I Can Walk on Water

I must be Jesus.

I went with Alexa, Monika, and Konstantin to the Neusiedlsee to go ice skating today. First we had lunch in our favorite little restaurant in Hungary, and then it was off to the city of Rust to get some winter sport time in. I took a few photos with Alexa´s camera, so here they are.



This is me, Konstantin, and Monika.








Neusiedlsee is a very large lake, so it was easy to get beyond the crowd and enjoy the wonderful ice! It has been very very cold for the past 3 weeks or so and it hasn't snowed a bit, so the ice was perfect. This was all great fun until Konstantin fell and broke his two front teeth :( I felt really sorry for the poor guy. We had to leave a bit early to take him to the hospital just to make sure everything was OK for now, and they said he should go to the dentist first thing tomorrow. It could have been a lot worse, since he just chipped off the bottom parts of the two teeth and it didn't bleed or anything. Well, at least I know where the Eisenstadt hospital is now. He seems to be doing fine now, although he's not too keen on eating again.

Schule Macht Spaß

“Does he REALLY speak German??”

When I went to the HTL yesterday, my dear friend and colleague Alexa told me that one of the classes asked if I could really speak German. She told them “yes, he speaks super Deutsch”, but they didn’t believe her because its my policy to speak only English during my lessons. So, I went in to teach my lesson on Martin Luther King (good stuff), she told me “this is the class that wants to hear your German”. So, I said “Ok, I’ll speak German with you in the last five or ten minutes”. Once my topic fizzled out toward the end, I just launched off into a little speech about how it is definitely possible to learn a foreign language, using my near-fluent Deutsch skills as an example. After all, all of my socializing and business outside of the school is conducted exclusively in German, so it doesn’t even feel like a strain to speak it anymore. I pointed out that some things are hard for a native speaker to explain, using some rules of German that native speakers don’t know as examples of the kinds of things you have to do when you learn. Specifically, German natives have no idea that practically every word in the language that ends with “e” is feminine. They just know it instinctively. It’s the same way with me in English. I don’t have to think “Hmm, this is an action that started in the past but is still continuing, so I need to use present perfect progressive”. [Example: “She has been waiting for 20 minutes”. This verb form does not exist in German and is therefore problematic for learners]. The rule is just there in my subconscious somehow. The students were all sort of astounded. One of them asked me if it was difficult to understand the local dialect. I prattled off a bit of Burgenlandisch, much to their amusement, and effectively answered the question. IE, I’ve been here listening to the vernacular long enough that I get it now. I don’t usually SPEAK it, because it makes me sound like an Austrian redneck (I’m a redneck of the American variety, thank you very much), but I can understand it pretty well. You get used to it if you’re surrounded by it. This was all great fun, and hopefully something of a motivation for them to work at their own foreign language skills. This stuff fascinates me. If linguistics wasn’t such a dry and pseudo-scientific subject, I might consider studying it further. Trust me, once you’ve heard some of the studies they’ve done and arguments they make, you’d probably be turned off too.

“What’s an outline?”

My 8th form class in the Gymnasium is preparing to take an English test tomorrow. Their tests last about three hours, consisting of a listening comprehension section, reading comprehension and short answers, and finally a relatively lengthy essay. We have been working with the topics “the American dream” and “the media” for what feels like ages. I decided it would be a good idea to do some free-writing activities and outlines to get them thinking about the writing process and their topics. So, we started of with some “mind maps” or “thought clusters” or whatever the hell you want to call it. This is a helpful start to the writing process, allowing the free flow of topics and thoughts unhindered by organization and detail. It’s a great idea that is heavily taught in American schools and has helped my own writing on several occasions. The students had never heard of it. After doing a couple of mind maps, I moved into the next step: outlining. To my astonishment, they had never heard of this either! Maybe I’m feeling over-confident, but I think this may have been one of my most useful lessons ever, since the whole concept of pre-writing activities saved my academic career several times over. I will never forget my high school English teacher, Donna Hynes, and her comments on the three parts of an essay: “Introduction: Tell them what you’re going to tell them. Body: Tell them. Conclusion: Tell them what you told them”. [Note to Grandma and Grandpa: Tell Donna I say “Thank you!” and let her know that her insight is being spread to a new generation in a foreign country]. I told my students this, made a short example of an outline with these three crucial pieces, and got them doing their own. I also told them that these are great strategies for any piece of academic writing they may have to do, and it could easily work in any language. I really think that this will improve their chances on the test tomorrow. I’m very curious to see if the Direktor might notice an improvement in the grades. He wasn’t there today, so I was teaching on my own again, but I’ll have tell him tomorrow what I did and see what he thinks after he grades the exams. Sometimes, the satisfaction of teaching really does make up for the lousy pay.

