Who does number two work for

Last week, Brian and I noticed these signs popping up near our apartment.


I was quite excited because this is the same sign that is on the trash cans around the city where you can get free bags to pick up your dog's, um, mess. So I thought perhaps the city was going to place some of these free bag dispensers where the signs are located. (Currently, the closest dispenser is about 1/2 a mile away and the closest sign is right on our corner.) Then we noticed there were a lot of signs and I decided it must just be a campaign to remind everyone to pick up after their dogs.

The day after Brian and I spotted the signs, we saw an old lady spot the sign for the first time. She stopped in her tracks and burst out laughing. Then she looked at us to make sure we were enjoying the sign as well.

In case you can't read it, the sign says "Nim ein Sackerl für mein Gackerl." Brian said that it's more important to keep the rhyme than to provide an accurate translation, so I've been trying to come up with something similar in English. But I'm at a loss. The only thing I can come up with is "Take a scooper for my pooper." Can you come up with something better? The only rule is that it has to rhyme. I haven't been able to find "Sackerl" or "Gackerl" in any dictionary, so I'm pretty sure they are either slang or made-up. (The online dictionary includes slang terms, so that's why I'm throwing out the "made-up" idea.) Feel free to use made-up words, as long as they convey the meaning.

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In other "number two" news, Brian and I finished our first German course and guess who the number one and number two students were? If you guessed me and Brian, you're only half right. It was me and Rodika. Well, Rodika and me, since I was second. But you don't know Rodika, so really it was an unfair question. In any event, Brian and I both passed the class and that's what's important. Here we are with our little certificates (that we had to pay for).

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I'm going to be out of town until next week, so don't expect anything new until Tuesday. But now you have plenty of time to come up with a catchy slogan (in English) to remind us to pick up after our dogs. I'm going to be really disappointed if no one comes up with something.

A day of firsts

I made my first trip to the pharmacy today. You have to get practically everything related to medicine at the pharmacy, even if it doesn't require a prescription. I needed three things -- test strips for my glucometer (for which I had a prescription), something to relieve sinus pressure, and something for Sharkdog to help him calm down when he's nervous. It seems a little strange that you go to the same place to get medicine for yourself and for your dog, but that's the way it works.

I was all prepared to do this in German. Okay, so really I only had two sentences ready -- "Ich habe ein klein hund mit angst. Haben Sie homeopathic Medizin für meinen Hund?" I figured I could get by with gestures for the other two things. But I chickened out. I asked the lady if she spoke English and of course she did, so we did everything in English.

I did not, however, chicken out at the post office and confidently told the clerk, "Ich möchte eine Briefmarke," as I pointed to the place on the envelope where the stamp goes. I'm sure I looked like an idiot. Especially since I've spoken to this same clerk twice -- in English. And a moment later I had to revert to English to ask how long it would take for the delivery.

I also had my first haircut in Austria today. No one at the salon spoke English. When I walked in, a girl asked me to have a seat and I started trying to tell her what I wanted. That's when she explained to me (in German) that she only washes hair. I felt silly, but I've never had a shampoo-girl. I'm familiar with the concept, I've just never seen it in action. So she calls over the girl who is going to cut my hair and again I try to explain what I want. Fortunately, I also had pictures. I'm brave enough to go to a salon where no one speaks English, but only with backup. The rest of the hair-cutting experience was pretty much on par with experiences in the U.S. And when it came time to pay, I understood the girl when she told me the cost! I know it's a little thing, but it's still pretty exciting when you start to understand people.

Oh yeah, and there is one thing that I've found that you typically get in the pharmacy section in the U.S. but can find in grocery stores in Austria -- glucose tablets (for low blood sugar). And where can you find the glucose tablets in the grocery store? Why, in the candy aisle, of course. I always knew that glucose tablets were just candy posing as medical supplies -- probably so the manufacturer can charge more for them!

I heart public transportation

Culture shock can make it hard to appreciate the good things in a new culture. When you're missing home, it can seem like everything in your new country is backwards and terrible and everything in your home country is wonderful and easy. To help combat these thoughts, I'm going to write about some of the things I like about Vienna. Hopefully, this will give you a little insight into life in Austria and will help me to appreciate my new home. I won't promise a post on this topic every week, but I hope to do at least a couple each month. Click on the "I heart Vienna" label on the sidebar to see all of the "I heart" posts.

