My Cup Runneth Over...

That's what I have been feeling like the past couple of weeks or so. I feel like my cup is not able to hold all of these wonderful experiences I've been blessed to have so far. Each day brings with it its own set of hurdles, some very small and others a bit bigger, but half of the experience is determining how it is exactly that you're going to get over the hurdles. So, looking at it that way... Hurdles, they're alright, I suppose.

Now that I have really started to settle in, I am finding it easier to just 'be.' Those of you who know me decently well should know the importance I place on learning to simply be. It is a matter of learning to enjoy whatever you are doing wherever it is that you are doing it. Although, perhaps enjoy is not the right word because there are certain things that truly are not enjoyable. My mind is leaning towards the word tolerate; however, I do not think that quite fits either. I guess being has to do with a general appreciation for any sort of experience because you are indeed living it, with all your senses and with your mind and with your heart. When you think about it, a fair amount of the time we don't 'get' everything out of our experiences, whether they are conversations, trips, songs, time spent alone, or anything really. This happens because our minds are already off to the next thing on our agenda for the day. We are not present.
Well, I want to be present.
I want to appreciate (and enjoy as much as I can as well) my time here and all that it holds. I want to have those times where I am sitting on a park bench simply being and enjoying it, whether I am in solitude or with company. I want to take every experience and every encounter and truly be present through its entirety; when it's over, I want to ring it out like a sponge and get what is left over for my mind and heart to do with what it will. A sponge is never completely dry, though, until some time has passed; and the bigger the sponge the more time it needs. It has to be left untouched. Maybe that is what it is like with any collective life event, like college or working a job for 10 months somewhere you didn't like or 4 moths spent in another country studying. During the experience you get what you can out of it, but then you leave or it ends. You are forced to cease being present in those conditions but they're still there, just sitting and drying up. It's during that time that you can gain even more from the experience as a whole. The sponge is letting all of the liquid out. Time is letting all of the insight, wisdom, and whatever else out of the experience. I think the same principle applies as well: the longer/bigger the experience, the more time it'll take to dry up.

In the past couple of weeks I have spent time learning more about my family here and special role that I now have. I have been reminded of what it was like to be a little girl and to think that a boy at school is "so romantic" and to write "fake" love letters that accidentally get seen by their addressee. So adorable. I have also been reminded of the horror that is bedtime for a child who desperately wants to watch just a bit more TV. It really is hard. I must say though, the goodnight hugs are still great, especially when they are followed by a sigh and, "You give the best hugs, I love you."
"I love you too."
And then there is the hectic morning time of making sure everyone gets to where they're going on time and that everyone has what they need for where they are going! Ahh--madness! However, for each part of the day, I'm learning what I can do to help make it run smoother for everyone, even if that means just staying out of the way of last minute trips upstairs!

I have also enjoyed learning about all the new and interesting people that I have met so far . It really is so so cool who God puts in your path at just the right time. They are honestly becoming my friends and I could not be more blessed. I have been getting to know people from church more, which has been really great. A couple girls and I got together after my German course last week to just walk around and enjoy the city together. We each have such different stories and it is so neat to hear just exactly how we all came to be here. The same goes for a few people in my German course and people living outside Vienna as well. I find it fascinating how fast you can make instant connections with people if you let yourself; I am glad I have let myself.

Just this last Sunday I got to experience what was certainly a once in a lifetime opportunity: I got to pick grapes at a local family's vineyard and see how they make their own wine. It was something offered to Mikal and me weeks ago by one of Mikal's host family's relatives. I am so glad it actually happened because it was fantastic.
It was 9:30am when we got to the vineyard. We were shown which grapes were good and which could be clipped off, given a pair of gloves, clippers, and a bucket, and told to get to it. I was slow at first, but once I got the hang of it I moved a bit faster. It was the perfect temperature, and I had just the right number of layers on to keep me comfortable. Thankfully I was lent a pair of shoes and and old jacket to wear so that mine, which were not appropriate for walking and standing in the fields thick with tan mud, wouldn't get ruined. We took a break for "breakfast," at which point it was only about 10:30am. Mikal and looked at each other like, "Um, it's too late for breakfast. This is brunch." Haha, so we went over to the truck and were offered a salami sandwich and something to drink. In true Austrian style, beer and wine were drunk that early in the morning. Not a problem.
Then we went back to picking and finished the whole field a little after 1pm.

