happy to take advantage after all the long travel.

Upon arriving at their home in a village about 40 minutes away I met the girls Selena and Barbie (note – not their real names!) who were very excited to have someone new to play with. I also met Oma and Opa (grandma and grandpa) who lived downstairs as well as a multitude of cousins, aunts and uncles.

Over the next few days I started learning German, took long bike rides around the village and neighboring villages, helped the girls with their homework and picked them up from school, and got to know the family a little better. On Saturday the fam was going into Wien (Vienna) for the morning and early afternoon and invited me to tag along. It was great to be introduced to the city by people who knew it so well and know all about the sights to see. We also had a very nice lunch and did a little shopping. Sunday was the day before my birthday, and as the family had found out about it and that week was also two other members of the family’s birthday we had a big celebration with several cakes that night. It was very nice of them to be so considerate of someone they just met, and several member of the family even gave me some chocolates. It was a very nice night.

Mein Haus.

Church in the village.

Some darn nice biking scenery.

This week the fam was leaving for a wedding in Italy, and invited me to use their flat in the city while they were gone so that I could explore Wien more. I was very grateful for their offer and currently enjoying my stay in the city. The flat is only about a 15 minute walk from the main downtown area, and the city itself is beautiful. It has such a different feel from London, Paris, or Rome. The architecture is really very stunning – if grand and sometimes ornate. But I have never seen so many beautiful buildings all together. And after the traffic of other cities, the pedestrian only area of the old downtown is a very welcome break. So lucky  me I have from Wednesday afternoon until Sunday evening to explore the city and relax!

Auf Wiedersehen Erie!

Why is it with travel that you never feel like you are really going until long after you’ve started your trip. I’ve already made it to the airport in Berlin, and I feel like I am just realizing that I am actually moving to Europe – hopefully for a year or more. On the plane today I was also hit with the realization that I could have used with a little more knowledge of German before I got here. And I really have no excuse as I have a book, Rosetta Stone, and a German boyfriend. I suppose now is the time to learn! Luckily Rosetta Stone has taught me really helpful phrases such as, “Der Junge isst Brot” and “Die frau farhet.” and “Nein. Der Pfert schwimt nicht.” Meaning “The boy eats bread.” “The woman drives.” and “No. The horse isn’t swimming.” Very helpful I’m sure. However I am really excited to throw myself into learning German.

Travel to get this far has been hectic to say the least. Supposed to go to my cousins wedding in New Jersey on Saturday and just have my family drop me off at JFK, however all the flooding the eastern part of PA and Jersey caused all the roads to be closed so we had to miss the wedding. Therefore I also had to book a flight to JFK. I ended up getting a ticket to fly out of Buffalo Sunday morning, but that plane was delayed because it broke. This resulted in my missing my flight to Dusseldorf and I had to reschedule the next flight, which came with a nice price tag – and it was 24 hours later. Luckily the lovely Rosemary let me stay with her in Manhattan and we had a nice late night snack of Thai food and a long chat.

My next flight went off without a hitch, and I even made a friend on the flight. Her name was Brittney and she is 19 and going to Greece to study abroad. We had some nice long chats to pass the time and the seven hours flew by. Now here I am in Berlin, waiting for my connection to Vienna. I can’t wait to get there and see what is in store!

No More Pack Mule

Last time I move abroad I seriously over packed. Way too much. Two big 50 pound suitcases and a backpack (which I thought was not enough) that I lugged to LA to hang with Marley, and then all the way to American Samoa. I ended up with tons of clothes I barely wore and lots of things I thought that I might need, but never did. And there were things that once I got there I still wish I had brought. Since then I have started embrassing a less is more, vaguely Buddist minimalist attitue towards my posstions in general, and I was excited to use this move as an opportunity to really pare down my possesions. And I hate manuvering suitcases (thats why it's called luggage).

