Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in Gail's LiveJournal:

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Thursday, February 4th, 2010
10:02 pm	Imbolc  Imbolc is a rather strange title for a journal. Before last Saturday, I had no idea what it meant. Just that Michelle was throwing a fest for it at her house. And I was to bring sparklers. It was one of the most gemuetlich gatherings I'd ever been to. Supposedly it's based in Celtic myth- the first signs of spring showing up. A time of new beginnings. With food imported from every corner of the globe and so much time indoors, I acknowledge the rather depressing fact that I have next to none of this natural connection. Sure most cold snaps have passed, and I can sometimes walk outside at night without even a light sweater cloaking my arms. But that's hindsight associations. I'm much more tuned into school calenders, 7 day weeks, schedules changing slightly every semester.  For me such a cozy, rather spiritual fest coincided with a new school semester. And boy have there been soe amazing new beginnings. Academic interests are slowly being tweaked and tailored to an AOC in Anthropology. So far the readings in my 2 anthro classes have been interesting. I have notions thesis ideas that may never work out, but sound exciting (Ethnographies preschools- or English speaking preschools in Tennengau? The very moment of required Hochdeutsch. C'mon, you know it's awesome). Anyway, I'm trying 5 classes this semester. The two aforementioned anthro classes- one on Mesoamerica and one on modern Turkey. I'm continuing Chinese, and taking a class on Medieval Manuscripts and a lit class on travel writing. A schedule full of eyes permanently oscillating back and forth, back hunched over (or if I remember proper posture, more neck pain. I'm working as well now too! Upon asking casually a few weeks ago at the fitness center if there were any openings, I was pleasantly surprised when there were, AND I got the job! First day of work was today. Easiest job ever. I feel bad even earning minimum wage sitting there, getting 100 pages of class reading done. Yesterday evening I checked my e-mail, and was surprised to find one from my Medieval Manuscripts professor.... Asking my to be his research assistant? What? Seriously?!  How the hell did THAT happen? Why was I of all people asked?? So before that class, I go his office, very intrigued. Turns out he wants me to read academic articles in German and give English summaries on them. Crazy tough German, but I want to see if I'm up to it and can schaff es. Just a few hours a week (20 spread out over the whole semester) but it should be an interesting challenge- and a resume booster. Despite all these "new beginnings". There area few constants in my life for which I'm eternally grateful. One is, of course, Zeb. Dating a short time of almost 6 months and no signs of anything going awry. Nightly phone conversations, I still always look forward to. If, due to crazy schedules and academic suicide/ hermiting I temporarily have less contact with most people (already evident this first week of classes), I know I'll still have Zeb to chat with, confide in, joke around with, and generally be a social creature. Trying to keep some consistancy with silly knitting projects as a hobby. We'll see how how that goes.   (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, October 5th, 2009
11:37 pm	Wow So much has changed since that last entry. I don't even know where to begin... so I won't even start. Maybe just a 10 word summary (in no order whatsoever) Weather, sweet simplicity, Zeb, linguistics, Danke vom Herzen, tutoring and gym and knitting and UU, age role reversal, contemplating. I just re-read my most awesome Rotary journal entry (the one written September 21st) so... insightful and full of imagery. I wish I wrote more like that. Of all things, it's making me nostalgic for October in Austria. Sure there were some awkward, confusing moments. But my mind isn't brought to those. Nor is it brought to later 'adventures' to come. I'm thinking of Pinsdorf. A small little village, always said with a *sigh* as if there were nothing to see. I'm thinking, of all things, of my first host family. Or rather, the peaceful nature that surrounded their house. I remember going on walks around the place, passing the babbling little river, the empty farmland, up a road, looking out over a hill. I remember being estatic when the leaves were changing color, taking 2 fallen ones, and keeping them in my Rotary journal. Sure, not all memories were ideal there, but this natural beauty stands out. I remember also around this time, walking with my then-host mom through a neighbor's beautiful garden, we being allowed to take some flowers- before the mid Autumn cold approached. The woman kept saying something about being in Cuba/ studying dynamics of south Florida and my trying to participate. Despite my time there NOT working out at all by December, I realize now how those little moments out there, quiet walks alone or with others, really affected me so positively, to this day- though I never realized it before. These simple moments, I'll treasure. I don't know how to classify situations as purely great or terrible. Nor would I ever want to. I cannot classify people that way ever. I love the sense of community at New College- socializing with lots of people every day, seeing people walk to class in the fresh air, making friends. I feel like I belong here most of the time. But I miss Austria. Sometimes it's the most random, sometimes stupid things. Like... people don't talk about the weather nearly as much. I read a local article in the Salzburg paper discussing if there should be a shorter summer and a week-long Fall Break. And people definitely took in account the weather, or people employed in the tourism industry (much of the area) spending time with their children. Would weather EVER be a consideration in Florida for moving around breaks? It's too damn hot in the summer to do much. I understand in a huge country, it cannot be too differnt from elsewhere. That might be what I miss. Small-ness; Things being tangible; more distinct regional differences; I miss holidays and traditions from centuries past... not living vicariously through 'Christmas' jingles about snow in a state that has never had a 'White Christmas'. Sure, there were a lot of times I felt like an outsider in Austria. I didn't really click with my classes as a whole- knowing the ins and outs of everyone's stories. I was awkward as hell- especially at the beginning. Much (not all) of the people I hung out with were in few week burst- short strong connections and then slowly gone. Despite that, there are people I got so close to in a short amount of time. I read a local paper in Salzburg and Tennengau and picture exactly where they talk about/ what issues are big deals. I look at the weather and know how people will respond to it. I know that the huge fields of sunflowers in Oberoesterreich are dying now. What do I know about crops here? I wonder about Halloween this year. Will it be even more widespread in Gmunden this year? More children dressing up? More families buying on-sale, small individually wrapped sweets? More Halloween parties thrown by teenagers? Will costumes get skankier? Will people have "haunted houses" and tacky, plastic decorations everywhere? I think about markets. How long will they still be in little towns once a week in the morning? In such a small country, I was able to really take everything in, and feel connected, if not always on a personal social level, then on a regional one. Will I get involved in Sarasota now? I dread December here. Our "advent" season. (sorry it's such a negative-ish sounding post.... I've actually been having a GREAT past few days lol) Current Mood: contemplative (Comment on this)
