For my intercultural business communications course last week we had to write a report and do a presentation. I was the person that compiled the report and did the bibliography. Bad idea. It can be hard to compile a paper with different parts written by competent English-natives. Now add in incompetent non-English-natives... It took me about 5 hours and I was so annoyed by the end I thought I would snap. The Spaniards didn't cite any sources within the paper or send me any information. They also did not respond to my emails. Thus, I had to find my own sources. Swedish girl tried to cite wikipedia. And our presentation sucked, which makes me mad. I spent all that time working on the paper, while everyone else was supposed to do the presentation, and it SUCKED. The paper was good, and I'm not being egotistical saying that. The whole thing was just frustrating though, so I'm glad it was over quickly.
On Friday I went with Zuzana to Bratislava. The train tickets there and back are only 14€. Bratislava is... mmm... not all that pretty, for the most part. It was clear that it was former Soviet Union. Gray buildings and such. The castle is nice, though you couldn't see much from up top because of the fog. Apparently you can usually see Austria from up on the hilltop. We had a good lunch at the Slovak Pub, and later went to the Christmas market with one of Zuzana's roommates.
I met up with Jessica (from Emory) on Saturday afternoon to buy my dad's Christmas present. We finished quickly (I have little patience), and ended up going to her dorm and watching tv for hours. Her room came with a television and cable - so jealous! If I had a tv, I'd watch CNN all day because it's in English. After lots and lots of tv, I helped her take her stuff to the the train to the airport.
Sunday was my Christmas market finale. First I went to Karlsplatz, since I had yet to go there. Not that good, to tell the truth. Then I went to Rathaus, since I hadn't ever been there at night. Beaaaauuuutiful!!! Loved it! I ranked the Christmas markets by my favorites:
8. Museums Quartier - Maria Theresien Platz
7. Belvedere Palace
6. Karlsplatz
5. Am Hof
4. Spittelberg
3. Freyung
2. Schönbrunn Palace
1. Rathaus
Today I finished up my Christmas shopping at (the very busy) Thalia bookstore, and bought groceries at Billa, including candy and pie to console myself because my parents' flights got canceled and now they won't be here until 6:15 pm tomorrow (Christmas day). I'm so depressed. I think tomorrow I'll just watch Christmas movies/scenes/tv shows, like:
1. Love Actually
2. The Office "Christmas Party" (season 2)
3. The Office "A Benihana Christmas" (season 3)
4. Veronica Mars "An Echolls Family Christmas" (season 1)
5. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - Christmas scenes
6. Mean Girls - talent show scene
Despite this, I hope that everyone else has a fantastic Christmas! And don't worry about me, since my parents will be here... eventually. So just enjoy yourself and blast "Last Christmas" by Wham, just like I'm doing. Last Christmas I gave you my heart, but the very next day you gave it away...
Monday, December 24, 2007
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
I'll Punsch You
To update is to show weakness!
Eh, or not really, more laziness, actually. I've been so busy... eating kebab. Not really, but kinda. Oh, I've been drinking too.
Zuzana, Angélique, Raphaëlle, and I had a girls' night/dance party a while ago. You know what's sad? When a French girl teaches you how to dance to Cotton Eye Joe. Especially when you're a good ol' fashioned hick Texan. I was also introduced to the greatness that is Le Papa Pingouin. Click on it. You know you want to. It's so catchy, it'll be stuck in your head for days... weeks...
I had my exams in int'l financial markets and business german. IFM made me want to cry. I consoled myself with kebab. German was not as awful, but still made me want to binge drink. Not that I did. AND I didn't eat kebab (you should be proud).
I did, however, eat kebab on Saturday. It was cold and snowing and windy and snowing and I braved the elements for my kebab. Yummmm. Totally worth that numb feeling in my face/fingers/toes/ears/etc. etc., because my tongue was dancing in joy. That night, Angélique, Raphaëlle, and I went to the Spittelberg Christmas market. Not, however, before Raphaëlle attempted to tackle me to the ground... in public! Unpredictable and scary, those French people. Anywho, the market was similar to the others (ie. cold), but I got a Kinderpunsch so that I could continue my mug collection. We also took a bunch of pictures with this Santa that was absolutely meant for kids under the age of 4, and people were definitely staring. They're just jealous that we actually enjoy the Christmas markets, whereas the sparkle was gone from their eyes long ago.
