Arrival in Eisenstadt

I've just arrived in Eisenstadt about an hour and a half ago. When I was coming in on the train, I saw a gigantic rainbow, which I took as a very pleasant omen. I just moved into my room, and it is very comfortable and nice. I have my own bathroom, and there are all kinds of built in cabinets for clothes, shelves, a desk with drawers, a phone and everything. The staff seems to be very friendly, and there are lots of young people around. I am up on the third floor, which makes me happy. I always love being higher up off the ground. I won't have internet access in my room until Monday when the office is open and I can get my password, so I am using John's computer in his room. He moved in here last month, and is doing the same English-teaching thing. I am so very happy and excited to be here! I'm going to go the kitchen and eat some ramen with John now, so I'll write more later. Oh, phone number, for anyone interested in calling me (mom), is (from the US) 043 2682 704 58 363.
Cheers!

-Art

more Vienna Pics- as requested by Eric :)

School Visit

Spent the morning visiting English classes in an HTL here in Hollabrun. HTL means "Höhere Technische Lehranstalt". This is a technical school for people learning engineering and computer science. The school has about 1,600 male students, and only 60 girls. These kids really don't like to study foreign languages. They're much more interested in Math, and it shows. The classes we visited were the 4th and 5th years of English, and most of them were really not good at the language at all. Of course, there were a few exceptions. The teachers basically split us up so we could get into groups with the students and talk to them. They asked me all kinds of questions about the US... whether I liked Bush or not, what kind of car I drove, whether I had been to New Orleans... etc. One of the kids had his laptop and he had a satellite map program (Google World- free download I hear) which was really really cool, because I could show him the whole US, then zoom in on Ohio, then to Athens, and then even to South Canaan road! That was really neat, and they seemed to be pretty interested despite their lack of language skill. If anything, it was a break from their usual routine. It was interesting... the teacher introduced us in English, but she had to give most of the directions in German. Its really fascinating how different each type of school is. I will actually be teaching at two schools, one of which is a Gymnasium (the really intense University prep school) and the other is an HTL. That will be something of a challenge, as I imagine I will have to cater my lesson plans to the different schools since they are on such different levels.
What a great experience!
I'm still very anxious to get to Eisenstadt and settle in. We're leaving on Friday afternoon.
More later :)

-art

Funny Picture

NO FEAR!!! HAHAHA!!!

Orientation Seminar

I've been in Hollabrun for the past couple of days doing the orientation seminar for language teaching assistants. There are about 100 of us here for the eastern part of Austria. About half are American, half English, with the odd Scottish, Irish, and Australian thrown in the mix. We started off this morning with a presentation from a representative from the Austrian Ministry of Education telling us about some administrative stuff, and then the next half of the day was sort of like a crash-course for teachers. I feel really happy that I got that TEFL certificate, because I feel like I'm a bit ahead of many of the people here. I did learn a lot more about the Austrian education system- it's really intense! The students who are on the university track (who will be my students) have to take a really intense test before their graduation called the "Matura". They are tested in 5 core subjects, and English is one of them (unless they choose French or Spanish, which isn't as popular). By the time they're sixteen, they're reading books like "1984", "On The Beach", Dickens, and even Shakespeare! The tests they have to take last for about 5 hours, with a spoken interview and extensive written essays. So, they will be very advanced before I get to them. Its funny though, because I haven't come across many Austrians who speak English very well at all. I suppose they must forget it all after their school years. There are four of us who will be going to Eisenstadt including myself. One is American, one English, and one Australian. We've been hanging out a bit, and they all seem to be very nice people.

All of you who I sent emails to: You are all terrible lazy and I'm disappointed I haven't heard from you!!

-Art

A few pictures of vienna

New York

Ok, found a wireless signal at a café... here's what i wrote about new york:



New York

What an amazing city!

