Bad news, folks. Real bad news. Remember the other day when I was like, "The Office doesn't air over here, but have no fears -- we have iTunes." Well, today this happened! NBC and Apple are having a little spat. First, NBC refused to extend the contract that allows Apple to sell TV shows through iTunes because Apple wouldn't double the price of the shows. (Actually, it was more than double -- from $1.99 a show to $4.99.) The current contract ends in December of this year. So there's still time for negotiation, right? I guess Apple wants to push NBC's hand, so now they're refusing to sell the episodes of the new season because they don't want to show only half a season. The season that starts in just three weeks!
This wouldn't be so bad if I had some hopes of seeing the show elsewhere -- like on NBC's website. All the major networks stream full episodes on their websites. However, you can only watch them if you're in the U.S. At least that's the case with all of the videos I have tried to view. I can, however, watch some of the clips on The Office homepage. And I guess that will have to hold me over until it's released on DVD in the event that NBC and Apple can't work something out.
And maybe, just maybe, I'll find season three of The Office (available in U.S. stores on Tuesday) in my mailbox sometime soon.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
More questions and even more answers
I received several more questions in my inbox after the last post. Really, I'm not making this up. So here goes.
Is it everything you thought it would be? Did you expect something to be different than it actually is -- either with everyday tasks or the mission strategy that was planned?
Honestly, I can't remember what I expected as far as everyday tasks. But I don't think I've been shocked by anything.
As far as the mission strategy, one thing we've learned since being over here is that it's not normal for Austrians to invite people into their homes. Generally, an Austrian will prefer to invite you out somewhere -- a cafe or restaurant -- rather into their home for a meal. This is what we've read and have been told, but of course, we haven't been here long enough to experience it yet. (We have been here long enough to notice that some of the things we have read and been told do not seem to hold true, so I'm curious whether this social habit will fall into that category.) How, and whether, this will affect our plans for small groups is yet to be seen.
Have you had many opportunities to meet people or has the language barrier been a big hindrance?
Meeting people will probably be one of the hardest things for me and Brian since either of us are extroverts. We plan on joining an organization or finding some kind of activity in the neighborhood that will allow us to meet people with similar interests. Of course, this will be easier once we speak German. For now, I plan on using English to my advantage. Once I learn a little German I will find a language partner or two who wants to practice English and with whom I can practice German.
Is being over there (on the mission field) scarier than you thought it would be? Do you think being able to speak the language will change that?
Our arrival in Vienna is somewhat of a blur. It took a while for everyone to get their luggage. Then we went through customs (which was basically just getting our passports stamped -- no questions or anything). Then Brian and I found the driver who would take us to the apartment we were staying at for a few weeks and we left. None of that was scary and it was all a little exciting. But then as the we were on the way to the apartment, I distinctly remember thinking, "Oh no, we live here now." It was just a fleeting little moment of terror -- we had no home, no country and we knew hardly anyone. It only lasted about two seconds and I haven't worried about it since. (Of course, having a home now really helps.)
One of the scariest things is figuring out how to talk to people. I mean, that's what we're here for, right? But we can't just go up to people on the bus and tell them they should be going to church. Unless you're six. Because Carli did exactly that and she didn't seem to have any qualms. Sometimes I wish I had fewer inhibitions. I think learning the language will help some with that, but the biggest help will be meeting people and starting relationships. I think it will get easier over time and with practice.
And finally, the most important question: Can you watch The Office?
I was surprised to find that there are a lot of TV shows from the U.S. aired in Vienna. I've seen signs for House. And one of the electronics stores Brian and I checked out was playing Scrubs in the TV section. And I think I saw "Without a Trace" and one (or more) of the CSI shows when I was flipping channels one day in our temporary apartment. But The Office doesn't air over here. And the shows that do air are dubbed in German. Plus, we don't have a TV. Fortunately, none of that matters with The Office because we're planning on buying it on iTunes. :)
Is it everything you thought it would be? Did you expect something to be different than it actually is -- either with everyday tasks or the mission strategy that was planned?
Honestly, I can't remember what I expected as far as everyday tasks. But I don't think I've been shocked by anything.
As far as the mission strategy, one thing we've learned since being over here is that it's not normal for Austrians to invite people into their homes. Generally, an Austrian will prefer to invite you out somewhere -- a cafe or restaurant -- rather into their home for a meal. This is what we've read and have been told, but of course, we haven't been here long enough to experience it yet. (We have been here long enough to notice that some of the things we have read and been told do not seem to hold true, so I'm curious whether this social habit will fall into that category.) How, and whether, this will affect our plans for small groups is yet to be seen.
Have you had many opportunities to meet people or has the language barrier been a big hindrance?
Meeting people will probably be one of the hardest things for me and Brian since either of us are extroverts. We plan on joining an organization or finding some kind of activity in the neighborhood that will allow us to meet people with similar interests. Of course, this will be easier once we speak German. For now, I plan on using English to my advantage. Once I learn a little German I will find a language partner or two who wants to practice English and with whom I can practice German.
Is being over there (on the mission field) scarier than you thought it would be? Do you think being able to speak the language will change that?
Our arrival in Vienna is somewhat of a blur. It took a while for everyone to get their luggage. Then we went through customs (which was basically just getting our passports stamped -- no questions or anything). Then Brian and I found the driver who would take us to the apartment we were staying at for a few weeks and we left. None of that was scary and it was all a little exciting. But then as the we were on the way to the apartment, I distinctly remember thinking, "Oh no, we live here now." It was just a fleeting little moment of terror -- we had no home, no country and we knew hardly anyone. It only lasted about two seconds and I haven't worried about it since. (Of course, having a home now really helps.)
One of the scariest things is figuring out how to talk to people. I mean, that's what we're here for, right? But we can't just go up to people on the bus and tell them they should be going to church. Unless you're six. Because Carli did exactly that and she didn't seem to have any qualms. Sometimes I wish I had fewer inhibitions. I think learning the language will help some with that, but the biggest help will be meeting people and starting relationships. I think it will get easier over time and with practice.
And finally, the most important question: Can you watch The Office?
I was surprised to find that there are a lot of TV shows from the U.S. aired in Vienna. I've seen signs for House. And one of the electronics stores Brian and I checked out was playing Scrubs in the TV section. And I think I saw "Without a Trace" and one (or more) of the CSI shows when I was flipping channels one day in our temporary apartment. But The Office doesn't air over here. And the shows that do air are dubbed in German. Plus, we don't have a TV. Fortunately, none of that matters with The Office because we're planning on buying it on iTunes. :)
Monday, August 27, 2007
A day in the life
Woke up, fell out of bed,
Dragged a comb across my head
Found my way downstairs and drank a cup,
And looking up I noticed I was late.
Found my coat and grabbed my hat
Made the bus in seconds flat...
Oh wait, that's not a day in my life. Sometimes I confuse myself with a young Paul McCartney.
Well, this is the last of the questions that I've received. I thought there might be more. But I guess you're really not that interested. Or maybe you think I just do better when I come up with stuff on my own. I seem to get more comments that way. But I digress. Here it is: "Describe a typical day." I know, it's not really in question form. But let's not judge.
Right now, there really is no such thing as a typical day. Once school starts, I imagine I will have typical days. But, I may not have so much time to post once I'm in school. So for now, I'll just tell you about some of the things I do -- although usually not all in the same day.
Grocery shopping
I've already mentioned some things about grocery shopping in previous blogs, so I won't go into detail. The actual shopping part is pretty much the same as in the U.S., but of course everything is in German. The hard part comes when you are finished shopping. Paying can be a bit intimidating. You place everything on a conveyor belt like in most stores in the U.S., but after the cashier rings up your items you have to place them back into your basket and then bag them yourself (with the bags you remembered to bring from home). It's like a race. Have you been through airport security recently? Did you feel rushed? Quick -- take off your shoes. And your belt. Empty your pockets. Take the laptop out of the case. Hurry, hurry, hurry. People are waiting. That's what I feel like every time I check out at the grocery store.
