Things are going along more or less as usual here.  It’s sunny and hot most days, and I’ve been working every day, which makes me happy (and earns me money).  This morning I taught a man who we call a ‘true beginner’, meaning that he never learned English in school, and at 65 is learning it for the first time.  I have to say that I really enjoy teaching him- he’s starting to relax and make jokes, and is learning really quickly.  I find that a lot more rewarding than teaching business English, for example. 

I’ve also had some private students (who responded to my ad in the grocery store), which have been interesting.  I’m correcting one girl’s Master’s thesis which is on ‘Future Business Leaders in Global Organizations’.  Mostly it’s pretty well-written, except for the occasional funny mistake (eg: business leaders should be "well endowed" with good qualities; a harvard law professor "reckons" that there is a lack in quantity of global leaders…).  Sometimes you have to laugh.

Andreas has been working hard, and has written 3 big exams in the last 2 weeks (all successfully!), and is now able to take a bit of a break from studying. 
On the weekend he and I took a really nice little trip (called here an ‘ausflug’- out flight?) to a town called Tragöß.  We were headed towards Marienklamm, a klamm being either a gorge or a ravine (what’s the diff?).  It took us a while to find it, but once we did, it was really beautiful.  At some points you’re actually walking underneath a lip from the rock, so the sounds in there are really different. 
I will post some pictures which really do not do it justice, mostly because the cell phone camera was the only one available at the time.

From there we drove about 10 minutes to the Grünersee (Green lake), which we’d never seen before.  And my was it green.  It looked like something out of Greece or Croatia- really bright greenish-blue, fed by a mountain stream, and surrounded by mountains.  Actually it looked not unlike (pictures I’ve seen of) Lake Louise.  After that we drove to a Gasthaus, which is basically a traditional Austrian restaurant.  I must say, between the klamm-visiting, the hiking around a lake, and eating in a Gasthaus, it was a very traditional Austrian Sunday!

And for summer, I"m really looking forward to having Catherine and Peter come to stay between the 4th and 17th of July!  We have many things planned (including a weekend at the seaside in Croatia!).  And then at the end of August I (and hopefully Andreas) will be coming back to Canada for a visit.  Lots of look forward to.

And here are some pictures!  Bis zum nächsten Mal!

I cut myself some bangs!

And basically, the show was great.  Pictures are available on the updated website- www.fringe.at.

Until next time!

But I wanted to mention a fab surprise birthday party I organized for Andreas last Friday.  I must say, it took a lot of planning (in German!), but everything went really well.  Andreas had Physics lab all day with 3 of his friends, and I had planned for the three of them to somehow get home before Andreas, and then the other 7 guests would arrive one by one.  Amazingly, that’s exactly what happened!  They all biked their butts off to get here, and Andreas took the street car & walked in the door only 3 minutes after Physics friend #3 arrived.  He was completely shocked, which was of course the idea.

Anyway, everyone crowded around the kitchen table & we barbequed some meat and I made potatoes, and two people brought salad.  Later on we drank some and danced some and just had a good time.  I am a bit glad that it’s over though & finally have room in my brain to think about something else!

In other news, I have 1 week left in my German course, and am really excited for the end.  Last weekend Andreas and I went back to Bad St. Leonhard and decided to have a German-only weekend.  It was tougher than I had thought, but Andreas said that I was noticeably better on the second day.  I also found it slightly less stressful to be left alone with his mother (ie. I could actually talk to her).  It’s amazing that when I first got here there was just no hope, and now it’s so much smoother.  Definitely feels good to have accomplished something that big.

Otherwise teaching is good and life is good.  Sean is coming to visit next week for a few days which I’m really looking forward to.  Hope he likes shopping at H & M! 

Pre-party potato chopping; Andreas coming home; kitchen cuddle; David, Sebastian, Max

The extreme shortness was a result of poor communication between the hairdresser and me, but I have to say, I’ve gotten used to it, and now I’m more or less happy.  I definitely won’t be needing hair elastics for a while.

Otherwise, things are ok.  All of a sudden Berlitz started giving me work, and I’ve been working much of the time that I’m not in school.  And like a sucker, I always seem to say yes to taking late shifts when co-workers are sick.  But it feels really good to be making some money again.  This paycheck will definitely be bigger than any I’ve gotten in the last 6 months (especially that terrible 24-Euro September).

Andreas is studying like mad for Chemistry- it’s exam month this entire month, so we’ve got a couple more weeks of this before a little break in February.  It has meant not leaving the house too much (or enjoying the spring-like weather), but I hear that snow is actually on the way, which will make staying home much nicer.