An cloudy overcast start to the day, but it was beautiful.

Hard at work.

Adding the last bucket fulls.

Mikal, my partner across the vine :)

There's no more grapes here!!!

  We headed back to the house, all 15 of us, where a delicious lunch was waiting. We dined on cream of pumpkin soup for a starter followed by salad, pork tenderloin, fried pumpkin and dumplings of some sort. I don't remember what bread they were made from, but they were delicious. Everything tasted so good. Then we had hazelnut strudel served with coffee for dessert. A true Austrian lunch. I wasn't sure what was happening after lunch, but I soon realized what: there was a whole other field of grapes to be picked. We all piled back into the cars, got back on the winding roads that separate the many many fields, and found our way to the second field. This one was a bit bigger and on much more of a slope. Everyone started at the top of the hill and we worked our way down finishing just as it was starting to get dark. Perfect timing. During all the picking, Mikal and I talked a lot, and I even got to practice my German with the other family members, which was really great. Everyone there was so nice and didn't poke too much fun at the fact two American girls, inexperienced in the world of grapes and wine making, were helping them pick their beautiful green grapes.

Good bunches! There were times we had to clip off bad ones, or just pick of the good ones. It was nice when the whole bunch was nearly perfect, like these ones!

The drying out of the leaves is really cool looking.

The second field, at the bottom of the hill :)

Once we left the second field it was about 6:30pm and from there we headed to the wine cellar to squeeze the grapes. I wasn't sure what this was going to entail...if we would be stomping on them like the OceanSpray commercials in the USA or if there was going to be a machine. Kudos to technology, there was a machine. The first level of the cellar had a whole in the middle of the floor that was a tunnel to the "squeezer." It chopped the grapes, stems and all, and everything dropped into a big tub. It was so cool! The juice was white-ish yellow in color and foamy! The grapes sat there over night, after adding some sulfur to stop the fermentation process, and would be put through the grape press the next day. After that, the juice gets stored in the casks and becomes wine. Once all the grapes were squeezed, we sat down for supper, which was delicious as well. Fresh dark bread with all sorts of sausage and ham and Gouda cheese, which seems to be the most popular around here. There were two small glasses of the freshly squeezed juice brought up for us all to taste: It was heavenly. So sweet and so yummy! And of course, we drank some of the wine from the previous year, which was also very good. All in all, it was a great day and an awesome experience. The company was incredible and so hospitable. I couldn't have asked for a better time in Lower Austria, which is the region I live in.

This part of the cellar was actually underground...for some reason I sort of felt like I was Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn, I'm not really sure why.

Juice!

So, that's how you make wine. It will be ready by mid November or so, I think.
This week has started off nicely, but it's that last week of my German course, so that's sort of a bummer. I've really enjoyed it and have learned a lot, plus even made a few friends out of it, which is what I was hoping for also :) :)

Today a friend from church and I went walking through a big market in Vienna called Naschmarkt. They literally sell everything there from fresh produce, meat and seafood, nuts, coffee, tee, a couple Asian food stores, tons of little restaurants, and even clothes. And of course Vienna souvenir shops. It was so neat and I wanted to buy everything; it was a good thing I literally only about 3 Euros to spend. Once we walked through the whole thing, we went to an American, British, and Irish grocery store! It was so nice and incredibly expensive, but still. They had A1 steak sauce, PopTarts, Lucky Charms, AW Root Beer, McVities digestive biscuits-the caramel & milk chocolate ones that they don't sell in the US- and so many other things that made me miss both the US and Scotland. Good thing I'm planning my holiday for Scotland soon! Once we had our "home fix" we walked around the city some more before parting ways for the afternoon. It was such a lovely day, not to mention gorgeous weather. I'm talking 70's, the loveliest breeze, and not a cloud in the sky. Beautiful.