Another thing about grocery stores is the hours. They're open from some time in the morning (not sure when, but early enough) to 6:00 p.m. or maybe 7:00. They usually stay open a little later on Thursday and close a little earlier on Saturday and are closed all day on Sunday and holidays. We're lucky enough to have a 24 hour gas station nearby in the event that we need something really important -- like Diet Coke -- when the grocery store is closed.
Other shopping
Everything I wrote above applies to shopping for other things as well. We have to carry it home. Paying for things can be intimidating and stressful. Stores close early. The biggest problem with buying things is having to carry it all home. Fortunately (for me), Brian does most of the carrying.
Going into town
Brian and I head towards the inner city (i.e., the touristy side of town) at least once a week. This involves walking to a nearby u-bahn station (u-bahn = subway), then taking 20 minute trip to the city center. We may go to look around, shop or to get a bite to eat (usually pizza from Pizza Bizzi). I call it the touristy side of town, but there are a lot of locals there as well. A lot of our trips are for specific reasons -- to go to a store in search for a hard-to-find item, visit the doctor, go to church, etc. (We often stop in the inner city on our way home from church because it's the only part of town that has stuff open on Sunday because it's considered a tourist area.)
Going to church
We've visited all three of the churches of Christ in Vienna. The first one we visited is located in the far south part of the town. Getting there requires about a 25 minute u-bahn ride, 15 minute bus ride, and walking for 15 or 20 minutes. The second one we visited is more centrally-located. It takes about a 20 minute u-bahn ride, switch to a different u-bahn line for another short ride, then a short walk. The third congregation is an English-speaking group that meets at the same location as the second congregation. The u-bahn station is about a 10-minute walk from our apartment, so the first congregation takes us about 1 hour and 15 minutes to get there and the second and third congregations takes us about 40 minutes to get there.
Church services are pretty similar to what we're familiar with from the U.S. -- except of course, they're in German. Unless you're with the English-speaking congregation. :) The three congregations probably have less than 50 members between them.
----------------
Of course, my day is also filled with household chores like laundry, cooking, and cleaning -- most of which I've written about in previous posts. We don't have a television, so my free time is filled with reading and spending time on the computer -- mostly the latter. Starting next week, my free time will probably be spent studying German.
For Sharkdog, this is how he spends most of his day.... sleeping.
Dragged a comb across my head
Found my way downstairs and drank a cup,
And looking up I noticed I was late.
Found my coat and grabbed my hat
Made the bus in seconds flat...
Oh wait, that's not a day in my life. Sometimes I confuse myself with a young Paul McCartney.
Well, this is the last of the questions that I've received. I thought there might be more. But I guess you're really not that interested. Or maybe you think I just do better when I come up with stuff on my own. I seem to get more comments that way. But I digress. Here it is: "Describe a typical day." I know, it's not really in question form. But let's not judge.
Right now, there really is no such thing as a typical day. Once school starts, I imagine I will have typical days. But, I may not have so much time to post once I'm in school. So for now, I'll just tell you about some of the things I do -- although usually not all in the same day.
Grocery shopping
I've already mentioned some things about grocery shopping in previous blogs, so I won't go into detail. The actual shopping part is pretty much the same as in the U.S., but of course everything is in German. The hard part comes when you are finished shopping. Paying can be a bit intimidating. You place everything on a conveyor belt like in most stores in the U.S., but after the cashier rings up your items you have to place them back into your basket and then bag them yourself (with the bags you remembered to bring from home). It's like a race. Have you been through airport security recently? Did you feel rushed? Quick -- take off your shoes. And your belt. Empty your pockets. Take the laptop out of the case. Hurry, hurry, hurry. People are waiting. That's what I feel like every time I check out at the grocery store.
Another thing about grocery stores is the hours. They're open from some time in the morning (not sure when, but early enough) to 6:00 p.m. or maybe 7:00. They usually stay open a little later on Thursday and close a little earlier on Saturday and are closed all day on Sunday and holidays. We're lucky enough to have a 24 hour gas station nearby in the event that we need something really important -- like Diet Coke -- when the grocery store is closed.
Other shopping
Everything I wrote above applies to shopping for other things as well. We have to carry it home. Paying for things can be intimidating and stressful. Stores close early. The biggest problem with buying things is having to carry it all home. Fortunately (for me), Brian does most of the carrying.
Going into town
Brian and I head towards the inner city (i.e., the touristy side of town) at least once a week. This involves walking to a nearby u-bahn station (u-bahn = subway), then taking 20 minute trip to the city center. We may go to look around, shop or to get a bite to eat (usually pizza from Pizza Bizzi). I call it the touristy side of town, but there are a lot of locals there as well. A lot of our trips are for specific reasons -- to go to a store in search for a hard-to-find item, visit the doctor, go to church, etc. (We often stop in the inner city on our way home from church because it's the only part of town that has stuff open on Sunday because it's considered a tourist area.)
Going to church
We've visited all three of the churches of Christ in Vienna. The first one we visited is located in the far south part of the town. Getting there requires about a 25 minute u-bahn ride, 15 minute bus ride, and walking for 15 or 20 minutes. The second one we visited is more centrally-located. It takes about a 20 minute u-bahn ride, switch to a different u-bahn line for another short ride, then a short walk. The third congregation is an English-speaking group that meets at the same location as the second congregation. The u-bahn station is about a 10-minute walk from our apartment, so the first congregation takes us about 1 hour and 15 minutes to get there and the second and third congregations takes us about 40 minutes to get there.
Church services are pretty similar to what we're familiar with from the U.S. -- except of course, they're in German. Unless you're with the English-speaking congregation. :) The three congregations probably have less than 50 members between them.
----------------
Of course, my day is also filled with household chores like laundry, cooking, and cleaning -- most of which I've written about in previous posts. We don't have a television, so my free time is filled with reading and spending time on the computer -- mostly the latter. Starting next week, my free time will probably be spent studying German.
For Sharkdog, this is how he spends most of his day.... sleeping.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Let's try this again
You may remember that I tried to bake chocolate chip cookies about a week ago. That was such a disappointment (and so disgusting) it has taken me a while to recover and try again. But after buying the molasses yesterday, I decided I needed to give the homemade brown sugar a try. And what better way than with chocolate chip cookies.
I was a little leery at first because the molasses and sugar where not mixing well. But once I threw the butter into the mix, things started shaping up. When I was finished with the dough, I could taste the molasses in it. However, after refrigerating the dough for a couple of hours the molasses taste was gone and it just tasted like good ol' chocolate chip cookie dough. This is the recipe I used, in case you want to give it a try.
Here's the finished product (on a lovely piece of Polish pottery). They turned out crisp around the edges and soft in the middle -- just like from the bakery.
And while we're in the kitchen, I'd like to show off these air-tight canisters I bought to store flour and sugar and such. Aren't they so cute!
And the colors go so well with the tiles in my kitchen! I may just have to leave them sitting on the counter.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Alisha goes to the market
Vienna has a lot of open-air markets, the most famous of which is called the Naschmarkt. Brian had plans today that didn't involve me, so I decided it would be a good time for a thorough exploration of the Naschmarkt. The Naschmarkt is open daily -- except Sundays when everything is closed -- but on Saturday a lot of local farmers bring in their crops so the options are more varied. And occasionally (maybe once a month), there is also a flea market where you can find anything and everything you can imagine. Today happened to be the flea market day.