Wednesday, August 26th, 2009
12:26 am	Generic subject line here I dunno what to write other than some ramblings here. Non sensical and stream of conciousness. Im writing this at 12:30am. Cant sleep. A few reasons. Main ones= up til 2am last night and slept til noon. I didn't even plan on being up and chatting on the phone, sitting on the Pei balcony ledge that long- but it worked and glad i did that =D. And the bed is uncomfortable- should get a mattress pad. And Im ALWAYS hungry here. Even after  eat big portions. Usually that feeling goes away after a week, but not yet. Crazy reversal Ham food. I think the Phantom Tollbooth featured that- except people got fuller after a time of not eating. I've been to one class for every subject Im taking- and Im not capped out of any of them. Yaaaay! Gen Chem 1 1st Year Modern Chinese Medieval Europe Intro to Psych MOD 1: Memory Development German Conversation and Composition There's so much randomness of everything and nothingness to say. Went to the weekend walls, splashed around in a kiddie pool hitting people with my scarf (their costumes were cooler- shoddily made sparkly body suits with REALLY long arms). Drove to a puppy store to play with them today, cooking class, sunset on the bay, open mic night, Goodwill is going to be one of the only places Ill shop now- who needs new shit? How bout one random thing on each class? Chemistry seems pretty cool- great teacher In Chinese I keep getting distracted in by book when they  go in depth about the phonology. And then my mind wanders to random and sometimes dirty linguistics related questions... I think one reason Im taking Medieval Europe is the guy has a cool British accent. And I can do reports on my old towns/ places Ive SEEN in person Memory development had a nice little planted person "did anyone lose a key?" to recall later If I try to speak Hochdeutsch and not Dialekt my German grammar suffers as well =/. But the teacher is cool- and not overly "OMG Deutschland" So sleeping now. Gotta get uup at 8... (Comment on this)
Thursday, August 20th, 2009
12:53 am	New College Been here since Sunday. All in all, it ROCKS. I absolutely love it here. Nearly everyone is soo welcoming and inviting. Orientation week it's to be expected-everyone in the same new situation. Reminds me of language camp. Every day is completely different- and always something positive. Random awesomeness of today (in no order- not even chronological): -walking over to the cop shop- campus cops are the friendliest coolest chill people ever -starting to form small groups of friends -realizing now more than ever that linguistics and foreign language is my passion right now. Probably going to study Chinese instead of Spanish. -Meeting some new librarian in a group of students. The faculty is pretty cool as a whole and looking forward to knowing more -1st Yoga class. Felt so relaxed and chill and learning yoga is something I want to accomplish this semester -Completely rocking the Persepolis book discussion. I realized my year abroad has made me more confident in stating my opinions (not to mention the chill atmpshere). AND I have better arguments based on experience abroad -Feeling completely comfortable and myself at dinner with people -Not napping -Knowing about cheap plane tickets- to potential amazing, wonderful fall break plans <3 -Getting something that's been on my mind, and tip of my tongue/fingers for a while out there- and having it be, well, matched  I guess -Running into a kid from middle school and chilling at her dorm (Z dorms are WAY better than Pei- even though Pei is so typical 1st year student.)- and meeting more welcoming peoples. Some of whom like an obscure band I like. -Watching V for Vendetta for the first time (great film) Mini classes start tomorrow- a real chance to meet all my professors. There's so much other randomness here. Short list of stuff just in head now: -driving to dinner with Orientation people= blaring Sound of Music -Meeting boarding school students in Wales, and someone from Germany -Big Wind Blows. Nuff said -Pretty cool roomates- really really nice. Went out to dinner with them and their parents my first night -Silly signs in every common room -Swinging in the rain -Sunsets at the bay -overhearing random conversations about quantum physics and Shakespeare and everything in between intellectually -somehow not being so phased by random streakers -the free table And just, so many things I cant even think of now. But all in all. Awesome time here. Both directly on campus and off. (And good luck Krista for that language test!!) (Comment on this)
Saturday, August 15th, 2009
11:03 pm	Blessings in disguise these last 6 hours or so reinforced a belief in that one's attitude makes a HUGE difference in a situation. And that, well, maybe some things happen for a reason. I was supposed to go to Ocala my last night before being a college student. The whole "nuclear family" there. Me probably distracted and trying to reread Persepolis, but still enjoying the company. That didn't work out at all- for reasons I won't type about here. It was tough talking on the phone telling my dad, whose voice seemed more cheerful than what  I heard in a long time- knowing that I had to crush that, saying we couldn't come. Made me think "careful what you wish for" as I was sighing and complaining of the tradtional roles and acts my mother, just 24 hours before was feeling the whole "OMG, my baby is growing up and going off to college." And my falling into the "sigh and blank stare". Well, that sappiness of my last night, totally lost to the wind. Me sitting at home, only one awake. But in some ways it worked out great. In this moment of "wow, this sucks with my family and, again, stuff I'm not writing here", I found comfort in a few people- definitely transforming relationships with them. One friend I've known for a while, I finally opened up and chatted on some not-so-pleasant things in our lives that we could relate to VERY well. this was a girl, I thought I would probably lose touch with after exchange, and not see much afterwards, yet we're closer than ever in this month of my being here. The other person I chatted with? Someone I met a very short time ago. It was a slightly planned and slightly chance meeting. One where I expected some chatting, and add on Facebook or email exchange and that's over. But here I am calling, telling some things I've told very few people because I trust this person, and feel like I can go to this once stranger for comfort. Ever feel that with people when, before a meeting you never expected it (or maybe the meeting itself is chance). How what would be a quick "hey" turns into a 2 hour long chat on everything. And a quick "hey, it's all good" turns into another near hour- and ends in burnt tomato soup that one forgets is on the stove. Or how knowing how 2 things in common you have quickly turns into 20. ^ If you're reading this (you know who Im talking about), yeah I mean that. You do mean a lot to me. And I do think about you when Im not chatting with you. But yeah, sometimes a shitty situation can lead to some great realizations, step forwards, or (near...) confessions. Im wondering if the night before college, I would have forgotten it completely if it weren't for what happened. It's definitely set some thoughts, opinions and attitudes for my near future. That of "Expect the unexpected. And though one may not change some events, one has control one's own reactions to them" On an unrelated note: 1 and 2 cent Euro coins can be magnetized- as can a 5 piece Czech coin- but forget about it with Hungarian coins. (Comment on this)