As I was pondering this minimalist move at the store where I was buying my one and only suitcase I decided to really commit and bought a carry-on sized suitcase. Everyone who I talked to about this carry-on sized move thought I was being a bit over the top, and I have to admit that as I sat down to pack I was beginning to get concerned myself. I don't really need to take much besides the basic necessties, but clothes were the most difficult. However, I reminded myself how even though I had tons of cloths with me in Samoa, I endedup wearing my favorites most of the time - so this time I decided to take only a few clothes, but those that I really liked. I sorted what clothes to take, and then I went through a couple more times and culled out the least necisarry. Here is my final list in the end:

• 1 netbook, charger and case
• a mouse
• camera/charger
• a couple plug adapters and a converter
• iPod/cord
• Notebook to write down German I learn through the day
• couple pens and pencils
• A few meds/bandaids
• brush/hairties 
• face wash
• face lotion
• toothbrush
• deotorant
• razor
• tweezers
• travel sized shampoo/ conditioner
• Bird of Europe field guide (duh!)
• 2 more books
• Frye boots
• Old faux ugg boots
• Chuck taylors
• black flats
• old navy flip flops
• winter coat
• rain jacket
• northface fleece
• hat/gloves/scarf
• 4 dresses of varying degrees of dressiness
• 3 pairs jeans
• 1 pair black pants
• 1 black skirt
• 1 pair mesh shorts
• 1 pair leggings
• 5 tank tops
• 5 short sleve shirts
• 3 long sleeve shirts
• 5 sweaters
• some underthings and socks
• 3 packing cubes
• reusable shopping bag
• tote bag
• purse/wristlet
• travel towel
• bathing suit
• small jar of extra chunky peanut butter

I was actually pretty proud of myself. I was packed to move to Europe (hopefully for a year or more) with little enough stuff that I could carry it all on the plane (but I won’t cause I don’t want to lug it around – but I could, and that’s the cool bit). I feel so free already!

My Amazing Mom

When I look at my life right now all I can do is think how amazing it has been. I don't say it enough but right now seems like a great time to thank my mom for making all this happen for me. My mom was the one who diligently forced me to do my school work, made me try new things, and instilled my love for learning and science. Everything good about me is thanks to her, and for that and many other reasons I love her so much.

Thanks mom for always being there for me and Ricky!

 
Here's a song that puts some of my feelings perfectly into words.

Happy Mother's Day!

Ick.

On the walk to catch the bus we found a momento mori:

Storage Closet = Death Trap

I feel the need to share my storage closet with the world. Let me make it clear that this is the condition in which I found it. That being said, let us begin the tour.

Portal to hell.

Yep. This is real.

Who wants to look in this microscope?

So cozy.

Eddie and Sophia, my skeletal friends.

Rats eat EVERYTHING.

Lead Nitrate that is older than me.

The only reason I ever enter this closet is because it has A/C. I'm not going to lie, I may have even eaten lunch in here on the hottest days. So far I haven't been poisoned.

Standard Based Assessment - Samoan Style

Thank God we are giving these tests at the end of the year, because if they were in the beginning I might have had a stroke from sheer ridiculousness. The SBAs are the tests developed by the Office of Curriculum and Assessment in the DOE to test that the students are meeting the standards that the DOE implemented as the foundation of the curriculum.

Here at Leone the sophomores are being tested Monday through Thursday, and the juniors on Friday. I am a proctor for a group of students with two other teachers here at my school. In just the first two days look what we ran into:

Math Section:

#18 has no answer listed for option D, it’s just blank.
Another question in the test book has a check mark printed next to the correct answer.

The students could use calculators, but the teachers didn’t know that so no one told the students to bring calculators.

Reading:

One problem asks students about the meaning of the underlined word – but there is no underlined word…

The student’s answer sheets are numbered 23, 24, 24, 25, 26, 28

General:

There is no actual time set, they can just take as much time as they need.

The teachers can answer questions during the test.

They get the whole test book for the week and just keep turning it in so in theory they could totally cheat.

Thanh caught kids cheating and the other proctor told her not to report it because it would lower the scores and the teachers would look bad (she did anyways).

The best:

I was talking to another teacher from a small elementary school and his administration ORDERED him to give the students the answers if they didn’t know. Yes, you read that right – he was ordered to cheat.

And this is only day two…