Austrian Internship: Heading Home

Today was another early morning, and we headed to the Frankfurt airport in a steady drizzle.  Being the genius that he is, Mr. Smith got our tickets quickly and we got around an enormous line.  After scortching our tongues on some McDonald's coffee, we sprinted through security and made it to our seats 10 min before the doors closed.  Now here on the airplane, the screens in the seats are showing a slide show of famous American geographies...And let me tell you, I am super happy to be going home.

Two movies, two hours of sleep, a small airline meal, and a very sore rear later, we have begun our descent with less than one hour to go.  Lemme tell you, we say at the station that doing nothing on a shift is tiring...but goodness flying for 9 hours is even more so.  I'm ready to get outta here.

My day ended by being greeted by my family and grandparents with signs, laughs, and hugs all around.  I'm still dealing with jet lag, a day later, but boy...is it good to be home.

Austrian Internship: Day 35

I am writing to you once again on board an ICE train bound for Salzburg,  and eventually, the Smith's house in Frankfurt.  We just said goodbye to our last two Austrian friends Daniel and Sandra, who have done so very much for us.  We have a long day ahead of us: we figure it should take about 8 hours to reach Frankfurt.  I'm amazed that we're already finished with our internship.  I'm amazed at how much we have learned and how many fantastic friends we made here.  I'm very sad to be leaving, but my home country is pulling me back by the heartstrings, and it will be so good to be beneath the red, white, and blue once again.

The train we're on goes direct from Vienna to Frankfurt...meaning we'll be on this train from 11am until about 5pm.  Ironic to me that we're going to spending nearly the same amount of time crossing Austria and Germany as we are crossing the Atlantic.

There is a mother traveling with three of her kids in the same train with us, and her boys are *adorable.*  She just played a game of UNO with the youngest, and after besting her rather badly, he stood up in his seat and did a hilarious victory dance.  She is traveling with luggage nearly as large as she is (she's small, but still).  I don't know how she's managing it.  I had to help her put it in the storage space above her because she couldn't lift it.

I'm such a sap...I've been listening to Michael Buble songs and looking at old pictures of me and my crazy siblings.  I'm so ready to go home and goof off with them again!

I think my Austrian friends would laugh if they could hear the progression from "farmer German" back to the "high German" used near Frankfurt.  I think I like the Austrian German better.  It sounds friendlier.  ;)  it is also MUCH colder in the Germany area than it was it Neusiedl.  I'm really glad I wore my new hoodie.

One thing that I have learned for sure is how to get around a new traveling infrastructure with a language barrier.  That makes DC look tame.  I now feel like a hardened veteran of public transit.

After crashing back at the Smith's house, Mr and Mrs treated Hawkins and me to a *fantastic* steak house.  Talk about an amazing welcome "home" present!

We're getting up early tomorrow, crossing our fingers that our luggage isn't overweight, and flying home!  Next time I write to you will be in the airplane.   I'm SO happy.  Goodnight from Europe, for the last time.  At least for now.  ;)

Austrian Internship: Day 34

Well, our last full day in Austria has been a slow and relaxing one, at least for the beginning of it.  Tonight, we're all puttin on our fancy duds and attending the Summer Gala at the Oranjee at the Esterhazy Palace.  Should be pretty cool!

People have told us we're "exotic" here,  but I didn't realize it until even the bartenders said as I passed by "oh,  you're the American!"  I had never seen them before.  Even the chief of Eisenstadt knew me because of my American breakfast, and introduced herself by saying "you must stay and cook for me!"  I I got a good laugh from that.

There was a polka band at the Gala like Dad has always wanted to see, and the shindig was started by official dancers.  And wouldn't you know it, since we were special guests, we were pulled out into the first dance, but thank goodness it was only a simple waltz.  I missed Jessica something awful tonight...We've always been dancing partners and learned new dances together, and tonight we could have torn up the dance floor.

We tried to explain all the rules at Bryan to Markus (no drinking, smoking, dancing, etc)...And he asked us if Bryan was a convent or a monastery - because it sounds similar to European rules there.  Hawkins and I laughed pretty hard at that.  Wish some people at Bryan could try explaining all of that like we did.  Maybe they'd loosen up a little.

I wish I had the words to thank all the wonderful people I met here in Neusiedl and in Jennersdorf.  You all know who you are, and you will all be missed more than I ever thought I'd miss someone I've only known for 1 month.  You have all made my time in Austria so very special and important for me, and I'll never forget you.  As the Austrians say, you always meet someone twice in your life.  And I greatly look forward to that second meeting.