German class is almost over (19 more days) and already I am daydreaming about what I could do with my free time.  Thinking about getting some online Psychology credits so that I’m better prepared to start a Masters when the time comes.  It feels good to be taking control of my future a little.

Hope everyone’s well! 

But before I start getting depressed about it, I’ll say that our holiday in Canada was really fantastic, just great.  I felt so lucky to be able to have all my loved ones together in the same place; the fact that it was Christmas was just an added bonus.  We did a lot of visiting with extended family, and I got to see a lot of people I hadn’t seen since the summer.  We arrived on the 18th and had several days of just doing quiet things together before the ‘Christmas hustle’ started.  Andreas and I got to see our first NHL game (the Sens lost to Tampa), but more fun than the actual game was the pre-game drinking and pizza (thanks dad!).

I felt like I got to have quality time with everyone, and had a chance to remember how much fun we can all have together.  There was a surprisingly minimal amount of stress, considering we had about 20 people for dinner on Christmas night.  It was also really fun to show Andreas around on ‘my’ turf for a change!  It was definitely hard to leave though- so that time was the hardest for me.  The day or two before we left I was feeling the stress of leaving building up and really had to remind myself to enjoy the moment instead of worrying about the future.

Back in Austria there was kind of a whirlwind of activity waiting for us.  We came back on the 29th, and the Schriefl parents picked us up at the airport in Graz and we all drove back to Leonhard together.  That night we had a beer and some food, and promptly went to sleep.  For 14 hours.  The next day we opened some Christmas presents with Andreas’ family before heading to Judenburg for a band practice at 3 and a show at 9.  The show was good- it was in a café and there were a good number of people there.  Also we got paid more than expected, which was a really nice surprise.

I’d say that that day was the start of our messy sleeping schedules- going to bed late late at night, then getting up late late in the morning.  It’s Sunday now, and I think we may have gotten it beat, which is good because I have 7:30 phisio on Monday morning.

So here are some things I’m excited about for 2007:
- Starting school again, but especially finishing my course in February (more time for ME; actually being able to support myself; more hours at Berlitz hopefully)
- Taking a yoga class in February (getting in shape?  Maybe?)
- Reading books that feed me again (rather than trashy British magazines)
- Taking some active steps towards finding a Master’s program I would like
- Getting some private students for tutoring
- Starting to write again

Mostly it is teenaged boys who dress up as Krampus (scary masks, hairy costumes) on the day, and attach cowbells around their waists so that you can at least hear them coming.  They also hold a sort of whip, which they use on those younger than them.  Anyway, living in Graz, I really wasn’t subject to the fear of Krampuses walking around, like I would be if I had been in Bad St. Leonhard.  Although Andreas and I did encounter one across the street from our apartment, I ran inside and slammed (and chainlocked) the door behind me so he couldn’t get me.

So fortunately, on Krampusnacht, I was spared.  But this weekend Andreas and I are in Leonhard, and last night decided to check out the Krampuslauf, which is basically a parade of all the Krampuses from the area, held along the (one) downtown street.  In my mind, we would all stand along the sidelines, watching (and waving?) as the Krampuses showed off their scary costumes.  I certainly did not expect dry ice, torches, loud orchestral music, and Krampuses lurching towards the crows on the sidelines, sometimes even jumping over the fences as if to “get” us.  Now, I don’t like to curse here, but I was scared shitless.  Shit-less.  It felt like I was in what I imagine hell to be like.  So we ran some of the way home, and just prayed that none of them followed us.

In other less scary news, Andreas and I are (very) eagerly anticipating our trip back to Canada for Christmas.  We will be in Ottawa from the 18th to the 28th, just doing family Christmasy things- some of my favourite things to do!  This week Andreas is going to start painting our apartment, I’m going to do some mad shopping, then on the weekend we are having our Casino Romance Night- celebrating our 2 year-anniversary, while also using a 25 Euro gift-certificate for the Graz Casino we’ve had for 8 months!

PS: Scary pictures below
PPS: I uploaded a video Andreas took at the Krampuslauf.  Check it out on Youtube!

I thought it was getting to be quite a while since my last post, and that maybe it was time for a new one.  Lots has been going on, mostly at the bottom of my left arm.  Well, I decided to go for the surgery, mainly because my hatred of the cast was growing increasingly day by day.  So after many tears and worries and doubts, I went for it, trusting.  I had to stay in the hospital for 2 nights- really, really not fun.  The first full day I was there mostly consisted of tests- getting my first non-immunization needle, giving blood, answering questions.  The surgery was on my second day there, and was meant to be first thing in the morning, but right before I was going to go under, the anesthesiologist discovered that I had a heart murmur and wanted an ultrasound of my heart before he would operate.

