Austrain Internship: Day 20

Well.  I spent an hour expanding this post and then my phone crashed and I lost it all.  And I'm typing on my phone because the internet won't work on my stupid laptop.  So here.  Have my notes.  I'll expand it tomorrow.  :p

Now it's tomorrow!  I'm sitting in the kitchen drinking a Radler (super great...wish they had them in the US), enjoying a few hours off before we go to the continuation of the festival I'll describe below.

I woke up often during the night (mosquitoes have a bad habit of buzzing my ear at night) but I ended up sleeping until my alarm, which is a first since I've been in Europe.  These 12 hours shifts and 6am mornings have begun to get me to drink my coffee black.  Now I only just use 1 "zucker."

My two new colleagues in the Granny care apparently have lots of faith in me, as they left to go on a smoke break shortly after I showed up, and quickly told me several German phrases to use for when people arrive.  I started by asking if they wanted things in simple German: coffee with sugar milk, bread with butter or jelly.  I've improved a ton since I've been here, considering I knew *nothing* of German when I got here.

Three ladies showed up by 7:30 and were all very talkative and happy when I tried to speak to them in German, especially when they found out I'm an "English."  They would prattle off to me about something and I'd just have to laugh and agree with a few words in German.  Hope it was something to agree to.  ;)  Today everyone is SO talkative compared to yesterday.  Eventually there were six ladies here and one man...poor guy can't get a word in edgewise.  Our activities for today included playing ball again (except this time we had to think of a German word that begins with the same letter that the last word ended with...I was at a disadvantage...), and we sang traditional songs together.  Well, I kinda hummed the melody when I caught it, but that pleased the socks off a few of them.

I got to help Markus cook lunch again today, and after we ate, all the lads did first aid review, and I went too as I wasn't needed in the Granny Care.  After that we all got so bored that we played Fuseball in the ambulance garage...And I learned several great new words from Marco (my surprise roommate I wrote about in Day 16), like Schlechter spieler - which means "bad player," and is now Sasha's name.  ;)

I went to a festival tonight with Susan, the secretary, and her family, in celebration of 350 years of the Austrians defeating the Turkish in battle.  There was a reading from Rilke, who is my favorite poet of all time, (they read "Die Weise von Liebe und Tod des Cornets Christoph Rilke"), and playing of traditional Turkish music.  It was amazing for me to hear Rilke's poetry as he intended it to sound in the original German, especially since I couldn't understand the meaning.  I could focus only on the sound of the words.

Finally get to sleep tomorrow!  Then Chris and I are going rock climbing up the cliff face that leads to Riegersborg Castle.  I'm super excited.

Austrian Internship: Day 19

Today was a super relaxed day for me.  I worked at the "Granny Care" or the Senior citizen care, where we cook, go on walks, go shopping, play games, with the local senior citizens.  It was a ton of fun: everyone tried to learn learn a little English, and teach me a little German.  We had breakfast together, and shortly after went on a walk down to the local shop where we talked and had a snack.  When we got back, the workers got out a foam ball and we all sat in a circle and tossed the ball to each other.  It was hilarious to see the older people get competitive with each other, throwing the ball with great "ferocity" and cackling when the other person missed a "fast pitch."  The day continued much like this, and I enjoyed it, although I'll admit that while we were taking them all home tonight I was falling asleep in the passenger chair, especially with the help of the pouring rain on the windshield.  Makes me want to take a nap at 6pm...

I don't usually have nicknames (Mom hates it when I'm called anything but Jonathan...I don't care much), but there's something great sounding about an Austrian or German calling me "Johnny."  I don't usually like Americans calling me that - there are a very few exceptions - but I love it here.  It ends up sounding like "Chohnnie" and has a nice ring to it.

Other than the things I've mentioned, the only other thing I really did today, other than drink coffee, was to cook chili with Markus for the station.  It turned out super amazing.  I'm beginning to think Markus should just quit his job, and he and I can open a unique restaurant here in Jennersdorf - good traditional dinners with Southern style breakfasts.  Now there's an odd combination...