heeheehee

Sandra & Björn share a romantic moment at the ÖJAB ball.

The Escalator Sez...

"Please stand to the right"
"Please think left"
The text "Fahrtreppenbenutzungshinweise" means "Movingstairsusagenotices".

Total Immersion Backlash!

As you all probably know, I've been living in Austria for quite some time now. Spending so much time here has given me the wonderfully opportunity to be totally immersed in the language and culture, allowing me to pick up on subtleties and nuances previously unnoticed during my three month stint in Salzburg in the year 2002. Until now, I've been highly reserved, polite, and über-conscious of what my friends and colleagues think of me. Of course it is a good idea to make a good first impression and play it safe until one is pretty well settled in. Well, that was me until now! This new attitude came as something of a revelation to me last weekend in Vienna after spending a good deal of time with other Americans for the first time in months. My friend Ludwig was particularly insightful. Yes, I know, Ludwig is not an American name... but he is half American and half Austrian and grew up in the States. He recently transferred from Ohio University to a college in Vienna. He has been here for about the same amount of time that I have. It was great to see him again and catch up on each others' lives while maintaining an Athens connection. He told me he was feeling a bit frustrated with his life here, explaining "I am really attached to an American mentality that I never realized was so important to me until now". I identified with his sentiments. The mentality here is very complex and somewhat contradictory in some senses. Yes, Europeans are very socially liberal and more tolerant of things like nudity for example, but they are also extremely reserved in some ways. Americans have a very independent and individualist attitude that simply doesn't exist here. They are highly conscious of social conventions and worry constantly about how others' perceive them. I have been striving to fit into this mode since my arrival at the expense of my individuality. Ludwig's case in point: "I was at H & M and I wanted to try on a pair of pants, but the line for the dressing room was about a mile long. I just took off my pants and tried them on right there in the store. My boyfriend (an Austrian) wasn't with me, but if he had been I know he would have died of embarrassment". It's true- I can't imagine a European doing such a thing, and I wouldn't have even considered doing such a thing here. I've been considering his conundrum and bravery and decided that it was a good lesson for me. I already have good friends here, I've managed to impress my colleagues, and I feel like I've done my fair share of conforming. Now, it's time for the REAL Arthur Cornwell to break loose! I went to a party at the Fachhochschule and danced like a crazy fool with reckless abandon, ignoring the strange looks and making fun of myself and the music simultaneously. My friends were impressed and highly amused, and barely known acquaintances must think I'm crazy. I wear mismatched socks again. I'm using an article from The Onion entitled "School Shooting Solves All of Youth's Problems" to teach about youth problems and violence in the United States. I made prank phone calls in the dormitory with Sandra last night. I miss the old, irreverent, goofy, AMERICAN me. Now, don't get me wrong, I absolutely love Europe and the Austrian people. But, I am an American. I'm not ashamed of it. I'm daring to be different and it's improving my life. And Ludwig is right, there are some very good things about the American attitude (although some very bad things as well. I'm trying to take the good). I've noticed a new enthusiasm in my teaching and my friends find me more amusing ("du warst der einzige auf der Party der witzig war!!" -Marina). Thanks Marina!!

In other news, I'm officially submitting my application for a second year's extension tomorrow so that it gets to the appropriate authorities before the 1 February deadline. I still don't want to come back. I'm just discovering the joys of immersion backlash after a long period of timid conformity.

Check This Out!