In honor of World Carfree Day, I thought I would tell you a little about the public transportation system in Vienna. The city has a great system of trains, u-bahns (subways), strassenbahns (trolleys) and buses. The transportation is reliable, generally clean, safe and easy to use. (My stroller-pushing friends may not completely agree with this last part because the old strassenbahns have several steps and the doors are not so wide. But passengers will usually help if asked.) The lovely pictures below are courtesy of Julius Silver because his pictures are just nicer than mine. Check out the website for fabulous pictures of Vienna -- and a lot of other places.

Honestly, I have a love-hate relationship with the public transportation. I love the fact that it's available and it's a lot cheaper than maintaining a vehicle. But it takes a lot of work -- or really, just a lot of time. A trip that would take about 15 minutes by car can take an hour by public transportation. And sometimes you have to wait a long time and occasionally you have to walk somewhere because of a problem with the u-bahn or strassenbahn or whatever. But overall, I'm glad to have it and glad to use it.

I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Before we moved to Vienna, Brian and I decided to hold out as long as possible before buying a car. Really, we have no intentions of buying a car, but we're not saying we won't ever need (want) a car. That's not the secret. The secret is that I've become kind of nuts lately about the environment and climate change and all of that. I know that I'm not doing enough to decrease my carbon footprint, but I'm becoming more aware and making small changes. For example, I only run the clothes dryer for about 10 minutes and then hang-dry our clothes. (The 10 minutes help the clothes to dry faster and keeps them softer so I don't have to iron everything.) When I'm shopping for groceries, I try to buy food that is locally grown or produced. These are small steps, but even the small steps help.

I know some of you think this is hokey and/or don't believe that climate change is a real issue. Some are probably paralyzed by the magnitude of the problem and don't know how to respond to it. It's good to start small so you don't become overwhelmed. For example, if there are rooms in your home that you do not use, close the heat/air vents and keep the door closed. Rather than just turning off appliances, unplug them -- at least the ones you don't use often. Carpool to work, church, or where ever. All of the suggestions will not only decrease your carbon output, but will also save you a few bucks. And no one can argue against that, right.

I told you I had become a little nuts about it.

Okay, now for something a little fun. Friday was the last day of the first German course. Rather than having a lesson, the class took a little walk to a nearby cafe. As we walked through part of town, we were greeted by these huge blue thingamabobs. I wish I had my camera out at the time. The 12 of us in the class saw these big blue things and about the same time, they saw us. And they all just descended on us. I think we all laughed out loud. It was the funniest site I have seen in a long time. Unfortunately, I just got a picture of them from behind.

So what are these blue blobs? Why, they're carbon dioxide molecules! They actually have CO2 written on the front, but as I said, I didn't have my camera out soon enough. At first I thought they were protesting something going on because it was pretty obvious that the city was preparing for some kind of event in this area. But then I realized they were advertising a new line of electric scooters that have zero CO2 emissions. Pretty cool. Check out those solar panels.

Cue the music to Star Trek

We've been told that any religious group that is not Catholic or Lutheran is often referred to a cult in Austria. When we were in Vienna a couple of years ago I heard a couple of people refer to us as a cult, but it wasn't in that you're-a-weirdo-who-lives-in-a-commune-and-believes-in-flying-saucers kind of way. It was more like the first definition from Dictionary.com and not intended to be offensive.

Today we found a little slip of paper in our mailbox. I think these people definitely fall into the number six definition.

In English:
We love you and want to help you.
Conversations with instructions from friends from space.

This one is not about food

For all of the German-speakers out there, you'll have to let me know if you've ever heard this word: Vokuhila. I ran across the word on a forum for expats living in Vienna. It's an acronym for "Vorne kurz, hinten lang," or, in English, "short in the front, long in the back." That's right, it's the mullet. I even looked it up in my favorite online dictionary, and sure enough, there it is.