Sunday, August 9th, 2009
7:02 pm	Coping Methods Well, I didn't expect this as a coping method. Trying to worry about and take care of everything. I'm trying to "mother" my own mother now. Trying to make sure she eats right... by cooking everything myself. And cleaning, and trying to teacher her recipes to make for Jill when she's gone. Taking walks/ walking naturally in Austria made me seemed less stressed, so I try to get her to go walk or swim or whatnot with me (but that never works, since I rarely end up doing that myself.). There's a few financial problems, so I'm turning the AC off more and handwashing dishes here. In addition to almost only getting second hand stuff (a purse I've 'needed' for a year- $3 and brandname high heels for $4), feeling guilty as shit that there's no way for me to get a steady job before college. Nor working hard enough these few weeks to promote myself for simple babysitting and whatnot. I want to help my dad a LOT, deep down. And feel bad for not taking the actions. Partially because I know he has to himself... and I dislike Ocala/ have too much things going on here in Gville. Ocala is absolutely dead as a city. Sure there's Silveer Springs, where I LOVED asa young child. But how often to I go there? And After a while it loses its awesomeness. All I do there is sit at home. Maybe that was fine before exchange, but if I stay much longer than a few days I'd just wither. Maybe when I go tomorrow, I'll convince my dad to walk a really long time with me. Who knows? And I'm a bit worried about college and finances. My grant money doesn't come in until September 15th. So I'm screwed- unless I get a credit card specifically for books and then pay that off as soon as the money comes in. I don't want to burden my parents any more than I already have. I still can't drive which will be a HUGE problem, since I can't practice much at college with friends' cars probably. And I have to review a bunch of pre calc before my Calc 1 (haven't done precalc since 06-07). And I probably should clean out my room... Worrying and stressing DEFINITELY keeps me distracted from Austria, except when talking with Maggi, or looking at the old language camp video, or noting this year's language camp starts the same day as my orientation. Thank God Im probably going up to Jax to chill and party with rebounds. I need to get out there and party the stress away maybe lol. Sorry for the ranty journal entry. I'll skip this paragraph here beating myself up in comparison to others in the world... (Comment on this)
Thursday, August 6th, 2009
8:51 pm	Interesting coping methods So, I figured out that my lifestyle changes are definitely a way of coping with leaving Austria. My habits etc are almost completely new- not something I did for months on end in Austria and trying to bring back here. Not at all. I think for the most part I'm reforaging my connection with Maggi (probably the person I miss most if I had to pick). Like, we always handwashed dishes at her house- and I got my mother into doing that with me just today- after I made a simple delicious cream sauce for spaghetti and a spinach salad with the epic salad dressing of pumpkin seed oil, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. Or that, at least in my head, I'm thankful/ being grateful for everything. Like staring at a knife "Thanks for cutting that garlic and making my great meal possible". I'm a slightly less messy person as well now. I'm connecting and chatting (perhaps too much, heh...) with others who have that same connection. I went to Blue Springs today with Natasha. I used to go there somewhat often when I was about 13- and living in High Springs for a few months. I think I appreciate it a good deal more now. Because, well, springs AREN'T as common everywhere and I know that now. I definitely had fun jumping off that platform thing like always. But I really took time to appreciate everything. Watching a nature show, seeing a picture, or a simple description does not do some things justice. Like simply seeing a cool bird swim through the water, grasp a fish in its beak, hit it against a rock (killing it or descaling it?) and then swallowing it whole. Or seeing perfectly reflective water, staring at it in awe as a few drops of water make the whole pond ripple, distorting the images of whole trees. (Looking at that I didnt even notice the bug bites until after x.x) Im starting to get into a new routine here. I wonder if I'll keep this at college. Perhaps lack of time will disrupt it. Perhaps foster it even more. I have no idea. I haven't given starting college as much thought as I probably should have... But perhaps not having expectations/ strong anticipations will let me marvel at everyone and everything. Reminds me of language camp a year ago. Was more focused on other aspects in Austria and then the date kind of "approached" and it ended up being some of the best weeks of my life. Que sera sera =) (Comment on this)
Wednesday, August 5th, 2009
6:59 pm	So... Im defintiely making more of an effort to stay in shape. Not because I care about weight or anything. I just feel a lot better that way. So today I decided to bike to Molly's house, help her organize her room, and bike back. 5 miles in the Florida humidity on a bike I hadn't used since before I left for exchange. But it was great. On the way back, I caught one of those typically Florida torrential downpours that last 10 or 15 minutes. It was that window of time I was biking with NO shelter to be found. As soon as I found a covered bus stop, of course it stopped. Squeezing water out of even my shoes, looking like I was picked and thrown into a lake, and I was cursing the rain the entire time, I couldn't help but grin and throughly enjoy it. I've seen storms like this nearly my whole life in Florida; I knew the patterns of them. Yet 99% of the time I was always looking through a window at them, or perhaps running to a car, throwing the door open frantically. I'd never been caught biking through such a thing before. I just felt so... alive. Looking through a window, how many senses does one experience the rain? Sight, maybe sound? But being out there in it I felt it, tasted, and smelled it as well. How much different is it really sitting inside watching these storms than, say, watching a movie. I used to be one of the most indoorsy people I knew before Austria- even though I still occasionally biked or walked places. In Austria I wasn't outdoorsy much either. But 10 and 20 minute walks everywhere really do add up. I have to work so much harder to get that time outdoors here and now. But it's worth the effort. Even though there's some cultural things in the US I may never get myself re-used to, I can truly say I'm a very happy person right now- and have been the past few months. I feel confident that I can take on new challenges that come my way; secure enough in myself not to be paranoid that I may "offend" someone. In addition, being back has helped me make more of an effort to be "social" and reach out and make that effort to hang with people. Doing so has made me closer to my own friends, and feel like I belong again. To everyone I've hung out with since getting back: THANK YOU!! You guys rock. Heh, I guess this entry turned a bit introspective and rambly when my purpose was to simply post a survey lol. Well, here's the survey finally: 1. What time did you get up this morning? 