I think I have found the coolest website ever. It's called pandora.com. It's a music genome project, which identifies several traits of a song and can recommend other similar ones. So, you can use it to find new music that you like, and it's amazingly good at it! Definitely worth a try. Just type in the name of your favorite song or artist and you're off.

Our Tax Dollars at Work

I had quite the adventure in Vienna yesterday. I decided to go there to visit some fellow teaching assistants and take a little break from Eisenstadt. I met Lori and colleauges in a nice little restaurant. There was a girl with them who is currently doing an internship at the American embassy. She said "I'm house sitting for my boss this weekend. She told me to have friends over, we should go hang out there". Sounded like fun to me, so we walked a few blocks to the flat. I have never seen such an amazing apartment in my life! First of all, it was in the middle of the first district, which is the historic city center and outrageously expensive. The apartment was huge, with beautiful wood floors and modern furnishings. They had a gigantic American refridgerator (a rare site here) and the others exclaimed "A clothesdryer!!! I haven't seen one of those since I've been here!!". Ok, this is a luxury also available in the Studentheim I had apparently been taking for granted. The best part though- the apartment also had a terrace on the roof with a hot tub! It was soooo cool up there! We could see the famous Stephansdom (old church) a few blocks away, and all sorts of other buildings across the city. It was also quite striking how eerily quiet it was. Vienna is extremly tranquil for being such a large city. The only sound to be heard was the slight hum of the Autobahn several kilometers away. There were no horns, shouts, or other noises one would expect. Everyone suddenly decided that they were all interested in a career in foreign service, and made several jokes about the place being bugged and the possibility of there being a camera behind the mirror. I can't even imagine how much this apartment cost, but it was most likely over a million dollars. Afterwards I went to spend the night at Lori's flat, quite a treck across town into the 17th district, which definitely has lower rent! I only had to teach one hour today in the afternoon, so I had to wake up early and take a total of 6 different trains (including the Strassenbahn and subway - see itinerary below) to get back to Eisenstadt on time. I made all of my connections and taught my lesson. I think I need to go to Vienna more often.

Today's Travel Itinerary (times are approximated):

10:10 AM - Strassenbahn (Tram) from wherever the hell I was to Alser Strasse.
10:15 AM - U-Bahn (subway) line U6 to Westbahnhof (Western Train Station)
10:27 AM - Subway line U3 to Stephansplatz (location of famous aforementioned church)
10:36 AM - Subway line U1 to Südtirolerplatz
10:46 AM - Walk one block to Südbahnhof (Southern Train Station)
10:56 AM - Commuter train to Neusiedl am See (if you don't get off at this stop, you end up in Hungary)
11:19 AM - Regional Train to Eisenstadt
12:07 PM - Arrival at Eisenstadt Hauptbahnhof
12:45 PM - Teach lesson on American School System




Click on the map for the enlarged version.
Ah, the wonders of European public transportation system. Highly effective once you've mastered it, but quite complicated to beginners!

More Frenchy Stuff

Alright- Here's my final post about France. About time too, seeing as though I've been back in Austria for over a week.

One of the best things I did in France was a tour of a winery. First some background on the people. Alice has a good friend, Caroline, who is also from Dijon. She is married to an American, Connor. They live together in New York, but were in France for the holiday. Caroline's mother drove, and she arrived with Connor and Caroline to pick us up. Then we drove for about 45 minutes to the village of Beaune, which is south of Dijon.




Here we are trudging through the snow in Beaune.



Here's Caroline, myself, Alice, and Connor (decapitated) in the museum.



The coolest part was the celler, which consisted of a five kilometer (!) labyrinth with bottles of unlabled wine as far as the eye could see.



Each section had a slate label with the vintage and type of wine written on it.



Now here's the good part- wine tasting! We each had a little silver cup to taste about eight or twelve (I don't remember) different kinds of wine with. Connor kind of gets on my nerves, I must admit. He's one of those people that thinks he knows everything. He speaks a little bit of French (not very well), and Caroline's mother speaks very little English. At one point he tried to tell her that the particular wine we were tasting was "easier" (plus façile) than the last. Me, being the lush that I am, blurted out "Ils sont TOUTES façiles!!" (They are ALL easy!!) Everyone laughed. I'm so glad I took French in High School.



