Spring in the Stadtpark

As usual, click to enlarge. :-)

NEW VIDEO!!!

Hey everyone,

I just finished a video of my study abroad experience so far! I've submitted it to the study abroad office at my home university for a video contest. The phrase "This is my classroom - where's yours?" is one of the taglines for my study abroad program. Please let me know what you think!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WkSPxEGjNc&feature=youtu.be 

Now, I can sleeeeeeep...:-D

Ethics, Charades, and Pick-up Trucks!

You may wonder how these three concepts could possibly be related. Unfortunately, they’re not. I’m tempted to write a fantastic story about an Austrian cowboy who drinks one too many Radlers and winds up communicating his entire moral code via gestures…but for now, you’ll just have to settle for a taste of ordinary Graz life. J

(1) I have a fantastic seminar on the morality of climate politics – it’s a really small class and the discussion raises some very interesting questions. The main concept is intergenerational justice: do we owe something to the future? What are our obligations to our own generation? Regardless of your individual opinion, I don’t think anyone can argue with how lovely the view from the classroom is…J

(2) On Saturday, for St. Patrick’s Day, we had some friends over for a potluck. Lots of tasty food – thanks everyone for coming!! But after dinner, slouching comfortably in our chairs, the conversation somehow turned to games…and a free-for-all round of Charades began! Our gestures got progressively weirder as we acted out Faust, Icarus, Winnie the Pooh… To top it off, Tiny, assisted by our American friend L, gave an inspired depiction of “Casablanca.” (“White…house…Spanish?!?!”)

 

 

"CASABLANCA!" (Don't ask me how...;-)

(3) Coming from the Canadian West, it’s a common sight to see pick-up trucks cruising around town. One of the things that I realized, shortly after arriving in Graz, is the general lack of large vehicles. Not surprising, when you see how narrow some streets are! However, riding home on my lovely yellow bike, something large and red passed me. Ah, fire truck. No, wait. What?!?!

It took 7 months, but today I’ve finally seen my first Austrian pick-up truck. ;-)

P.S. If you ever have a chance, take a ride on an elevator – when the light’s broken. It’s a unique experience…and available now in the 8020 for a short period of time. ;-)

Skiing!!! (March 10)

I am FINALLY blogging about my wonderful, adventurous ski expedition!

Well, adventurous for me. I haven’t been on skis in 6…7 years? Kind of forgot how to turn. But though I missed the T-bar, lost my poles at the top, and toppled over a few times, I had a BLAST! I no longer have to blush with shame and admit that, though Canadian, I don’t ski…;-)

Here are some pictures, and a video too! Looking back on it, the hill looked so insignificant…;-) Thanks so much to P, Tiny, and N for all their good advice and for getting the experience on record.

Hmm, I just might have to repeat this at home…J

N, P, and me! (courtesy of Tiny)

 

Gorgeous!

Wow. :-D

Help Put Ellen in Space!

So I just heard a very interesting story from Tiny.

One of her friends, Ellen, has entered a contest to be the one of the first-ever civilians to fly into space. She has a really interesting blog (with illustrations!), that explains her story and why this is on her bucket list. Check out her blog here: http://www.defenestratedfeet.com/.

But she needs votes in order to win. If you visit http://metroinspace.com/ca/view/crr6/Remember_to_DREAM, you can vote for her up to 10 times per day. So please, if you have a moment, follow the link to click the yellow "Vote" button. And the next time you're looking for something creative, you can browse a pretty neat collection of comics on her blog!

Thanks, everyone. :-)

Holland: Feb 22-23 (Visiting & Maastricht)

Warning! The pictures take up tons of space. Click on one to browse the whole selection.


February 22

Today, we moved from our first host family to our second. We caught a bus to Roermond, and wandered through the city for a while before we met Tiny’s friend L and her dad.

Roermond. Click to enlarge!

 

The bridge where the prince was so
unceremoniously dropped the day before...

Post Carnival. 

Interesting house from 1500.

L lives in a small town, also in the south of Holland, and they have the most beautiful countryside! We took their dogs out for a walk…and into Germany! We were in two places at once. :-D

Avocado and shrimp on toast.

Our daring feat of impossibility...being in two places at once!
(The Dutch-German border...)

Holland.

Germany.

The dogs found something more interesting than us. ;-)

In the afternoon, we stopped to try a traditional Ash Wednesday dish - "Haring happen"! Raw herring sprinkled with onions, eaten with bread. You have to hold the herring by the tail, tilt your head backwards, and take a bite! Couldn’t say it was my favourite meal, but we got some pretty good shots of the experience. J

The first taste...

"Hmm..." ;-)

February 23

The next morning we left early to catch the train to Maastricht, one of the oldest cities in Holland! We had a fantastic time hanging out with L. Though a bit chilly, we had a beautiful walk through the city. The scent of waffles was tantalizing. We paused to peer into an inviting tea shop…and walked out with three bags of looseleaf tea! We also passed a beautiful park/green space area, and all took turns picking out our retirement homes along the river. ;-) If I thought I was in danger of exceeding my memory card in Prague, I was wrong...

Tea shop!

Lighting candles to Mary.

One of the lovely houses we saw.

The green space area near the river.

TEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Very classy. :-)

After lunch, we took a tour of an underground sandstone quarry just south of the city. Apparently, it has been in use since the 1200s, and the stone has been used to build many of Maastricht’s older buildings. It was very exciting. Many artists have drawn charcoal murals on the walls (it is too damp to paint there), and as we walked, intricate artwork would grow out of the darkness beside us. At the end of the tour, our guide invited us to experience the total darkness of the caves. He took the lamp around the corner, and, with our hands against the left wall, we walked blindly ahead. Though I knew the path was even and the height of the passage was tall enough for me, all my muscles tensed up, expecting to hit some unknown obstacle. Unexpectedly, the passage turned slightly, which was rather unnerving until you felt your way around. It was a really fascinating experience, and I’d definitely do it again, but you come to appreciate the faint light at the end of the tunnel…

One of the charcoal drawings.

17th century graffiti!!

Another mural.

How the stone was cut.

After the tour, we visited a working mill that dates back to the 11^th century! We stopped by the bakery and had a slice of their pie. 

The mill.

Andre Rieu, the famous conductor,
lives in the yellow house on the left. Strauss, anyone? ;-)

The hobbit door!

Old meets new.

 

 

 And finally, to round off an amazing day, we found a bookstore. But not just any bookstore. This one was in a cathedral!!! (Can you tell, from my punctuation, that I was a little excited about Maastricht? ;-)

From the outside...

...and then you're in!

So much for not accumulating things while abroad. I brought back two beautiful journals. :-D

Dragon!

The marks of Carnival...

The fortress.

Strange creatures!