I arrived at the Naschmarkt fairly late in the day -- around 3:30 -- but everything was still open. I decided to hit the food section first and then go back to the flea market if there was time. Here are a few photos of the produce stalls.
I was on a mission to find brown sugar, vanilla and coconut flakes (for Amanda). I've read that both brown sugar and vanilla can be found at some Asian shops and there are several shops located in or around Naschmarkt. In the end, the only thing I found from my list was the coconut flakes. However, I did find some Arm & Hammer baking soda and molasses. I mentioned in an earlier post that I couldn't find baking soda here, but later I found it at my usual grocery store. And later that day I found it again in my kitchen cabinet. I guess I did have baking soda when I wanted to make the cookies after all. I bought the A&H anyways because it was less expensive than what's in grocery store. I plan on using the molasses to make brown sugar, so maybe I was successful in my brown sugar mission after all.
By the time I was finished with all of the food stalls, everything was starting to close down. The vendors were calling out "Corn, 3 for 1 euro; radishes, 1 euro" -- except, of course, in German -- so I stopped and picked up some corn and pears. I would have loved to buy more fruit, but we already had apples and peaches at home and we just don't go through that much fruit. So here are my purchases.
I went ahead and walked through the flea market even though most of the people were starting to pack up their things. I don't think I can describe the flea market accurately. There were three rows with vendors on each side. They were selling everything: clothes, records, crystal (or glass), framed art, bike wheels, old pots and pans. Here are a few photos I snapped.
This was actually a nice looking stall, compared to most. The shoes are in decent condition and they all appear to have a match. Plus, they're on a table. A lot of the stalls were just a blanket spread on the ground with everything thrown out on it.
You can't really tell what is being sold here, but you get an idea of how much stuff is out there. And the quality, or lack of -- see the stack of old magazines in the bottom center of this photo?
I didn't take any close up photos at the flea market because 1) it was awkward taking photos and 2) I wanted to show the chaotic nature of the place.
The only thing I was really interested in was old photos and postcards. Preferably ones with writing (and a date) on the back. I found two great old black and white postcards from Vienna, but I ended up not getting them. One of the things the phrase books don't tell you -- when you learn how to ask "how much is this" in German, you should hold off on using it until you're able to understand the response. The guy was putting away stuff and wasn't interested in me and the price that I think he gave me was way more than I wanted to pay. Later, I was looking through some more cards and asked the price (in English, this time) and the guy gave the typical European street vendor answer: "For you, I give you a good price." Despite his answer, I continued to look. I only found one photo I wanted and when I asked the price he shrugged and said I could take it. That is a good price! I'm not sure what I'll use it for, but something crafty.
I arrived at the Naschmarkt fairly late in the day -- around 3:30 -- but everything was still open. I decided to hit the food section first and then go back to the flea market if there was time. Here are a few photos of the produce stalls.
I was on a mission to find brown sugar, vanilla and coconut flakes (for Amanda). I've read that both brown sugar and vanilla can be found at some Asian shops and there are several shops located in or around Naschmarkt. In the end, the only thing I found from my list was the coconut flakes. However, I did find some Arm & Hammer baking soda and molasses. I mentioned in an earlier post that I couldn't find baking soda here, but later I found it at my usual grocery store. And later that day I found it again in my kitchen cabinet. I guess I did have baking soda when I wanted to make the cookies after all. I bought the A&H anyways because it was less expensive than what's in grocery store. I plan on using the molasses to make brown sugar, so maybe I was successful in my brown sugar mission after all.
By the time I was finished with all of the food stalls, everything was starting to close down. The vendors were calling out "Corn, 3 for 1 euro; radishes, 1 euro" -- except, of course, in German -- so I stopped and picked up some corn and pears. I would have loved to buy more fruit, but we already had apples and peaches at home and we just don't go through that much fruit. So here are my purchases.
I went ahead and walked through the flea market even though most of the people were starting to pack up their things. I don't think I can describe the flea market accurately. There were three rows with vendors on each side. They were selling everything: clothes, records, crystal (or glass), framed art, bike wheels, old pots and pans. Here are a few photos I snapped.
This was actually a nice looking stall, compared to most. The shoes are in decent condition and they all appear to have a match. Plus, they're on a table. A lot of the stalls were just a blanket spread on the ground with everything thrown out on it.You can't really tell what is being sold here, but you get an idea of how much stuff is out there. And the quality, or lack of -- see the stack of old magazines in the bottom center of this photo?
I didn't take any close up photos at the flea market because 1) it was awkward taking photos and 2) I wanted to show the chaotic nature of the place.
The only thing I was really interested in was old photos and postcards. Preferably ones with writing (and a date) on the back. I found two great old black and white postcards from Vienna, but I ended up not getting them. One of the things the phrase books don't tell you -- when you learn how to ask "how much is this" in German, you should hold off on using it until you're able to understand the response. The guy was putting away stuff and wasn't interested in me and the price that I think he gave me was way more than I wanted to pay. Later, I was looking through some more cards and asked the price (in English, this time) and the guy gave the typical European street vendor answer: "For you, I give you a good price." Despite his answer, I continued to look. I only found one photo I wanted and when I asked the price he shrugged and said I could take it. That is a good price! I'm not sure what I'll use it for, but something crafty.
I love this man's short pants! And the mother fixing her daughter's hair. It's great.
P.S. Somehow I managed to publish this post when I was only half-way through. So if you started reading before everything was published, sorry about that.
P.P.S. Does anyone have any experience with molasses? When I got the bottle home, it was leaking. I cleaned it up and then later found it leaking again. I removed the lid and it was kind of foamy. I decided to look online to see if that was normal. About half an hour later (I got distracted while online), I returned to the kitchen to find this --
I found online that "some foam" is normal. But this is a lot of foam! When I bought it, I thought it seemed awfully thick, even for molasses. In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have kept shaking the bottle in the store. I ended up pouring some of it into another jar and it looks like it has stopped growing now. But still, this doesn't seem normal.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Newsletter signup
If you are not currently receiving our newsletter in the mail and would like to have a copy emailed to you, please send me an email and I'll add you to the list.
If you usually receive a newsletter in the mail and are wondering if you're still on the list because you haven't received a newsletter in a while, don't worry. We haven't sent one out since June. But of course, you already knew that you wouldn't get one for July or maybe August because we mentioned that in the June newsletter. And you read it cover to cover. And then reread it. Just to make sure you didn't miss anything. You are so dedicated! (Actually, I'm not sure that I read it cover to cover, but I'm pretty sure the thing about it not coming for a while was in there.)
If you get the newsletter in the mail and also want to get it in your inbox, just send me an email.
The next newsletter -- both paper and electronic versions -- should go out sometime next week.
If you usually receive a newsletter in the mail and are wondering if you're still on the list because you haven't received a newsletter in a while, don't worry. We haven't sent one out since June. But of course, you already knew that you wouldn't get one for July or maybe August because we mentioned that in the June newsletter. And you read it cover to cover. And then reread it. Just to make sure you didn't miss anything. You are so dedicated! (Actually, I'm not sure that I read it cover to cover, but I'm pretty sure the thing about it not coming for a while was in there.)
If you get the newsletter in the mail and also want to get it in your inbox, just send me an email.
The next newsletter -- both paper and electronic versions -- should go out sometime next week.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Wish list
9.13.07 - Important update: If we're not home, the mail carrier should leave a notice for us to pick up a package at the post office. But with our first three boxes, there was no notice! So, if you send us something please let us know. If you want it to be a surprise, you can wait up to two weeks -- that should be plenty of time for it to arrive. (We haven't had a problem with this since those first few packages.)
I was going to write this yesterday to follow the "what's not in Austria" post, but the deliveries of my niece and our stuff from the U.S. thwarted that plan. If you recall the previous post, you may be wondering whether there's anything you can send us. Or maybe I'm the only one thinking that. In any event, there's always something we can't get in Austria, so here are some things we would really enjoy from the U.S.