Austrian Internship: Day 32-33

My Tuesday is uneventful,  but I am so very thankful for the restful downtime.  Today I have accomplished some simple things, like reading, washing and drying my laundry, doing some repacking, etc.  It's been raining steadily all day, and it's so very peaceful here.  I don't feel lazy one bit, but I am, instead, enjoying a slow day of rest.

This morning (on Wednesday) I was presented with a letter of recommendation Bruno, along with several very generous gifts from the Red Cross in honor of my time here.  Markus and I are planning to go to Pandorf later in the afternoon, and Mario might even join us!  Speaking of which, I finally made use of the Station's N64...And I'm beating Bowser before Markus arrives.  ;)

Markus arrived after midday and was the bearer of amazing and fantastic presents from my colleagues at Jennersdorf,  including Austrian chocolate, beautiful handmade cufflinks, and a huge photo collage from my time there.  I am so very overwhelmed with the kindness of my new dear friends.  I hope they get to visit me in TN one day so that I can repay the kindness a little bit.

In Parndorf (I've been misspelling it...), Mario bought us some natural ice cream, and it was fantastic.  I had a great time shopping with Markus, and got a new shirt and a cool yellow hoodie, but I think a shopping trip with Jessica is in order...shopping in Europe is WAY too expensive compared to home.

Markus and I set off to Eisenstadt to meet Sandra for dinner, but got a bit lost on the way.  I think our adventures together weren't quite over.  ;)

We met a friend of Mario's for dinner (Sandra couldn't wait on us for the amount of time we got lost...oops...), and we went to a super cool lounge called the "Mangoo"...A very tropical feeling place that had a small book of a menu for cocktails (which we didn't partake in tonight as I was the only person not driving).

All in all, it was a great day.  I was so very happy to spend time with Markus again, and I greatly look forward to the day when he comes to visit me in TN.

Tomorrow, I sleep in, and relax throughout the day (I'm certainly going to start reading the wonderful new Rilke book my Jennersdorf friends got me), and then we are going to attend a gala at the Oranjee at the Esterhazy Palace!  Super excited.

For now, goodnight!

Austrian Internship: Day 31

Hawkins and I have discovered that a great way to wake up quickly in the mornings is taking an ice cold shower.  As it is, we're not doing it voluntarily,  and we hope that we can get it fixed soon...but I'm considering calling Guinnes World Book of Records to come time us...

Today we head out to Vienna to be presented to the General Secretary of the Austrian Red Cross.  I've been informed that the leadership was originally skeptical of having American students come study here, but Bruno is proud of what we've done, so apparently we're a success.  I guess today is our victory celebration "woohoo we did it" day for our leaders.  ;)

The official building for the Red Cross was the old house of Christoph Willibald Gluck, which I found extremely interesting.  They told me I was the only person to visit there who actually knew who he was.

Meeting the General Secretary was quite the experience.  He was very kind and asked us what was done well and what could be improved, and with every new person we met, we got to retell our Austrian adventure story.

After meeting the General Secretary, we met with the head of International Affairs, which was probably my favorite discussion we had.  After telling us about his job, he randomly asked about Obamacare and what we think about it, which of course led to deeper discussion as we are a conservative minority in the States.  I got to ask him Why he participates in the humanitarian work he does; I was interested to see what he would say.  The answer was chilling to me.  He said he does it to give his life some meaning.  I think I will write a paper sometime soon on the way people in Europe view their lives, as this was a perfect continuation of my thinking from last night.

I was given the entire opera Orfeo on audio as a gift before we left, which I am extremely excited about.  I can't wait to listen to it.

We walked to the opera house in Vienna and to the university, and were given a brief tour of each. Zach came along with us (a friend from Bryan), and I got to speak Southern again.  You wouldn't believe how nice that was.

We spent the rest of the evening in the station in Neusiedl (after fantastic history lessons from Bruno about Vienna), cooking our own dinner of spaghetti and wurst.  Tomorrow we don't have any solid plans, and for that I'm happy.

Goodnight!  I'm going to take a hot shower.  We got the water fixed.  ;)

Austrian Internship: Day 30

Welp, today we go to the blood drive, and we're sposed to be picked up at 1:30 for a shift that lasts until 11pm at least.  Found out the hard way that *nothing* is open on Sunday, so we couldn't go grab a sandwich before our shift.  It's like everything here took a lesson from Chickfila, and that ain't cool.  Speaking of which, I'm now craving a chicken sandwich.  Stupid stomach...