And the adventure continues...

~Sarah

Snippets and Subtle Observations

These, clips from my thoughts and perceptions of this new environment, are in no particular order...

Pumpkin patches where the harvest looks to be plenty
A quail and his other quail friend running through an already harvested field
Contiguous rolling hills, both big and small, neatly spotted with [farm]houses and barns and designed in rectangles of different colors yielding evidence of precision, hard work, and dedication
Walking home from the train station on sidewalks made from asphalt rather than concrete is a task; they are much more uneven and seem to always bring out one's clumsiness, nearly tripping him or her in the same three spots each day. Additionally, there are some significant gaps between the bricks on some of the pedestrian zones, so one has to be mindful of one's feet more or less all of the time.
When the train is already mostly full but a few empty rows remain, is it better to sit in an empty one and take a chance at being "picked" by someone else or just snatching a free aisle seat and "picking" your own seat buddy?
Fields of dried out sunflowers, drooping their heads as low as their spine allows, waiting to be pulled out of their misery by some kind chap with the time and maybe some gardening gloves
Window sills are nearly always lined with potted plants, seemingly in homes and office buildings alike
A grande Caramel Macchiato, when an American is missing a signature beverage and familiar coffee shop experience from his or her life, will cost him or her 5 Euro which is about $6.50; it will do him or her well not to make a habit out of this, that is if a strict budget is involved.
The German language is difficult to manage. The word order and sentence structure seems to change constantly, and there are so many Austrian dialects it is unbelievable. 
McDonald's still has really good and inexpensive coffee, the only difference about the McCafe experience here is that one has the option of purchasing gourmet desserts along with their drink, like at any other nice cafe in Vienna.
Bicycle riders have their own lane and corresponding light in the cross[walk] areas of mostly all intersections.
It seems that most of the ice cream here is Italian in appearance and taste, which should not be complained about.
Bread is thicker and harder, but it always tastes delightfully fresh.
Food has less preservatives in it, so it is best not to have left-overs.
People actually ride their scooters in the train stations...why not, right?
Smiling, usually to yourself, at someone on the train as you watch as he enjoys the same experience you do: Turning on your iPod, scrolling through and smiling as you pass by, but sometimes choose to stop at and have listen to, an artist, album, or specific song that, at that particular moment, called to mind some event or person significant enough to be associated with which ever one it was. It really is fascinating to be human.
Houses are not painted in only blah, boring colors; there are pink!!, blue, purple, green, yellow-pale and nearly florescent-, etc. house here. I was told by a knowledgeable 7-year old that they, "just like to blend in with the nature more here;" I liked that answer a lot.
A home's garden, i.e. back yard, here is nearly always fenced in and usually very what I would call 'busy.' Busy in the sense that a painting or photograph can be 'busy.' They are full of plants and trees, grills, garden houses, close lines, tables and chairs, and a great many of them contain pools, even small in-ground ones. It is sort of like the family's own little oasis; it's really nice. Someone had an apple tree in their garden...lucky!

Well, I'll stop there for now. Thanks for reading, and thank you for the support, love, and prayers.

~Sarah

You Mean Soccer Right?

Today was the start of the second week of my German course at the DeutschAkademie. I am happy to report that I did not end up in a different country on my way home today and that I still am very much enjoying it the course. We have a really good group of eager (at least I think so...hope so too) learners and an awesome instructor! The rest of last week was spent walking (a lot of walking) around Vienna with new friends from the course, taking photographs, and practicing some major self control. All of the clothing shops and bakeries and chocolate shops are just calling my name; they all want what little money I have!! I have let myself go in a few of them to browse, but I have not purchased any unnecessary things. Because, if you will recall from a previous post, the grey shoes and the postcards I bought last Monday were both indeed necessities.

I have walked along the Danube Canal and both the old and new parts of the Danube River. I have eaten lunch sitting and chatting with a friend in the Museums Quarter. I have been inside the Stephansdom (St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna) multiple times, and really everything else that Vienna is "famous" for I have merely seen from the outside.

