In defense of the Austrian village

Though my time as an English teaching assistant has come to an end after two years, city choice is still a topic that I see come up quite often with new teaching assistants. Most people coming to Austria want to live in the bigger cities like Vienna or Salzburg or Innsbruck; I don't blame them. I felt the same way when I first got that email that I had been accepted as a TA in Austria. I was so excited; it was my third attempt to go to Austria. Then I saw where I was to be located. Some obscure place called Bischofshofen that I had never heard of. I looked it up and saw that only 10,000 people lived there. Only 10,000 people! Super small by American standards. But I learned, that is not too small by Austrian standards.

For the past two years, I have lived in smaller town or villages. As mentioned previously, the first was Bischofshofen, about 10,000 people.. This past year, I lived in St. Pölten, the capital of Lower Austria. The population of St. Pölten is about 50,000. It is the 9th biggest city in Austria. One thing I tell new TAs to Austria, especially if they are placed in a smaller town or village, is that they need to rethink their definition of what small is. As one teacher said to me last year, "Austria is a bunch of villages and then Vienna." A very true description. Even the next biggest city after Vienna, Graz, is not that big in comparison to many American cities.

I want to defend all the smaller cities and villages in Austria. They have as just much to offer, if not more to the TAs that are placed there. I try really hard to show new TAs all the benefits of small town life and encourage them to live where their schools are located rather than the nearest big city. I'm not saying that I haven't experienced disappointment or loneliness or any other negative feelings in these two places, but overall, I am grateful for the experiences I have had.

The biggest thing that I have noticed is that people in villages tend to be much, much friendlier. Last year, in Bischofshofen, I was shocked that people would say hello to me on the street. I always thought that Europeans didn't smile and say hello to each other. Definitely not in small towns! This doesn't happen so much in St. Pölten, since it's a lot bigger, but in Bischofshofen, it happened all the time. I think some of the townsfolk even started to recognize me and one time, a man said hello to me when we were on opposite sides of the street. It's a nice feeling knowing that people recognize you!

I've been able to get to know the locals in my little towns. I’m sure you can do this in Vienna, but living in a smaller community puts you in closer contact with Austrians, and it prevents TAs from hanging out with only Americans. The tricky part is meeting an Austrian. But once you meet one, it can be a life-long friendship, and they will introduce you to all of their (Austrian) friends. They can expose you to Austrian culture and can explain things that are not in the dictionary or guidebook. When I went to the Christmas market in St. Pölten, I saw that there was a kind of food called "Feuerfleck." I never would have been able to guess what this was, but luckily, an Austrian friend explained it to me. By the way, it's local to the St. Pölten area and consists of flat bread served with a dip of sour cream mixed with chives.

Living in a smaller town allows you the opportunity to better know Austria and to really see authentic Austrian culture. I've had the chance to experience things in Austria that I probably wouldn't see in Vienna--from a Krampuslauf to authentic Heurigers, Again, not that "authentic" experiences don't exist in Vienna, but it's different when you are the only American at a Krampuslauf. Then you know it's not just a show for tourists, but something that the locals do for themselves. Recently, I was in another town in Lower Austria, Krems, and I got to see the local Trachten or traditional costumes of that region plus eat an amazing dish of Gulasch at a restaurant that I never would have found on my own. Though I have to recommend that Gulasch is definitely best eaten when it's cold outside. Not when it's hot!

It can be considerably cheaper! I have had very nice apartments that were much, much cheaper than anything in Salzburg or Vienna. My landlords in both Bischofshofen have been super nice. From making me a cake to allowing me to live at their property on short notice, I have appreciated how kind and helpful they have been.
And finally, Vienna is a beautiful city, no doubt, but when I think about Austria, I will always remember the mountains surrounding Bischofshofen and the terraced vineyards in Lower Austria. The landscape is so beautiful in Austria that it sometimes is like living in a fairytale. 

I highly encourage any new TAs in Austria to live where your schools are located, even if it is in a smaller town. You won't regret it!

Krampus!