I'll let you know how the blood drive goes later on.  I don't really know what to expect.

Turns out this place is almost exactly like the fall festival at home: rides, food, blood drive, etc.  I was responsible for collecting donations at the entrance for 2 hours and then got 2 hours off, and continued this rotation all day, and we're supposed to be here until 11.  Talk about a loooong day.  I kinda feel like a beggar.  ;)

An Austrian teem walked past me wearing a shirt that said in big white letters on the front: WHO AM I?  I found it extremely insightful into the spiritual climate of the area.  I would be asking the same question if I were from here... is there anything to life outside of living,  working, and dying?  It's worth thinking about.

Anyway, as we weren't actually needed until 11pm tonight, and since most of the crew were wither staying in Gols or leaving at 2am, we were put on a taxi and headed back to Neusiedl for the night.  Hoping we make it, as our driver doesn't speak English.  ;)

Well we made it back safely, and in plenty of time for good sleep tonight.  Tomorrow we head to Vienna to meet with the General Secretary of the Austrian Red Cross!

Austrian Internship: Day 29

My "shift" this morning was a quick one.  I was working with the Team Austria Food Bank, and as I can't speak German, all I could really do is help set up.  I'm so sad to be leaving Jennersdorf today, but I am very thankful for my time here.  The crew at the station is like one big family, and they made me feel like a part of it while I was here.  I couldn't have asked for a better place in Austria to spend my time.

After repacking all of my things (I hate repacking...), I'll be heading back to Neusiedl with David this afternoon, and having lunch with Markus one last time in Güssing. I'm not exactly sure how these last few days will play out, so you'll be knowing just about as much as I do, until I'm actually told what to do.  ;)

I sincerely hope I'll be able to come back to Jennersdorf one day.  I'm leaving a piece of my heart here.

I got to have lunch with Markus one more time before I headed back to Neusiedl via David and the "Sticker Car."  I'm glad I got to see him one more time, and it was good to have more Schnitzel.  ;)
The next few days will most likely be laid back and relaxed.  I think I may try to visit Pandorf,  per Markus' recommendation...maybe do some shopping.  We shall see.

My drive up with David was a good one.  We talked about all sorts of things and had a good time.  But much to my great chagrin, I locked myself out of the building and Sandra had to drive all the way over here to let me in.  I feel awful about it, and she's done so much for me already.  Erg.

The night ended nicely with me and Hawkins catching up on all of our adventures.  Tomorrow we head to a blood-drive the Red Cross is giving in a nearby town to work most of the day.  Looking forward to sleeping in, but not looking forward to working without my dear Jennersdorf friends.

Until tomorrow!

Austrian Internship: Four Weeks!

As I got to bed last night at 1:30am, I slept in rather late, but got to cook pancakes for a few of the guys when I got up.  There was a slight misunderstanding about the chocolate chips...they thought I meant the cereal, and not what you bake with.  As it was, the grocery store didn't have real chocolate chips anyway.  Go figure.  But the pancakes turned out pretty well anyway.

I've started saying goodbye to my friends to my very good friends today, and I am reminded how much I hate goodbyes, especially when it is unsure if I'll ever see them again.  So very sad.

This evening, we (my normal group of friends here), all made our way to Riegersborg to the huge chocolate factory there.  On our way over, More Than a Feeling by Boston came on the radio...made me miss my dad and jamming and singing loud in the car.  ;)

The chocolate shop was absolutely amazing.  There were chocolate fountains, chocolate beans, drinkable chocolate...And the flavors!  Asperagus, scotch and whisky, 100% cocoa, fish, rose petal, chili, bacon, cheese, "Sacramental Wine," vodka...365 different flavors, and we might have tried 50 of them.  It really can't be described.  Check out my Facebook pictures.  It was crazy and now I have a huge sugar high.

I've started thinking about things I want when I get home, and so far, I want to wear my American jersey and my black Converse, hug everyone in my family, drink a Mountain Dew, and eat an American hamburger.

It has been a wonderful last day.  I love my friends, and I don't have enough good words to say in appreciation.  You all mean so much to me.

