kweltnerd.blogspot.com
Viennese-inspired Musings: Why German?
http://kweltnerd.blogspot.com/2011/05/why-german.html
Thursday, May 26, 2011. As most people know, German isn't really a "necessary" language. Frankly, I could survive in this country with just a handful of phrases, because most speak at least a little bit of English. German is rarely (if ever? The only language someone in the United States speaks, and generally, someone who speaks German and English could probably do a better translation than I can. So why have I studied this language for 8 years? When college came around, I was automatically signed up for...
kweltnerd.blogspot.com
Viennese-inspired Musings: February 2011
http://kweltnerd.blogspot.com/2011_02_01_archive.html
Friday, February 25, 2011. If you can't say something nice, say something unabashedly. In general, Americans are pretty vague. "Do you want some coffee? I'm okay, thanks". Or, "Are you coming tonight? Probably not". Our vagueness makes us feel polite, like we're not hurting anyone's feelings. Honestly, I think we Americans are generally unenthusiastic conversationalists, and usually lean towards a (fake? Here are some examples of real conversations I've had here:. Katie, do you need the computer? Sometim...
kweltnerd.blogspot.com
Viennese-inspired Musings: Semi-Retired Kind of Life
http://kweltnerd.blogspot.com/2011/05/semi-retired-kind-of-life.html
Monday, May 23, 2011. Semi-Retired Kind of Life. For those of you that don't know, I work a maximum of 13 hours a week. Considering I teach in around 30 classrooms of students roughly the same ages, my lesson planning (especially lately) adds less than an hour a week to that already grueling schedule. In other words, I am semi-retired. Clearly my four years of university have made me deserve this laid-back lifestyle, right? Bench in the middle of a apricot tree grove. Bench looking at the Danube. I find ...
kweltnerd.blogspot.com
Viennese-inspired Musings: December 2010
http://kweltnerd.blogspot.com/2010_12_01_archive.html
Monday, December 20, 2010. A Magical Store, and other things. On Friday, I found Interspar. First, let me explain a bit about grocery stores in Austria. There are a lot of corner markets (ours is called Spar, though some are even Gourmet Spar, which is more expensive! Or Zielpunkt. Generally, we make a couple trips a week to the store so we can get the basics at Hofer and the day-to-day needs at Spar or wherever else (see Isaac's. Post about how to waste time, namely Tip #6). Aka bread spread, my new love.
kweltnerd.blogspot.com
Viennese-inspired Musings: March 2011
http://kweltnerd.blogspot.com/2011_03_01_archive.html
Tuesday, March 29, 2011. It finally happened. I have been banned from a class. Okaay it's not really that bad - the students are particularly unenthusiastic and they're behind anyway, so I've been relocated to another classroom so I can be put to better use. As their teacher said, "You're too precious to go to waste in this class! Some "native speakers" hanging out in Krems. And having a basic understanding of it helps make an international life easier. Links to this post. Thursday, March 17, 2011. Somet...
kweltnerd.blogspot.com
Viennese-inspired Musings: November 2010
http://kweltnerd.blogspot.com/2010_11_01_archive.html
Monday, November 29, 2010. I was told there would be bunnies. Today I had an interesting experience in one of my classes. I was asked to talk about immigration, and decided that the Portland Bomb Plot. Anyway, on a more positive note: This weekend, I went to Burgenland! Oberschuetzen, in particular. Our friend Luke teaches there, and we decided that one night was probably all we needed there. ha! We took Taylor's car (woo! Turns out, it was the Christmas tree lighting ceremony. It pleased me to see t...
kweltnerd.blogspot.com
Viennese-inspired Musings: Things I Didn't Expect to Learn
http://kweltnerd.blogspot.com/2011/06/things-i-didnt-expect-to-learn.html
Friday, June 10, 2011. Things I Didn't Expect to Learn. My time here is running out. 4 days, in fact. FOUR DAYS, really! I can count that on one hand! Anyway, my brother has been here to help me from getting too sentimental, but I still think it's good to sit back and reflect a bit. I forgot my wallet) about 4 times, which entails that I will probably never forget that word. Back in January, a friend of mine invited me to attend the Technische Universität Ball. How to drive a manual/die Kupplung - My fri...
kweltnerd.blogspot.com
Viennese-inspired Musings: August 2010
http://kweltnerd.blogspot.com/2010_08_01_archive.html
Tuesday, August 3, 2010. Suddenly, August has arrived. Chaos! My mind is still stuck in the waves of "school" schedule, which I suppose is legitimate since I'm going to teach at a school. but anyway, we're at 53 days. Whoaa. Paperwork for Austria keeps piling up and I just. am having trouble caring. One task a day is certainly all I can manage, yet I keep having to do billions of things (passport pictures, money, medical forms, transcript, contract with the devil, etc) to get myself over there! This time...
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Viennese-inspired Musings: September 2010
http://kweltnerd.blogspot.com/2010_09_01_archive.html
Sunday, September 26, 2010. I'm trying to get into the habit of blogging. so I shall update about some not-that-important details of my trip :). Pudding, looking angry about my departure. Sometime during this week I prided myself on my fantastic packing job, because usually I'm awake at 230AM packing for my 430AM flight or something equally ridiculous, and this time I had my bags 3/4 packed the day before I left! And I watched about 100 people run by me (not like a stampede. more like their own indiv...