Then Raphaëlle was cold (imagine that, in the snow?!), so Angélique and I continued the Christmas market quest alone. I was the direction-giver, and we definitely got lost. But, luckily for us, there are several landmarks in Vienna that help us find our way (like our own North star) - namely, the Hofburg (imperial palace, which is flippin huge and you'd be blind to miss it) and the Rathaus (really tall, and well lit at night aka 4 pm). There are others (Stephansdom, the opera), but those aren't useful at this time. Back to the point, it went something like this:
Me: Where are we?!
Angélique: I don't know, you're the idiot with the directions.
Me: Oh look, the Hofburg! OH! And the Rathaus! Don't fret, my dear, I have found the way!
Or something like that. We eventually found the Freyung Christmas market (another mug collected), and came across the Am Hof market, where the night's true trickery lay.
I, being the silly mug-collecting girl I am, ordered an orangenpunsch (please tell me I don't have to translate that. too easy) to get another mug. With or without alcohol? Oh, what the heck, let's get with! Forget that I already had a Glühwein. It's not like wine actually counts! Then, at the other end of the market, we realize another punch stand has better mugs. GASP. But I've already got this full mug of hot, alcoholic-y orange punch! What do I do?
Why, you drink the punch as quickly as you can now, and ask to switch mugs, says Angélique. Oh, how clever you are, Angélique, I say. I sip the punch, and then feel like I'm going to vomit, or die, but hopefully die because it's that awful. Ok, so I just have to drink this like normal alcohol then - as quickly as possible. Nevermind that this punch is practically boiling hot. Drink it quickly, Angélique says, while snatching my camera to take a video. Two minutes later the mug is empty, but my insides are crawling, boiling, doing backflips, my gag reflex is in overdrive, and my tongue is a little burnt. Mission successful. That is, if the mission was to get me drunk at a Christmas market... a Christmas market! Of all things holy, consumerist, familial, and sacred, a Christmas market! Now that's embarrassing. Of course, I can't move on without adding that I did, in fact, successfully exchange the mug. And you know what? It really wasn't that much better than the one I had before. But it's orange, which will forever remind me of my orangenpunsch.
I'll probably give the mug away. Gag.
So Angélique, seeing as she was the devil's advocate in this situation, was left to drag my drunken self back to the dorm. We got lost again. Finally, we were directed towards the greatest of all Viennese directional beacons - Stephansdom! After finally returning to Haus Erasmus, instead of being led to my room, I was taken to Zuzana's room to be fully mocked. Bah!
Sunday was, of course, church, and then I met Monica, Christine, Christine's boyfriend, Stephan, & Max to go to the Rapid Vienna vs. Linz soccer game. If you don't recall, the girls are UT students, and the two Austrian lads will be exchange students next semester. So, it's like... you know, 32 degrees or so outside, which is quite cold to be expected to sit outside for hours. I, quite cleverly, was wearing long underwear, jeans, AND khackis, and two shirts, a sweater, a coat, with my big woolly scarf (made by Emily Stuifbergen!) and thick ski gloves. Not that I've ever been skiing. My toes were cold, but I survived without getting hypothermia.
What was good was the fact that I was able to enjoy watching the game. I hadn't really expected that, for some reason, even though I usually enjoy watching sports (at least the ones that have action). There's a section for the die-hard fans, and they LITERALLY sing, clap, and shout the entire game. Entire game! These crazy people were not wearing gloves. My hands got sympathy shivers. It made for a very entertaining experience though, only enhanced by the crazed men around me that would yell incomprehensible German at the opposing team and referees. I once asked Max to translate, and he reported that the man behind us had said he wanted to cut the referee's head off. Nice imagery, sir. And, like in all sports, the game was made fully enjoyable by the fact that our team (look how quick I am to claim them as my own!) won 2-0. Afterwards, we Texans showed our enthusiasm by buying green and white Rapid Vienna scarves, which we are apparently not allowed to wear in the city due to rivalry with the other Vienna soccer club.