Austrian Internship: Day 27

The housekeeper here is incredibly kind.  She has washed my clothes for me twice now, and hung them up nearly to dry.  Saves me the hassle and it gets done better (because she can actually read the instructions on the washer).  Everyone here is so incredibly nice to me.  I'm excited to be back home in the US soon, but I'm going to miss them all so very much.

I "officially" finished Visions of Vocation today.  The epilogue was just as powerful as the rest of the entire book: if you haven't read it, you should.  It will completely change the way you view what you do, why you're doing it, and why it matters.

After lunch today I went on a mountain biking excursion with Chris.  I really wish I was going to be around here more, because I love going on adventures with him.  At any rate, we set off from the Red Cross on bike, went through a few villages, down (and up...I'm feeling the up quite a bit...) through the forest, until suddenly we found ourselves in Hungary, and there, to my great wonder, stood a small portion of the barbed wire fence that made the Iron Curtain.  An old watch tower had been restored there too.  It was very surreal for me to see.
After that, we cycled forward a few more kilometers (and up many more hills in the forest gravel road), and found the "Three Corners," the place where Austria, Slovenia,  and Hungary meet.  I stood in 3 different countries at once.  How cool is that?!  38 km later (that's 24 miles), I'm back at the station, and eager and excited to attend the Marriage of Figaro with Red Cross President and my friend, Bruno.  But first...I need a shower.

I am on duty at the Marriage of Figaro tonight, meaning I got in free of charge!  The opera is actually being held in a castle about 15 minutes from the station in an open-air fashion.  I'm extremely excited to hear how it sounds,  so I can begin mentally preparing for playing in it later this year.  I noticed that the trumpets in the (very young) orchestra are all rotary valve, which I found fascinating.
Being on duty means I have access to everything (and that I have to stand through the entire productuon), including backstage and the orchestra pit, which I have thoroughly explored.
While I was waiting on the opera to start, I briefly met with Bruno, who told me he has heard I am the "darling of Jennersdorf, winning everyone over with my Irish charm."  Bruno is a charmer himself, but extremely kind to me.  He gave me a program for the night, and made sure I'd be stationed midway up the audience: meaning I have a perfect view for the whole opera!  I can't believe I'm seeing Mozart's work produced in Austria.  This is a huge dream come true!  It really makes me miss Katie and Stacie and Josiah though...I want to be all dressed up and going with them to this.  Soon though, we'll all go to concerts together again!

They produced the opera in German, which I spose is to be expected...but I sorta hoped it would be in Italian.  The lead female role sings too much through her throat...or maybe it was the 3 cigarettes she smoked before the show.  Figaro, however, is amazing.  His voice and range are powerful and strong.  I can't help but keep wondering who will get what part when we produce it at school.
One of the actors was, I swear, a breeches role (a woman playing a man)...but holy smokes, it's a man with the range of a soprano...that can also sing tenor.  He blew me away.  The opera overall was fantastic.  The singers were powerful and their acting spot on.  The orchestra, while young (and the timpani being a bit sharp the entire night) was very impressive; they were good enough to have a conductor who merely "interprets the music" instead of directing the beat.

At any rate, it will be a late night and a very early morning.  The opera won't be over until midnight, and I have work at 7am, where I'm supposed to cook pankcakes.  We'll see if I'm alive enough to do that tomorrow, although at this rate, Markus may have to come drag me out of bed.

Tomorrow is my last full day at Jennersdorf, and I am sad.  We have plenty of great plans though.  Until then!

P.S. As the opera wasn't over until midnight, Markus told me to not worry about getting up, for which I am quite thankful.  After today, I need it!

Austrian Internship: Day 25-26

Yet again, my favorite part of the day centers on helping a little bit in cooking lunch.  We've been on call for 5 hours, and there hasn't been so much as a peep on the radio so far.  We're making up for it by having home-cooked burgers, and I'm cooking the bacon.  Of course.  ;)

I'm nearly finished with Visions of Vocation, and I've loved every bit of it.  I've taken to dog earing pages and writing extensively in it.

Combining two days because I didn't do enough yesterday.

Read Colossians 3 today, and it was perfectly applicable to my life.
Spent my early morning editing a politicap science paper for a friend and making a trip to the Penny Mart with the guys for food cause we're all hungry and bored.  But David and Marco and I actually had a mission this morning!  It was am easy transport, but at least it got us out of the station for a while.  It was only in Feldbach, so it wasn't too far, and it's an easy drive.