Don't feel any pressure to pop something in the mail today. I'm going to place a link to this post on the sidebar so you can refer to it when birthdays or Christmas roll around. This is mainly directed to those who generally buy us presents for such occasion. I'm not suddenly expecting a birthday gift from everyone just because I live overseas. :) Although... never mind.
I've separated the list into "one time" wants and "anytime" wants. If we receive something, I'll update the list. So whether you're going to be making a trip to Vienna and want to pack a little extra or you want to send something our way via post, here are some suggestions.
One-time Wants:
Any of the Nooma videos (You can buy these at Christian bookstores or online at http://www.nooma.com/) -- Except "Rain" (001), "Flame" (002), "You" (015), and "Today" (017)
Anytime Wants (i.e., foodstuff):
peanut butter -- creamy or crunchy (our favorite is the Great Value brand from Wal-Mart and Peter Pan, but anything works)
dark corn syrup (like Karo)
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P.S., I don't know why, but I don't like the idea of just posting our address out here. So if you don't have our address, you'll have to ask. There is a link to email me on my profile.
P.P.S., If you're going to send us one of the DVDs for a birthday or Christmas present, please let me know before you buy it or at least before you send it so hopefully we don't get duplicates. I know it ruins the element of surprise, but I can deal with that. If you're going to send a DVD some other time of year, feel free to keep a surprise. I don't expect DVDs to show up randomly all that often. Don't worry about this. If we get duplicates, we know other people who would be happy to take the extras off our hands.
I was going to write this yesterday to follow the "what's not in Austria" post, but the deliveries of my niece and our stuff from the U.S. thwarted that plan. If you recall the previous post, you may be wondering whether there's anything you can send us. Or maybe I'm the only one thinking that. In any event, there's always something we can't get in Austria, so here are some things we would really enjoy from the U.S.
Don't feel any pressure to pop something in the mail today. I'm going to place a link to this post on the sidebar so you can refer to it when birthdays or Christmas roll around. This is mainly directed to those who generally buy us presents for such occasion. I'm not suddenly expecting a birthday gift from everyone just because I live overseas. :) Although... never mind.
I've separated the list into "one time" wants and "anytime" wants. If we receive something, I'll update the list. So whether you're going to be making a trip to Vienna and want to pack a little extra or you want to send something our way via post, here are some suggestions.
One-time Wants:
Any of the Nooma videos (You can buy these at Christian bookstores or online at http://www.nooma.com/) -- Except "Rain" (001), "Flame" (002), "You" (015), and "Today" (017)
Anytime Wants (i.e., foodstuff):
peanut butter -- creamy or crunchy (our favorite is the Great Value brand from Wal-Mart and Peter Pan, but anything works)
dark corn syrup (like Karo)
-------
P.S., I don't know why, but I don't like the idea of just posting our address out here. So if you don't have our address, you'll have to ask. There is a link to email me on my profile.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
The big delivery
Finally, the delivery we have all been anticipating. After long months of waiting and wondering, we finally caught our first glimpse.
What, were you expecting something else? Perhaps something like this...
That's right! There were two big deliveries today!
At approximately 12:30 this morning (Vienna-time) -- 5:30 p.m. yesterday Arlington-time -- my sister, her husband and their daughter welcomed a new addition to their family. (Just so there's no confusion -- Emmy was born on August 21st in Arlington, TX. However, it was already August 22nd in Vienna.) Here is Amiya with her new little sitter Emmy. I think she's a little nervous about holding such a small baby. And Emmy looks a little unsure as well.
As if that wasn't enough excitement for the day, at approximately 10:30 this morning, the container with all of our stuff we shipped from the U.S. arrived. Unfortunately, when the movers started unpacking it, we discovered that our belongings were at the very back. Well, the back when you're unloading -- I guess it's the front when you're loading. In any event, the movers decided to deliver everything else (for the other three families who moved to Vienna) and then come back to deliver our stuff.
Here it is, all unloaded. Now we just need to unpack.
One of the long-anticipated arrivals is our scooter. As I mentioned earlier, scooters are pretty popular around here. Unfortunately, we're going to have to buy a battery, get it registered, get a license and insurance and some other things before we can drive it, so it may just sit there for a while.
I have long planned to name my scooter (yes, like J.D., in Scrubs), but I haven't been able to decide on a good name. However, after surviving such a long journey, I think it's time that the scooter gets a name. So today I am christening her "Betty." Sure, the name would be a little cooler if Betty were black instead of red. ::Singing:: Whoa, Red Betty. Bam-ba-lam. Whoa, Red Betty. Bam-ba-lam. It just doesn't have the same ring to it. But, it's still a nice name. So here's to Betty! I'm glad she made it to Vienna!
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Q & A - Take 2
Here's some more questions that I received:
What kind of things are not available in Austria?
What kind of things can you get in Austria that you can't find in the U.S.?
There are a lot of things that I haven't been able to find in Austria yet. Maybe they're here, I just haven't found them. Most of the missionaries I know in Europe have a list of U.S. goods that they stock up on when they return to the U.S. or when someone from the U.S. visits them. I've found a really helpful blog from a woman living in Germany who lists product substitutes and where to find those hard-to-find items. There's also a British import store in the city that carries some foodstuff from the U.S. in the event that I really need something. But it's expensive, so I'm going to try to avoid buying there, if possible. Some of the things that I haven't found here (or are quite different than what you get in the U.S.) are brown sugar (no soft brown sugar), vanilla extract, breakfast sausage, deodorant (not that they don't have it here, it's just not the same), peanut butter, and cream of chicken soup. I'm sure there's more, but this is what comes to mind.
I haven't really found anything in Austria that I couldn't believe I was able to live without in the U.S. There are at least two things that are available in abundance in Austria that I never paid much attention to in the U.S. Ice cream and chocolate. Two things that I really need, right? If you go to the inner city, you can't take two steps without seeing someone eating ice cream. And I know they're not all tourists. The "eis salons" are always packed. And the chocolate aisle at the grocery store! It's unbelievable. Swiss, Belgium, German -- they've got chocolate from all over the continent.
And in some stores, yes, even chocolate from the U.S.
What kind of things are not available in Austria?
What kind of things can you get in Austria that you can't find in the U.S.?
There are a lot of things that I haven't been able to find in Austria yet. Maybe they're here, I just haven't found them. Most of the missionaries I know in Europe have a list of U.S. goods that they stock up on when they return to the U.S. or when someone from the U.S. visits them. I've found a really helpful blog from a woman living in Germany who lists product substitutes and where to find those hard-to-find items. There's also a British import store in the city that carries some foodstuff from the U.S. in the event that I really need something. But it's expensive, so I'm going to try to avoid buying there, if possible. Some of the things that I haven't found here (or are quite different than what you get in the U.S.) are brown sugar (no soft brown sugar), vanilla extract, breakfast sausage, deodorant (not that they don't have it here, it's just not the same), peanut butter, and cream of chicken soup. I'm sure there's more, but this is what comes to mind.
I haven't really found anything in Austria that I couldn't believe I was able to live without in the U.S. There are at least two things that are available in abundance in Austria that I never paid much attention to in the U.S. Ice cream and chocolate. Two things that I really need, right? If you go to the inner city, you can't take two steps without seeing someone eating ice cream. And I know they're not all tourists. The "eis salons" are always packed. And the chocolate aisle at the grocery store! It's unbelievable. Swiss, Belgium, German -- they've got chocolate from all over the continent.
And in some stores, yes, even chocolate from the U.S.
Monday, August 20, 2007
The secret ingredient
I wasn't going to blog today -- you know, give the faithful readers a chance to catch up. But I couldn't pass this one up.
