My Vienna :: My school

This is where I've spent the better part of the last 9 or 10 months:


This is the language center for the University of Vienna. Before it was part of the university, this building and the others around it were the general hospital.

More precisely, this is where I've been spending so much time:


This is the classroom for the German course Brian and I have been taking since October. (We were an almost identical classroom a little further down the hall for our September class.) And yesterday, we visited this classroom for the last time. We have both officially passed the 7th level (M3) and are finished (for the time being, at least) with formal language study.

It's amazing when I think about the progress we've made. We're not yet fluent in German, but we can actually talk to people and understand what's going on around us. And when we're familiar with the subject matter, we can get along quite well. In preparation for our final exam, we had to read three newspaper articles and write a summary and our opinion for each one. During our oral exam, the professor selected one of the articles and asked us to discuss it. Brian talked about a legal document that has to do with the care of the children in the event both parents die. And I talked about the global food crisis caused by soaring food prices. Not simple subjects.

We've made some friends along the way, as well. Two of the girls in our class started the first level with us in September. And several others have been in class together for two semesters. On the last day of class, I brought chocolate chip cookies (using my Aunt Sue's famous cookie recipe). They were a big hit and a couple of classmates even asked where we lived and whether we would be staying in Vienna this summer. I think we'll be keeping in touch. :)

Yesterday we met for a few minutes in our classroom to wrap up some final issues then headed to a cafe in the courtyard for a little socializing before we parted ways. I think everyone was ready for summer break.

Sitting pretty

I've heard that I have a new reader. HI NANA! I hope you enjoy seeing a bit of my life here in Vienna.

Don't let the picture of Sharkdog fool you. We haven't all been laying around the whole day. Brian and I have been busy finishing up the semester of German class. Tomorrow is our last day. And then... well, you'll just have to wait and see.

Father's Day

Today, in honor of Father's Day, I would like to expound on the history of this fine holiday in German-speaking Europe. No wait, don't leave! I promise this will be interesting. Well, I hope so anyways. I made a commitment to myself long ago that I wouldn't delete something just because it wasn't interesting. This blog is all about quantity, folks, not quality. I'm surprised you hadn't noticed by now.

Back to the point at hand -- Father's Day, or Vatertag. Father's Day in Austria is pretty much the same as Father's Day in the U.S. That is, it's much less significant than Mother's Day. (I didn't say that I think it's less significant. It's society, man. Society. Of course, I think it's equally significant.) Children of all ages take advantage of this day to gift their father with cards and small treasures in appreciation for all that things that dads do. The Austrians, however, throw in one little twist. They celebrate Father's Day the second Sunday in June -- one week before the U.S. holiday. Sneaky.

Switzerland does not have a national Father's Day. But they do have good cheese, so that counts for something.

And then there's Germany. This is where things get interesting. Father's Day began in the Middle Ages as a day to honor God the Father. It was celebrated on Ascension Day, which is generally in May (40 days after Easter). It later became a day to honor fathers in general. But somewhere along the line it disappeared for a while. And when it returned in the 19th century (still on Ascension Day), it was no longer a day to honor God or even a day to honor fathers. It was pretty much an excuse for guys to get drunk. In fact, in some parts of Germany it's called Herrentag (Men's Day) instead of Vatertag -- I guess so that all guys, and not just fathers, can participate in the day's revelry. Basically, guys spend the day going from bar to bar and making a big scene while women spend the day rolling their eyes and pretending not to know the men. I don't think the holiday is celebrated much these days, but I'm pretty sure I got to witness it about 10 years ago in Chemnitz, Germany. I remember seeing these guys walking up and down the street pulling a wagon full of beer and ringing bells. When I asked about it, the ladies just rolled their eyes and said that it was Men's Day.

So there you have it.

And Dad, if you're reading this: Happy Father's Day, Pops!

Enjoying the fruit of my labor

Behold, my first strawberry. It was quite tasty. But it might be my last. The strawberry plants have been looking peaked since they had to spend almost two days indoor while the balcony was being repainted. I'm just not sure they'll make it much longer.

But while conducting a bit of internet research, I read that you're supposed to pinch off the blossoms until July. So I think I will do some pruning and see what happens later this summer. Who knows, maybe I'll end up with two strawberries.

Something's amiss

I ran across an article today that I found amusing. German Toymaker Launches Barak Obama Doll.

I think this is my favorite part:

[Doll-maker Marcel Offermann] admits that the physical resemblance to Obama could have been closer. "The doll works more on a symbolic level," he said. "It's a symbiosis of the clothing and the fact it's a black doll." Although "90 percent" of the feedback so far has been positive, he admits that "10 percent of people said the doll doesn't look like Obama."

I would post photos here, but I'm sure that's a violation of copyright laws, so head over to the article to see for yourself. Do you see the resemblance?

And so it begins

Yesterday I stopped by the grocery store to pick up a few things. I try to avoid the grocery store on Friday because it's always crowded, but I made an exception this time. As I was trying to gather the few items I needed, I couldn't help but notice the amount of beer in some of the carts. I saw several people with 4 or more cases of beer. (A case contains 20 bottles. I know this because I counted, in case you're wondering.) I saw at least 1 guy with 8 cases. Surely this wasn't an every-Friday amount of beer. So I started thinking... Is there a holiday this weekend? Is there something special going on? What it is?

When I mentioned it to Brian, he said it was probably because the games were starting this weekend. Oh, yes, THE GAMES. That must be it.

If you're living in Europe, then you probably know exactly what games I'm talking about. Only the third largest sporting event in the world after the Olympics and World Cup. Still racking your brain? It's the UEFA Euro2008! Soccer! Uh, I mean, Football!

The games are hosted by Switzerland and Austria this year with the championship game in Vienna on June 29th. Vienna has been primping and preening for months. These little fellas have been popping up around the city:


And the bushes have been properly trimmed and decorated:


Even the statues in front of Künstlerhaus are getting in on the action. (No, the statues don't normally wear cleats.)


So from now until the final game on June 29th, this blog will be all about Euro2008. Okay, that's not true. I'm sure I'll mention it another time or two this month. But I also have a garden, sewing projects and day to day minutiae to write about. Never a dull moment.

The rundown

Not a lot going on in these parts. Here's a brief list of the latest happenings.

• The washing machine broke. Fortunately, there's a washer and dryer in the basement, so it hasn't been terribly inconvenient. I did have to call the repair service to have them send out a repair. And I had to do it in German. But, boy, was I proud of myself for accomplishing that.

• Our balcony is being painted. I don't think I noticed how badly it needed to be painted until we found out that it was going to be painted.

• We had to move the garden indoors for a day or two while the balcony is being painted. I hope everything survives the move and the indoor living.

• Brian and I completed our final oral presentation for our German class last week. We have less than three weeks of class left!

Man, things are dull around here. Hopefully I'll have something more interesting to write about later this week.