10:00 a.m. 2. How do you like your steak? Medium or medium rare 3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Hangover 4. What is your favorite TV show? Don't watch much TV at all... Daily Show? 5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? Right now? Salzburg 6. What did you have for breakfast? Blueberries and cream oatmeal with orange juice 7. What is your favorite cuisine? "Italian" I guess- even so much of that I eat is so Americanized 8. What foods do you dislike? A lot (not all) of really 'fishy' seafood, American bread and wax squares (aka American Cheese) 9. Favorite Place to Eat? My dad's kitchen when my grandmother comes in town to cook 10. Favorite dressing? Maggi's dressing of pumpkin seed oil, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic powder, and TINY spoons of salt and pepper. 11.What kind of vehicle do you drive? A really crappy bike from K Mart? 12. What are your favorite clothes? Comfy, not too expensive ones. Style? Im starting to get into sundresses again 13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? How can I decide!? 14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? Half full 15. Where would you want to retire? Noo clue. Not Florida 16. Favorite time of day? Depends on the day/ what my plans are 17. Where were you born? Baton Rouge, Louisiana 18. What is your favorite sport to watch? Don't really watch sports... watching the Olympics at somewhere as international as language camp was pretty cool. 19. Who do you think will not tag you back? Didn't tag anyone 20. Person you expect to tag you back first? Ditto 21. Who are you most curious about their responses to this? Ditto 22. Bird watcher? Not really 23. Are you a morning person or a night person? Depends on my plans 24. Do you have any pets? 4 cats, and a dog who thinks she's a cat 25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? See right before this survey? 26. What did you want to be when you were little? it changed constantly. I wanted to be a Vet for a while though 27. What is your best childhood memory? How can I pick just 1? I was blessed with a great childhood. Perhaps going to Silver Springs a lot 29. Are you married? Nope 30. Always wear your seat belt? Always 31. Been in a car accident? A bus hit the side of our car going 5mph. No one was hurt- but I got to school 2 hours late 32. Any pet peeves? When people drive their cars to visit a friend in the SAME neighborhood 33. Favorite Pizza Toppings? Pepperoni. Though spinach is pretty good too 34. Favorite Flower? Don't have one 35. Favorite ice cream? In the US: brownie batter or chocolate chip cookie dough. Austria: Gelato places served by real Italians, apricot? 36. Favorite fast food restaurant? Chipotle 37. How many times did you fail your driver's test? None. I need to still take the damn thing 38. From whom did you get your last email? Too lazy to check. FB notifications, and I think something from New College 39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? A store selling airline tickets? 40. Do anything spontaneous lately? Going to Molly's house today? 41. Like your job? I need a steady job more than telemarketing rarely for my uncle X_X 42. Broccoli? Pretty good. If raw, I'd want a ranch dressing with it 43. What was your favorite vacation? Does youth exchange in Austria count? If not, my solo trip to Budapest 44. Last person you went out to dinner with? Lunch with my mom at a Mexican place? Or a while ago spontaneously going to Bento's with Hope, Doug, and Clay 45. What are you listening to right now? Some Goo Goo Dolls song on Pandora 46. What is your favorite color? mostly cooler colors 47. How many tattoos do you have? None 48. How many are you tagging for this quiz?  No one 49. What time did you finish this quiz? 7:36pm 50. Coffee Drinker? Sometimes. Wait, why wasn't the previous question the last? o.O (Comment on this)
Sunday, August 2nd, 2009
8:28 pm	Im back ...and have been back for quite some time. Two and a half weeks, crazy. It's useless to describe my last day in Salzburg, still in denial. It's pointless to ramble about my picnic on the banks of the Salzach, looking to the old town- or that I finally went into the humble little church I saw nearly every day. Pointless to talk about how I cried leaving my host family (little Christoph giggling maniacally) or the culture shock and annoyance I felt at all the chatty Americans on the flight- and flight attendants who ONLY could speak English. I couldnt sum those 24 hours up in words then (in any language) that captured how I felt- nor can I now. The past few weeks, I adapted better than I thought most of the time. I certainly did keep busy hanging out with friends, and distracting myself with money worries (I love you, dead ex-Senator Pell!). I felt reintegrated and did have a lot of fun with old friends- that wasn't the hard part. It was also unexpected and comforting being in contact with another former exchange student I had just met a week before leaving. Good to talk with someone who can relate to Maggi like I do; someone who knows that Traunstein and Gmunderberg; an American who's at least bilingual without immigrant parents. I've had a few tough moments though. It's definitely too soon to watch a travel show on Salzburg without crying. I feel frustrated every day at the fact that there's no trains or youth hostel (there goes visiting friends in Sarasota, or Palm Coast, or Jacksonville). Palatable bread has turned into a luxury for the hoity toity literally overnight. And, I sometimes really feel trapped by how little people walk and how inside everything is. (Chilling with Natasha helped cure that a bit) So I've decided to take matters into my own hand. I'm probably betting some of these ideas are Maggi's influence- which I didn't feel so much until I got back. Letsee... I will donate at least 5% of any after tax income I receive to charity. This summer= food banks since it's lean times in terms of summer donations (no pun intended) I just emailed some volunteering group in Gville to see if I can help in the 2 weeks I have left (not nearly enough time to find a job) I'll be better about thank you notes Time to learn some new, useful sills like: repairing bike tires, mending/sewing buttons of stuff, and maybe things like canning Be more active... not because my Dirndl is tighter than it was in may, but  because I really do feel better Try to eat better/on par with Austria. We really do eat a lot of crap here X_X Buy more second hand or fair trade stuff, if I do 'need' something Travel light. Worked really well these 5 days visiting family. I don't want or need a lot of stuff Not replace "luxury" items when they break- like my iPod sometime down the road So all and all- less consumption and more giving back. Let's see how that works =) Strangely enough, I've hardly thought about college at all- even though it is only 2 weeks away. *waits for email back from the Volunteer peoples* (Comment on this)