I have been terrified of seeing Krampus since I first heard about it. I've already seen Krampus cards and Krampus gingerbread around Bischofshofen, but tonight was my first sighting. I was sitting in a restaurant with two other TAs and we saw two pass by just as we finished eating. I panicked a little bit, but figured it would be fine. The two Krampusse (This is the plural that I found. Please correct if wrong!) had walked by going in the opposite direction of where I live. However, a little bit later, more Krampusse walked by, at least five, if not more! I was really panicking now, but the procession had seemed to pass and the other TAs and I could make our way back to the train station safely so I could see them off to their villages. There was a Krampus in front of us, but we crossed the street to avoid it. Then they ended up behind us making a lot of noise, but they didn't chase us. They seemed to be more interested in all the children galloping about. I was a little scared to walk home by myself from the train station, in case I encountered one alone. Luckily, I didn't see any on the way home. They seem to make a lot of noise, so I am hoping they don't normally sneak up on people. Either way, I'll be looking over my shoulder a lot when walking home at night for the next month! Or I might avoid going out after dark completely!

For those who don’t know what Krampus is, let me explain. Krampus is a mythical creature that is the alpine version of getting coal for Christmas, but a million times more terrifying (OR: a lot creepier). It is the antithesis of St. Nicolas who comes and brings gifts. Krampus takes all the naughty children and stuffs them in its bag and hauls them away to the mountains. Every year, the day before the Feast of St. Nicolas on December 6th, there is something known as Krampuslauf. This is a parade of all the Krampusse around the town. Young men dress up as Krampus and wear elaborate costumes with fur, claws, and scary masks. They chase people, especially women and children (so I've heard), and whip them with tree branches.

In a small alpine village, this begins in mid-November and lasts until Christmas! I've heard that in these villages, the Krampuslauf is pretty crazy, and Krampus will be out and about practically every night. There is a Krampuslauf in Salzburg, but it's pretty tame and touristy. In the villages, like where I am, anything goes! My students and others have told me that I will probably end up bruised after Krampuslauf. We'll just see how the rest of this month goes with Krampus everywhere.

For more information, visit the Krampus Wikipedia page. 

The Ups and Downs of Teaching

I came to Austria to gain some real teaching experience and to expose myself to the language, obviously. I don’t necessarily want to be an ESL teacher like I thought a few years ago, but am very interested in being a Young Adult Librarian.

I have been in the classroom for three weeks now. In this time, there have been a lot of ups and downs. Despite being super nervous the first week, I think I did a good job with my introductions. Of course this was easy, because it’s pretty easy to introduce myself. The students are also very interested in learning about me and the United States.

The second week was more introductions, also easy, but I also had to start teaching regular lessons that I had planned. I was very nervous about this. I had to prepare and teach a lesson on Minnesota tourism and one on high schools. Before the lesson on Minnesota tourism, the teacher grilled me on the lesson plan. Of course this made me extra nervous! But afterwards, the same teacher complimented me on the lessons and told me the students really enjoyed it. The high school lesson also went better than expected. This is very much a “learning as I go” process. I’m still getting the hang of what I’m doing. Each class is also different. Some classes just stare at me while other classes can’t stop talking.

This week was actually my first full week of “real teaching.” I had to prepare lessons on various topics from obesity and health to the election. My first day teaching at my main school was actually a little disastrous. I was teaching 5 classes and thought I had prepared well. However, I got my classes mixed up and ending up teaching obesity in American when I should have been talking about diversity in America. Plus I struggled with printing out the materials I needed. The whole morning felt like a mess. Even though I thought I had prepared very well, in the end, I felt like I wasn’t as prepared as I should have been. However, I think the teachers realized I was just hitting some (hopefully temporary) bumps as I get into the swing of things.

By Thursday of this past week, I was feeling a little blah about teaching. I don’t hate it, but I was feeling a little burned out. I did prepare lessons, but wasn’t feeling enthusiastic about going to school. However, the lessons turned out surprisingly well, especially with my more difficult classes. Some of my classes are so enthusiastic that I’m there and some classes, well, they don’t want to talk! I did a lesson on fast food and Super Size Me for my most difficult classes and they seemed to enjoy it. All of my students seem to love to talk about McDonald’s!

So I started out the week feeling very positive about teaching and prepared for my lessons, hit a midweek slump, but I recovered by Friday. I am finding that I really need to be creative with my lessons and add more games to my lessons. I also enjoy these lessons more. For example, I played a question game with some of my students on Friday and it went over really well. The students and the teacher liked it and I didn’t feel like I had to talk endlessly.

I also want to become involved in the schools, which hasn't really happened yet, but I'm working on it. I hope I can tutor some students in English. I've also had two students add me as a friend on Facebook. And one of my teachers invited me to her little village in the mountains. Now I just need some activities at the schools. 