Anyway, tonight I shall spend snacking, snoozing, and talking to my family.  And maybe trying to make the internet work long enough to watch an American cartoon or show.  But that's an entirely different battle.

Goodnight from Jennersdorf!

Austrian Internship: Day 18

Well, as I've said previously, today my first task was to cook the station an American breakfast consisting of chocolate gravy, made-from-scratch biscuits (both of which no one here had heard of...and if you know my family it's tradition to cook for new friends), scrambled eggs, and bacon.  Markus and I began cooking right around 7:15, and planned on cooking for 10-12ish people.  Right away, I was hit with some...unforeseen...difficulties.  First off, I realized that the cocoa that we had is meant for chocolate milk (being about 18% cocoa instead of the much higher baking cocoa), meaning I had to just dump it into the pan until it looked right.  Second, my recipe was, naturally, in American measurements: cups, teaspoons, tablespoons, etc.  Well, in Europe, they use liters, grams, kilos, etc.  So...I pretty much had to guesstimate all the measurements for all our material.  Also, it turns out that in Jennersdorf, stores only sale cooking vanilla around Christmas time.  Luckily Markus had some.  ;)  The bacon here is also about 3 times thinner than bacon back home, so it cooked about 3 times faster too.  Anyway, despite all these differences, things ended up coming together perfectly.  It was my first time making either the gravy or the biscuits, and I ended up getting an emergency call 2 minutes before everything was finished - meaning I didn't see the reactions of the people who ended up eating!  I think it's a huge hit however...it's 9pm now and Markus, Stefan, Chris, and I just had the leftovers for dinner.  I told them all tonight that it's highly possible they are the first people in Austria to actually have Southern style biscuits and chocolate gravy.  A neat thought, for sure.

Today I was on call in an ambulance with Chris and Michael (we make a fantastic team), and our first mission of the day was an 80ish year old man who had fallen in his wood shed some time before (last night, yesterday, this morning, we don't know), and injured his spine - we treated it as if it was fractured as we were unable to know.  The call and trip to the hospital took about 2 hours, and just as we were going back to the station to join everyone for breakfast, we got another call.  As Chris says, "Ah well...the life of a hero."  ;)

I've noticed that Michael Jackson is huge here.  He plays on the radio all the time, and I can't say I don't enjoy it.  I'm often caught singing or air drumming along, and usually get some laughs.  But I don't mind...it's in my head constantly; it has to get out somehow.  Chris and I are going castle-climbing on Friday and we drove by the castle today.  There is a sheer rock face on the left side of the castle that we intend to climb up, and afterwards, plant the flag of Jennersdorf and claim the region for ours.  So Chris says, at least.  ;)

Our next call was supposed to be a simple transport - a patient just needed to get home from the hospital - but we got an emergency call shortly before we could pick them up.  I won't bother with details for this call.  Just know it's a pity we had just eaten lunch.   It was a super busy day!

After that call (where I nearly broke my leg falling on a loose stone on the patient's front porch...but I'm okay...) we transported two ladies back to their house.  One of them liked me enough to give me a box of "After Eight" mint chocolates that she had recently bought.  I already tried one of them and Mmmm...are they good.

The mayor of Jennersdorf (who happens to also be the VP of the Red Cross here) personally welcomed me to his town and told me all about Jennersdorf (the history, economy, influence by the Iron Curtain, etc.) and gave me an extremely nice hardcover book and a voucher to a local natural spa, and then took us to coffee at a very old and well-known hotel.  I'm beginning to comprehend German more now, due mostly to Markus constantly translating for me (his English has gotten much better too since I've been here).  I can pick up the jist of a conversation without being told its meaning, which is great for just sitting around and listening to the guys talk about their day.  I really enjoy it.

Tomorrow I am doing "Granny Care" for most of the day - senior citizen care here at the Red Cross.  I am told there is one particular gentleman who likes to tell about his WW2 experiences that I am looking forward to meeting.

