Notes from the Classroom

School has been unbelievably entertaining this month. Here are a few of my favourite moments:

Being called Mrs. Kohberger.

A class of 17 year olds reading tongue twisters like "How much wood would a woodchuck chuck..." "Betty botter bought a bit of butter.." and "Peter piper.." They really liked "Fuzzy wuzzy was a bear.."

Reading Doctor Seuss. The Lorax.

Walking into school and being hit with that cafeteria smell. Talk about being transported to the time of bringers and buyers, fricassee and pb&j, milk in a plastic baggie, and having to ask to "dump" your tray.

An introductory lesson on Forrest Gump and discussing American History from the 1950s-mid 1980s. Listening to CCR and Buffalo Springfield as a class.

A student reading the menu from a pub called The Punch Bowl and asking if he needs to hit the plate. Aww.

A lesson on advertising and brand names. I asked the students to come up with alternate advertisements, or silly brand names, etc. This is what I got:

There was also a rather creative take on BMW, simply, WTF.


This is why I love teaching...

 

Destination: London

London. What can I say? I've been dreaming of this trip since I first set foot in Austria as I spent a solid two hours in Heathrow. Though jet lagged, dazed, and confused, I knew I wanted to move beyond the Harrods gift store in my terminal. That I finally did!

I planned this trip for immediately after the holidays as I knew I'd be a bit bummed. Perfect timing! It was so refreshing to see lovely ladies from Ithaca College, speak English, hear English, enjoy Hob Nobs and tea, drink legitimate chai, eat scones, enjoy some sunshine, pet a few dogs, make small talk with the grocery clerk, have a Bulmer's, fly in a jetplane, see a movie whilst eating Ben and Jerry's (I know, right?!), stay up all night chatting, and read a trashy magazing in my langauge because, well, I can.

In lieu of writing a journal style entry, I'll let the pictures do the talking:


English flag!






Big Ben and Parliament







The London Eye



I began my wanderings in Westminster, famous for Big Ben and Parliament, The London Eye, and Westminter Abbey, amoung other things. I couldn't wipe the smile from my face! Since Cora had a stress fracture in her foot, I was left to my own devices and explored the city on my own. While there were a few minor challenges (am I going the right way?) I felt great walking by myself and was comforted by British English. I had no problems getting around and didn't get lost once! These pictures were taken from a bridge above the Thames, again in my first outing. I was greated by a rather good looking rugged Scotsman playing the bagpipes. Obviously this made me exceedingly happy as I snapped away and took in the scenery. Big Ben! He's right there! Ah! I then walked along the river and took a few minutes to just stand in the sun and soak in the English atmosphere. This is when Amazing Grace began floating through the air and naturally I had to cry. These were not sad tears. There I was, in London, in Westminster, surrounded by English, hearing bagpipes and standing near Celtic territory. This trip was long over due to say the least. I pondered dancing the fling next to him.



By the Thames




Walking towards the Abbey





Westminster Abbey



I then made my way to the Abbey and spent a solid twenty minutes in the smaller church which neighbors the more famous building. It felt, just, ancient. There is this magical, celtic (ok, ok, I know I was in England..) historical, anciety, fairytale like feeling I get when in this part of the world that I just can't put into words.



Buckingham!



St Paul's.

  I spent a large portion of the day strolling in the parks surrounding Buckingham Palace. This is where I locked eyes with an adorable pub and he ran straight for me. Dog!! I also mingled with some swans, strolled beneath the trees, and fancied myself very royal. Ok maybe not, but one can dream.



On my second night we went to the local pub (a block away from Emily, Krystal, and Cora's very Londonlike flat) and I had a burger and Bulmer's. So. Content.

I crossed Abbey Road!! This is actually a very trafficked crossing in a gorgeous neighborhood. I also had to take a few minutes just to stand and comprehend this situation. Here comes the sun.....

I visited King's Cross, though didn't find Platform 9 3/4, and the Tower of London/Tower Bridge. Of course there were plenty of other nerdy Harry Potter moments, but I shall leave that up to your imagination. (The bridge where the dementors attacked in the last movie, the wand shop in Harrods, etc). Oh, Harrods! Harrods, the multi level department store with a golden egyptian themed escalatorway (that's a word now), mulitple food halls, everything you could need for polo/your horse and more, a toy kingdom, and a room full of grand pianos is insane. I was there twice for the scones alone.

Needless to say I was quite sad to leave. Thank you Cora and IC ladies for such a wonderful time! I miss you!!

Cheers..

Muffin

Destination: Munich, Bad Toelz, Hallstatt

I am such a lucky girl. This semester (ha, that makes me sound like I’m still in college) Christie O’Shea will come from France for an IC reunion in February. My dear friend and roomie Katie will be here for over a week in March, and Ms. Alisa orange tic tac Anderson is coming in April. I feel so loved!

My holidays were made even more special as my mother and Pat came to visit. Pat arrived mid day on the 28^th, and we immediately whisked him through a whirlwind tour of the city in a mad hunt for Vienna’s best chocolate cake. Of course he then passed out, and I took mom to the airport at 4:30am. Of course emotions run high during any goodbye, but such early hours only heighten one’s sadness and awareness of parting ways. I’ve said goodbye in the Vienna airport quite a few times, but this one was particularly hard.

So began our adventures in Austria and Germany.

We explored Vienna, and I gave Pat “Muffin’s Walking Tour of Vienna, copyright spring 2010” right away. We had Glühwein at Schönbrunn and strolled around the Palace’s expansive gardens.

Grinzing, Beethoven history, Kahlenberg, the Vienna Woods (gaelforce winds here), my old apartment, the Belvedere, and the Naschmarkt. Pastries pastries pastries.

Zentralfriedhof, more Naschmarkt (Pat discovers Falafel), and New Year’s Eve! A hysterical night out with Jeannine, dancing with strangers in big green light up glasses, mulled wine, champagne and fireworks by the Hofburg. A concert at the Rathaus and I LOVE ROCK AND ROLL (where are we?). Pizza at 2am.

Pancakes and other American delicacies.

Deutschland!

Getting lost in the Munich trainstation, and the beautiful ride to Bad Tölz. Is this real life? I had been wanting to go to Bad Tölz for ages, as a good family friend grew up there. After settling in and walking around, I just felt so content and at peace. Bavaria is gorgeous, and this town is very special. I am so greatful for the opportunity to travel there, and experience the place Fini lived. What a wonderful place, I really can’t say enough.

Munich was rainy and cold, but full of beer, delicious German food and more beer. Though I mysteriously lost my nose ring, the Augustiner Bierhall still remains the highlight of our time in Munich. Oh, and the BMW museum is pretty cool.

I’m not sure how to describe Hallstatt, Austria. Yes, this is a popular tourist destination, but it is one of my favorite places in the world. Hands down. Perhaps I’ll let the pictures do the talking:

We frolicked in the snow, enjoyed pastries and coffee, drank beer and wine, explored the winding streets and hidden staircases and wandered around all day. It was perfekt. I honestly had to suppress tears on the boat back to the train station. (You must take a boat to get into town. How priceless is that?)

We saw Die Fledermaus at the Opera, made fresh pasta from the market, and generally just enjoyed each others’ company.

While this was another painful goodbye, I am so grateful for Pat’s visit, and our travels. It was so refreshing to spend time with such special people from home, a breath of fresh air. When asked to sum up his trip in five or less words, Pat said: "Enlightening. Phenomenal. Relaxing. Exciting. Unforgettable."

Thank you, Austria.

A Very Vienna Christmas

While Vienna is a magical and unique city, it truly comes to life during the Christmas season. In the weeks leading up to the big day, my friends and I relished in the joy and cheer created by Austria’s Christmas Markets, Glühwein and punsch stands, brightly lit streets, and seasonal food.

Robyn, Sandrine and I in front of Stephensdome



Cows at Spittelberg



We frequented the markets, and the mulled wine stands even more. For some reason I was under the impression that the wine stands within the Museumsquartier (one U-bahn stop from my apartment) would last until mid-winter, and am now rather sad that they are gone.

Fuel for shopping (amazzzzing)

One of my favorite days was the marathon shopathon with Nisha. We literally went to three grocery stores to stock up on holiday treats before hitting nearly every Viennese Christmas market, lists in hand. This was the Saturday before Christmas. While exhausting, this was hilarious and much fun.

Marathon= successful

There was also the Sunday I got royaly lost while on my way to see Meredith in Eisenstadt. Long story. There were still cookies baked. We had a wonderful time!

I don't know where this is...but it was beautiful

We had such a lovely time, and I now have many wonderful memories of Wien during the Christmas season. My favorite market was probably the Spittelberg Market, as it is situated amongst the winding old streets of the 7^th district. The Market itself is full of handcrafted ornaments and gifts, along with traditional food and of course mulled wine. This was also an easy walk or U-bahn ride from my apartment. Karlsplatz was wonderful, and had a very unique and crunchy (yes!) vibe. People sold handmade hats (think pilot c hats decorated to look like a Yetti..yes I know that sounds strange but it was SO cool), ornaments, candles, glass things, the list goes on. This is also where I found my favorite punsch- pear vanilla yumminess.





Hand painted ornaments



I frequented the Schönbrunn Market by far the most. The Palace is one of my favorite places in Vienna, and this was only made more magical by live music, mulled wine (are you sensing a theme yet?) and cool and classic gifts.



The highlight of Christmas was of course my MOM!!



Immediately after her arrival on the 24^th we went to the nearest Christmas Market and purchased a giant Cinnamon roll. Mom promptly passed out until mid morning the next day, and set a personal sleeping record of around 18 hours. I gladly hung out with my roommate and her boyfriend talking about their Romanian New Year’s traditions.

Christmas day was lovely. We exchanged gifts, and enjoyed some Austrian sweets- Lebkuchen, or the sort of equivalent of gingerbread cookies, only soft and sometimes dipped in chocolate, and Kipferl- small sugar cookies coated with more sugar. We then walked around the first district. The weather was wonderful, sun and clear skys. We skyped dad! After a dinner of bratwurst, veggies, and potatoes (mm) we set off for the Opera to see the ballet Dornröschen. Magical!

Our seats...a bit high up

In the following days we continued to wander the city and the Vienna woods, enjoy food and enjoy everything Austrian. We took a day trip to Gmunden, and lake town within the Salzgammergut mountains. Gorgeous is an understatement. The town is clearly very touristy, but during the winter/Christmas season relatively quiet. Mom and I spent the day walking, exploring, taking pictures, eating delicious food/chocolate, wondering what the heck happened there hundreds of years ago, dog watching, and enjoying the fresh air. I haven’t spent time on or by a lake since leaving Ithaca, and I simply couldn’t get enough of this magical setting. The train ride was also very entertaining.

Mom makes a friend by the Hofburg

I make a friend while taking a picture by IES

It was so refreshing to see my mother, and her stay was far to short. I felt like it went by in the blink of an eye. I really enjoyed myself while she was here, and it was great to relax together and enjoy Vienna. This was such a nice reminder of home, and simultaneously a reiteration of why I love Austria so much.

Love you mom!!

Austrian Muffin





Prosit Neujahr!

Happy New Year! 2012. Officially NOT the year that I graduated from Ithaca College. Deep breath.



Rathaus on New Year's Eve


In lieu of ranting about everything that has been irritating challenging to me lately I've decided to move my inner dialogue in a more positive direction. I'm throwing myself back into school, working on my German, and making solid travel plans. I think. I mean it sounds like a good idea..

Christmas and New Years were wonderful and full of love, needless to say I am one lucky girl. However I've been left with that feeling of emptiness deep in the pit of my stomach as my visitors have left and are now once again thousands of miles away in America. To say that I'm not a bit bummed is a lie. I was super out of it at school, but glad to see that my colleagues certainly were as well. After the customary handshake and "Happy New Year" greeting nearly every teacher complained about how rough it was to wake up this morning. (However everyone was pretty jolly!) My apartment feels empty, and I don't really know what to do with myself. Lesson plans..

Pat and Photobomber in the Munich Bahnhof.

A few very European things that have gotten to me in the past 48 hours aka when I'm lacking the Personal Teflon:
-Starring. It is acceptable to stare. Normally I love this. Please, dear stranger on the the subway, just stop looking at me.
-Having to push my way out of the U-Bahn (subway) against the people who are pushing to get it.
-Not queueing (Americans: waiting in line/forming lines). People just don't do it here. This makes getting on escalators, purchasing goods, the grocery store, buying tickets, etc a bit frustrating.
-Not making small talk, not smiling at a random person, not saying hello.
-Not being able to pet other peoples' dogs. The dog isn't even interested..
-The flatness of landscape on my commute to school. I'm a topography kinda girl.


Things I miss:
-My parents. My family. My dogs.
-My friends.
-Ithaca.
-Ithaca Bakery. CTB. California bagels.
-Papers about topics I'm ridiculously passionate about.
-Being nerdy about psych stuff.
-Viva Cantina.
-Gorges.
-My bike Layla.
-Working out.
-Driving.
-Couches.

I've reminded myself of why I'm here. My family history and the tremendous pull I feel to Austria. I love this place.

 My goals. My dreams.

Hallstatt, Austria, as seen from our hotel room.

I'm going to ride these waves of confusion (wait, where am I?) that I've met post amazingholidayvisitortimeamericansinaustriasotravelgermanygoodfoodgoodtimessomuchlove and dive into 2012.

Prost.

Augustiner Bierhall, Munich

Much love from Austria,


Mom and I in Gmunden, Austria



Muffin