This afternoon a big rain shower came through, bringing with it lots of cold air. So Brian put on the coffee and I decided we needed something sweet to go with the joe. It was decided that we would make chocolate chip cookies. Now let me explain that chocolate chip cookies (you know, America's cookie) are not quite so easy here in Austria. First, I haven't been able to find chocolate chips even though I've been assured that they do exist in Austria. So we had to cut up a block of chocolate. (This was Brian's contribution.) Next, brown sugar as we know it in the U.S. doesn't exist in Austria. So I had to buy some brown sugar from an import store. In other words, it was quite pricey. On top of that, I haven't been able to find baking soda, so I had to find a recipe that didn't require it.
Despite all of these obstacles, I was determined to make chocolate chip cookies. That's why when I found the dead moth in the flour, I wasn't quite ready to give up on the venture. After all, I had already searched for a suitable recipe, creamed my expensive brown sugar with butter, and had Brian chop a huge block of chocolate. I consulted with Brian and we decided that we would pick out the moth and prevail. (The moth was just in the flour, so it was still intact.) I was feeling okay about the dough. I had sifted through the rest of the flour and hadn't found anything suspicious. I had even tasted the dough and it seemed promising.
You can tell that I eventually found something else, can't you? I mean, you just feel it coming. Well, as I was scooping the dough onto the cookie sheet I found -- are you ready? -- a larvae. Just the thought of it makes me cringe. I don't know why the larvae is so much more disturbing than the moth, but that did it in for me. And since I knew the likelihood of finding a small, white wormy thing in a bag of white flour was slim, I decided to throw the whole bag of flour out along with the cookie dough.
But now here's my dilemma. I bought that bag of flour earlier today, so I know the moth was in there when I bought it. And I bought two bags of flour. That were sitting next to each other in the store. So is my other bag contaminated? Should I throw it out too? Should I buy flour somewhere else for a while? Or switch brands? Am I completely over-reacting? (You can't answer that last one unless you, too, have found a larvae in your chocolate chip cookie dough.)
I sure do wish I had some moth-free chocolate chip cookies right about now.
This afternoon a big rain shower came through, bringing with it lots of cold air. So Brian put on the coffee and I decided we needed something sweet to go with the joe. It was decided that we would make chocolate chip cookies. Now let me explain that chocolate chip cookies (you know, America's cookie) are not quite so easy here in Austria. First, I haven't been able to find chocolate chips even though I've been assured that they do exist in Austria. So we had to cut up a block of chocolate. (This was Brian's contribution.) Next, brown sugar as we know it in the U.S. doesn't exist in Austria. So I had to buy some brown sugar from an import store. In other words, it was quite pricey. On top of that, I haven't been able to find baking soda, so I had to find a recipe that didn't require it.
Despite all of these obstacles, I was determined to make chocolate chip cookies. That's why when I found the dead moth in the flour, I wasn't quite ready to give up on the venture. After all, I had already searched for a suitable recipe, creamed my expensive brown sugar with butter, and had Brian chop a huge block of chocolate. I consulted with Brian and we decided that we would pick out the moth and prevail. (The moth was just in the flour, so it was still intact.) I was feeling okay about the dough. I had sifted through the rest of the flour and hadn't found anything suspicious. I had even tasted the dough and it seemed promising.
You can tell that I eventually found something else, can't you? I mean, you just feel it coming. Well, as I was scooping the dough onto the cookie sheet I found -- are you ready? -- a larvae. Just the thought of it makes me cringe. I don't know why the larvae is so much more disturbing than the moth, but that did it in for me. And since I knew the likelihood of finding a small, white wormy thing in a bag of white flour was slim, I decided to throw the whole bag of flour out along with the cookie dough.
But now here's my dilemma. I bought that bag of flour earlier today, so I know the moth was in there when I bought it. And I bought two bags of flour. That were sitting next to each other in the store. So is my other bag contaminated? Should I throw it out too? Should I buy flour somewhere else for a while? Or switch brands? Am I completely over-reacting? (You can't answer that last one unless you, too, have found a larvae in your chocolate chip cookie dough.)
I sure do wish I had some moth-free chocolate chip cookies right about now.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
I heart colorful buildings
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.
Vienna is home to one of the most colorful and unusual apartment buildings in the world -- the Hundertwasserhaus. I have to admit, I've only seen pictures so far. But I do plan on visiting the building one of these days. If you want to learn more about Hundertwasserhaus, I recommend this page, but of course you can find plenty of info by googling the name.
These pictures of Hundertwasserhaus are from www.foto-julius.at and may be used for free on personal web pages. (©www.foto-julius.at )
Even though most buildings in Vienna do not look like Hundertwasserhaus, it's very common to see apartment buildings and houses painted blue, green, yellow or pink. I guess if you're going to live in a city full of apartment buildings, it's nice that they add a splash of color. Here are some photos of buildings and houses in my neighborhood.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Q & A - Take 1
Wow! I can't believe the flood of email that I've received with such insightful questions. Well, maybe flood is not the right word. Maybe light shower is more appropriate. Or fine mist. Maybe just a fog. But in any event, there are questions in my inbox. (And even if there weren't and I'm making this all up, you could never prove anything!)
First, to address Sharkdog -- You know why you have to wear the collar when we leave. Someone told us that the neighbors would call the police if there was a lot of dog barking. And that someone is one of our neighbors! So really, it's for your own protection.
And now, I think the next question can best be summed up with this clip:
So, what is it that we're doing here? Before I answer, I think it's important to point out that what we're doing here is a new work, not a work-in-progress. I didn't fully realize this distinction until I landed in Vienna. My previous experience with missions was with a work that had been started years earlier and I had a specific task for a specific duration. When we landed in Vienna and no one was there to pick us up, I quickly realized that this experience was going to be quite different.
What does it mean that we're not joining a work-in-progress? I guess it means that what we're doing now won't look like what you're used to. We don't meet together each Sunday. (Right now, we are meeting with the existing congregations and trying to form relationships with the Christians there.) We don't hold gospel meetings or seminars. We don't even have small group or one-on-one studies. That's not to say that we're not going to do these things (or that we are going to do all of them), just that we're not there yet.
Now that I've told you what we're not doing, you're probably wondering what we are doing. The short answer is "settling".
Of course, there's also a long answer. One of our main objectives right now is to figure out how to do things right -- how (and when) to shop, how to wash our clothes, how to use public transportation, and so on. We even have to learn how to take out the trash properly! Also, there are a lot of legal requirements we must fulfill in order to stay in Austria. We're in this for the long haul, so we want to make sure we start off right.
Next month, Brian and I will start language school and start the long road to learning German. Not only do we feel like it's important to be able to speak German in order to reach people on a personal level, the government feels it is important in order for us to live here. When we get our visas, we must sign an agreement that we will study German (language) and Austrian culture and will eventually be tested on these subjects. For at least the next six months, we will spend about four hours a day, five days a week at the university.
I know this is already long, but there is a related question that I would like to tack on.
One question that was asked is whether we are working with the existing congregations and programs that they have established. My answer is, "not right now." During our first two weeks in Vienna we were offered the opportunity to lead Bible studies for African refugees and to teach classes at a private university loosely associated with the churches of Christ. Both of these are good opportunities, but at this time we want to focus on learning German and finding our place in our community. That's not to say that we don't plan on participating in existing programs, just that we want to be careful not to accept a leadership role that will later prevent us from doing the work that we've set out to do.
Keep the questions coming. I promise all of my answers will not be this long.
First, to address Sharkdog -- You know why you have to wear the collar when we leave. Someone told us that the neighbors would call the police if there was a lot of dog barking. And that someone is one of our neighbors! So really, it's for your own protection.