For now, I'm going to go get ready for bed.  I had a great day, but I am wiped out.  Honestly, it feels good.  I told Chris I'd much rather be working than sitting in the station waiting for a call.  At least it keeps me busy.

For now: Gute Nacht!

Austrian Internship: Day 17

Started today off early, getting up and having breakfast and coffee around 6am.  I read Psalm 33 and Romans 8, a favorite passage of mine, before helping Stefan check our ambulance for supplies, having one more cup of coffee with everyone, and then climbing on board with Rudy and Stefan to begin making rounds around the city.  All we're waiting on now is a call.  It feels odd to me to be working in an ambulance, especially considering my majors.  Rudy is a quieter type, but he told me he wants to teach me some German.  Let's hope I pick it up quickly.

Our first mission was a simple one: as a part of its service, the Red Cross transfers patients to the hospital for free if they are unable to drive themselves.  We brought an elderly lady in for her check up and then brought her home.  She was very friendly, and it was a simple task.  Day one on the job is officially started!  Looks like I'll be helping transport for most of the day, which is fine with me.  I wasn't exactly hoping to help with CPR on day one.  ;)

My team went out to eat together at a local restaurant (super good), and we didn't have to pay because Rudy had to leave on a mission in the middle of his meal a few weeks ago.  I thought that was neat.  Shortly thereafter we headed out on another mission that was exactly like the first.  Picked up the patient, transferred them to their doctor, drove them back, and came home.  The rest of the day was totally uneventful...unless you call watching How I Met Your Mother in German and reading school books eventful.  ;)  But really, I had a fantastic day.  I got to know Markus and Chris and Michael a bit better (I have now listened to the song Auf Uns about 30 times thanks to Michael), made new friends (Rudy and Stefan make a great team, and I learned a few new German words and greetings), and went shopping for groceries...you see, I am to cook the team here breakfast in the morning, Southern style.  Chocolate gravy, biscuits, eggs, bacon...I'm a smidgen nervous, but I think it's going to come together fantastically.  I've missed Southern cooking, and so now Southern Austrians are going to see how Southern Americans eat.

A cool thing about working in a completely different culture is that there is always something to discuss with friends.  Why does your culture work this way?  Does everyone carry a gun in America?  What does "bast" mean in German?  How does this system work?

I am so glad I came to Jennersdorf.  It is a city whose landscape and people (specifically here at the Rotes Kreuz) are very dear to my heart, and I am thankful.

I have just finished a pizza I made for myself, and I'm waiting on my Dad to call me on Skype.  Haven't talked to him in quite a while.  Also!  For those of you who are interested, I'm stewing on a new Scarlequain blog post that I think will be of interest to a few of my readers: all about Realistic Romantics - a continuation of "romantic, Romantic, Romanticist."

Anyway, I'll write to you tomorrow and let you know how the breakfast and being on call again goes.  I'm sure it'll be great!

Tschüss!

Austrian Internship: Day 16

This morning saw me getting up at 6:45, surprisingly to a new roommate (I knew I was going to have one for the night, but when I woke up, it was a different fellow than the guy who had asked to sleep with me), and heading out to attending a mass and a celebration for another Red Cross in a neighboring district with Markus and Chris and two other gentlemen in an ambulance.  The mass itself was amazing - in an old church and in traditional style, the organ accompanied a large wind band that played from the balcony.  My Germany isn't amazing, but I'm getting to the point where I can understand at least a little of what the priest was saying this morning.

After the mass was over, the entire congregation went outside to bless the new ambulance car of the region, and then we all paraded down the street (yes, we marched to actual marching music and walked in time behind the new car) to the Red Cross building, where there was a celebration much like the one Hawkins and I attended in Neuseidl am See our first day here.

I have decided Austrians are some of the most generous people I have ever met.  I swear I'm going to gain 15 pounds just from the amount of food people want to buy me to "try their culture."  I'm loving all this culture so much!  The food is spectacular.