Yesterday and today I was engaged in my last course - Intercultural Business Communications - with the Emphasis on the Role of Women in Business. That's a mouthful! You might be surprised, but about 1/3 of the class is guys! The class began Monday afternoon, and we were assigned a 5-8 page report and 15-20 minute presentation in groups due on Thursday. Woa. That's like 3 days... In my group are Sophie from New Zealand (with a delightful accent), Marie from Sweden, Maria from Spain, and Ricardo from Spain. Nice group. I'm glad I didn't get stuck with the other Americans - a girl with an awful Boston accent, and another girl who somewhat bothers me. I love listening to Sophie talk. Maybe I should just move to New Zealand to listen to the people there talk.
That's all folks! Hope you enjoyed my ramblings this time.
PS. EEK! How could I forget? Tina left last week. I'm all alone here, sitting in the dark, blasting my music, and acting in ways that would be fully obnoxious if someone else were in the room. HA.
Eh, or not really, more laziness, actually. I've been so busy... eating kebab. Not really, but kinda. Oh, I've been drinking too.
Zuzana, Angélique, Raphaëlle, and I had a girls' night/dance party a while ago. You know what's sad? When a French girl teaches you how to dance to Cotton Eye Joe. Especially when you're a good ol' fashioned hick Texan. I was also introduced to the greatness that is Le Papa Pingouin. Click on it. You know you want to. It's so catchy, it'll be stuck in your head for days... weeks...
I had my exams in int'l financial markets and business german. IFM made me want to cry. I consoled myself with kebab. German was not as awful, but still made me want to binge drink. Not that I did. AND I didn't eat kebab (you should be proud).
I did, however, eat kebab on Saturday. It was cold and snowing and windy and snowing and I braved the elements for my kebab. Yummmm. Totally worth that numb feeling in my face/fingers/toes/ears/etc. etc., because my tongue was dancing in joy. That night, Angélique, Raphaëlle, and I went to the Spittelberg Christmas market. Not, however, before Raphaëlle attempted to tackle me to the ground... in public! Unpredictable and scary, those French people. Anywho, the market was similar to the others (ie. cold), but I got a Kinderpunsch so that I could continue my mug collection. We also took a bunch of pictures with this Santa that was absolutely meant for kids under the age of 4, and people were definitely staring. They're just jealous that we actually enjoy the Christmas markets, whereas the sparkle was gone from their eyes long ago.
Then Raphaëlle was cold (imagine that, in the snow?!), so Angélique and I continued the Christmas market quest alone. I was the direction-giver, and we definitely got lost. But, luckily for us, there are several landmarks in Vienna that help us find our way (like our own North star) - namely, the Hofburg (imperial palace, which is flippin huge and you'd be blind to miss it) and the Rathaus (really tall, and well lit at night aka 4 pm). There are others (Stephansdom, the opera), but those aren't useful at this time. Back to the point, it went something like this:
Me: Where are we?!
Angélique: I don't know, you're the idiot with the directions.
Me: Oh look, the Hofburg! OH! And the Rathaus! Don't fret, my dear, I have found the way!
Or something like that. We eventually found the Freyung Christmas market (another mug collected), and came across the Am Hof market, where the night's true trickery lay.
I, being the silly mug-collecting girl I am, ordered an orangenpunsch (please tell me I don't have to translate that. too easy) to get another mug. With or without alcohol? Oh, what the heck, let's get with! Forget that I already had a Glühwein. It's not like wine actually counts! Then, at the other end of the market, we realize another punch stand has better mugs. GASP. But I've already got this full mug of hot, alcoholic-y orange punch! What do I do?
Why, you drink the punch as quickly as you can now, and ask to switch mugs, says Angélique. Oh, how clever you are, Angélique, I say. I sip the punch, and then feel like I'm going to vomit, or die, but hopefully die because it's that awful. Ok, so I just have to drink this like normal alcohol then - as quickly as possible. Nevermind that this punch is practically boiling hot. Drink it quickly, Angélique says, while snatching my camera to take a video. Two minutes later the mug is empty, but my insides are crawling, boiling, doing backflips, my gag reflex is in overdrive, and my tongue is a little burnt. Mission successful. That is, if the mission was to get me drunk at a Christmas market... a Christmas market! Of all things holy, consumerist, familial, and sacred, a Christmas market! Now that's embarrassing. Of course, I can't move on without adding that I did, in fact, successfully exchange the mug. And you know what? It really wasn't that much better than the one I had before. But it's orange, which will forever remind me of my orangenpunsch.
