Just thought you might enjoy this... :)
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
2am, can't sleep but should post.
(quick moment of thanks for auto save)
Good late afternoon America! Its nearing 2am here over seas and I'm two cups of coffee and several chocolate wafer cookies in. My online classes over at Foothill are proving to provide me with bountiful amounts of reading. Hooray Articles of the Confederation...thank YOU framers of the US Constitution!
A very serious goal of mine while studying over here is to actuallyread my textbooks that I buy every semester. I like that I am mostly forced to as there is no actual physical class to attend.
Tomorrow Moni's friend is coming over and I have my weekly German class at the Volcschule.
May I share this with you:
Good late afternoon America! Its nearing 2am here over seas and I'm two cups of coffee and several chocolate wafer cookies in. My online classes over at Foothill are proving to provide me with bountiful amounts of reading. Hooray Articles of the Confederation...thank YOU framers of the US Constitution!
A very serious goal of mine while studying over here is to actuallyread my textbooks that I buy every semester. I like that I am mostly forced to as there is no actual physical class to attend.
Tomorrow Moni's friend is coming over and I have my weekly German class at the Volcschule.
May I share this with you:
Jonay
haha u are responsible and organized...
12:02pmJonay
so you're cooking ur own lunches
hahaha
12:02pmAshley
haha
12:02pmJonay
by the time u come back you'll be pro
12:05pmAshley
AHH
i cant find my train ticket!!!
12:06pmJonay
what?
12:06pmAshley
dammit!
i lost my train ticket
12:06pmJonay
did u just have it?
how long ago?
retrace ur steps
12:14pmJonay
ur so organized ;)
i love it u haven't changed
Ich habe hunger!
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Grey's Anatomy is Back!
Joy to my soul, I've missed these people in my life. Thank you Izzie for not dying yet...
An Array of Adventures.
Dedicated to Jocelyn and her disdain of alliteration.
Have you ever wanted to shower while dancing in the club? In Wiener Neustadt you most certainly can...I'll leave it at that.
Friday night met up with a group of Au Pairs in Austria, from around the world. It is really interesting sitting a table of 7 people, all from different parts of the world! California, Texas, Guatemala, Finland, France, Canada, and Indonesia!
My new Canadian friend and I went out dancing at this club with two floors. Downstairs was a hookah lounge area that was really nice, and where we spent most of our time. It was a very messy night as I left my house keys 1 hour west by train, my bike an hour south by train and stayed in Modling, which wasn't near either of those. On top of that I ended up without my shoes. I'm responsible and organized...
Saturday most of the day was spent sleeping and watching Lizzie McGuire in German. Met up with Dayna for some...erM...interesting Mexican food. My "burrito con carne" was mostly onions with some meat, mushrooms, corn, and a lot of pepper. I miss La Vic! I think Mexicans would be very confused that their burritos didn't have beans or cheese, and must be eaten with a fork and knife.
This beautiful Sunday will be spent catching up on some downtime and reading! Sorry for the lack of pictures, my camera is still being held captive as a P.O.W. eekk!
Have you ever wanted to shower while dancing in the club? In Wiener Neustadt you most certainly can...I'll leave it at that.
Friday night met up with a group of Au Pairs in Austria, from around the world. It is really interesting sitting a table of 7 people, all from different parts of the world! California, Texas, Guatemala, Finland, France, Canada, and Indonesia!
My new Canadian friend and I went out dancing at this club with two floors. Downstairs was a hookah lounge area that was really nice, and where we spent most of our time. It was a very messy night as I left my house keys 1 hour west by train, my bike an hour south by train and stayed in Modling, which wasn't near either of those. On top of that I ended up without my shoes. I'm responsible and organized...
This beautiful Sunday will be spent catching up on some downtime and reading! Sorry for the lack of pictures, my camera is still being held captive as a P.O.W. eekk!
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Yum Risotto! :)
Today for lunch is a tasty vegetable risotto complete with carrots, zucchini, onions, and just a lil paprika. :)
My online classes have been taking up most of my morning and evening time. I've even given myself a midnight curfew for when I got out during the week. Crazy huh? I really like that I don't have to wake up at 8am and commute to school praying for my life in traffic on 85. I also don't have to witness young women putting on mascara while trying to shift into 3rd gear. NOR do I have to watch men tweeze their nose hairs in the rear view mirror.Yikes!
