Oh what a night!

I really hope that when you read the title to this post that you sang (this) in your head. I did.


I have been told that I am an enthusiastic person. I would agree with that assessment, actually. I really enjoy being festive and getting excited about things. No matter how silly they are. 


The Super Bowl is no different. I don't even have to care about the teams to be excited about it. I like things that bring everybody together and give people things to talk about. 


My current situation might have made enjoying the yearly American tradition of food, drink, friends, and football a little difficult. I was worried my enthusiasm would be lost this year. But have no fear! Even Vorarlberg got in on the action! Ok, maybe not all Vorarlbergers were plopped in front of the t.v. from 12:30 a.m. till 4 a.m. or whatever. However, over at the American Roadhouse bar in Koblach...my friends and I could be found cheering on the losing team till the wee hours of the morning. 

No, this isn't a joke. This place exists here.

I mean, this place was awesome. Our friend Sean's roommate works there and that's how we found out about the Super Bowl deal. Entry tickets were 30 Euros ahead of time and included all you can eat/drink from about 10:30 p.m. till the sun came up. 

I almost lost my mind when I saw this.

I really wish I had taken pictures of the food. It was greasy American goodness. Basically a help yourself buffet was set up that was refreshed every so often. Delicacies included jalapeno poppers, hotdogs (that weren't very good), pizza, curly fries, regular fries, potato wedges, and (of course my favorite) chicken wings. Was heißt "all flats, please" auf Deutsch?


And the drinks included a couple different stations:


~one for beer straight from the tap in big mugs
~one that had limo and mineral water
~another with all sorts of yummy juices


Bet you could guess which one I visited the most.


We got there really early in order to get good seats. And it's a good thing we did, too! The place was PACKED by 11 p.m. (a full hour and a half before kick-off). They showed the game on a giant projector screen via ESPN America. So, we even had English commentary. Pretty sweet!

Maaaybe we had facepaint. The Super Bowl is serious business.

Sadly, we did miss out on the commercial front. But hey, you can't have everything you want in life.


The evening was made even more interesting because of the group of us in attendance. Three Americans and three Brits. Three girls and three guys. I might also add that the three of us girls were three out of maybe seven women in attendance. After I did a mini-lesson on American football on the train ride and again at the bar, they were ready to enjoy their first super bowl as knowledgeable fans. Most of us were cheering for the Patriots. Unfortunate, I know.

Sean screaming about rage at the end actually really frightens me.

Clearly I thought watching the game was more important than looking at the camera.

Just like Guy thought screaming "Go!" was more important than taking this picture.

This is Manny stressing out about the fact that his team has only about a minute left and isn't winning. Mackenzie, the seasoned football fan, is there to offer some comfort.

Also unfortunate was my mistake of setting my alarm for p.m. instead of a.m. and not waking up in time for my first two lessons at school. The amount of disappointment in myself today was through the roof.

Turkish Treatment for Homesickness

There are a couple things in life I like to think I am above. One of which being jet lag. Another of which would be cheap American beer from cans. Beer from cans in general, actually.


And lastly...Homesickness.


Every other conversation I have had with my landlady up until last week included the question "Hast du kein Heimweh?" (Are you not homesick?) And everytime I responded by telling her I don't really get homesick.


...up until last week


I know the stages of homesickness. I know about when it hits and that it manifests itself in different ways. I also knew if I were to get homesick it would fall on the fourth week of November. Isn't that ironic?


My homesickness wasn't missing home and wishing I were there and wanting out of this place. It was more of a week and a half long depression of no appetite, lots of sleep, crankiness for no reason, and one day and night consisting of something very strange which could be described as being in the same family of vertigo. I hate myself for sounding so dramatic right now. Unfortunately, I couldn't avoid it. I kept getting irritated or annoyed at every culture difference that normally I relish. Thankfully, I predicted it and could at least recognize this weird feeling fairly rationally. I knew in my head that I am happy here. I am living in Europe doing what I love. 


When I said that I had predicted this, I meant it. I knew if dirty homesickness was ever gunna get me, it would be the week of Thanksgiving. 


So one day when I was being a particular grumpfest, Mackenzie asked if I would go with her to the store. I didn't need anything and was just going because it was better than sitting around being Oscar the Grouch in my sweatpants all evening. 


She then said, "You know, I think there is a Turkish store over here." Again, I wasn't exactly in an exploring mood but went anyways.


My findings: If you are homesick in one culture... go to the market of another!


We had so much fun poking around the store and buying stuff that we weren't sure what exactly it was or what it would taste like. The music was awesome and things were pretty cheap, too!


I should add that the title of this post is not homesickness "cure"...just "treatment". But it did provide a quick relief from my irritation of not being in a familiar place at holiday time.


So what did we get???


All of this...

We make Turkish coffee 'round these parts nowadays.

And tea! Look at that whirling dervish on the front there. Not gunna lie, main reason I bought this brand.

The tea cups are new. The tea submarine is not...but it's still super cool!

The one in the middle tastes just like Sprite.

Little sesame cookies that I really like because they aren't actually very sweet.

I haven't tried these yet but they are cookies with strawberry jelly and what seems to be sprinkles. Can't be horrible.

And of course some Turkish Delight.

p.s. I promise I will tell you the story about the older couple from my Italy trip in an upcoming post. 

No worries!

Things I will miss in Austria pt. 5

America---and all of it's conveniences.


This is likely the last thing I will write before leaving...maybe.


I just have been thinking in the past few days, as I have been getting things together, how convenient my home country is. For being hard working people, we Americans sure know how to enable laziness in everyday life. Need an example? My family has automatic trashcans in our house. Too lazy to step on a pedal or open a lid? Not a problem here!


No, but really. I can hop in my own personal car and drive to a Walmart or a Target and find just about anything I need for really cheap. I'll definitely miss the ease of such activities here. 


More than the silly conveniences America offers, I will miss one more. The fact that so many people I love live in this country. I will miss them (especially that new little McCarty girl) but I am ready for an adventure. 


God has blessed me immensely. Because He put such passion for teaching and other countries in my heart, I can go to Austria and take this awesome opportunity. He's pretty great. Just saying.




So...off I go! I'll update upon arrival and then make this blog public.

American History Lesson

So, once upon a time I had this great idea for a New Year's resolution. To learn all of the presidents of the United States. I got to Adams (the first one) and quit. 


However, it always really bothers me (ok, really only when watching Jeopardy or playing trivia) when I don't know when a certain president was in office. This is a really big nerd comment I know. However, it is slightly embarrassing to move to another country to teach about my own land and not know the people who ran the place. I figured it would be a good idea to change that before I left.


So I reverted back to elementary school and started learning the presidents. I could say them all correctly about 10 minutes ago. We'll see if it sticks till next week. 


Here's what I used to learn: