I've been suffering from a bit of writer's block regarding the blog. One of the main reasons for this is that after having been here for almost a year's time, there aren't many differences between Austria and the US that I notice anymore which compel me to write. Well, one thing that is different from my time here last year is that I'm living in an old house rather than a brand new dormitory building. This entails dealing with old-house things such as drafty windows, bugs, garden maintenance, and most recently, heating. It has become quite nippy here in Eisenstadt, and I have finally had to capitulate to the cold in deference to my energy-saving sensibilities and switch the furnace on. A simple task, you might assume... but would you Americans know how to operate this device?
This is our water heater. It is also our furnace. I had been accustomed to the large, rattling, behemoth contraptions found in American basements which take on a living, monstrous quality to small children and blast hot air into our homes. The one from my childhood on 65 Morris Avenue was particularly frightening, as it was a relic of the 1950's and seemed to have a web of spidery tentacles reaching up into the house from below. The one before that, in Millfield, I believe was an oil-burner and had the additional quality of emitting a very noxious smell. Another thing you'll find in all basements in the land of round doorknobs is a large hot water heater, which stores a large amount of water in an insulated tank. These aren't particularly frightening to rugrats, but they do have the disadvantages of staying on all day and all night when no hot water is needed, as well as running out of hot water if more than two people would like to shower in the morning. The system pictured above is not only practical in that it precludes the need for two devices, but it heats only the amount of water needed, at the very moment that you need it. Not only can you shower for five hours without running out of hot water (as my landlord remarked), but it also keeps a steady flow of warmth flowing to the radiators in the winter. Now that I've finally figured out how to turn the radiator part on, I can keep the house from freezing and regulate the temperature in each room with the valve on each radiator. No need to heat the kitchen and dining room at night, so, more energy saved! I just hope that the pipes never develop a leak...
Other than fiddling with the furnace, I've been very busy with school(s). My usual teaching assistantship has begun again, and I'm constantly running back and forth between my new Gymnasium and the familiar HTL trying to coordinate lesson plans with two dozen different teachers. After the normal school day is over, I head over to the Lernquadrat and tutor for about 3 hours up to four days a week, come home and collapse momentarily before pounding out my lesson plans for the next day. Then, when the weekend finally comes, I head up to Vienna to relax with Martin, or he comes down here and I cook delicious meals for us from my new cookbook, "Kochen für Wenig Geld", or, "Cooking for Little Money". Sehr praktisch. How are you, my lovely readers?