Tomorrow begins the "real" ambulance work - I'll be on call from 7am-7pm, meaning I'll be at the station in uniform waiting for an emergency to attend to.  For now, I'm just relaxing, and probably going to try and nap away some of the weight I gained at the mass celebration.  It works that way...right?

I'll let you all know tomorrow how my first day on call goes!

-J

Austrian Internship: Day 15

Greetings, friends, family, and travel lovers!  Today sees me sleeping late for the last time in quite a while, I think, reading, writing, making silly Flipgram videos, and just generally enjoying my last day off before work starts!

Last night was fantastic for me.  Markus, the chief here in Jennersdorf, made me some amazing lasagna for dinner, and afterwards, two new friends, Claus and Phillip, took me out to see the town, and showed me the best spot for ice cream.  I had vanilla chocolate chip mixed with cookies and cream - talk about some great ice cream!  After we made the rounds of the city for the evening (the sunset was beautiful), we came back and just chatted for an hour or so.  Claus knows a good bit about the Austrian economy, and so we discussed American vs Austria economics!  Right up my alley.

It's funny, one of the main questions I get here is "Is America just like the films we see here?  Does everyone own a gun and are all the buildings super large and is everyone always busy?"  It's a good question, I suppose, because all they see are images Hollywood portrays.  I have to explain to them that my hometown looks much like Jennersdorf - a bit of town mixed with a lot of country, fields, and woods, and that most of America doesn't go around bustling in a city with a gun on their hip.  It's been extremely enlightening for me - I have a better grasp of the way things work in Austria compared to the US, and I can see why both cultures, American and Austrian, sometimes misunderstand one another - we just don't know everything about each other, and thereby make assumptions.  I have been so happy to learn about my Austrian colleagues.

Tonight at the bbq I had so very much fun.  I made new great friends (swapping music makes good friends too, I've found), and tried SO many delicious new foods.  Markus translated his welcoming speech into English just for me, and I walls extremely impressed. I think he is trying to get me fat, though, with all this great food.  ;)

The team is super nice to me.  I feel very at home, but I wish I spoke German so I could interact more (and be more polite) with those around me.  It's hard to make friends when there is a language barrier!  But I am still making friends.

Tomorrow I leave to serve in an ambulence around 7:30am. Real work starts, and I'm excited!

Austrian Internship: TWO WEEKS!

Servus!

It has been two weeks since I first wrote in this blog about flying over to Europe.  A part of me can't believe it, and another part of me wonders that it's only been such a short time, as I feel as if I've been here forever.

I am so glad I am in Jennersdorf.  I enjoyed my short visit to Eisenstadt, but I've been in so many cities while I'm here that it's really nice to be back in the country.  My quip about the South being friendly has proven to  be true, and even though everyone here is a little nervous about speaking English, they've made me feel extremely welcome.

Today we had a lunch of Schnitzel and cordon bleu with fries (pommes), at it was super satisfying.  Apparently too, the Red Cross here in Austria has a partnership with Red Bull (it is actually made here in Austria...which I didn't know), and they gave me three cans of it this morning.  I have plenty of caffeine between that and the coffee.  Whew.  So if I seem a bit wired in the next few posts...you know why.  ;)

Today has been really laid back.  I've gone grocery shopping and, done some laundry (necessity once you get to a certain amount of socks), and I've worked on compiling all my best short stories, narratives, and poetry into one document.  I had the great idea to see how much I'd have, and as of right now I'm at 55 pages.  I still have yet to pick out some of my favorite Scarlequain blog posts to include too.

My volunteer service technically starts on Sunday.  I'll be on call in an ambulance - sounds really crazy to say that!  The rest of the day I'll keep writing and reading, and hopefully talk to some people back home.  I've found some good internet spots!

Can't wait to get working.  After my training I'm eager to see what being on call is actually like.  From what I gather it probably won't be very busy, but still - it's a brand new experience!

Until tomorrow,

-J