So that meant many more hours of waiting and worrying (accompanied by not eating or drinking anything) before I went down.  But as soon as the ultrasound showed there was nothing to worry about, I got in my scrubs and was wheeled down to the operating room.  Things become blurry around then (probably because of the Valium…), but I remember the doctors entertaining me before I passed out (really I think they were just wasting time before they could stick the iv in me and get the show on the road).

Even more hours later, I woke up in my room with Andreas waiting for me.  My left arm was completely numb for the next 12 hours, but otherwise I was awake, but groggy.  The doctor came by later on and told me that the surgery went great, and that my crying didn’t last long.  :-S  I don’t remember it at all, but I’m not that surprised, to be honest.  I guess I didn’t embarrass myself too badly seeing as how he later asked me if I would be interested in tutoring his 5 year-old twins!  (I also had a nurse chasing after me while I was in my wheelchair asking if I would give her private lessons- we’ll see though, she was a bit freaky).

That night after my surgery was pretty uncomfortable, as I couldn’t move around too much, with the iv and numb arm.  Sometimes I would try to turn over and all of a sudden my arm would come rolling up my chest toward my face, all yellow and crusty with iodine, unstoppable.  It was pretty terrifying, so I was glad to get the feeling and movement back.

The only thing that made my time in the hospital bearable was that Andreas spent most of his waking hours there, despite his busy school schedule.  It really made things less stressful just having him there to hang out with, but also to ask questions in German that I couldn’t (or didn’t want to). 

And now my hand is doing much better… there is no cast, even though I was told I’d need one for two weeks after the surgery.  Whatever!  All I have is a small band-aid, and I had the stitch removed on Thursday, so tomorrow will be the first day I can have a normal (bagless) shower.  If you’re interested in what my actual surgery was, you can read about it here.  I have virtually no pain, and though I can do a fair bit with my hand, I was warned by my physiotherapist to be extremely careful with it for at least 8 weeks- not lifting anything heavier than a kilo and not putting any pressure on it.

Otherwise things have been busy with school (German) getting way harder (prepositions will be the death of me), but work has still been slow.  However, this month our band has had 2 shows, which have earned me quite a bit.  Although it’s not quite ‘extra’ money, I can relax a little more having it. 

Andreas has been working hard studying, as usual.  But we still have the evenings free to go downtown and drink delicious gluhwein.  It’s a yearly tradition here of warm, spiced wine… all of the downtown is lit up and covered in stands selling gluhwein and delicious pastries and Christmas knickknacks.  I love it!

That’s all for now.

It broke when the bicycle I was riding on tipped over.  Because the accident was 100% my own fault, I won’t get into the details here (I have a reputation to uphold).  I got acquainted with the Austrian medical system, and was impressed enough to schedule surgery to put a little screw in my scaphoid , so that I don’t have to wear this dreadful cast for 3 months.  I know that it could have been worse, but really.  Most of my shirts don’t fit anymore, the only winter jacket I have I must wear crooked because my arm barely fits through the sleeve, I have decreased showering to every second day (!), it feels like I’m going to sleep with a boot on my hand, and for some reason I sweat a lot more now.  All of these factors combined into me opting for te surgery.

Andreas has been a huge support, and honestly, this would have been way, way harder without him.  I mean, the hospital and the insurance company in GERMAN?!?  Impossible.

It’s been a hard change, for sure.  I mean, I’ve never been to the hospital before.  I’ve never even had a cavity before.  I’m pretty terrified about the surgery, but I’ve become more and more  confident that I’ve made the right decision.  I have to sleep in the hospital for 2 nights, which I don’t want to do, plain and simple.  I think part of me is still in denial that this happened, because my tendancy is to just want it all over with as soon as possible.  Somehow I just don’t know where to put this whole thing… last week I taght one of my students the word ‘precedent’, and I guess this is what this is.

PS:  In my German class we took a big re-placement exam and I got the best in my class so they’re moving me up a level- again!

But I got paid a lot of really nice compliments by people- many of whom I didn’t know.  And it meant that much more because people knew
they had to speak in English to me, and were clearly nervous about it,
so it was really nice that they said something at all.  I even got the audience speaking English when I told them that they’d have to translate Zugabe (encore) into English- they went with ‘ONE MORE SONG’!  The English thing is kind of working in my favour.

So now Andreas is working hard to book some more shows for us, which is a bit easier now that we’ve made some contacts through the first show.  It’s a really great thing to do on the side, and make a little bit of money (especiallly considering how little I can work now with my German course). 

Anyway, I made $50, and had a good time, so I’m happy.

Happy Austrian Independance Day (26 October)!!