The "Blue" Danube River

Stephansdom (St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna)

As I mentioned before, I have had Wienerschnitzel, and today I had my first Apfelstrudel (Apple Strudel). I had some time to wait in the train station before heading back to Hollabrunn for the evening, so I stopped in Felber, one of the chain bakeries here, and enjoyed the delicious apple taste. Since I had no one accompanying me, I don't know if it was a "good" one, but it most definitely tasted delicious and was "authentic" enough for me at this point.

Today felt like summer. It was in the low 80's and I believe that a similar day is forecasted for tomorrow as well. However, I think tomorrow will be the end of the shorts and tank tops weather. Wednesday is calling for rain, and from then on dear Mr. WeatherBug is telling me the temperature will drop significantly as well. Walking around in a sundress and going back and forth from wearing your sunglasses on your face and as a hair piece is nice in the warm sunshine, but I must say that I am ready for the Autumn season. I am ready for layering and jeans and hoodies (I hope they wear those in combination here...if not, I'll start a trend) and dresses and leggings and scarves and hats. Always the scarves and that hats! Ahh, I just love Autumn.

I will share one of the many highlights of last week. I was talking with my German instructor and she asked me if I was in to football and if I'd like to go to a game with her sometime.
"By football you mean what us silly Americans call 'soccer' right?" I reply.
"No, I mean real American football, guys hitting each other and stuff," she said.
No way?!?! Who would have thought I would meet an Austrian girl who properly enjoyed the sport enough to attend a game. Apparently there are two decently well know club ("professional") teams in Austria: the Danube Dragons and the Vienna Vikings. Who knew? This news had me all riled up and excited as I had been eagerly awaiting September 5th, when the Giants (my team) would play the Cowboys.
{An aside- yes, I know they lost. However, we are the greatest underdogs that ever lived, so I'm not worried. Eli, you're great!}
We went on to chat about the sport, how we both think it's great, and opinions about different players. Oh, it  truly was lovely. Needless to say, I am well excited to attend a game once the season starts back up in October.

Finally, yesterday I attended the International Chapel of Vienna (ICV) again in addition to the Young Adult Group's (YAG) bible study prior to the afternoon service. It was really really great. I met more people from the YAG and had very encouraging and uplifting conversations. I was reminded by the sermon just how awesome, big, and everlasting our God is. He exists outside of space and time and has left us all we need to know about receiving and living life to the fullest measure: through Jesus Christ. The Bible is the only truth to be relied on one hundred percent and it supports itself time and time again. Did you know that twenty seven percent of the Bible is what they call predictive prophecy? I didn't before Sunday, at least I hadn't recalled it. That means that over one quarter of the entire book is prophecies that were told and described in great detail about things that would happen hundreds of years after they were told, specifically and most importantly, about Jesus. What He would do, who and where He would from, and how He would die...it's all in there. Twice- once in the prophecy and once by the people who recorded it's actual occurrence. Amazing. Wow. That just makes me really excited and assured of the fact that God has known what's up from the very beginning of time. Even down to knowing what's up with me!! Hard to truly comprehend, but that's why it's called faith.

I could go on and on, but I just said goodnight to the girls, in a made-up-on-the-spot rap song, and that means I should start doing a few other things as well. The first being improving the rap skills that I do not have. Noch nicht (yet).

Until the next time,

~Sarah

First Day of School

This past weekend was lovely. It included multiple late nights/early mornings, new friends, lots of laughing, and great conversation. It also happened to include my first actual trip to Vienna :)

On Sunday, one of my new friends drove the other au pair and me into the edge of the city, we parked, and then started our adventure on the U (Underground metra system). We missed several stops and had to do a bit of back-tracking, but we eventually found our first destination: the International Chapel of Vienna. I'd heard about this English speaking church from my family's previous au pair, so I've been eager to check it out since the moment I've been here. It was a nice service, and I am looking forward to going next week.