The weather the past two days has been beautiful and warm! Although, the natives are complaining about how hot it is at 75 degrees F. When I tell them its 40 degrees C (98 degrees F) back home they almost faint. No one understands why its still so nice here in Austria but, I'd like to think I have a pretty good idea. ;)
As my wonderfully zany English teacher in 8th grade would say, "TTFN! Tah tah for now!!" :)
My online classes have been taking up most of my morning and evening time. I've even given myself a midnight curfew for when I got out during the week. Crazy huh? I really like that I don't have to wake up at 8am and commute to school praying for my life in traffic on 85. I also don't have to witness young women putting on mascara while trying to shift into 3rd gear. NOR do I have to watch men tweeze their nose hairs in the rear view mirror.Yikes!
The weather the past two days has been beautiful and warm! Although, the natives are complaining about how hot it is at 75 degrees F. When I tell them its 40 degrees C (98 degrees F) back home they almost faint. No one understands why its still so nice here in Austria but, I'd like to think I have a pretty good idea. ;)
As my wonderfully zany English teacher in 8th grade would say, "TTFN! Tah tah for now!!" :)
Monday, September 21, 2009
Facebook Involved in International Dispute...
"JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Logging onto Facebook as a resident in the Golan Heights, should you enter Syria or Israel as your home country? Decades of war and occupation have not provided an answer to that question -- but the social networking Web site now permits both options, sparking fears about an anti-Facebook cyber-war."
Syria is mad that Israel is an option and trying to argue with Facebook.
Really?!
Moment of Truth...
My Joe's are fitting a little too snug these days. Damn Europe and its wonderful breads, Scholoade, and rich Biers! I have to go for a jog now, as I don't have the money to buy new pants. : (
Lunch Time!
Lunch time is my favorite part of the day here. I cook something and hope that its yummy. Today was a mozzarella pizza with garlic artichoke hearts, onions, and kalamata olives. Yum! After lunch I was she dries and we play.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
I Hate Onions...
Today for lunch I made a tomato cream sauce...it was good, but making it brought me to tears. Maybe its a woman gene I didn't inherit but onions make me break down crying just thinking about cutting them. I don't know how I've grown up watching grandmas cut them up with no reservations or hesitation.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
My Little Brother's Curse...
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
To My Grandma-
Liebe Grandma,
Sorry I haven't been updating regularly, I've been very involved and devoted to this book that I finally finished. Its called Seven Types of Ambiguity. Very heavy, but really good! I tend to get a little too emotionally involved with the characters and neglect much of my life outside of reading and finishing my book. Brooke is similar in this. Today I'm starting a book called The Ides of March by Thornton Wilder. The father of the house has a big library in the basement full of books in English.
Yesterday I started my new German class at the community center in Perchtoldsdorf. Its a very small class and I hope to learn a lot. I do well mostly in spelling and understanding. Not so well in speaking. My teacher asks me a question and I spell the answer to her. Not exactly what she was expecting, but I think she appreciated the effort!
This afternoon will be spent reading, playing board games , and cooking something for lunch. I'm learning lots of things to cook. I cook mostly soups though, so its pretty easy. They don't have cheddar cheese here, can you believe that?!
My camera is still broken, so I have no new photos for updating.
More to come!
Sorry I haven't been updating regularly, I've been very involved and devoted to this book that I finally finished. Its called Seven Types of Ambiguity. Very heavy, but really good! I tend to get a little too emotionally involved with the characters and neglect much of my life outside of reading and finishing my book. Brooke is similar in this. Today I'm starting a book called The Ides of March by Thornton Wilder. The father of the house has a big library in the basement full of books in English.
Yesterday I started my new German class at the community center in Perchtoldsdorf. Its a very small class and I hope to learn a lot. I do well mostly in spelling and understanding. Not so well in speaking. My teacher asks me a question and I spell the answer to her. Not exactly what she was expecting, but I think she appreciated the effort!
This afternoon will be spent reading, playing board games , and cooking something for lunch. I'm learning lots of things to cook. I cook mostly soups though, so its pretty easy. They don't have cheddar cheese here, can you believe that?!