Today, I’m actually looking forward again to teaching this week. I’m using my triumphs and failures from last week to learn what I should change. Sounds easy enough, but this experience has been very challenging! But I do think I’m improving.

Random observations from my (almost!) first month in Austria:

• When I introduce myself, I tell the students that I’ve lived in three states. I ask them what they know about each state. My favorite answer for Texas is that Sandy from SpongeBob SquarePants is from Texas.
• There is a brand of cigarettes in Austria called Memphis.
• And the students here don’t seem to know anything about Minnesota, except that Marshall from How I Met Your Mother is from Minnesota.
• It also apparently snows more in Austria than it does in Minnesota, according to my students.
• Living in a foreign country makes me feel like an idiot 99.99% of the time.
• Example: today I made a faux pas with my silverware. The way I had left them on my plate after finishing my meal at school indicated I wanted more food. One of the other teachers realized that it was a misunderstanding and told me how I should leave the silverware on my plate to indicate that I am finished. 
• Other times I feel like a genius, like when I went to the bank and deposited money into my account, ordered a new bank card and set up internet banking, all in German!
• Austrians are very blunt and straightforward. I feel like it could take months to get used to this. But when they do praise me, I know it’s genuine.
• The students’ English is better than my German. Sometimes they hide this fact from me and won’t talk. But they can speak really good English when they want to.
• Speaking of the students, they are all super nice! Even the boys, who know how to turn on the charm when they want to.
• My students are also surprised that I live in Bischofshofen and never hesitate to tell me how boring it is.
• Bischofshofen is a little boring, but I’m so glad that there are two other TAs nearby in small towns. It makes it easier being here!
• Despite the fact that I live in a small town in Austria, I am so grateful to be here. It’s only the second week of school, so I think once I get to know the students and teachers better, I won’t feel as isolated. 
• One nice thing about a small town is that people are friendlier. People say hello to me on the street, which catches me off-guard, as I thought this was a very American thing to do. Also, my landlady is almost like my "Austrian grandma" as another TA puts it. She brought me apple cake the other day and also told me I need to button my coat up because it's cold. 
• Schools are really different here (obviously!). Students stand when the teacher and I enter the room. On my first day in each school, no one seemed to care that a random person was wandering around in their school. Very different from the US!
• I had my first lessons this week that were not introductions. They went fairly well and I feel like I actually might like teaching more than I thought!
• Sparkling water doesn’t seem to be as carbonated here as what I like to drink in the United States.
• Dirndls are supposed to be really tight around the waist. I tried one on and the sales clerk told me I needed to pretty much stop breathing to put it on and, I guess, wear it.
• I have a new addiction to Eisschokolade, but my favorite café is no longer serving it. Very disappointing
• However, fortunately or unfortunately, Fanta is readily available here. And it tastes so much better in Europe than it does in the US.
• The huge 1 liter mugs of beer weigh a ton!  



Not my beer!

• And finally, I never thought I would say this, but Austria isn't seeming as foreign anymore. Even the mountains, which I was in awe of the first week, are just kind of there to me now. 

First week of school!

So the first week of school is over and I’m exhausted! When I applied for this program, I was worried that 13 hours would leave me with a lot of free time. And it does! But I still feel like this week has been super busy.

On Monday, I went to my two secondary schools, which share a building. I had already been to my main school the week before. I am working 5 hours at my main school and had to work out the schedule with my other two schools. It was confusing trying to split the last 8 hours between my other two schools. But I got a schedule that would hopefully work out.

Tuesday was my first real day of “teaching.” I was super nervous! I had to meet my main teacher who would drive me up to the school rather than me walking like last time. I was off with one of the English teachers not long after I arrived and in a classroom! Honestly, Tuesday was a little bit of a blur, because it was my first teaching day and I was so nervous. I also am not used to no air circulation in buildings, so between the nervousness and no air, I was super sweaty.

My introduction presentation went pretty well in each class and the students did ask me questions and talked a little bit. Of course I was asked if I was married. When I told the students I wasn’t, they asked why I work a ring on my right hand. The right hand is where the wedding ring is worn in Europe, so after that incident, I took off my ring on that finger. I was also asked if I believed in aliens and what I thought of Justin Bieber. The classes were generally good, but the oldest students were a little “hormonal” as my teacher put it. The teachers told me they also liked my presentation. Sometimes TAs just get up and talk about themselves, but I tried to make it a little interactive and get the students talking. I find talking about myself a little boring after a while.