The mullet is alive and well in Vienna. Brian and I often spot young (and not-so-young) guys sporting the 'do around town. Which makes one wonder: Where do these guys come from? Where are they going? Then last week I found these coupons stuck in my mailbox and I just knew, this is where they must be heading...

Addendum

Yes, we went back. This time with a camera.

No photos, please

I try to take my camera with me everywhere because you never know when you're going to see something cute or interesting or just down-right funny. But sometimes I take the camera out of my bag to take pictures of Sharkdog and I end up leaving the apartment without it. That's what happened today. So I'll have to tell you what I saw instead of just showing you a picture.

Brian and I normally head home after class, but today we decided to go to KFC for lunch. After eating my fried chicken, I went to the ladies' room to wash my hands. And this is what I saw:

[Okay, this is where I would have inserted the picture, but as I said earlier, I didn't have my camera. Above the sink there was a sign that said (in German and in English): Out of order. Please use the sink in the gentlemen's room or the one downstairs to wash your hands.]

Uh, what was that? The sink in the girl's room isn't working, so go into the guy's bathroom to wash your hands? Apparently so. In case you're wondering, I just used the sink downstairs. For a brief moment, I was tempted to go into the guy's room -- after all, I had permission -- but after a second thought I decided that I would be really embarrassed if there was anyone in there.

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In other news, I made biscuits and gravy today using this biscuit recipe from All Recipes. And they were delicious! I highly recommend it. But be careful -- you may not be able to go back to the canned biscuits after trying this recipe.

Jackpot!

Last week my mom send me an email and told me to keep an eye on the mailbox. Hmmm... wonder if that means she sent something? Well, I've been waiting and waiting. And my mom has been asking me every day if there was anything in the mail. We were both getting worried that something had happened to the package. Yesterday she checked the tracking info and the post office said they attempted delivery on September 7th! Almost a week ago! So I set off to the post office to find out what happened to my packages.

On the way (it's about a 1/2 mile walk to the post office), I determined that the mail carrier was stealing my packages. What other reasonable explanation could there be? The post office attempted delivery on September 7th, but there was not a notice in our box or on our door. I wasn't expecting much help at the post office, but I had to give it a try.

When I arrived, I found the English-speaking employee and showed him the tracking number my mother had sent. Yes, he said, they had my package. They brought out a package from Aunt Sue (Mom had mentioned that there were two packages) and I told them their should be another one. The lady went to the back and returned with two more packages! One from my family and one from Brian's family!

I asked whether I should I have received a notice about the packages and the answer was "Yes, of course." Of course. Yet here are three packages and no notices! Oh well, I have the packages now.

I considered taking my cart I use for groceries to the post office -- just in case I actually got the packages -- but I figured I could stick one box in my backpack and carry the other. I wasn't expecting three boxes! The trip home was long and tiresome, but it was worth it.

Sharkdog wanted to check out the boxes before we opened them. You know, just in case. Not that anyone would send us a bomb or drugs... but, you never know.

Let's start with Aunt Sue's package. I knew what was inside before opening the box. It's true that the box has a label on the outside that lists the contents. But I knew what was inside before looking at the label!


Cookies! And not just any ol' cookies. But Aunt Sue's Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies. I imagine they would have tasted fresher if I had picked them up last Friday when they arrived, but when you don't receive a notice from the post office, what can you do? Still, they were very good!

Next is my mom's package. This is the one that caused me so much trouble on the walk home! And no wonder... look at all the goodness packed inside: 4 jars of peanut butter, sugar free syrup, 3 bags of Splenda brown sugar, and several packages of Ranch mix and gravy mix. She said she was using a flat rate box, so she bought the heaviest things to get the most out of shipping. :)


Finally, the package from the Rushers. Apparently, Brian knew his family was sending our mail that was sent to his parents' house, so he was expecting this box. (He never tells me anything, so it was a surprise for me.) In addition to our mail, they also sent peanut butter, gravy and Ranch mix packets, deodorant, Spelnda brown sugar, and chocolate chips! I hadn't asked for deodorant or chocolate chips, but they must have read on the blog how the deodorant isn't as good and chocolate chips can't be found. Both were welcomed surprises! Oh, and floss! Sharkdog had mentioned on his blog how expensive floss is here, so they threw in a pack of floss as well.