Friday, July 10th, 2009
2:26 pm	Denial I swaer I'm so in denial about leaving it's nto even funny What to catch up on? Been going to my favorite Lokal a lot... wish I started going earlier. met some interesting characters- as well as some friends/people who are always there. 4th of July to celebrate? There wasa celebration at Yoho... and I fool a bunch of American guys into thinking I was Austrian. Totally worked =D On Sunday, Krista came and we had an absolutely amazing visit. Noo idea how good it was to talk to her and hang out with her again. (And finally be caught up on American culture lol). Gmunden, Salzburg, Hallein, Munich. Inside jokes and silliness and good conversations about important things. it as just great. Haven't had that in a long time. Especially the silliness and whatever- humor is just diferent. And with most peopel (even exchange students) I am a lot more serious. Yet for some reason it does the opposite of making me want to go home. It feels great to show people around and show that I've finally gotten this down. back home I wa quite the little socially awkward hermit. I felt like I've broken through that. Especially in just the last few months. I need more of that. I feel like I just have to stay here. And just have lots of peopel visit/move in with me. =P I've dabbled in some research today abotu the Fachhochschule here in Puch-Urstein. It's kind of like atechnical school with a Bachleor's degree. I was thinknig I could major in the all-in-English tourism thing there. 3 years, right near salzburg. Already know what very basic work I can do (the 350 I'm allowed to work) and to top it all off, my host mom will be processing my papers. Fall 2010 here i come! Nah seriously though. It's possible. I'll at least apply. Let me try out a semester at New College before I burn all bridges.... or change my mind tomorrow. My plans really do change constantly. Before it was an Education/German/Spanish/Linguistics major and teaching at some random Gymnasium... And then some kinda Biology thing. And, well. not thinking about going home just yet. Hell, In a few hours I'm meeting someone for dinner- met a motnh ago and saw each other twice more this week after a while of nothing. ...and already being invited to go explore Innsbruck or Bad Gastein or wherever. Then there's a Bday party on Saturday and... exactly. No major going away party planned- jsut tying to see as many people as I can. I don't think it'll ever hit me. At least until I step outside and get blasted with that Florida heat. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, July 1st, 2009
1:54 pm	Hmmm It's already July. I cannot believe that. This is my month for flying "home". Wherever home happens to be. Having moved around a LOT in Gainesville and 4 times here, plus being 3 weeks on the road. I don't have the strongest attachement to specific buildings. It's going to be the weirdest thing flying back to the States. I hope I can get used to it/ readjst... but at thesame time, not forget everything I've learned here. I visited my second host mom just recently. Stayed with her for most of December and some of January. Months ago, I saw her as an interesting woman who "saved" me from a not-so-ideal situation. But after one simple visit, it definitely seems more like a friendship relationship. I care a lot more what's going on in her life/with her family, and wanted to share with her all my stories and new experiences... even some of the ones a few Rotarians might frown upon. She's noticed a huge change in my in just five or so months. That's one of the only reasons I'm looking forward to home. Seeing how peopel react to how I've changed, and me seeing how others have changed. Sure some people will be pretty much the same, and that could be tough for both people to relate to. But, I know for instance my sister has changed a lot, and it'd be great to see her again. Hopefully relate to her better. Hmm, staying in Salzburg for 2 weeks was awesome. Definitely got closer to my temp host mom- like a big sister, almost. Can help me with different guy stuff,and other randomness that could be on my mind. Finally got to listen to lots of FM 4 too instead of just hit Ö3 stuff =D. Much more independent. It didn't seem so much a hsot family situation- more like two roomates or something. Sometimes we hung out, sometimes did our own thing. Those 2 weeks in Salzbugr: went out a lot and met some fascinating people. Both Austrians and foreigners. I'm slowly getting it through my head just how many people I won't ever be in contact with again. But despite that, little conversations can make a difference in someone's life or path. (Someone said if I learned Japanese I could be a HUGE celebrity. Let's see hwo that works out lol). So one week of school left. Trying to go and get back into that, but it's tough. I have VERY little connection to most things there. A few people I sometimes hang out with, otherwise ignored. it's a 2 way street though. I'm way more standoffish there too. My only regrets are I wish I got to know my English, Spanish, and History teachers better. Today's plans? shower, cook, photo safari (pics or random, usually everyday, stuff around Salzburg/Oberalm/Hallein), perhaps buy some German books or Milka to bring back home, a bit of packing and cleaning, finishing up reading a few books, and MAAAYBE meeting up with some Irish guys from yesterday to hang out around Salzburg. We'll see what I actually get done/end up doing. Another thing high on my list. KRISTA IS VISITING SOOOON!! She's coming Sunday and leaving Thurs/Fri morning. I'm soo excited to see someone again from the States for an extended period of time. We've kept in contact and I can't wait to show her around the area. And just really,well, chat. Skype video is great... but different from face-to-face. I don't know if I'll be writing another journal before I'm in the States again. Let's see how lazy/time crunch/whatever I'm feeling the next too 2 weeks. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, June 10th, 2009