I got a ride back from one of the English teachers. She spoke to me in German and invited me to come skiing or snow shoeing at her home in Werfen, which is a little village just north of me. Of course I said yes. Living in Bischofshofen is a little isolating at times, so I'm trying to take all the opportunities I can.

On Wednesday and Thursday, I split my time between my other two schools. These schools are a mixed bag. One is a kind of technical or training school for culinary arts. The other is a pedagogy school for students learning how to be Kindergarten teachers, but is also somewhat of a Gymnasium (like my main school) so the students are able to continue on to university if they want. Gymnasiums are like American high schools and are the main track to go to university.

The students at the Kindergarten schools were chattier and more engaged than the tourism/culinary school. The former school is mainly girls and I think this adds a different dynamic to the school. They also invited me to their Maturaball, which is like prom, but is held in the Fall. So I’m going to a Maturaball this coming Saturday. I’m a little nervous about it, because I don’t know any students or teachers very well at this school. But in keeping with my promise to not turn down any invitations, I decided to go. It also shows that I’m interested in the students and the school.

Because one of my schools focuses on culinary training, I am able to eat lunch there, prepared and served by the students. It’s very cheap and a three course meal. I only ate there once this week, because my schedule was a little crazy. I can see myself eating there a lot more, as it’s very cheap and good! As one of my teachers put it, if I tried to buy all the ingredients myself to make the meal, it would be more expensive than eating at school. This week, I had Wurstsalat, Putenschnitzel with Spaghetti and Apfel im Schlafrock with cream. The first course was a sausage salad, which I was a little worried about, because I don’t associate sausage with salad, but it was surprisingly good. The second course was turkey schnitzel, which was also good. I don’t know if I will ever get sick of eating schnitzel while in Austria. And the last course was baked apple wrapped in a pastry and served with cream. I asked why it was called “Schlafrock” which means sleeping robe. I learned that this is a common term in German for a dish that is wrapped in pastry, such as apple turnover.

Overall, this week has been good, but I still feel a little awkward sitting in the teachers’ lounge and I am still feeling anxious about my German skills. I liked meeting the students and hearing what they thought about the United States, though sometimes it was a little disheartening to hear what they thought of the United States. I heard that they thought all Americans are fat and that America, especially Texas are very dangerous. Well, that’s why I’m here, to hopefully dispel some of the stereotypes they have and to show them that not all stereotypes are true. Though there have been some bumps along the way, I think this school year will be a very interesting one and well, a humbling one. It already has been! Moving to another country has been one of the most exciting things I've done and one of the hardest. 

I'll end with an image of the poster for one of my school's Maturaballs. Trachten (traditional Austrian costumes) can be worn at this Maturaball, hence the picture. I cracked up when I first saw this poster!

Mexican food and guns

I've found two things that Texas is famous for (or infamous, depending on your perspective) in Austria: Mexican food and guns.

The shelf at the store nearest me.

At the closest grocery store to me, there is only one shelf of Mexican food.

At the bigger grocery store.

At the bigger grocery store in the town center, they have TWO shelves of Mexican food! While the selection is limited, I'm glad to know that I can buy tortillas and I saw that one can buy an assortment of chili peppers at the larger grocery store. Who knew?!












The first day in my new home, I noticed that the family I'm renting from has a gun on their wall. This is purely decorative, I'm sure, but it surprised me!

Photographic proof!

Never take candy from strangers

I worked in a cafeteria-style restaurant for many years. I had many customers ask for butter to be spread on the bread while making a sandwich. The first time I heard this request, I thought it was strange. Who would want to eat butter on a sandwich? And then I went to Germany, where my host mom slathered butter generously on any type of sandwich she was making. I learned to like butter on sandwiches after that, though my preferred condiment is still mustard.

On my first day in Bischofshofen, my landlady took me to the grocery store. I didn’t have much time, and when I was standing in line to check out, I realized all I had in my basket was toilet paper, semmeln (bread rolls), cheese, nutella and butter. Traveling can really make me lose my appetite, and I had barely eaten in the past day. When I made my semmel, I piled on the butter!

This week was full of getting my last minute logistical things taken care of, such as opening a bank account, registering with local authorities, finishing my application for my residency permit and buying house shoes! I’m still working on getting an Austrian phone.