As I was flying in from Columbus, we were slightly delayed. So, the pilot had to fly up the Hudson river while waiting for clearance to land. This was great because I had a window seat, and I could see all of Manhattan. There was Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, the UN building, and Central Park. It actually gave me goosebumps. Once we landed, I got in a cab and told the driver to take me to the intersection in Brooklyn where my friend Erin lives. I had assumed that this would be enough information… but it most certainly was not. I was lost in Brooklyn in a cab for about 2 hours. Luckily, he turned the meter off after we realized we were lost ($17). It was a mess of one-way streets and construction, and lets just say its not the prettiest neighborhood in the world… The cabbie was kind of frustrated with me, and said “You come to Brooklyn, you bring directions!!” with a thick Indian accent. But, he was nice enough, and let me look at the map, and we eventually found our way. I felt bad because he missed his shift change and works a crappy job… so I gave him $30. And, I made it to Erin’s just in time to get on the subway with her as she was on her way to work. I left her in Manhattan, and changed trains a couple times (effortlessly) and stepped out on 5th avenue and turned the corner to go to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Unfortunately, the place is closed on Tuesdays, so I didn’t get to go in. No matter, I just walked around for a bit, drooled at the Gucci and Prada window displays, and wandered around Central Park for a bit. I was really amazed at how comfortable and at home I felt there. I had this impression that everyone in New York was either a model or stockbroker and extremely snotty, but that wasn’t the case at all. Really, there is every type of person there, and I didn’t feel as though I was shabbily dressed in comparison. And, people were actually friendly… got a few random hellos, and even a “bless you” from a stranger when I sneezed. I got a bit tired of walking around, so I decided to take the A train down to Greenwich Village to go see Erin at the restaurant where she waits tables. I managed to find the place without even looking at the map even though it was 4 blocks away and required some navigation. It just felt so intuitive… and the people walk just as fast as I do. The place was really nice, very modern décor, and excellent food. She gave me a free appetizer, desert wine, and drinks… the only money I spent was $15 on the burger. She introduced me to her coworkers, and they were all very nice people. I sat out on the tables on West Houston St. and watched the traffic and people go by and used her phone to call a bunch of my friends. After she got off, we went down to the lower east side for some drinks at a bar which reminded me very much of the Union back in Athens. This, of course, lasted until about 3am until we caught a train back to Brooklyn. I know I was only there for about 24 hours, but I instantly fell in love and think that I could live there. As I’m writing this, I’m sitting in the lounge of British Airways Terminal 4, waiting to board the flight to London. Unfortunately, there is not wireless connection here, so you’ll be reading it ex-post facto. Oh well. At least I have it typed.
Next stop: Vienna!

Wien ist Wunderbar!!

Hey gang...

Still hanging out in Vienna. I stayed at a nice little hotel for 2 nights, which was great because it had a bathroom and very comfortable beds. It was very reasonably priced (56 euro a night for a double room, which I split with this guy Noah I met). But, we moved into a youth hostel today (cheaper- 16 euro/night per person). I met up with my friend Ludwig. For those of you who don't know him, he's half Austrian, grew up in the US (but spent every summer here in Vienna), and went to OU for three years. He just transferred to a university in Vienna. He came in and found me at the hotel yesterday, and he was a total spaz! Apparently the woman at the front desk wouldn't let him come up to the room. He found me the next day eating breakfast there, and he said very loudly "That woman is a total NAZI!!" I couldn't believe it!! I had to yell at him for it, and he said "I'm Austrian, I'm allowed to say it". Very funny. He lives with his Grandma now, whom i spoke with on the telephone, and she was very very nice. She told me that I spoke perfect German and asked all about what I was doing. Overall, the viennese are exceptionally nice and always willing to help. This youth hostel is really nice, run by australians, the rooms have 4 people to them and are exceptionally clean with their own bathrooms. We've got two aussie girls for roomates, and i'll be staying here sunday night too. But, then its off to Hollabrun for the orientation seminar. Today I went to the Naschmarkt, which is a huge open-air market with food and a flea market. I did have to do a little shopping, since the shoulder strap of my black back fell off. I found a very nice replacement for 20 euro. OH, and I got my luggage back yesterday. Thank god.
I have been taking a few pictures, and I can't wait to get to Eisenstadt to hook up the laptop and upload them. Until then, you're all going to have to hold your breath :)


Until next time...
Liebe Gruesse

Art

WHORLdwind

Hello everyone!!!

I've arrived safely in Vienna today. They did manage to leave my my luggage in London, but i will be able to get it tomorrow. I met a grad student from California in the airport whose luggage had also been lost, so we decided to hang out for a bit and split a hotel room, which has been great. Always nice to travel with a buddy.

Oh, i wrote an entire entry for New York on my laptop, but I'll have to wait until i get to eisenstadt to post that or any photos. I am soooo tired, since I was running all over manhattan yesterday with no sleep and then flew here and lost a day and have been running all over vienna. people here are very friendly and the deutsch is coming in very handy.

I still can't believe i'm here, it still kinda feels like a dream. Must get lots of sleep tonight.

Much love to all.

-Art

Final Days In Athens

What a blur--

This was taking in the glass elevator of the 5ive on court building. I was there for Liz Blair's gallery opening, and this is her son Christopher and friend enjoying the view. After that, I spent much time at Stephens, but of course had to go to the Red Brick for a few martinis...

Flying from Columbus to New York on tuesday. Still haven't packed. 24 hour party person needs to get his stuff together.

Keep checking back, the next pic will probably be NYC :)

-Art