10:10 am	Wow Again ignoring this thing? Well, what's happened in the last really-long time. Eurotour which was AWESOME and I'll somehow integrate stories about that in later journal entries (maybe). Good friend is now on the road travelling through all of East Europe. Quite hapy for him, but wondering/ hoping we'll see each other again... sometime? Makes exchange seem all that much more close to being over. Which is a damn shame because I'm just now starting to get to know lots of new people better. Despite these little complaints I'm doing absolutely fantastic. Like, every day there's something new; if not new, something to really stop and pay attention to more. So I'm gonna make a short list on why yesterday absolutely ROCKED (in no order) -Hanging out/ fort gehen with people I've seen/ had very short convos with for a while now. Until like 4am and then being able to crash there. -Fun time in Capoeira (our last class). Going to do a few other 1.5 hour courses with actual training in ther next few weeks. -NOT living with Ingrid Zeller for 2 weeks, but rather a friend from Capoeira =D -making a Schnitzel Semmel... super Austrian thing + Super Austrian thing= EPIC -taking lots of cool photos with my new camera- there are STILL parts of the Mirabel garden's I haven't yet visited! And there's a black and white setting. Fun fun -Taking the New College Spanish and German placement tests and acing them. 400= can get into the advanced classes. Spanish= 536 and German= 678 -Interesting emails. Not sure how I feel about them- but it adds a demension of drama and silliness -Hair cut- a LOT shorter -Bus ticket inspector getting on and not checking my non-existant ticket -Finding out my dad is doing well with the new job search And now I'm going to sleep. 4 hours isn't enough. And I'm meeting friends later this evening too. (Cannot wait for the ÖBB Sommer Ticket. Even just for Salzburg!) (Comment on this)
Tuesday, April 21st, 2009
10:05 pm	Not much new to report here, But I feel like killing some time. Even though gotta wake up at 6am tomorrow bright and early. Hooray... So first 2 days back at school were a non item. Really boring. I'm starting to feel a little disconnected with my class. It's kida my fault maybe. I'm jsut like 'meh' *sits at desk/ near them* I ask a few short questions about the break and then awkward silence. But I'm kinda shy so sometimes that happens. Perhaps school wise it'd be easier in like Latin America 'OMG! Exchange Student!!! *invites to every party*" Here it's more of a 'wow! Cool Florida! Your German is good .... ..... .....' Less open class groups + somewhat reserved person = not best mix. But I'm okay with that. I find friends and people to talk to all over Austria in other places. Could be a 37 year old in my Cappoeira course, someone in their 20's working ayouth hostel, some little 9 year old kid in Altmünster. Other exchange students. Whatever. It's about meeting different people- and that i am. Today= random class assembly/ talk thing for 3 class periods. So I got to go home really early. Where I feel really bad because I was completely lazy. Then Cappoeira! It was tough since the last time I did anything was 3 weeks ago. Way less people than at the beginning too. So many more painful stretchesand new moves this time. I'm gonan be sore Thursday (Cappoeira cramps ALWAYS  come 2 days after the course the worst). Which, if the fates are for me (I want to do some sorta hiking/kinda walking etc) then that'll SUUUCK. I can't believe Eurotour is in jsut 2 WEEKS!!! I'm so excited. For everything. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Sunday, April 19th, 2009
8:36 pm	Wie es Geht Fun fun weekend =D So some friends stayed in Salzburg for the weekend. Whoot whoot! They got on Friday evening while Iwas still in Oberalm. Got them half price rooms. They decided to go on the Sound of Music tour on Saturday, so I got there a little before them and chilled a bit. Then... off to actually eating at a restaurant in Salzburg for once- a traditional one. I usually just steal hostel pizza (Saturday evening and then Sunday afternoon). We went border hopping to Freilassing. Immediately upon being there, we felt so.... out of place and foreign. Not like in Austria. One of us was wearing an Austria jacket- ret-white-red, and "Austria" written on the back. People stared at us, and one person even screeched their tires. And then some annoying people (I think maybe Turkish.... nto sure) kept saying 'really? really?' when they passed us while we were talking in English. And then we saw them again. Took pictures o nthe border, Patrick made friends with ducks. And then.... couldn't word the stupid Deutsche Bahn ticket machine FOREVER. Hahaha. But the whole time it was really interesting. We were commenting on this, saying stuff like "We wouldn't treat the Germans liek that"- really seeing ourselves as Austrians. Then back to the hostel- stupidly busy at dinner. We waited till dinenr was done, and then Callum came and gave (served <3) us some free pizza and goulash. And today we FINALLY got to see the Mozart Geburtshaus and Wohnhaus. Being so near here for mnths, still didn't do that. Someone who's almsot 30 who lived here all her life still hasn't seen the Geburtshaus haha. Katherine had to take an unexpectedly early train, so we booked it to the train station. I chilled and napped and whatnot for a little. The song "Wie es Geht" is fittingly stuck in my head. Random journal reader people: Wonderfully unexpected things can happen on exchange. Just go with it. You may end up hating random words like 'Antipodes' or random holidays like 'Bastille Day'. Perhaps you'll be a fan of countries that were once just blobs on a map.Either way, it's a great ride.... And makes you want to, by all means, have another adventure. (Comment on this)
Friday, April 17th, 2009
10:17 pm	Guilty I feel guilty on how little I did today =/ This journal entry= to be a simple list. And written in almost no particular order -Finally put a bunch of photos online -Got distracted on same computing device by cheesy Disney songs -Found out that William Blake wrote some stuff -Made silly faces with my host nephew who's 2 -Took a dazed walk all around Oberalm. No I was just kinda completely dazed and couldn't think -Read stuff that white people liked -Talked on the phone with my dad. Well, Skype -Got in contact with Katherine and Patrick (they're heeeeere!) -Sort of watched a Crimi with my host mom. Couldn't pay attention I should  have definitely chatted more with host siblings. Being a naturally quiet person isn't an excuse. But tomorrow is going to be awesome =D (Comment on this)
Thursday, April 16th, 2009
9:15 pm	Heut ist so a schoana Tog (la la la la laaa) Entry right the next day. Go me! So, headed over to Yoho yesterday evening. Lotsa random chatting with people there. Some girl from California. A little annoying- but random convos are fun nonetheless. And apparently at the Yoho bar, the goalie from the Salzburg Red Bulls Ice Hockey team was there- and is a regular. Go figure. So today= AMAAAAZING WEATHER (still!!) Alas, tomorrow the high is 12°C/ 54F. Laaame. Walked a bit in the Mirabel Gardens and met up with the host family really short. And then... semi hiking time!! We tried to walk up toward the Festung/Fortress. And went around the wrong way- ending up t a dead end with an incline railroad. Damn. But then so much random wandering around the hills in Salzburg (not alive with the soubnd of music- sorry to burst the English speaking tourists' bubbles- but nonetheless awesome) Great views of everything in the city. There were surprisingly a lto of houses scatteredaround- and apparently private property which  I didn't know about. Definitely walked up to the gate surrounding a little castle. And down a few non paved paths. I think I found the red bull guy's house too. The trees are finally GREEN again. So gorgeous. Whcih means lots more tourists. But whatever. Except this stupid sun allergy is driving me crazy. It's all red and bumpy and sometimes itchy. So weird! Then some hostel chilling- where the nice kinda-owner invited me to a staff party since I'm there a lot and make small talk with the front desk people haha. I need to start talking to the maid, Antonia. I need to work on that Spanish! 