Gee, you look tired today

Though I have now lived here for almost two years, there are some things that I am not yet used to.  Many of these have to do with manners - Austrians and Americans have a different idea of what is polite.

 Let me start by saying that I in no way mean to offend anyone.  These are my observations, and they are generalizations.  They are things I have witnessed and had to come to terms with while here. 

The reason for this post is that yesterday I was told by multiple people that I looked tired.  I must have looked really awful; however I feel that at home, the people you work with would generally refrain from coming up to you and commenting on how tired your eyes look.  That's the job of your close friends and relatives.  But here, it seems that it's just a way of making small talk.

Austrians and Americans do have a different idea of what constitutes acceptable small talk.  Americans will ask "how are you?" as a way of being polite; Austrians will give you an honest answer.  A fine example is this excerpt from an actual conversation with a teacher:
"How are you today?"
"Fine, thanks! You?"
"Actually not too good, I've got a bad case of diarrhea."
 ".............."
My poor American mind didn't (and still does not) know what to do with so much information.  I would generally say that my stomach is "off" or upset or something.  Bowel movements are, again, restricted to conversations with your close friends and relatives (and even then it's a little much sometimes).

One thing I only recently mastered was the fact that, here in Salzburg, it is essential to greet the room when you walk in.  In the teachers' lounge you need to say hello.  This is perhaps not that different from home.  However, what is different is that you do the same when walking into a store.  I have finally committed to saying "Grüß Gott!" when I enter a store, and saying goodbye when I leave.

What I have not yet mastered, however, is doing the same when I enter and leave the locker room at the gym.  Fully clothed, I have no problems with greeting everyone.  Greeting a room full of half naked women that I have never met is a different story.  But that's the way it's done, so I try my best even though I find it horribly uncomfortable. 

This topic of what differs between Austria and America will, I'm sure, be very present in my blogs as I come to terms with the fact that I will be leaving very soon.  For now, if you're interested in more differences between small talk styles, read this article on the differences between British and German small talk.  I know, it's not the same as America and Austria, but much of it still applies.

Hiking the Schafberg

Panta, me, Mary, and Claudia on a very unstable plank/bridge at the beginning of our hike

Remember how I said we had forty days of sunshine in the fall?  One of our last truly sunny and warm days, Claudia, Panta, Mary, Bernhard (Claudia's friend), and I hiked the Schafberg.  Normally by November it's cold and snowy enough that there isn't a lot of traffic on the mountain, but we lucked out.

I had made the conscious decision not to go anywhere for fall break this year.  During both my abroad semester and last year I felt like I had to see everything, to go everywhere.  By now I think I've seen many of the places I have always dreamed of - certainly more than I ever expected to see - and decided to explore more of Austria instead.  Naturally, that meant hiking an Alp.

Claudia's friend Bernhard is an experienced hiker who had hiked the Schafberg upwards of 30 times last summer, and we enlisted him to lead us up the mountain.  We got an early (and slightly chilly) start to our hike.  Supposedly it's a six hour hike, but we decided that six hours Austrian hiking time is more like seven American hiking time.  As my former German teacher would say, Austrians "truck" with the ease of mountain goats.  Just ask my dad, who will most likely do an impression of his Austrian fishing guide leaping from rock to rock.  There is certainly a different approach to climbing an Alp that we Americans experienced on this hike.  Hiking a mountain like this can be a spontaneous decision, whereas anywhere I've ever lived I've had to plan well in advance to go on a hike of this magnitude.  And schnapps is involved.

Anyway, Bernhard fearlessly led us up the mountain, over the rivers and through the woods, until we reached the top in the early afternoon.  There we took pictures and ate lunch next to the cross at the summit.  After a little wandering and a lot of gawking at the paraglider launching himself off the mountain, we sped down the mountain to beat the sunset and the cold.  It was definitely a strenuous adventure, but it was one of the most enjoyable things I've done in Austria.  There's nothing like working up a sweat with good company and a great view.

The gang (Bernhard was playing photographer)

Panta and his new best friend

The back of the Schafberg

Gipfelkreuz! The cross at the summit

Bernhard with the mountain sign

We watched this guy launch himself off a mountain

The mountain at the top of the photo directly above the paraglider is the Untersberg, the mountain in whose shadow Salzburg sits.

The whole crew: Mary, Panta, Claudia, me, and Bernhard

The slow descent

Halloween Cookies and Pumpkin Carving

Panta and Nora rolling out the dough

Since caramel apples took so long, we had to put off our pumpkin carving until the following week.  To this event we added cookie baking, mostly because I have a ridiculous amount of Halloween themed cookie cutters, but also because, seriously, who doesn't like cookies? Also, baking is much more fun if you have an industrial-style dishwasher at your disposal (like Nora and Lars do in their castle).  The cookies are the same recipe I always use, the one so lovingly written out by my grandmother on an old, yellowed, flour-covered note card, and copied by my mother onto a slightly less yellow and flower-covered note card.  These cookies are special.  It's just not Halloween without some pumpkin cookies somewhere.  I even made them last year for our Thanksgiving feast.  This year we had slightly less vibrant food coloring, and slightly more warped looking America cookies, but we had fun.  And this time we actually got around to carving the pumpkins.

Here is the tried-and-true sugar cookie recipe, for those who are interested.

Sugar Cookies:
2 3/4 c flour
2 3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 c shortening
1 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Cream sugar and shortening.  Add eggs. Add vanilla. Sift and add dry ingredients. Chill 10 minutes. Roll and cut. Bake at 400(F) 10-12 minutes.

Frosting:
2 tbsp butter
1 1/2 c confectioners sugar
Cream above. Add:
2 tbsp milk
1/4 tsp vanilla
Beat until fluffy

Panta, Nora and Lars

Mary and Me

Note the upside down vampire bat

Frankenstein cookies

Cookies that were supposed to be shaped like America, but ended up looking more like fish so we decorated them accordingly

Fish/America cookie

Panta (Kansas) loves Canada

Bat/bowtie

Pumpkins!

Guts

Panta = 5 year old when it comes to pumpkin guts

Nora, taking out some aggression on that pumpkin!

Mary

Finished products