Today, I visited my main school, which is a private Catholic school that is up in the mountains overlooking Bischofshofen. When I asked the main teacher how I should get there, he told me to either take a taxi or walk. I decided to walk, and thought that the walk couldn’t be too bad. Unfortunately, I had to walk along a busy highway with no sidewalk and walk uphill the rest of the way! I also had left my hair wet, because I figured it would be dry by the time I got up to school. Well, between sweating and the cool humidity, I looked like a mess by the time I made it to the school.

The beginning of the hike. And clouds and fog.

Walking up to the school.

Almost there!

I met all the English teachers and was given a tour of the school. Everyone seemed very nice and I think I will enjoy the school and the students and teachers.

I didn’t want to walk on the highway with no sidewalk, so I asked the main teacher a better way to walk down. He suggested I take a hiking trail down the mountain and that I would avoid the highway going this way. I set off and found the trail, which was very narrow. I wasn’t wearing appropriate shoes, so I had to carefully walk down. I was a little worried I would fall and no one would find me, but luckily made it down the mountain. I only saw about three people when I was walking down the trail and through a field. I am definitely not a “nature girl” but I did enjoy being out there (mostly) alone, despite my unsuitable footwear. 

Here are a smattering of photos from my hike earlier, after I walked down the trail:

Later in the day, I was set to meet another TA that lives in the neighboring village. I met her at the train station and didn’t realize that this village is all uphill until you get to the center. I walked uphill for long stretches several times today! We wandered around the village, had some ice cream, looked at some dirndls and had a beer at an Irish pub. We also walked down to the dormitory where she is living. On the way, an old lady stopped us and held out her hand filled with candy and offered us some. We declined, but I now wish I had taken some as a “souvenir.” We both kept laughing about the ridiculousness of this the rest of the day. Is this an Austrian thing?! I have never had this happen, EVER!

The town center of St. Johann.

The McDonald's sign and the mountains in the background.

I told the other TA that I had seen a McDonald's from the train, so we set out to find the McDonald's to eat french fries. We walked to McDonald's, which was through this weird industrial area and not the best place to walk, but we made it! The McDonald's was super crowded and we both got McDoubles and fries, which tasted amazing. I had curly fries, while the other TA had the regular fries. They also have noodle bowls and shrimp wontons on the menu. We saw a lot of people eating the noodle bowls! We plan to go back to try those menu items. On the way back to the train station, there were three teenage girls giggling crazily behind us and we thought they were going to jump us, but they were just being silly.

Today was full of some wacky, unexpected events, but I think those are the best kind of days.

Luggage and Other Stories

After a whirlwind few days of packing, I left for Austria on Saturday. In an attempt to save money, I booked a flight on Icelandair to Frankfurt and then would take the train to Bischofshofen. Icelandair luckily allowed two checked bags, which of course I took advantage of, but would come to regret later.

The adventure started at the airport when I was informed that one of my checked bags was too big. After a little shuffling around, everything was good, though I probably reached the limit of my carry on luggage, with my duffel bag, backpack and purse. I did tear up a little at security, as this will be the longest I’ve been away from home, but after I made it through security, I was fine.

I have a hard time sleeping on planes, but was so exhausted that I hoped I would fall asleep. Unfortunately, as I was about to fall asleep, the plane hit some turbulence. I don’t really like to fly, and I know this is ridiculous, because flying is safer than driving a car, but turbulence really makes me nervous and of course I could not sleep after that.

Icelandair always routes through Reykjavik. Despite what a man said on the plane, I’m pretty sure the Reykjavik airport is not the world’s smallest airport. We arrived in Reykjavik around 6:30 a.m. Reykjavik time. I barely spent any time in the airport and was on another flight to Frankfurt. Most of the people also on this flight were speaking German. At this point, it really hit me that I’m leaving for 9 months.

When I got off in Frankfurt, I had to fetch my bags, which were both massive and weighed a lot and find the train station. While retrieving my bags, a German man helped me and laughed at how many bags I had. I was sweating from all the effort of trying to wrangle my bags. I was also nervous about catching my train. Frankfurt is one of the few European cities with a train station at the airport. This made it easy to catch the train from the airport and not have to go into the city. I first had to take a bus to the train station. Waiting at the bus stop was a massive horde of people also hoping to catch the bus. I wheedled my way onto the bus with my five bags and held on precariously. There was a woman with a baby in a stroller behind me and every time the bus lurched, I was worried I would fall on the baby.  