2 friends are coming to Salzburg tomorrow and staying til Sunday!! Can't wait to hang out with them Saturday afternoon and night. And now I can actually show them around the city a bit more. And fun chat time =) I'm getting song nostalgia. Hearing a song again I used to daydream to while sitting idlely in the car for 2 years. Then, again hearing it- at the right moment. .... .... I'm going mad. Or not mad. Just, oh I dunno. I can't think- too many bajillions of thoughts. It's a good thing though. A great wonderful amazing psycho thing. No I raelly cannot think right now. My brain is completely paralyzed. So before I get senseless (or more so) and stream of concious on my dear readers, I'm signing off. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, April 15th, 2009
4:54 pm	Let's see Well, haven't written in a week, have I? Not tooooo much new-ness has happened. I did celebrate Easter here though, which was a kind of experience. Thursday and Friday were pretty chill. Made some lemon squares on Thursday and went to Europark on Friday to finally buy some shoes since mine are fallnig apart from all the walking here. Friday evening we drove off to see my host grandmother/ host Oma. She lives in Lungau- another area of the state of Salzburg. One with more pride (especially about being Austria's siberia... 5°C/ 9F colder than where I live now) and crazier dialect in the middle of nowhere. Went with my host mom and bro and a host aunt and uncle. But EARLY Saturday morning til Sunday afternoon the host mom and aunt and uncle had to drive off to Switzerland for a funeral. The village has about 800 people. Next town with more than 5,000 is 20 minutes away. More than 100,000? Hour and a half. So I basically tagged along with the host Oma on random errands- driving 15 minutes to buy some roast etc FRESH from the farmer. To some random friend of hers. And then I took lots of random walks around the place- it is really pretty =). The host Oma is interesting. Strong personality, stronger dialect, and doesn't understand sarcasm. And thinks out loud when she's driving... And even though it's cold at night in Lungau, she never uses her heater. So basically kinda chilled there- got in the movie Good-bye Lenin. Tis good. That evening there was something called 'Easer Fires'- where peopel build big towers out of wood, stick a cross on it, and douse it with some sort of flammable liquid. Only in Lungau. The whole fire is supposed to symbolize the light of God etc- but I secretly think peopel are Pyros. There were firebreathers too. And Glühwein- which usually dissappears in January. Easter= not waking up early. No plastic Easter Eggs. Host brother didn't feel like going to the church, so we just stayed home. At around noon my host sister, her boyfriend, and their son came over. And we ate a roast. Finally! I almost never have roast in Austria. Twas delicious. Then I spent lots of time playing random badmitton, frisbee, and some kite flying. Oh did end up getting ltos of European chocolatey goodies =). Awesome.  others didcome back in the evening and we chatted and visited a bit. Felt a little weird not knowing any of the people they were talking about (not to mention resorting to month 1-3 of exchange when the Oma was talking.... zoning out) but Im kinda used to that. Monday, it's back on the Autobahn to Hallein. And then bringing lots of time with my other hsot brother and his wife and their 2 kids- who are absolutely adorable and way easier to  deal with than my host sister's. Random chatting and fod and playing with the kiddies. And I went to the Salzburg Zoo yesterday. And made broccoli rice. And I'm getting ADD/distracted trying to find something AWESOME for Thursday to do in Salzburg. So the rest of the entry is choppy. Or finished. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, April 8th, 2009
8:35 pm	Schön I think I'm slightly crazy. Or at least scatterbrained, yet motivated. I'm ina strange mood right now- and I'm not sure how to describe it. It's a really positive thing though. Basically, I just want to see more of the world and it's people- really know them inside and out. I hung out with some exchange students on Monday and Tuesday and we spent the night at her host uncle's house. People none of us have ever know welcoming us into their home with open arms, hearts and fridges. The wive's from India and the husband originally from Austria. They first got in contact with each other quite by chance- random chatting after the closing Sydney Olympic ceremonies- she was in India, he in Japan on business. Chance and internationalness, ftw. These people have travelled EVERYWHERE. Seriously. They have a map in the room we stayed in with yarn and thumb tack marking every city  they visited- completely coveredand 10 years out of date. They visited more of America than I have lol. Or how, it only seems when one is away, one can becomesoo close to someone in a matter of weeks. Telling someone one's life story- or parts of it- they haven't told some other best friends of several years yet. How this friendship and confidence can breech country bounds and traditions.  it's things like these that make me want to see even more of the world. I wantto constantly change and grow as a person. I fully believe that the interactions with others help shape one asa person. Whether it's a short superficial meeting and story, or getting to know someone super personally, it affects someone. As much as I want to be independent and see everything, developing my own unique views and experiences,I know that we're all connected. Perhaps that overused 'no man is an island' cliche is completely wrong- it may be that  every man is an island- considering how many varied people visit some- and how so many islands have such a multi cultural and continental history...  I'm going to take semesters off from school, or study abroad, or take gap years. Sure sometimes I know I'm a bit slothy and a bit insecure and fairly 'Type B' at times. I want to enjoy life to the fullest- and work on being a better island... (maybe I should do a bit of travelling to some islands haha) What else is new? Getting a lot of fianncial aid for college. Yay! Still going to try to do different scholarships. My choice major of the day? Spanish+ something with environmenal sciences. Costa Rica's looking pretty awesome right about now. Specially the no army thing. (Comment on this)
Thursday, April 2nd, 2009