And now, I think the next question can best be summed up with this clip:
So, what is it that we're doing here? Before I answer, I think it's important to point out that what we're doing here is a new work, not a work-in-progress. I didn't fully realize this distinction until I landed in Vienna. My previous experience with missions was with a work that had been started years earlier and I had a specific task for a specific duration. When we landed in Vienna and no one was there to pick us up, I quickly realized that this experience was going to be quite different.
What does it mean that we're not joining a work-in-progress? I guess it means that what we're doing now won't look like what you're used to. We don't meet together each Sunday. (Right now, we are meeting with the existing congregations and trying to form relationships with the Christians there.) We don't hold gospel meetings or seminars. We don't even have small group or one-on-one studies. That's not to say that we're not going to do these things (or that we are going to do all of them), just that we're not there yet.
Now that I've told you what we're not doing, you're probably wondering what we are doing. The short answer is "settling".
Of course, there's also a long answer. One of our main objectives right now is to figure out how to do things right -- how (and when) to shop, how to wash our clothes, how to use public transportation, and so on. We even have to learn how to take out the trash properly! Also, there are a lot of legal requirements we must fulfill in order to stay in Austria. We're in this for the long haul, so we want to make sure we start off right.
Next month, Brian and I will start language school and start the long road to learning German. Not only do we feel like it's important to be able to speak German in order to reach people on a personal level, the government feels it is important in order for us to live here. When we get our visas, we must sign an agreement that we will study German (language) and Austrian culture and will eventually be tested on these subjects. For at least the next six months, we will spend about four hours a day, five days a week at the university.
I know this is already long, but there is a related question that I would like to tack on.
One question that was asked is whether we are working with the existing congregations and programs that they have established. My answer is, "not right now." During our first two weeks in Vienna we were offered the opportunity to lead Bible studies for African refugees and to teach classes at a private university loosely associated with the churches of Christ. Both of these are good opportunities, but at this time we want to focus on learning German and finding our place in our community. That's not to say that we don't plan on participating in existing programs, just that we want to be careful not to accept a leadership role that will later prevent us from doing the work that we've set out to do.
Keep the questions coming. I promise all of my answers will not be this long.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
It'll all come out in the wash
Take a good look at this (click on the image to see a larger view) --
This is the control panel for my washer and dryer. (Sorry for the bad photo -- the kitchen is very narrow and there wasn't room to get one photo, so I had to splice some together.) Have you ever seen so many buttons?! I have yet to figure out what most of the buttons do, but at least I understand the "Start" button. As far as I can tell, this is how you wash a load of clothes:
Step 1 - Turn on the water. The knob is located next to the kitchen sink.
Step 2 - Open the door on the washer and cram your clothes in. Go ahead and add some more clothes, they will fit. And a few more things -- if you can still close the door then there's still room for more.
Step 3 - Select the cycle and temperature. This is the far right knob on the control panel. The first one is cook/multi-color. I have no idea what it means by "cook", but I haven't been able to find an alternate meaning to "Koch". Next is wash and wear and the one of the bottom is wool. Each cycle has several temperature options.
Step 4 - Add detergent and fabric softener. These both go in a drawer to the left of the control panel.
Step 5 - Close the door to the washer and press the Start button.
Step 6 - Wait. For a long time. A very long time. It will take at least an hour and a half to wash the load.
Step 7 - Now you can either run the dryer, or pull the clothes out and hang them to dry. I ran the dryer the first time (because I couldn't figure out how to open the door -- you have to turn it off ("Aus") before you can open the door) and after an hour I still had to hang the clothes. The knob on the left (with the red numbers) sets the time for the dryer and the knob on the right sets the heat (also, in red).
Step 8 - Turn right knob to Aus to turn off washer. You can know open the door to remove the clothes.
Step 9 - Turn off the water using the knob by the sink.
Now you may have noticed that I only used one of the buttons (Start). So what are all the other buttons for? Seriously folks, if you have any ideas, I'd like to know. I also haven't figured out what the settings on the bottom left side of the right knob are for.
Keep adding your questions to the previous post or sending them via email. I'll start answering them later this week.
This is the control panel for my washer and dryer. (Sorry for the bad photo -- the kitchen is very narrow and there wasn't room to get one photo, so I had to splice some together.) Have you ever seen so many buttons?! I have yet to figure out what most of the buttons do, but at least I understand the "Start" button. As far as I can tell, this is how you wash a load of clothes:
Step 1 - Turn on the water. The knob is located next to the kitchen sink.
Step 2 - Open the door on the washer and cram your clothes in. Go ahead and add some more clothes, they will fit. And a few more things -- if you can still close the door then there's still room for more.
Step 3 - Select the cycle and temperature. This is the far right knob on the control panel. The first one is cook/multi-color. I have no idea what it means by "cook", but I haven't been able to find an alternate meaning to "Koch". Next is wash and wear and the one of the bottom is wool. Each cycle has several temperature options.
Step 4 - Add detergent and fabric softener. These both go in a drawer to the left of the control panel.
Step 5 - Close the door to the washer and press the Start button.
Step 6 - Wait. For a long time. A very long time. It will take at least an hour and a half to wash the load.
Step 7 - Now you can either run the dryer, or pull the clothes out and hang them to dry. I ran the dryer the first time (because I couldn't figure out how to open the door -- you have to turn it off ("Aus") before you can open the door) and after an hour I still had to hang the clothes. The knob on the left (with the red numbers) sets the time for the dryer and the knob on the right sets the heat (also, in red).
Step 8 - Turn right knob to Aus to turn off washer. You can know open the door to remove the clothes.
Step 9 - Turn off the water using the knob by the sink.
Now you may have noticed that I only used one of the buttons (Start). So what are all the other buttons for? Seriously folks, if you have any ideas, I'd like to know. I also haven't figured out what the settings on the bottom left side of the right knob are for.
Keep adding your questions to the previous post or sending them via email. I'll start answering them later this week.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
The gentleman in the blue cardigan, please
Thank you. I have a two part question.
-----
Some people, and you know who you are, are under the impression that we're living the high life over here in Europe. Okay, so maybe no one is really under that impression. But you may wonder what it's like learning to live in a foreign culture. I can tell you this much -- it involves eating a lot of sandwiches. We usually have sandwiches for at least two of our meals each day.
I've tried to come up with some information about what we're doing and what life in Vienna is like, but I don't know where to start. So I want to open the floor for questions. So please, post your questions in the comment section or send me an email. (You can get my email address from my profile if you don't already have it.) If I don't get any questions, I'll just pretend like the questions came through email and I'll make them up myself. Please, for everyone's sake, don't make me do that.
-----
In case the title and first line confused you, they're lines from The Royal Tenenbaums.
-----
Some people, and you know who you are, are under the impression that we're living the high life over here in Europe. Okay, so maybe no one is really under that impression. But you may wonder what it's like learning to live in a foreign culture. I can tell you this much -- it involves eating a lot of sandwiches. We usually have sandwiches for at least two of our meals each day.
I've tried to come up with some information about what we're doing and what life in Vienna is like, but I don't know where to start. So I want to open the floor for questions. So please, post your questions in the comment section or send me an email. (You can get my email address from my profile if you don't already have it.) If I don't get any questions, I'll just pretend like the questions came through email and I'll make them up myself. Please, for everyone's sake, don't make me do that.
-----
In case the title and first line confused you, they're lines from The Royal Tenenbaums.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Someone's in the kitchen
Cooking has been somewhat of an adventure since Brian and I moved into our apartment. Even before we moved to our new place, cooking was sometimes a gamble. We weren't always quite sure if what we were buying was what we thought we were buying. There was that one time I bought turkey breast when I thought I was buying chicken breast. The shear size of the poultry cuts should have been a good indication that it wasn't chicken breast because, come on, this chicken would have had to been very well-endowed. In any event, when we were in our temporary housing we had all sorts of pots and pans and measuring cups and baking dishes, so I only had to figure out what to cook, not necessarily how to cook it.
