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. ;-)