I really wasn't expecting all of this! I mean, I thought we would get something, but this was overwhelming. Especially since we got it all in one day! I can't say thank you enough! I don't usually use so many exclamation points, but this post really called for it.

Can you spell that, please?

Today in class we worked on the three Rs. Arithmetic? Yes, we did math problems in German class. The teacher would say something like "590 plus 210" and whoevers turn it was would answer "800." The point was to practice recognizing and saying German numbers, but the addition and subtraction part was a little tricky.

In any event, it reminded me about something I mentioned in an earlier post about the German language -- the proficient use compound words. Rather than using a space or hyphen, the German language often strings words together into a single word. For example, numbers are written as one word. In English, you would write 362 as three hundred sixty-two. But in German, you write dreihundertzweiundsechzig.

But it's not just numbers. If you're my age or older, you probably remember the VW ads from the late 80s with the slogan Fahrvergnügen -- or driving pleasure. Sometimes the compound words can become quite long. A Fernsprecherteilnehmerverzeichnis is a telephone list of participants. And a Verbesserungsvorschlagsversammlung is a meeting for improvement suggestions. If you google "long German words" you'll find all sorts of examples.

I'm not sure that these words are actually used, but it's still kind of fun to see how many words can be strung together to create a new, quite-concise word.

Speaking of...

It's been raining a lot the past few days. Maybe that's why I'm seeing more Schnecken lately. I saw a humongous one Thursday on the way home from school. But I didn't have my camera. Friday I carried my camera and I kept my eyes on the ground on the way home. And I was not disappointed.

I can never judge scale in a photo, so here's another shot. The gold thing is 10 cent coin, which is a little larger than a dime and a little smaller than a nickel.

I never saw snails this big in Texas. Everything is bigger in Texas? I guess not.


In other news, I think Sharkdog may already be doing a little modeling while Brian and I are out. First, I found this photo on a website while looking for a vet in Vienna.




The photo on the left is from the website and the one on the right is from our living room. Of course, he looks a little different in the photo for the website because it was a professional photo shoot. Professional hair and makeup, professional photographer, etc.




Next, I started spotting this billboard around town.









And then, I find out that he's also doing a little acting!

Sharkdog-mania is sweeping across the nation. In fact, he has already become somewhat of a pop icon.

One more note on Sharkdog...

Thursday night, Brian tried to work with him on some tricks. Sharkdog was pretty eager to get the treats Brian was using, so he just started doing all the tricks he knew rather than waiting for the command. This one was my favorite. He laid down, then started a roll, decided it was too much work and stuck out his paw to shake -- while mid-roll! I think the command was "sit."

Confessions and Observations

I'm an compulsive counter. I count the number of stops until we get off the u-bahn. Or strassenbahn. Not usually on the bus because the bus doesn't stop at every bus stop so it's hard to keep up. Sometimes I find myself counting while waiting for the signal to turn at a crosswalk. I don't think I'm counting to determine how long it takes, but merely to pass the time. When I notice that I'm counting, I usually make myself stop. I usually start back a few seconds later.

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Not only do I count, but I also list. When I'm on the U1, I list the names of the stop from where ever I am at the moment to the stop where I get off the u-bahn. Grossfeldseidlung, Alderklaar Strasse, Rennbahnweg, Kragraner Platz, Kagran, Alte Donau, Kaisermuelen/V.I.C, Donauinsel, Vorgatenstrasse, Praterstern, Swedenplatz, Nestroyplatz, Stephensplatz, Karlsplatz. That's all of the U1 stops that I have memorized and it's also the route we generally take to school. Our stop is actually on the U2 line, so we either switch to the U2 at Karlsplatz or switch to the U4 at Swedenplatz and then to the U2 after one stop on the U4.

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I'm not a compulsive speller, so I may have misspelled some of those u-bahn stops. But do you really care? I didn't think so. Sometimes I mix up a few of the stops in the middle. But again, I doubt you care. You probably didn't even read all the names. I would have skipped over them.

