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Published: August 20th 2008
My friends, I've made a wretched discovery about Austria. I was SO pleased to learn, not long ago, that this nation is free of crickets - those devilish fiends of a hellish color with the evil capability of LEAPING... *shudder*... Yes, no crickets. But there is something equally as bad that branches just as deep into my psyche to traumatising moments in my childhood. Austria seems to be infested... with earwigs. Augh -- I hate them I hate them... And what's worse, I discovered this by means of two of these nasty creatures entering my private home not more than two nights ago. This means, yes, that the epic war of worlds between myself and the generals of the creepy-crawler regime does continue. I have finally mastered a defense against the giant mosquito-like moth THINGS that make a horrible sounds -- almost as good as a Polish-based missile defense: closing the windows after 7pm. But of course, this defense is not directly aimed solely at these mosquito things... it is namely intended for those rogue buggies like gnats and rose beedles. We'll not announce to the buggy world that we have custody of a weapon of mass destruction: a fly swatter. It was discovered on top of the bureau late last week mwahahaha.
Anyway, life in Austria continues on regularly. Grace's poo-ing capabilities seem to be getting stronger, but it is Gerald that has fallen victim to the worst of these; he manages to have her "nappy" (diaper) off at the worst moments. But, I'll not get into too much detail about that.
Ah yes -- I am putting out a poll for all of you readers in hopes of getting some help from you. See, I have two round-trip railpasses remaining from my previous travels that will expire at the end of September. One trip I have already decided on: the last weekend of September I will be heading to Florence, Italy which comes highly recommended by my host family. This means that my other trip must happen before September 10. This is where you come in -- does anyone have any recommendations? places you've heard of, been to, want to see photos of... whatever? Here are the limits and suggestions that I've already received:
• Time limit: Friday - Monday (with SOME wiggle room because Karin is awesome)
• Location limit: Austria, Switzerland or France (Hungary and Czech Republic I'm saving for the Spring)
• Kind of on a budget... still paying off my last bit of travels... but I don't want to waste RailPasses.
• Recommended spots:
1. Salzburg - Yes, I've been once, but would have no problem going back again. Especially now that the festivals are over, Fall is approaching and prices are down.
2. Graz - Austrian city... don't really know much about it.
3. Innsbruck - Heard it's beautiful, but the town itself is not really big... sounds like Baden, honestly.
4. Zürich - Back to Switzerland? Can't go wrong there! But the train ride is kinda long...
Let me know any thoughts that you have! I should probably start booking hostels and whatnot by this time next week, at least.
Otherwise, let's see... oh - it was really nice to be in touch with many old friends over the course of last week. I've been hugely out of touch with the American world recently, so it was nice to hear from all that I've spoken to. Thanks for your notes and/or IMs! It's also been so nice to be in touch with my grandparents in a way that I really haven't been in years... if ever, really! "Gramps and Gram" leave notes and comments every week which is just wonderful. Ah yes, and one grandmother in particular has a big birthday coming up... hmmm... I wonder what the Austrian traditions are for birthdays. I will have to find out. But to everyone: thank you for the notes, I really really like them!
Along the same lines, Karin and Gerald have set plans with their American friends for dinner on Friday. This is oddly overly exciting for me... it feels a bit like my pre-teen years when we'd have family friends over for pool parties. Hopefully I won't be such the dork/brat about this evening that I was at 12 years old... but still, it's the same giddy feeling about seeing people, despite the fact that I've never before met them. A big part of it, as I've explained to some, is the desire to hear American accents again. It's great to be getting this cultural experience and to be challenging myself in this way... but every now and then a little taste of home is nice... and this isn't just a taste of home, this is a chance to express myself and use my normal terminology and not have my humor be returned with blank stares... well... all right, maybe there will continue to be blank stares, but at least it won't be because I am using American terminology... I can't speak for the quality of my jokes. Billy Crystal doesn't have this problem, but I am telling you - he MIGHT if he were plopped in small-town Austria.
To wrap things up, I am not going to comment on American politics or foreign policy this time... but I will leave you, instead, with some thoughts on my upcoming future to ponder. Gerald and I continue conversations about what's next for Jessi (despite the fact that I've only just arrived here... hm... hope this is not a bad sign) as I continue to explain the American education system and so on. I do hope to have an advanced degree someday... the trouble, much like with my BA, is what to declare it in, where to receive it from, and how long I'm willing to go back to school. Yet, with that last one, I still continue to remind myself that I am a mere 21 years old. So, shoot - even if I go for the full Ph.D., if I go straight through, I'm STILL only 28 at that point. Anyway, as far as locations, I've been exploring these recommended cities for the various fields that I'm considering and, wouldn't you know it... the top 3 would be Seattle, Boston and, of course, Denver. Apparently Denver is becoming something of a happening university area with loads of significant research, etc. going on. Anyway, according to these little sites that I've been clicking around on, those three cities are also a good personality fit. Interesting.
All right, that's about all I have for now (all I have? It's like 8 pages of reading for you!!). But, hopefully I will speak to you all again soon!
Have a wünderbar Mittwoch!!
Tschüss!
Jessi
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Avedan Raggio
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Go someplace new!