It was very nice and relaxing being in Imst; very vacation-y. Jonna had to go to school some mornings and, because her room has black-out blinds, I wouldn't wake up till about 11. I would wander into the kitchen and make some coffee and eat some gingerbread cookies (Austrian gingerbread cookings are so good). And then I would browse through her DVDs and generally watch the Office for three hours until she returned. Sometimes her roommates, Bernie and Chris, would come home and they would make me lunch or watch the Office with me.
Jonna was smart enough to bring CHRISTMAS DVDs from home and I have to admit, I got a little obsessed with holiday cheer. We watched Elf three times I think (but it's just so funny every time!). That was partly because we had no remote control for awhile, so if the movie stopped we had to watch the whole thing all over again to get back to the part we were at. Then we saw White Christmas and It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. If not for the amazing Christmas Markets, and the fact that Jonna is lots of fun, I would go back to Imst next month to watch A Christmas Story, Muppet Christmas Carol, and Charlie Brown Christmas. (I told you, Jonna came very prepared.) We also made Christmas chains, with red and green paper, while I was there. So, just so you know, there are now 46 days till Christmas!
Imst was a very beautiful place in the Fall. Jonna has a view of five or six mountains out her kitchen window (pictured in photo) and it snowed one day so the peaks were snow-covered for a couple of days before it all melted. It will really start snowing there soon (and sticking!) which means that 1. It will be even more beautiful and 2. It will be even more treacherous to try and walk around a town built on the side of a mountain, in the four feet of snow they expect annually.
Jonna was smart enough to bring CHRISTMAS DVDs from home and I have to admit, I got a little obsessed with holiday cheer. We watched Elf three times I think (but it's just so funny every time!). That was partly because we had no remote control for awhile, so if the movie stopped we had to watch the whole thing all over again to get back to the part we were at. Then we saw White Christmas and It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. If not for the amazing Christmas Markets, and the fact that Jonna is lots of fun, I would go back to Imst next month to watch A Christmas Story, Muppet Christmas Carol, and Charlie Brown Christmas. (I told you, Jonna came very prepared.) We also made Christmas chains, with red and green paper, while I was there. So, just so you know, there are now 46 days till Christmas!
Imst was a very beautiful place in the Fall. Jonna has a view of five or six mountains out her kitchen window (pictured in photo) and it snowed one day so the peaks were snow-covered for a couple of days before it all melted. It will really start snowing there soon (and sticking!) which means that 1. It will be even more beautiful and 2. It will be even more treacherous to try and walk around a town built on the side of a mountain, in the four feet of snow they expect annually.~~~
The Austrian pumpkins we found to carve on Halloween are not like American pumpkins. They are much harder to carve because they are shaped like thick frisbees, so there is only a good 4 inches or so to work on. I made a squished together vampire face and Jonna made a modern art pumpkin. We all added a little design to that one after her pumpkin's nose fell off - did I mention we were cutting these tiny faces with a butcher knife? We had smaller knives, but it turns out Austrian pumpkins have walls that are about three inches thick. The knives couldn't even make it all the way through!
We had this elaborate plan to roast all of the pumpkin seeds and eat them while watching a Halloween movie. The problem is, Austian pumpkins have hardly any seeds to start with, and what seeds they do have are hidden in all the pulp so you really have to dig to get them out. We spent half an hour doing this, only to burn the tiny batch we uncovered to a crisp, by forgetting them in the oven, so the seed thing didn't quite work out. We weren't too bothered though because we mainly just wanted Bernie, who is Austrian, to see what Halloween was all about. I think he understands now.
Halloween is about finding the best pumpkin out there for three euro, and getting your hands messy in the squishy, orange pulp, and designing the perfect jack-o-lantern face, and getting creative when your perfect face turns out a little different than you thought. Halloween is about appreciating the simple things in life - like candy, 10 hour candles, and Charlie Brown movies.
~~~
So here I am, back in Angers, back to work, and back to learning French! I am getting more determined than ever to speak French was more fluence, so I can understand what the natives are saying more than half the time. Alors, I am going to start going to the free French class that is taught every Wednesday evening in town. And I will watch more French entertainment and read more French books. Hmmm, I may need to wait until November 26th to fulfill that last part - that's the day my three English library books are due to the American Library. But after that it's French Harry Potter and French news and French...well maybe I'll read one English book a month, for a little breather...but then, it's back to French!
The Austrian pumpkins we found to carve on Halloween are not like American pumpkins. They are much harder to carve because they are shaped like thick frisbees, so there is only a good 4 inches or so to work on. I made a squished together vampire face and Jonna made a modern art pumpkin. We all added a little design to that one after her pumpkin's nose fell off - did I mention we were cutting these tiny faces with a butcher knife? We had smaller knives, but it turns out Austrian pumpkins have walls that are about three inches thick. The knives couldn't even make it all the way through!
We had this elaborate plan to roast all of the pumpkin seeds and eat them while watching a Halloween movie. The problem is, Austian pumpkins have hardly any seeds to start with, and what seeds they do have are hidden in all the pulp so you really have to dig to get them out. We spent half an hour doing this, only to burn the tiny batch we uncovered to a crisp, by forgetting them in the oven, so the seed thing didn't quite work out. We weren't too bothered though because we mainly just wanted Bernie, who is Austrian, to see what Halloween was all about. I think he understands now.
Halloween is about finding the best pumpkin out there for three euro, and getting your hands messy in the squishy, orange pulp, and designing the perfect jack-o-lantern face, and getting creative when your perfect face turns out a little different than you thought. Halloween is about appreciating the simple things in life - like candy, 10 hour candles, and Charlie Brown movies.
~~~
So here I am, back in Angers, back to work, and back to learning French! I am getting more determined than ever to speak French was more fluence, so I can understand what the natives are saying more than half the time. Alors, I am going to start going to the free French class that is taught every Wednesday evening in town. And I will watch more French entertainment and read more French books. Hmmm, I may need to wait until November 26th to fulfill that last part - that's the day my three English library books are due to the American Library. But after that it's French Harry Potter and French news and French...well maybe I'll read one English book a month, for a little breather...but then, it's back to French!
3 comments:
Good for you! I'm proud of your resolve. If you want, send me an email with your snail mail address and I'll see if I can find some Christmas-y videos to send. I miss you!!
I want to carve an Austrian pumpkin. love, Mom
I love reading your blog however it makes me cry when I think of how far away you are.
I miss you
Loretta J-Evt,WA
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