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We had chicken nuggets for dinner tonight. The box said there were 12 nuggets, but there were actually 13. This isn't the first time there has been more nuggets inside the box than indicated on the box. Once there were 14 and maybe even 15. Perhaps the number on the front is the minimum number inside. Perhaps they don't expect the consumer to count the nuggets.

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I hate writing that we had chicken nuggets for dinner because I feel like someone out there is judging me for it. I feel like I should justify it by telling you that I'm in school all day and don't have the energy to make a proper dinner. But that's just an excuse. We ate chicken nuggets many evenings before school started. Brian will tell me to get over it. That I'm too prideful and that's why I feel like people are judging me. He's probably right.

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Last Sunday we visited the English-speaking congregation. This was our second visit. We sang "Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus," but we didn't stand to sing the song. In fact, we have never stood to sing a song at any of the congregations in Vienna. I like it for the most part. I never understood the standing to sing. If it's convenient, of course. When I was having all of the back problems I liked to stand because it was better than sitting. But I didn't like the standing up and sitting down part, so sometimes I would stay sitting. It's not really appropriate to keep standing after everyone else sits down.

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It's been raining a lot the last two days. And it's been very cold. Today I wore my coat, scarf (hand knit with love), and gloves to class. The teacher said that tomorrow and Saturday will have much nicer weather. The weather forecast says we will have rain with a high of 60 on Friday and rain with a high of 65 on Saturday. The Viennese must have a different standard for "much nicer weather" than Oklahomans.

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The pope is arriving in Vienna tomorrow. Maybe he will bring the nice weather.

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I hope to have some photos for you sometime this weekend. Not of the pope. There are some other things I want to show you. But I'm waiting for the rain to stop.

School Daze

Yesterday, Brian and I headed to the university to take the placement test and buy our books. Since we both wanted to start at the beginning level, they didn't make us take the test.

This morning all of the students met in the auditorium on the main campus for an introduction and then we made a short trek to the language center down the street. There were about 800 students ranging in age from 16 to 60+ in the auditorium. I think the university offers eight language levels and each level has five to eight classes.

Brian and I are in the same class along with nine other students. We are the only students from the U.S. in the class. There are three students from Japan, and then one each from South Korea, England, Canada, Poland, Spain and Moldova (a small country between Ukraine and Romania).

Our first day of class went well, but it's very long. We meet from 9:15 to 1:00 each day and have four 45-minute lessons and three 15-minute breaks (or pause, in German). We have to leave around 8:00 in the morning and return around 2:00 in the afternoon, so class takes up a good portion of our day.

The teaching technique is a bit more conversational than I was expecting, but I think it's going to be good. This technique seems to be the preferred method as all of the schools we looked at used a similar technique. We spent most of the day repeating questions and answers such as "What is your name?" and "How long will you be in Vienna?" We also worked on numbers and days of the week. Today, the teacher allowed some English, but starting tomorrow, she says only German will be allowed.

I know this is a pretty dull post, so I will leave you with some lovely photos of my favorite hound.

He can turn left.

And he can turn right. Plus he's really, really ridiculously good looking. Perhaps he should be a male model.

Sprechen Sie Deutsch, baby?

Tomorrow Brian and I will head to the university to take a placement exam and Tuesday we start our language course. I'm not sure why we're taking a placement test since we're both planning on starting at the first level. Most of Brian's German knowledge comes from music -- "Sprechen Sie Deutsch, baby," from Beck's "Loser" and "Achtung Baby" from U2's early 90s album. I hope Brian doesn't start adding "baby" to everything when he learns German. I used to know a little German, but I've forgotten almost all of it. About the only thing I can remember is a phrase about a horse and a pharmacy. Some of you know what I'm talking about. :)

In light of our upcoming educational odyssey, I thought it would be fun to occasionally write about the German language. Sounds fun, right?

First up, a quiz.

Translate "Schnecke":
a) snail
b) cinnamon roll
c) attractive woman

If you guessed "a", you're correct. If you guessed "b" or "c", you're also correct. I like this word because it has so many meanings. I imagine there are other meanings I haven't learned yet.

They look a little like snails, don't they?
But what's even better than Schnecke is the word for slug -- Nacktschnecke, or naked snail. The German language can be quite descriptive. And quite good at the compound word, but more on that later.