Having survived wine tasting, it was on to New Year's Eve. Caroline held a dinner party at her mother's house. Here we are at the table.



Mmmmm.... Snails! The French have a very interesting idea of what sort of things are edible. From extremely stinky cheese to snails and frog legs... it's a little disconcerting to your average foreigner. Having been served a platter of snails, I decided to make the best of it. I named one of the little fellows Pierre, and then I ate him! He was so delicious, I unceremoniously ate five of his brethren without naming them. I still kept Pierre's house as a souvenir though. It's sitting next to my computer right now! Hey, don't knock it until you try it.



Ok this picture is a bit ridiculous. Alice's father, Gerard, has a bunch of old helmets and hats from the second world war. Alice and I were playing with them and he took a picture. I believe these ones are American.



And then it was time for me to catch the direct TGV to Charles de Gaulle airport. I ended up with a first class ticket through sort of a fluke. They offer discounted tickets for people under the age of 26, but only a limited number. The discounted second class tickets were sold out. So, I could buy a regularly priced second class ticket, or a discounted first class ticket for only 30 cents more. I chose first class, naturally. It was less stinky and more comfortable, with big wide cushy seats with electric reclining funciton! Whee!

That was fun. I might have to do it again some day.

Dijon Photos

Ok, Ok, sorry I've been so lazy lately... but you can't blame me for enjoy my time off and Landesschulrat given right to do absolutely nothing for a week. Anyway, here are some pictures of Dijon. The wine-tasting story and photos to accompany it will follow- I simply can't fit them all in one entry and its a big pain in the ass to match photos to text anyway.

Here we go:



Alice's family lives in a little village on the outskirts of Dijon. We went for a walk on the first day, and this is one of the buildings I saw.



Here's Alice and her mother, Bernadette, in the kitchen whipping up another culinary wonder. They were so nice to me the whole time, I couldn't have asked for a better vacation. Nothing like some good 'ole down home momma's cooking in Burgundy.






Here are several of Dijon itself. Lovely old city.







Here's a restaurant specializing in... you guessed it: mmmmm.... Frogs....

Advanced Linguistics

Just got back into Eisenstadt today. Ah, home sweet home. I'm really glad I went away for a bit, because returning to my bucolic Austrian surroundings gives me a new appreciation for the place. France was wonderful, of course. I was in the best of company and really managed to improve my French. I can't really hold deep conversations in the language, I lack the vocabulary for this, but I have a good basic command which allows me to do the basic stuff like make people laugh out loud at my irreverant personality (and maybe even order un sandwich). More on irreverance later when I work up the energy to download my photos that will accompany my wine-tasting story. Coming back to the Vienna International Airport resulted in something of a linguistic world-war three in my head. Stefan was kind enough to meet me at the airport, and he was in a mood to speak English, explaining that he had just watched the Lord of the Rings with the original soundtrack. Fine by me, but after very little sleep and catching a 6:30 AM train to Paris and then a delayed flight to Vienna had taken its mental toll. My utterances were more of a jumbled up mixture of all 3 of my tongues. I respond to questions with an instinctive "Oui!! ich meine... ja.... yes!!!" Stefan's English is really good, but he kept making errors distinguishing between "all" and "everything", which produced quite a conundrum in my head. What IS the differenct between "all" and "everything"??? He would say things like "I memorized all" or "I ate all". Now, these errors could be corrected in two ways: I memorized all of it/I memorized everything. I ate everything/I ate all of it/them. The distinction between it and them when coupled with "all" is easy- "it" is for non-count nouns, and "them" for countable nouns. The secret to all vs. everthing eludes me. It's the same word in German, why are there two in English? There must be some purpose or rule to the madness that I can use to explain it in a helpful manner. My brain hurts. I need to go to sleep. Pictures and more stories of froggy-land later- including my ill-fated snail friend Pierre, who's house I kept as a souvenir!