Now that we're in our own apartment we have one pot, one frying pan, and one spatula. (Yes, I actually considered taking a photo of this, but I figured you could use your imagination.) And, of course, my mixer and all of it's accessories that I blogged about last week. We also have two small plates, two bowls, six glasses, some disposable coffee cups and a 4 sets of silverware. (We shipped most of our kitchen stuff, so we've tried not to buy things that are coming on the container.)
Despite the lack of kitchen gear, I've still been trying to cook occasionally. I've used my mixer to make some homemade bread and tasty buns (click for recipes). I've made a tomato sauce and alfredo sauce for pasta. Yesterday I made a chicken and mashed potatoes (using my mixer to mash the potatoes). And as soon as I find cumin, I'm going to try Ty's taco meat recipe.
I'm looking forward to receiving the goods from the container (hopefully this week).
I think cooking will be easier once I get my measuring cups and spoons, but unfortunately, I'll still have to try to discern the chicken from the turkey.
Updated 8/13
I baked more tasty buns today and they looked so gorgeous I had to share a photo.
Now that we're in our own apartment we have one pot, one frying pan, and one spatula. (Yes, I actually considered taking a photo of this, but I figured you could use your imagination.) And, of course, my mixer and all of it's accessories that I blogged about last week. We also have two small plates, two bowls, six glasses, some disposable coffee cups and a 4 sets of silverware. (We shipped most of our kitchen stuff, so we've tried not to buy things that are coming on the container.)
Despite the lack of kitchen gear, I've still been trying to cook occasionally. I've used my mixer to make some homemade bread and tasty buns (click for recipes). I've made a tomato sauce and alfredo sauce for pasta. Yesterday I made a chicken and mashed potatoes (using my mixer to mash the potatoes). And as soon as I find cumin, I'm going to try Ty's taco meat recipe.
I'm looking forward to receiving the goods from the container (hopefully this week).
I think cooking will be easier once I get my measuring cups and spoons, but unfortunately, I'll still have to try to discern the chicken from the turkey.
Updated 8/13
I baked more tasty buns today and they looked so gorgeous I had to share a photo.
Friday, August 10, 2007
I Heart Recycling
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.
When I write about Europe, I always struggle to know how much background information to include. I know that many people who read this have spent time in Europe or are living in Europe. But there are also many who have never been to Europe or maybe only on a short trip. (It sure sounds like I have a lot of readers, doesn't it?) So I've decided that I will include background info and hope that it doesn't get too boring for those of you in the know. Now, let's move on.
Europe seems to be much more environmentally aware than the U.S. Maybe it's because land is at such a premium in Europe. Whatever the reason, recycling is a common part of life in Europe. And it's no different in Vienna. When I take the garbage out, this is what I see --
The one on the end is for things that you might throw into a mulch pile -- food, grass, etc. The next two (with red lids) are for "old paper" -- newspaper, cardboard boxes, envelopes, paper sacks, etc. The the other one is for "everything else." But don't let the "everything else" fool you, but it's not really for everything. Take a little walk down the street and you'll see this --
The first picture is the recycling container for glass bottle -- white (clear) and colored (green or brown). The next picture shows a container for metal things -- cans, foil, etc. -- and a container for plastic bottles. I'm not sure why these are not with the other trash containers. In addition, some bottles (and maybe glass jars) should be returned to the grocery store for a refund.
And I can't leave this out. This is a picture of the box that contains the beverage cartons (and a few outside of the box so you can see what they look like). Twice a month you place this box outside the front of the apartment where it is picked up for recycling.
Now you're probably thinking to yourself, "Is she kidding with all of this 'I heart' stuff. How could someone love all that extra work?" Well, to tell the truth, it is a bit of a chore. But I've been thinking a lot about the state of the environment and what I can do to decrease my footprint. Like a lot of people, I'm starting to realize that if we don't make some changes in our daily habits we are going to create some big problems for our children. And I want to make changes. I really appreciate that the city has made it easier for me to make this change by fostering an environment that promotes recycling and by providing the means for recycling. So even though it's a little extra work, I love Vienna because it makes recycling easier.
P.S., Sorry for the poor picture quality. It was starting to get dark, so I had to use a flash. Plus, I was trying to go unnoticed, so I snapped the picture quickly then moved on. But come on, folks, how inconspicuous can you be taking photos of trash containers! See the things I do for you, dear reader.
When I write about Europe, I always struggle to know how much background information to include. I know that many people who read this have spent time in Europe or are living in Europe. But there are also many who have never been to Europe or maybe only on a short trip. (It sure sounds like I have a lot of readers, doesn't it?) So I've decided that I will include background info and hope that it doesn't get too boring for those of you in the know. Now, let's move on.
Europe seems to be much more environmentally aware than the U.S. Maybe it's because land is at such a premium in Europe. Whatever the reason, recycling is a common part of life in Europe. And it's no different in Vienna. When I take the garbage out, this is what I see --
The one on the end is for things that you might throw into a mulch pile -- food, grass, etc. The next two (with red lids) are for "old paper" -- newspaper, cardboard boxes, envelopes, paper sacks, etc. The the other one is for "everything else." But don't let the "everything else" fool you, but it's not really for everything. Take a little walk down the street and you'll see this --
The first picture is the recycling container for glass bottle -- white (clear) and colored (green or brown). The next picture shows a container for metal things -- cans, foil, etc. -- and a container for plastic bottles. I'm not sure why these are not with the other trash containers. In addition, some bottles (and maybe glass jars) should be returned to the grocery store for a refund.
And I can't leave this out. This is a picture of the box that contains the beverage cartons (and a few outside of the box so you can see what they look like). Twice a month you place this box outside the front of the apartment where it is picked up for recycling.
Now you're probably thinking to yourself, "Is she kidding with all of this 'I heart' stuff. How could someone love all that extra work?" Well, to tell the truth, it is a bit of a chore. But I've been thinking a lot about the state of the environment and what I can do to decrease my footprint. Like a lot of people, I'm starting to realize that if we don't make some changes in our daily habits we are going to create some big problems for our children. And I want to make changes. I really appreciate that the city has made it easier for me to make this change by fostering an environment that promotes recycling and by providing the means for recycling. So even though it's a little extra work, I love Vienna because it makes recycling easier.
P.S., Sorry for the poor picture quality. It was starting to get dark, so I had to use a flash. Plus, I was trying to go unnoticed, so I snapped the picture quickly then moved on. But come on, folks, how inconspicuous can you be taking photos of trash containers! See the things I do for you, dear reader.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
A new apparatus
It's been over half a week since my last post. I hope you haven't given up checking for new posts. But honestly, there hasn't be a lot to write about. I know, I know, having nothing to say has never stopped me in the past. But now I finally have something to show you.
Yesterday, I got together with the other girls from OKC and we headed down to the largest shopping center in Europe. Don't worry, Mall of America, this mall has a way to go before catching up with you.
Shopping in Europe is quite different than shopping in the U.S. Some differences aren't too bad. For example, at grocery stores you have to bring your own bag or pay for a bag. Either way, you have to bag your groceries yourself. I don't mind bringing my own bag -- I've been wanting to get away from plastic anyway. And bagging is no problem. However, here's where the next difference comes into play. Now you must carry your groceries home, not wheel your cart out to your car. This isn't too big a deal with groceries. It's pretty common to go to the store every day or two, so you're not buying a whole lot. And the store is generally pretty close to your home. But it is a problem when you spend about an hour on public transportation to get to a shopping center and can only buy as much as you can carry home.