My camera is still broken, so I have no new photos for updating.
More to come!
Monday, September 7, 2009
As Promised Extended Version...
This past Saturday morning we left from Modling to Lignano, Italy. What was meant to be a 6 hour drive turned into 8 hours in traffic. Fortunately, the company I was with was great and the drive was filled with beautiful mountain ranges and the greenest grass ever!
We arrived in Lignano around 2pm and began our search for a home for the night. Checked out a few hotels and found the Olympia. It was fairly cheap for the night and included a buffet style breakfast. After we checked in went to the beach and tested the water. It was surprisingly warm. We left our things on dry sand and the wind picked up and destroyed my camera with sand. Hopefully we can fix it...
After the long day in the car we decided to get some ice cream and call it an early night!
We arrived in Lignano around 2pm and began our search for a home for the night. Checked out a few hotels and found the Olympia. It was fairly cheap for the night and included a buffet style breakfast. After we checked in went to the beach and tested the water. It was surprisingly warm. We left our things on dry sand and the wind picked up and destroyed my camera with sand. Hopefully we can fix it...After the long day in the car we decided to get some ice cream and call it an early night!
Our check out time was 10:30am. So we woke up early, ate, showered, went out to the car to find the back axel destroyed by a drunk Italian driver in the night. This man hit two other cars in his rampage through the streets of Lignano. A very kind woman from Italy came back to the scene to give us this man's information, and how to contact the police.
The boys led Ana and I to the beach so we could enjoy our day while they dealt with the inconsistencies and unorganization of the Italian police. I have learned that they have three different "kinds" of police and none of these branches wanted to deal with anything.
Thankfully they spoke German. I had no idea so many people in Italy spoke so much German!
After the boys got things settled (mostly) with the police we had a long trip home to look forward to. There was an hour long bus ride to the train station, just enough time to (literally) run into mc donalds grab some chicken nuggets and run to our train. The train ride back to Vienna was roughly 7 hours. After we arrived back in Austria we had to grab a 10minute taxi ride to the car, then another hour spent in the car. I'm so glad we all got home safe, and that we weren't in the car when the drunken man hit it!
Thankfully they spoke German. I had no idea so many people in Italy spoke so much German!
After the boys got things settled (mostly) with the police we had a long trip home to look forward to. There was an hour long bus ride to the train station, just enough time to (literally) run into mc donalds grab some chicken nuggets and run to our train. The train ride back to Vienna was roughly 7 hours. After we arrived back in Austria we had to grab a 10minute taxi ride to the car, then another hour spent in the car. I'm so glad we all got home safe, and that we weren't in the car when the drunken man hit it!
I hope to visit Italy again. Perhaps, we'll take the train to begin with!
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Italy...quick version...long to come
6 hour car drive turns into 8. broken camera, drunk italian man drunk driving into our car, ridiculous system of 3 different "kinds" of police in Italy. Language barrier. Tanning at the beach. Nutella Eis. Italian mc donalds.unexpected hour long bus ride + 7 hour trian ride + 20Min s-bahn ride + 10 minute taxi drive + 65 minute car ride= tired in bed.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Sorry for the Delay!
Hello All!
Sorry for the lack of updates...
The last week or so has been a flurry of activities.Today Monika had a friend over and we cooked up some lunch and baked a cake. The girls ran around outside while I helped fold clothes and the like. Nothing too exciting!
After the park was time for us to find our seats in the theatre. Today's show was Ice Age 3 in 3-D, and in German. I was looking forward to watching the movie in German to try and brush up on my skills. Unfortunately, I do believe I fell asleep before the opening credits were over. Half-way thru the movie Moni thought it'd be funny to drop the popcorn bag on my lap. Since I had the 3-D glasses on she was not aware of how I had drifted away into a realm of dreams and an unconscious state. The popcorn bag dropped on my lap and rolled onto the floor. One can imagine my confusion when I woke up during the last ten minutes of the movie to find myself covered in popcorn.