Shortly after, Markus, Stefan,  and I went to the Spar grocery store for lunch, and to visit the 92 year old woman who works there.  She has every price of every item in the store memorized!  I was super impressed.

Well, I was sposed to go to Graz today, but there were going g to be too many people.  Instead, I was whisked away to an emergency call.  Blue lights, speeding, sirens, the works.  Our patient had a stroke but was conscious.  Philip and I had to carry her down her apartment stairs to the ambulance and we rushed her to the hospital.  She's 93 years old.

Traveling at 130kmph, we took her to Feldbach because it was the only hospital nearby capable of dealing with strokes.
I actually feel accomplished with this mission.  We saved someone's life with our speed.  I guess this is my first taste if something like that.

Just before we got to the hospital, "Born in the USA" came on the radio.  Murica.

After work today me and my good friends (the same crew who went to Oberwart) all went over to Markus' house for a bar-b-q.  Marco is a pro at American football.  I'm so proud.  We ate well and had our picture taken 345565325 times by Marco...And I'm not going to edit this post any further because I'm tired.  Goodnight all!

Austrian Internship: Day 24

Today largely uneventful, as I had the day off.  Fear not, though...Markus has me super busy the next week or so.  ;)

I finally got my Scarlequain blog post up and the author of the book I heavily reference shared my post on Twitter.  I was...ecstatic,  to say the least.

In the afternoon, I took a short ride to the Hofer (that's Aldi's to you guys at home) on my bike, and holy SMOKES am I out of shape...especially in the seat area.  ;)  I felt every bump.

Tonight I to the Red Cross helicopter pad in Oberwart with David, Michael, Marco, Rafael and his girlfriend, and Markus.  It was super cool to see the helicopter come in from a mission, and take off to another.  I've never been so close to one like that.  Made me think of Steven.

We were to meet Markus before going to the helipad, but we were early, so we browsed a local mall.  I only knew two shops: Gamestop and Claire's, and I was *this close* to buying a pair of royal blue jeans.  I think I should have.

Found out tonight Markus doesn't like dog drool.  ;)  That was quite comical to watch, once the helidog tried to get him to play fetch.

To finish off the night, w ate a "snack" of rack ribs and wings.  I can't even begin to describe how good it was to have "American food" again.  Don't get me wrong...I have LOVED the food here.  But tonight was much needed.

Anyway I'm on call again tomorrow starting at 7, so it's an early day for me!  We'll see what adventures and heroism tomorrow has in store.  ;)

Austrian Internship: Day 23

I have been to some type of church service all 3 weeks that I've been here.  The first two were both masses at celebrations, and all three have been in German, but finally, today I attended a very small Protestant church with Markus and his relatives.  The organist there asked me if I had ever played in church with an organ because "they go very well together."  I chuckled and told him that was certainly something i was accustomed to.  After the service was over, I was asked how many protestants are in America, and the question took me by surprise.  Apparently,  there are only 500ish Protestants in the surrounding area, with Catholicism being the largest religious practice in the region, if not country.

Tradition is a large part of church going here in Austria, and per there usual habit, we accompanied Markus' relatives to a small nearby cafe, which almost the entire church goes to afterwards to socialize.  Markus told me the tradition was almost more important than going to church itself!

After talking with the extremely friendly members of their church, we drove a half hour out to a restaurant that sets on the edge of a lake.  On our way we saw the oldest tree in Europe: 1000 years old.  I couldn't quite wrap my mind (and certainly not my arms) around it.  Anyway, the restaurant was a traditional Austrian one (plenty of soup and Schnitzel, which I loved, but I wasn't particularly fond of the fried cauliflower), and it was all you can eat style.  Markus' uncle is extremely generous, and had me eat a ton, all topped off with an enormous slice of cappuccino cake with coffee.  Markus and I together couldn't finish it.

After eating, we took a stroll around the lake, seeing a small play area near the water.  There, I saw a slackline set up in the middle of the park!  Apparently it's much more popular here than it is in the States, and apparently I'm out of practice.  I couldn't stay on to save my life...but we'll say it was because I was wearing shoes.  ;)

When we got back to the station, I met a friend of a colleague's who lives in Vancouver but is originally from Connecticut.  It was so weird (and refreshing) to speak to an American in my real, Southern accent (which I quickly readopted after not having used it for nearly a month).  I actually had to translate his "Northern English" to Markus so he could understand what he was saying.  I felt pretty accomplished.