After church we grabbed dinner at Cafe Falk where I had my first Wienerschnitzel!! It was delicious and filled my tummy to satisfaction. We walked around a bit after that, got some lovely Italian ice cream, and sat in on part of the mass at the Stephansdom to top off the night. My first thoughts of the city were quite positive. The only negative part was that it was mildly smelly. However, I think that had a lot to do with being really close to the river not to mention there were a ton of people about. Nonetheless, that fact does not make me think anything less of it. It is merely part of a first impression; the other part being that it was beautiful, the small sampling of it that I tasted.

Wienerschnitzel mit Pommes Frites und Salat und Coke Zero. I ate all of it because I was so so hungry!!

We sat outside the restaurant, near Kagraner Platz, and had a lovely meal together :)

This morning I went with Andi on the train to Vienna for my first German class. The DeutschAkadamie is located in a tall building shared by many other offices and companies, so I headed up to the 3rd floor and looked for my name on the sheets posted on the bulletin board. Room 329A- thank goodness my name was there! It is a small class of ten people with one instructor, who is the same age as me, which I wasn't expecting. It was a really good first day though, and the instructor is very good as far as I can tell. Afterwards, two other girls and I went for a coffee and talked for awhile, which was really really nice. I was hoping to meet some people through the course, so this is a good start. After the coffee, one of them had to go, but the other one didn't have anywhere to be for awhile so we just walked around. She took me along more of the "famous" Vienna pathways and streets, we rode a Strassenbahn (streetcar), and went into some shops. Not surprisingly, the first thing I bought was a pair of shoes. But don't worry, they were on sale and really cute :)

She finally needed to get somewhere, so that left me on my own. I was indeed quite hungry at this point, so I stopped in a bakery for some lunch. Think of pizza bread with only tomatoes and cheese but on better tasting bread than in the US...so so yummy! I walked around, snapped some photos, bought my first round of post cards, and decided to start my journey back to Hollabrunn.

Andi told me what train I needed and the times it left the station, and I was in perfect timing to take the 4:02pm train home. It pulled out of the station a couple minutes early, so I thought, great, off to a good start. I even recognized the first few stops from the way there in the morning- perfect! I wasn't sure how long it would be, but I knew it was a bit less than an hour to get back. The train keeps stopping and going and eventually I'm the only one left in my section of the train and I still haven't seen or heard the stop for Hollabrunn. Eventually the announcer says the name of a stop, quickly adding the fact that this also happens to be where the train ends. What?!

I find my way to the station, and immediately realize that all the writings on the maps and the signs are not in German. There's some weird accent marks that I definitely know are not German. I go up to the ticket clerk, asks if she speaks English to which she responds with a finger pointing to the international services clerk. I go in to a very dimly lit reception area, ask for English with what was I'm sure a very pleading look on my face and finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"Am I still in Austria?" I ask.
"No," she says. "You're in the Czech Republic."

Yep, that's right...I'm in the Czech Republic. Great. I somehow managed to take the wrong train to a whole different country. Don't get me wrong, I do want to go there, but I didn't think that was going today, not to mention the way it happened. She was helpful and luckily the exact train headed back the way I had come was due in about ten minutes. At this point all I could do was laugh as I found my seat and got out my book to read.

"Oh well, sometimes take a wrong step and end up in totally different country. Not to worry, trains go both ways."

My first glimpses of the Czech Republic from the train.

The train took me all the way back to Vienna, and I tried the same thing again. Providentially I only had to wait about twelve minutes for the 7:02pm train to arrive and (hopefully and please, dear Lord!) take me back to Hollabrunn. I double, triple, and quadruple checked the time and the platform number, had a chat with Andi on the phone, and felt like I'd sorted it out. Either I looked like I knew what was going on or the fact that he heard me speaking English, but this guy came up and asked me if the train I was getting on went to a certain place. And I could say for certain that it did because know I know how to correctly read the signs! Woo hoo. Alas, I made it home...only three hours later than originally planned.

The girls ask, "Why are you so late?" Haha...only if they had been there. Oh my.

My German homework is done, and I shall now hope to dream of journeys where I get on the correct trains.

Cheers!

~Sarah