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.

Things I will miss in Austria pt. 4

This is a two-parter. 


1. Fried Chicken

I used to try to deny I was a southerner, telling anyone who would listen that I was born in Illinois and my family were northerners (read:Yankees) and grew up in the Metro-Atlanta area, thus making me immune to the "country-ness" of Georgia. For all that denial, I have come to understand that it is a part of me like it or not. One of the loveliest things about the south is the availability and quality of fried chicken. I was trying to explain what the "fried chicken" I had in Germany was like today over some proper Sunday Chicken from Cracker Barrel. It was basically pan seared with a baby bit of breading dusting the top of the piece of chicken. Not great. So I will miss this very much while I am away....although I am sure my arteries will not.

2. (which should in all actuality be #1) My beautiful sister Wendy

I love her so much. She may or may not know it but she is the family member I try to please the most. I remember very vividly being a very picky eater as a child. Sometime in middle school or high school that stopped. The reason? Wendy was always an adventurous eater in my mind and I wanted to be like that too. She taught me basic Algebra (for fun) when I was in 3rd grade sitting at the kitchen counter. We both have liked languages and culture from an early age. When it came time to pick an after school activity for Wonderful Wednesdays at Dyer Elementary, I picked french class partially because my cool older sister took french in high school. When I went to Germany in 2009, Wendy was indispensable as a person to bounce travel ideas and plans off of. Again, travel is something we both love and planning is just in our blood. Hers was the opinion I wanted to know after Landers visited in August. I love the nephew she's given me and the niece who we'll get to meet on Friday. She amazes me with her work ethic and how she manages to be good at so many things. Wendy is so patient with Kaiden and insists on doing what is best for him. She is a great mom. She is also the most rational and level-headed person I know but with so much love and humor to go along with it. I am going to miss hanging out at her house with her and complaining about silly/ridiculous things that come up in our daily lives. Although, I am pretty sure I can still do those things on Skype. I know she is having a hard time with me leaving but I never doubt that she is excited for me and proud of me. God has blessed me so much to have her as my sister.

Things I will miss in Austria pt. 2

Zaxby's...I bet I love it more than you.

It is always my fast food of choice. I will become super deprived of it for an extremely long stretch of time come Sept. 14. Recently, they have been messing up my order with decent regularity. I mean, it's not like I am super high maintainance or anything. All I require is "a big Zax Snack with wimpy sauce INSTEAD of the Zax sauce with an UNsweet tea to drink, please!" (and you betta' trust that emphasis is spoken). I thought maybe Zaxby's was trying to make severing ties less painful for me by continually plaguing me with that sugar sweet nasty crap called sweet tea that I, as a terrible southern woman, hate. However, today...was another story. Everything was perfect. Hot food, a perfectly filled cup of wimpy sauce to dip my entire meal in, and an UUUUUNsweet tea. The first time. No corrections. And it was delicious! 

So, Zaxby's, my love, I will miss you. We shall be reunited upon my re-entry into the 50 Nifty United States in February for the wedding of the century.