So, what was I able to carry home? A new stand mixer! I've been wanting to get a Kicthenaid stand mixer for a while and Brian said I could buy one since we got a furnished apartment. (Or maybe I said I could buy one since we got a furnished apartment. Who can remember such minute details?) So I began my search for a Kitchenaid and finally found a few -- for about €500! (That's almost $700 for those of you who are not yet in shock.) That's when I began my search for a different brand. After some research, I decided on Bosch -- the "European alternative to Kitchenaid," according to one review at epinions.com. And here it is:
Not only is it a stand mixer, it is also a blender and a food processor! And look at all of those accessories in their neat little holder. I still haven't figured out what this is -- any ideas? I think it goes with the food processor.
One more picture for today. Do you know how they say that everything is bigger in Texas? Well, everything is smaller in Austria. Take a look at this iron that Kim tried out at the mall.
Okay, okay -- that's not really the size of all irons in Austria. Actually, a lot of the irons are quite large. But this is a working iron. By the way, never try to iron clothes while you are wearing them! Even with a tiny iron.
Friday, August 3, 2007
New and improved
In case you haven't noticed, I've changed the format of this blog a little. Go ahead, look around. Did you notice the new banner? Of course, you did! How could you not? I must admit, I'm pretty proud of it. I bought a few pictures from iStockPhoto, downloaded The Gimp and spent a lot of time erasing part of the images and stacking layers and doing all sorts of things I had no idea I could do.
I also changed the blog template so the colors would coordinate with the banner colors. Do you like the template? I haven't decided if I'm going to keep it or try another one. There is another template that has darker blues. It would look like this -- the first picture includes the banner and the second includes the sidebar:
(You can click on the images to view a larger copy. Use the Back button to get back to this page.)
What do you think? I'm going to try something a little different. I've added a poll to the sidebar and would like to get your feedback. Let's call the current template "Thisaway Blue (current)" and the alternative option "Minima Blue". (I didn't just come up with some crazy names -- these are the actual names of the templates on Blogger.) So go ahead and vote and let me know which you prefer. The poll feature is pretty new in Blogger, so if it's not working -- it doesn't look like it's working right now -- you can leave your vote in the comments. Updated 8/4: I saw info on blogger that there is a known issue with the poll, so I've removed it. Please leave your vote in the comments.
By the way, if you want to see the original photos I used for the banner, you can check out these links: Votivkirche, Hundertwasser Haus, coffee mug. The clouds and map came from other free photo sites.
I also changed the blog template so the colors would coordinate with the banner colors. Do you like the template? I haven't decided if I'm going to keep it or try another one. There is another template that has darker blues. It would look like this -- the first picture includes the banner and the second includes the sidebar:
(You can click on the images to view a larger copy. Use the Back button to get back to this page.)
What do you think? I'm going to try something a little different. I've added a poll to the sidebar and would like to get your feedback. Let's call the current template "Thisaway Blue (current)" and the alternative option "Minima Blue". (I didn't just come up with some crazy names -- these are the actual names of the templates on Blogger.) So go ahead and vote and let me know which you prefer. The poll feature is pretty new in Blogger, so if it's not working -- it doesn't look like it's working right now -- you can leave your vote in the comments. Updated 8/4: I saw info on blogger that there is a known issue with the poll, so I've removed it. Please leave your vote in the comments.
By the way, if you want to see the original photos I used for the banner, you can check out these links: Votivkirche, Hundertwasser Haus, coffee mug. The clouds and map came from other free photo sites.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Swindled by the Swedes
Last Friday, Brian and I ventured out to IKEA to buy some bedding. If you've never been to IKEA before, allow me to describe the store to you a bit. (If you have been to IKEA -- any IKEA, because they're all identical -- you can skip down to the next paragraph.) IKEA is a Swedish home furnishing super store. They specialize in "flat pack" furniture and have a very distinctive appearance. In addition to furniture, they also sell bedding, textiles, cookware, and just about anything else you would need for your home. And all at pretty reasonable prices. A lot of the store is laid out with different "rooms" -- living room, bedroom, kitchen, etc. -- where everything you might want for that type of room is set up like it would be in your home. You're guided through the store by arrows that lead you through a winding path through the entire upstairs -- living room, dining room, kitchen, bedroom, kid's room, bathroom (for your home, not public), and restaurant (public, not for your home) -- then back downstairs for rugs, bedding, kitchen and dining stuff (plates, cookware, etc), lighting, and pet stuff before you get to the warehouse section where you can pick up the flat pack furniture you picked out upstairs. It really is quite an ordeal to go through everything. Now that you have an idea of what IKEA is like, let's join the folks who skipped on ahead.
...
Ah, there you are. Now we can continue.
So, as I was saying earlier, Brian and I ventured out to IKEA to buy some bedding. This was our first trip to IKEA in a long, long time, so we didn't know that the stuff we were interested in was downstairs. So we started on the long and winding path through all of the furniture upstairs. By the time we got through all of the furniture and were ready to go downstairs, we were a little hungry. Lo and behold, but what is located right next to the stairway -- the IKEA restaurant! So we decided to stop for a bite. And what else do you get when you're at a Swedish furniture store, but Swedish meatballs. We each got a plate with 10 Swedish meatballs and french fries, plus three bottles of water and went to pay. And guess how much it cost? 5 euros! That's right, folks, 5 euros. For two plates of food and three bottles of water. I was stunned. I knew the furniture was a good deal, but I didn't know the meatballs would be such a good deal as well.
Brian and I were so pleased with the deal we got on the meatballs, we decided to go to IKEA again yesterday and eat lunch (as well as buy some things for the kitchen). We worked up an appetite walking through the maze of furniture to reach the restaurant. We got our meatballs and water and headed to the cashier with 4 euros in hand. (Only two bottles of water this time.) The cashier rings it up and asks for 9.90 euro. The nerve of that woman! What happened to my 1 euro meatballs? The best explanation I came up with is that there was a special last Friday.
Even though they cost more than a euro, the meatballs were still pretty tasty. Here's a picture of the half-eaten meal. (The purple stuff is black current jam, I think.)
P.S. Just kidding about all of that "not able to get on the internet" in the last post. Looks like I got you worried for nothing.
...
Ah, there you are. Now we can continue.
So, as I was saying earlier, Brian and I ventured out to IKEA to buy some bedding. This was our first trip to IKEA in a long, long time, so we didn't know that the stuff we were interested in was downstairs. So we started on the long and winding path through all of the furniture upstairs. By the time we got through all of the furniture and were ready to go downstairs, we were a little hungry. Lo and behold, but what is located right next to the stairway -- the IKEA restaurant! So we decided to stop for a bite. And what else do you get when you're at a Swedish furniture store, but Swedish meatballs. We each got a plate with 10 Swedish meatballs and french fries, plus three bottles of water and went to pay. And guess how much it cost? 5 euros! That's right, folks, 5 euros. For two plates of food and three bottles of water. I was stunned. I knew the furniture was a good deal, but I didn't know the meatballs would be such a good deal as well.
Brian and I were so pleased with the deal we got on the meatballs, we decided to go to IKEA again yesterday and eat lunch (as well as buy some things for the kitchen). We worked up an appetite walking through the maze of furniture to reach the restaurant. We got our meatballs and water and headed to the cashier with 4 euros in hand. (Only two bottles of water this time.) The cashier rings it up and asks for 9.90 euro. The nerve of that woman! What happened to my 1 euro meatballs? The best explanation I came up with is that there was a special last Friday.
Even though they cost more than a euro, the meatballs were still pretty tasty. Here's a picture of the half-eaten meal. (The purple stuff is black current jam, I think.)
P.S. Just kidding about all of that "not able to get on the internet" in the last post. Looks like I got you worried for nothing.
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