This past Sunday I spent with my friend Lilith. She is from (and back to) Lebanon. I will say, they are not anywhere near as conservative as one would think! Although my time was short with this girl (both in height and in time as we're the same size), I know that we would have quickly become partners in crime. Perhaps her short stay in long-term for the better. ;) We spent the day walking around Pratter Amusement park and indulged in ice cream and spinning rides.
Saturday was rainy, cloudy, and cold. Anyone who knows me will know exactly what I do on these days...I stay in bed, read, watch movies, drink hot chocolate, and eat a lot of snacks.
Friday night was girls night which turned out to be a blast! A few of us girls met at Melissa's flat in Wien. Shared a few cocktails and ate pizza and mozzerella sticks! Yum! Made it over the Kju bar and danced to our hearts desire. Afriend got food poisoning and we had to take her home early...Thanks to Peter we gave her a ride and she made a little bit of a mess in his car...and my strong self tried to open the door and snapped the handle in two. I'm afraid this is what happens when guys try to help.
Here's the scene: I was in the back seat of Peter's red Toyota and when we arrived at my friend's place I grabbed the handle pulled and thanks to that whole for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction I threw myself to the other side of the car. As I do when I get embarrassed or am I trouble I held up the handle of the door to Peter and burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. He looked confused and didn't understand what I was trying to show him. So, I laughed harder and when I saw his face come to recognize the destroyed piece of his car my laughter escalated once again.
THURSDAY: Was my last day of class. I'll have to finish that story another day! I will say, I walked about 10 miles.
Sorry for the lack of updates...
The last week or so has been a flurry of activities.Today Monika had a friend over and we cooked up some lunch and baked a cake. The girls ran around outside while I helped fold clothes and the like. Nothing too exciting!
Yesterday I took Moni and her friend Leah to the big theatre in Vienna. I was a little nervous about being responsible for two aloof girls in the city, especially since I had no idea where we were going. We had a great day and got to the theatre in time to indulge in Akakiko Sushi overlooking the beautiful blue-skied day of Austria's capital.
After Sushi the girls and I played in the park on the coolest playground structure ever! It does not sound all too exciting but it’s this top shaped like structure that you run on and it spins...great fun, but my stomach had a little too much to say about spinning after eating all that raw fish!
After the park was time for us to find our seats in the theatre. Today's show was Ice Age 3 in 3-D, and in German. I was looking forward to watching the movie in German to try and brush up on my skills. Unfortunately, I do believe I fell asleep before the opening credits were over. Half-way thru the movie Moni thought it'd be funny to drop the popcorn bag on my lap. Since I had the 3-D glasses on she was not aware of how I had drifted away into a realm of dreams and an unconscious state. The popcorn bag dropped on my lap and rolled onto the floor. One can imagine my confusion when I woke up during the last ten minutes of the movie to find myself covered in popcorn.
This past Sunday I spent with my friend Lilith. She is from (and back to) Lebanon. I will say, they are not anywhere near as conservative as one would think! Although my time was short with this girl (both in height and in time as we're the same size), I know that we would have quickly become partners in crime. Perhaps her short stay in long-term for the better. ;) We spent the day walking around Pratter Amusement park and indulged in ice cream and spinning rides.Saturday was rainy, cloudy, and cold. Anyone who knows me will know exactly what I do on these days...I stay in bed, read, watch movies, drink hot chocolate, and eat a lot of snacks.
Friday night was girls night which turned out to be a blast! A few of us girls met at Melissa's flat in Wien. Shared a few cocktails and ate pizza and mozzerella sticks! Yum! Made it over the Kju bar and danced to our hearts desire. Afriend got food poisoning and we had to take her home early...Thanks to Peter we gave her a ride and she made a little bit of a mess in his car...and my strong self tried to open the door and snapped the handle in two. I'm afraid this is what happens when guys try to help.
Here's the scene: I was in the back seat of Peter's red Toyota and when we arrived at my friend's place I grabbed the handle pulled and thanks to that whole for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction I threw myself to the other side of the car. As I do when I get embarrassed or am I trouble I held up the handle of the door to Peter and burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. He looked confused and didn't understand what I was trying to show him. So, I laughed harder and when I saw his face come to recognize the destroyed piece of his car my laughter escalated once again.
THURSDAY: Was my last day of class. I'll have to finish that story another day! I will say, I walked about 10 miles.
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