I'll probably give the mug away. Gag.
So Angélique, seeing as she was the devil's advocate in this situation, was left to drag my drunken self back to the dorm. We got lost again. Finally, we were directed towards the greatest of all Viennese directional beacons - Stephansdom! After finally returning to Haus Erasmus, instead of being led to my room, I was taken to Zuzana's room to be fully mocked. Bah!
Sunday was, of course, church, and then I met Monica, Christine, Christine's boyfriend, Stephan, & Max to go to the Rapid Vienna vs. Linz soccer game. If you don't recall, the girls are UT students, and the two Austrian lads will be exchange students next semester. So, it's like... you know, 32 degrees or so outside, which is quite cold to be expected to sit outside for hours. I, quite cleverly, was wearing long underwear, jeans, AND khackis, and two shirts, a sweater, a coat, with my big woolly scarf (made by Emily Stuifbergen!) and thick ski gloves. Not that I've ever been skiing. My toes were cold, but I survived without getting hypothermia.
What was good was the fact that I was able to enjoy watching the game. I hadn't really expected that, for some reason, even though I usually enjoy watching sports (at least the ones that have action). There's a section for the die-hard fans, and they LITERALLY sing, clap, and shout the entire game. Entire game! These crazy people were not wearing gloves. My hands got sympathy shivers. It made for a very entertaining experience though, only enhanced by the crazed men around me that would yell incomprehensible German at the opposing team and referees. I once asked Max to translate, and he reported that the man behind us had said he wanted to cut the referee's head off. Nice imagery, sir. And, like in all sports, the game was made fully enjoyable by the fact that our team (look how quick I am to claim them as my own!) won 2-0. Afterwards, we Texans showed our enthusiasm by buying green and white Rapid Vienna scarves, which we are apparently not allowed to wear in the city due to rivalry with the other Vienna soccer club.
Yesterday and today I was engaged in my last course - Intercultural Business Communications - with the Emphasis on the Role of Women in Business. That's a mouthful! You might be surprised, but about 1/3 of the class is guys! The class began Monday afternoon, and we were assigned a 5-8 page report and 15-20 minute presentation in groups due on Thursday. Woa. That's like 3 days... In my group are Sophie from New Zealand (with a delightful accent), Marie from Sweden, Maria from Spain, and Ricardo from Spain. Nice group. I'm glad I didn't get stuck with the other Americans - a girl with an awful Boston accent, and another girl who somewhat bothers me. I love listening to Sophie talk. Maybe I should just move to New Zealand to listen to the people there talk.
That's all folks! Hope you enjoyed my ramblings this time.
PS. EEK! How could I forget? Tina left last week. I'm all alone here, sitting in the dark, blasting my music, and acting in ways that would be fully obnoxious if someone else were in the room. HA.
Friday, December 7, 2007
Beer, Wine, and Business Courses
It was quite lucky that I managed to put up my last blog entry when I did because like the next day my internet was turned off until December 1st. MADNESS! Yeah, there's like this really low limit, and Tina had bought more but the office kept messing it up, so we had no internet in our room for a couple days. It was horrible. I thought I was going to die of insanity. On the 29th I talked to Sara, Hannah, Odile, and Amy on the phone - from my room phone. I was on the phone for like hours because I was SO BORED. And not checking my email just makes me all nervous. I felt like a drug addict in withdrawal. On the 30th, I caved in and went to the university - which is a 30 minute trip each way - just to get online (for 7 minutes) to check my email. At midnight, when it came back on I was so happy I did a little dance.
Ok, so what else has happened?
After German class last week, a bunch of us went to the little Glühwein (hot wine) stand outside the uni. By outside, I mean it's on the steps right in front of the doors. I was with a bunch of French people, a Belgian, and a Czech. So Ms. Czech and I were like "ooook, we'll speak English over here, then, while you guys speak French." Which seems to happen to me a lot, especially around Angélique and Raphaëlle. When they're speaking French to each other, I wait for a pause and then go "oui!"