Once I was in the Frankfurt train station, finding the right track was pretty self explanatory, but getting on the train was not! I want to thank all the random people that I met on Sunday that helped me with my bags, because it was not an easy task! I almost fell off the train while trying to get on with my luggage. Trying to maneuver down the aisle was difficult as well, and I had to cram my luggage in and hope for the best. I found my seat and was sweating like crazy, which seemed to be the theme of the day. I've been to Europe several times and have noticed that Europeans don't seem to sweat. Is it just me or has anyone else noticed this? I feel like I'm sweating like crazy and Europeans just look like so cool and collected.

The train ride to Munich became notorious in my mind. Shortly after I got on the train, I heard a man yelling in English and generally being obnoxious, even though others were telling him to calm down. Another rider finally got up and started talking to him and the (possibly drunk) man told the “mediator” to hit him and argued. They made him get off at the next station, but not before he could tell a woman sitting near him that she was a “ladyboy.”

I made my connection in Munich, which was very crowded, but a little easier to go from one platform to the next. On my second try of getting my luggage on and off the train, I was more successful and it was easier because of my earlier practice. I also didn’t have to maneuver down the aisle this time, because I had planned on it a little better. I was so exhausted by this point, that I could barely stay awake on the train and kept dozing off. At one point, I could see the Alps in the distance, which excited me, but darkness came quickly and it was hard to see anything.

I was nervous about getting off at the correct stop, so I got up too soon and waited near the door with all my luggage. The granddaughter of my landlady was waiting for me at the train station and helped me with my luggage and she drove me to my new apartment. I had seen pictures, which I posted here, but it’s even nicer in person. Plus there were sheets on the bed and towels in the bathroom and everything was provided for me! I was pleasantly surprised by the generosity of the family and how nice my apartment was.

Unfortunately, I do not have pictures of my apartment or Bischofshofen yet. I’m still unpacking and I’ve been too exhausted to take any pictures. More updates to come later!

Preparation Part 2: Housing

I recently learned that my Austrian Residency Permit was approved and now all I need to do is go to Austria, register with the authorities and pick up my permit. This all sounds very easy, but based on stories I've heard, it could turn into a nightmare. I'll see when I get there!

In the meantime, I had to find housing in Austria. I plan on living in the small village where my schools are located, but unfortunately, this makes it difficult to find housing on my own. I contacted my teachers and asked them for help. The teacher at my main school told me that he knew of an apartment where a former TA lived, but would not know until September if it was free. One of the other schools is a tourism school, and have students coming from all over the country, even adults, so they have a list of housing in the area. I was happy to get the list, but then I saw that only phone numbers were provided. I can speak German, but it's not great, and the prospect of having to call a stranger and speak to them in Germany AND understand them was terrifying.

My way of coping when having to present in German is to write down everything I want to say and refer to it. I tried this before calling potential landlords/ladies, but because speech is so unpredictable, it was harder to use my "script" as I found out. I had my script ready, a phone card and had worked myself up to call. The first lady I called told me that the apartment was already taken. Or I think that's what she said. I had trouble understanding her. The second one I called more promising. I could sort of understand her and the apartment seemed to be free. Unfortunately, I ran out of script and couldn't think of anything to say. Finally, she asked where I was from and when I told her the USA, she said she had someone there that could speak English. She put her granddaughter on the phone and her granddaughter gave me her email address. I asked all my questions to the granddaughter and called the landlady one more time to confirm about having a contract when I get there. Luckily, she seems very nice and repeated herself several times and made sure I understood. I was also told by the secretary of the school that she is a "very nice old lady" and so far it seems that way.

I finally saw pictures of the apartment recently:

The sink.

The shower.



The very European toilet.



The "sitting/living" room.



The bed and wardrobe.



The kitchen. Including a microwave, which is not very European.



The view from my window.




One more view from the window.


It's a studio apartment and looks very cute and I think it will be very nice. I think I really lucked out! I'm still a little nervous, and probably will be until I get there and meet the landlady and granddaughter in person and see the place. Also, apparently I can see the Alps from my window?! And the granddaughter told me she would teach me how to ski.

The village, Bischofshofen, looks beautiful and very Austrian. I'm a little nervous about living in a small village, but I think I will be OK. I'm glad I decided not to live in Salzburg, which is about an hour by train, as apparently it's very hard to find housing there, plus I think I will experience Austrian culture a little more in B'hofen. 

Now all I have to do is pack, save money, panic and panic some more. I can not believe I will be gone for 9 months or longer. It still doesn't feel real!