We finished the night with a spectacular evening at a local restaurant called a buschenschank.  It was nestled in the hills with vineyards sprawling away from it in every direction, the restaurant itself an old cement building with red tiled shingles: essentially the exact American conception of a restaurant in Europe.  The food was mainly meats that were brought out to us in plenty on a cutting board, with fresh veggies and sheep cheese stuffed pepperinos (which Dad would have loved).  With a glass of sweet wine that was grown right next to us, the meal was pretty much perfect.

I came back to the Station and crashed hard after my great food-filled day.  I'm sure whatever I burned off cycling to Slovenia I gained back again, plus some.

I haven't been able to talk to my family or girl much, which is sad, but I know they're all doing great from the messages they send me.  I'm looking forward to hearing about Jessica's work and coming college (still can't believe that), talking American TN football with Jacob (and hopefully catching up on our movie list some), hearing all about Jen's nee volleyball experiences (I'm so proud she took up my sport!), and telling mom and dad and Virginia all about my amazing stories from Austria.  For now, I'm going to spend the next few hours tempting internet fate by trying to write my Scarlequain blog...again.  Wish me luck!

Austrian Internship: Day 22

Well I was sposed to go into the Food Bank this morning, but last night after the festival I came home with a roaring headache...The kind that make me awful sick, and I was up throughout the night, so I ended up not going in and instead waking up at 11 am feeling like a train had run over me.  It's a stupid twist of fate that I get such headaches without getting drunk.

Today was very uneventful but very restful for me: I watched some cartoons, attempted to write my Scarlequain blog (the internet crashed and deleted it all), I read more of my Visions of Vocation book, and now I am sitting in the church in downtown listening to the organist practice.  I believe it is Bach.  I'm just riding Markus' bike around town stopping where I want.  It's lovely.  The organist is now playing a traditional hymn.  This is extremely pleasant.

I ended up riding out of Jennersdorf and into the countryside.  One sign led to another, and as soon as I saw the sign that said "to Slovenia"...I knew I had to go.  So, 19 miles later, after visiting the beautiful Slovenia/Austria border, I can now say I've cycled all the way to Slovenia.  What a day!

Austrian Internship: Three Weeks of Awesomeness

This morning saw me sleeping in until 9ish whereupon, after a shower and a good cup of coffee, Chris and I set off to climb the castle of Riegersborg.  It is the only castle of its kind - one that is high up on a cliff and where it is actually legal to climb up it using a system of wires and climbing harnesses.  I hadn't been rock climbing like this for several years - at least since I've been in school.  It was fantastic to be that high up on a rock face again, taking in Slovakia, Hungary, and the Burgenland in the distance.  Chris kept getting phonecalls, and would clip his safety harnass in to answer them.  I got a great picture of it once.

About half way through, there was a small metal mailbox on the side of the rock.  We opened it, and inside was a small notebook wrapped in a plastic bag with all the signatures of the people who have climbed through that area.  Now there is a signature from Maryvill TN there!  Pretty cool.

After we got back to the station, Markus was just finishing up some dumplings for lunch...I forget the German name for it...but they had peaches, apricots I think? plums, and chocolate in the middle.  SUPER good (and yes Dad, I tried more than just the chocolate).

After tidying up my last blog post that was lost by my phone, I'm going to go relax for an hour or so before we shove back out to the festival.  Tonight we're supposed to see the Austrian military band perform and have some good food.  I'm looking forward to it!

The festival is a huge big deal: the television was there, hundreds of ppl, the ambassador from Tyrkey, the minister of Austria, and tons of other dignitaries.  One of these was giving a lengthy speech in German, and was suddenly speaking in English, apparently for a EU ddignitary who was present.  I hadn't been paying attention, but when he switched it felt like I fell off a cliff, and he instantly had my attention.  It was apparently a large enough reaction on my part that Philip laughed at me.  I thought it funny.

The Hungarian Mayor from St. Gotthardt was dressed jn period armor and had to be translated into German because he only spoke Hungarian.  The Turkish Ambassador spoke with a translator as well.  EIGHT speakers.  Bwah.

There were tons of traditional Austrian and Turkish foods, and there was traditional Austrian and Turkish music and dance.  DW will be proud of my "musical experience."

We had one emergency while we were there: one man passed out from heat exhaustion.  But it was a problem easily solved.

Markus has a fantastic schedule worked out for me for the rest of my time in Jennersdorf,  and I'm super excited about it.  For now though, it's bedtime.  So goodnight!