Breaking out the dance moves

Is just me, or has anyone else noticed that Michael Scott seems to have learned his dance moves from Peanuts?

Small victories

Today Brian and I went to the university to register for next semester's German course. Everyone in the registration office speaks English, but I decided that I was going to give it a go in German. After all, I'm not in an elementary class anymore.

So I did it in German. And it went off without a hitch. Well, except that I told the woman that I was born in 1918 instead of 1980.

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Remember how I told you about the university field trip last week? We got a video of some of the activities. Here are a few clips that I pulled out so you could see a little of the class and what university students do on a field trip. The first two clips are from some fun in the blue box. In the last clip, we were checking out the teleprompter on the camera. So that's why everyone is looking at the camera oddly. The girl at the end is wearing a blue sweater, but the camera still has the blue box setting turned on, so you can see a bit of a weather map on her sweater.

A disclaimer -- I didn't add the music, it was on the video.

I can relate

My favorite lines from the most recent episode of The Office:

Stanley: "I took an extra shot of insulin in preparation of this cake today. If I don't have some cake soon, I might die."

Oscar: "Why don't you just have an apple?"

Stanley: "Why don't you just mind your business?"

I know exactly what you mean, Stanley.

Don't worry about me

You may remember a while back when we all got the awful news that The Office and other NBC shows would not be available on iTunes. This isn't really a huge problem for those of you in the U.S. who can watch The Office on TV or on NBC's website, but for those of us who live outside the U.S. it can be a real pain. Sure, there are plenty of places to watch episodes that have been recorded and uploaded to the Internet illegally. But I like to keep things on the up and up whenever possible.

This is where VeohTV comes in. VeohTV is a program you download that allows you to watch episodes of shows from several TV stations, including NBC. I don't know exactly how it works (even after reading the "How VeohTV Works" page on the website), but it works well. When I hit the play button, it starts playing immediately! No buffering! No waiting!

However -- there are a few drawbacks. There are commercials. Usually one at the beginning and two or three during the episode (depending on the length of the show). But there are commercials on regular TV, so that's not a big deal. The second drawback is that it looks like only the five most recent episodes are available. So you have to stay current. And then the other drawback is that it takes a bit longer for the episodes to show up. For example, The Office isn't generally available until Friday evening or maybe Saturday, but you can find it on those *other* sites Friday afternoon.

But still -- it's a pretty good deal. So don't worry about me and Brian. We're staying current with The Office -- and several other shows.

Say it ain't so

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.

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. :)