12:30 pm	Okay, I'lltry to keep on top of this journal thing... with help from my littel day planner. These things arereally a good idea. Youcan writea few words about each day/ things you didand memories start flooding back. I guess fear of mine is forgetting stuff- either experiences or facts or whatever. So some days are starting toactually be NICE here. Like gorgeous. 20°C almost. So I've been oding a bit of walking to or from school. Discovered a nice little park in Hallein just on Monday... right by the stores I always pass to the train station. Crazy how much stuff is just around the corner. There's a statue of some old Hallein mayor there- nice contrast from Salzburg. tuesday it was back to takingthat faithful S-Bahn to Salzburg. I have completely memorized that lady's voice 'Achtung, Bahnsteig 2. S-Bahn nach Salzburg/Freilassing/Bergesgaden fährt ein. Bitte beachten Sie dass der Zugstieg nur mit gültigen Fahrkarte möglich ist. Bitt vorsicht'. I finally found the English store! Though it was soo dissappointing. Only British sweets and whatever else. Laame. And they only had Marmite- not Vegemite. BUT Krista's sending me some great American goodies... plus I found some awesome chips in Merkur. Then some mild border hopping. Freilassing is the next town from Salzburg- and it's in Germany. Hopped on that train.I definitely pick up on lotsof little differences. Using the word 'Gleis' instead of 'Bahnsteig', the way some of the signs are written etc. Then Cappoeira again. I got to meet up with 2 people in the courseat Dubliner's and had a really nice convo with them. Funny how on some things I'm relating better with people in their 30's than the 16/17 year olds in my class lol. Then crashing at Callum's, being paranoid boutmaids. Then later off to cooking Jambalaya- which we shared with some of the workers. Yum yum. I did a bit of tutoring- which I think I'm pretty good at. Or at least I hope so. I'm helping with 3rd year English. Friday was a non-item. Went to school the whole day. Whoo hoo. Satuday= cooking yummy-ness for the host fam and myself. Too bad I only had time to eat a bit before going to the bus stop for Salzburg. Where i waited 40 minutes because I didn't know the bus schedule. But luckily it was warm... warest weather since like a day in October. Watched ACTUAL Cappoeira with people who actually know how to do stuff. VERY interesting. Met up with Ida later that night- for it was one of her last days in Salzburg due to exchange org beingdumb and misunderstandings. Luckily she's staying in Austria. Some definite fun on Sunday. Crazy Austrian weather= alm ost short sleeves on Saturday to SNOWING Sunday night. And this week has been pretty chill. School, wandering around Salzburg to find this one building (I have a TERRIBLE sense of direction!!), payingfor Eurotour, Cappoeira with way less peopel there... so we worked on technique. Finally warm 2 days in a ro... so I played Badmitton with my host mom yesterday evening. Today= staying home and sleeping in. At night I have a terrible dry cough (like it's too dusty in my room) and couldn't fall asleep till 1am. Lovely.   So tomorrow our Easter break starts. I really hope to get around to visiting other exchangers and doing a bit of travelling myself. Like Munich or Wien or Bratislava or Hungary or Hallstatt- it'd be way nicer without a huuuge group of people. Let's see what works out. Friday update: Still absolutely amaaazing weather. It's actually WARM! Like 22°- umm low 70's? Super excited haha. And the weather guys said it's supposed to be this way till at LEAST Tuesday. Thanksfully my German teacher likes me. Apparently some random person called her saying I don't go to school/am a problem or whatever and she said she doesn't expect me to do Goethe all in German/ what they're doing now it's tough for those kiddies. And she hasn't heard anything negative from other teachers. My Spanish teacher is awesome. We had soem random chat. Apparently she's visiting more in America than I have. I'm not sure if I'll study Spanish next year or German (along with random subjects to do with neurolinguistics- my new choice major for grad school... after I do another gap year o'course). I can get waaay father in Spanish AND I have more study abroad options then. Yet it'd be a waste to lose all this German/ not be able to chat with the host fam or something again. If I can chat more with the cool Latino exchagne students this year, then I'll definitely lean toward Spanish. I got some plans lined up for Easter Break. Yaaaay!!! Reflecting back to ski week randomly/kind of, I realize I feel sooo guilty for having to hold people back or 'inconvienencing' them. 2nd day everyone could make a perfect flug but me and I could notice people were getting bored and that was terrible. Or how now, I don't speak up as much when I don't understand something that's going on. Or how I left my laptop home so my mom and sister wouldn't have to buy a new computer right away. Not sure what this means, just throwing that out there. Or why I didn't really ask for friends to stay the nght so much in Austria. I dunno just musing a bit. Anyway, I gotta get my buttback outside in this weather. Time to pull out that hammock and read more of Alice in Wonderland. That book is craaazy. (Comment on this)
Sunday, March 22nd, 2009
9:11 pm	Alrighty! Well letsee new journal entry. I'm pretty good at updating these now- unlike a few people I know (you know who you are haha) So Friday= dead tired coming to schooljust to do stuff in English and Spanish. German was free so the 16 year old boys in my class in the hour long break , wow interesting. Culture shock/ difference. They were bored. And some girl had OB tampons. So they took them, undid whatever was making them compact, and turned them into giant cotton balls to play catch with each other. Half a day of school, I got tired and walked around Hallein then home to nap. Had another 24 hour or less cold/fever again and slept. Ugh. Then Saturday. Still a bit 'blah'. So I cooked some potatoes. And then made a delicious smoothie. Needed some more yougurt though, now that I think about it. And just chilled at home for most of the day. I wanted to do a DVD evening thing with some classmates- but they were too busy studying for tests. Then went out in Salzburg and met up wih Henni from Finland and a girl in her class and a guy friend of hers who was an exchanger in Canada. So we pretty much chatted the whole time. A few minutes before the early disco bus would have come, I popped into O'Malleys and ran into Callum. Total surprise. Turns out there was a free space at the hostel so I got to crash there.Way easier for me and more convienent for the host fam. Kinda chilled during the morning shift/ read through a book. Then got to meet really nice people who worked at the hostel. Everyone is soooo friendly and open and laid back. There was some random tupperware party where people cooked at made drinks lol. A belated gag giftfor the manager (I think). The tupperware stuff was a little boring, but meeting new people (mostly all Austrian this time) + free stuff from people I just met was really nice. And delicious. *drool*. I'm still kidna shy around them/defintely feel like I'm a slight burdon, but I do wanna get to know them better. Just some fun and chatty time after and before I knew it it was almost 6pm. Time really really does fly. Tomorrow is school- I can coem 2 hours later because of a test. But If I go later then I can't skip out on buying a train ticket in the morning. So I'll chill/nap in the eating area. If I become bold enough, ask the kitchen people if I can help make sandwiches. (Comment on this)