On Sunday I went to the Christmas market at Schloss Belvedere with an American girl, Jessica. That market actually wasn't that great, and the Glühmost tasted like more alcohol than cider.
In my int'l financial markets class on Wednesday, the girl next to me, Anna, noticed the most amazing thing. Annoying Canadian Boy (as I like to call him) was drinking beer. In class. And the professor saw it too. And all he said was "you should not have too much beer" after Annoying Canadian Boy asked a dumb question (hm, go figure?) during a presentation. I was amazed. Then the following day, in German, Raphaëlle did her presentation (on Bordeaux) and gave out wine. So afterwards, I'm sitting in class, listening to my professor talk about how to apply for a job in Austria (resume, cover letter, etc), and it hits me: I'm drinking WINE in class. It's ridiculous. These crazy people here. I love it.
I also had *my* presentation in German class. I talked about Texas. The professor said I spoke "surprisingly freely." The hand strikes and gives a flower (yes, I totally took that line from The Office). I have to admit, I'm a little offended, but I found out later that she said the same thing to the Brazilian boy. We (North & South) Americans gotta stick together! Actually, though, I only spoke "surprisingly freely" because I had practiced several times with Raphaëlle the night before.
In German class, sometimes when I'm not really understanding what the prof is saying, I'll zone out for a few seconds, and then sometimes I'll hear something like "unsere Amerikanerin" that totally zaps me back in. All I need is "Amerika" to get my attention. Yesterday she was saying that you have to put a passport photo on your resume, which is important for "our American" to notice. She smiled at my face that was in total disbelief. She added later that it used to be required to put what religion you were on your resume, and I hung my head, closed my eyes, and was shaking my head in utter disbelief and thinking about how you could NEVER have that in the US, which also made her laugh a little. Sometimes Austria doesn't seem too different from the States, but then there's stuff like that. Geez.
Two weeks from today I will be completely done with the semester. Geez. Come quickly!
Ok, so what else has happened?
After German class last week, a bunch of us went to the little Glühwein (hot wine) stand outside the uni. By outside, I mean it's on the steps right in front of the doors. I was with a bunch of French people, a Belgian, and a Czech. So Ms. Czech and I were like "ooook, we'll speak English over here, then, while you guys speak French." Which seems to happen to me a lot, especially around Angélique and Raphaëlle. When they're speaking French to each other, I wait for a pause and then go "oui!"
On Sunday I went to the Christmas market at Schloss Belvedere with an American girl, Jessica. That market actually wasn't that great, and the Glühmost tasted like more alcohol than cider.
In my int'l financial markets class on Wednesday, the girl next to me, Anna, noticed the most amazing thing. Annoying Canadian Boy (as I like to call him) was drinking beer. In class. And the professor saw it too. And all he said was "you should not have too much beer" after Annoying Canadian Boy asked a dumb question (hm, go figure?) during a presentation. I was amazed. Then the following day, in German, Raphaëlle did her presentation (on Bordeaux) and gave out wine. So afterwards, I'm sitting in class, listening to my professor talk about how to apply for a job in Austria (resume, cover letter, etc), and it hits me: I'm drinking WINE in class. It's ridiculous. These crazy people here. I love it.
I also had *my* presentation in German class. I talked about Texas. The professor said I spoke "surprisingly freely." The hand strikes and gives a flower (yes, I totally took that line from The Office). I have to admit, I'm a little offended, but I found out later that she said the same thing to the Brazilian boy. We (North & South) Americans gotta stick together! Actually, though, I only spoke "surprisingly freely" because I had practiced several times with Raphaëlle the night before.
In German class, sometimes when I'm not really understanding what the prof is saying, I'll zone out for a few seconds, and then sometimes I'll hear something like "unsere Amerikanerin" that totally zaps me back in. All I need is "Amerika" to get my attention. Yesterday she was saying that you have to put a passport photo on your resume, which is important for "our American" to notice. She smiled at my face that was in total disbelief. She added later that it used to be required to put what religion you were on your resume, and I hung my head, closed my eyes, and was shaking my head in utter disbelief and thinking about how you could NEVER have that in the US, which also made her laugh a little. Sometimes Austria doesn't seem too different from the States, but then there's stuff like that. Geez.
Two weeks from today I will be completely done with the semester. Geez. Come quickly!
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