Work Work Work!!!

Sorry I've been neglecting the blog a bit, but I've been terribly busy diving into the teaching profession and the dark, murky depths of English grammar. (You may have noticed that I chose to use the present perfect in the previous sentence, because we always use this form when talking about a period of time that began in the past but continues until now). Do you know the difference between 'will' and 'going to'??? Well, my friends, we use 'will' when we decide to do something the moment we are speaking or we are unsure of the named event taking place, yet 'going to' indicates that something has been previously planned or the mentioned consequence is likely. Does this rule actually hold true in the real world of native English speakers?? I hardly think so... I make no distinction between 'will' and 'going to', which makes it terribly difficult to correct the worksheets on this topic. But there MUST BE A RULE to regulate this linguistic chaos! I could probably ramble on about the idiosyncrasies of our language for some time (ask me about modal verbs sometime), but I think you get the point. Sometimes the 'correct' answer given by the book sounds like complete rubbish and would never be said by anybody, but is defensible given the 'rules'. It can be pretty frustrating, but I'm studying a lot and getting the hang of it. In addition to the grammar, there is the bookkeeping part. That is, keeping track of what each student has worked on, their progress, homework, and tests. Yes, I get to write my very first English test today. On the menu: Some vs. Any (no distinction made in German), Modal Verbs, Present and Past Simple, Present Progressive, and Will vs. Going To. Blech!!! On the positive side, I'm getting to know my colleagues very well and through them I am exploring the possibilities within the proffession, of which there seem to be many. I'm happy to be collecting the experience and making the contacts. (Contacts are EVERYTHING in the Austrian professional world). So, I think I'll go write that test... and meet my fellow teachers at the wine festival this evening... all in a days' work!

2.5 Weeks From Now...

I met with Dr. Bock, my future landlord, today to go over the mechanical systems of the Haus and take care of other business. Naturally, I brought my camera!

It doesn't look like much from the outside, I admit... but...


It has a very charming garden.



The dining and living rooms.

I am so happy about this place!! Not only is it very charming, but it also has a lot of space and is a very short walk from the center of town. I can hardly wait to move in!

Carinthia

Vienna, Friday afternoon: Six friends (Alexander, Andreas, Martin, Patrick, Renée, and myself) pile into Alex's Renault Espace minivan and set off on the Südautobahn for our 4.5 hour drive to...


Thomas's cabin in the mountains of Carinthia, not far from the village of Bad Kleinkirchheim. Elevation: Approximately 1,500 meters (4,900 feet). Temperature: 10 celcius (50 fahrenheit).


We awoke to a rainy and cold Saturday morning, but this didn't stop us from taking a hike and collecting wild mushrooms.


This creek also runs past the cabin and emits a sleep-inducing burble.



After our hike, we visited this local Buschenschank for a cup of Glühwein (Wine-pub and hot spiced wine, respectively), where I spotted this little alpine boy being photogenic.


After all that rain in the woods, the fire was most enjoyable.


More fire on Saturday night, this time outside.


We had much better weather on Sunday, but had to drive back to civilization in the late afternoon. Too bad, really!

Mini-Holiday

I'm escaping to the mountains of Carinthia (aka Kärnten) for the weekend. Expect pictures on Monday or Tuesday!!

Fotos von Ohio (Für die deutschsprachige Leute)

Ich weiß, dass ihr alle wissen wollten, was ich denn in Amerika gemacht habe. Naja, was besonderes wars nicht... aber ein Paar sachen zu beschrieben gibts doch schon.



Warum brauchen Amerikaner so viele Energie? Weil wir solche Autos fahren! Ich war den ganzen Zeit mit dem riesen grossen Truck unterwegs. Das ist das drittes Auto meines Elterns, und ich habs gebraucht damit ich in die Arbeit kommen konnte. Hässlich, oder? Einmail habe ich einen Parkstraf bekommen und der Polizist hat die Farbe des Trucks als 'other' aufs Zettel beschrieben. Ganz witzig.


Eichhorchen und Vögel.


Hier ist ein ganz toller Ort in südost Ohio. Hier geht ein Flüsschen durch eine enge und tiefe Falte. Von oben kann man in den Taich springen, was ein bisschen gefährlich ist aber viel spaß macht!


Mein Bruder und ich im selben Ort.


Die Mutter war auch dabei.

Ja, das war schöne Zeiten aber ich freue mich wieder in Österreich zu sein. Hoffentlich habt ihr die Fotos genossen :) -dein Arthur.

Is This a Beautiful Country? I Vote Yes.

Today I wandered around the Burgenland with my good friends Alexa and Monika. My shutterbug factor was high, so I have some nice images to share. As always, click on the fotos to enlarge them.


This is a photo of the Kogelberg, which is a hill situated between the towns St. Margareten and Rust. It is a gorgeous spot with wonderful views of the Neusiedler See and it is a nature preserve. It also features a quarry from which the stone to build Vienna's most famous architectural monuments was extracted, as well as a series of sculptures. The rainbow certainly enhanced the experience.


Through one of the sculptures you can see St. Margareten below.


A ubiquitous feature of the Burgenland: Vineyards.


After our hike, it was time to go to the Cselle Mülle (pronounced something like 'jelly-moo-lah'), an old mill that is now a cultural center. Even the dove-house that you see here is a registered historical site.


Although the roast pig was quite tasty...



the real reason that we went was for the Kroatische Folksmusikfest (Croatian folk music fesitval). Not a bad day, all things considered! What do you think? Write a comment!