Things I want to do before I leave Salzburg

There are still a few things I haven't checked off of my list.

1) Eat apple strudel!
2) Go to Schloss Leopoldskron
3) Go on a hike
4) Go see the nuns sing at Nonnberg Abbey
5) Bike down Linzer Gasse
6) Go and see Sound of Music Exhibit at the Salzburg Museum
7) Going away dinner with friends

<3

Salzburg

Things have been going well. It's such a different feeling, being here with so much free time. There aren't classes to go to, exams to study for, or countries to travel to. It's just me, myself and I....and Salzburg. It does get lonely at times. Being here again makes me realize how American I am. But, in many ways, it's so rewarding and it feels good to be able to stand on my own two feet.

My weekend was very relaxing. On Friday night Andrea and I went to Augustiner for dinner, followed by Murphy's Law for beers and the soccer game: Germany vs. Greece. 4-2 for Germany! There wasn't much excitement at the bar. Austrian's aren't that into soccer: or the Germans. haha. On Saturday Kerstin, Andrea and I went shopping at Europark. They had a huge sale and I ended up buying perfume and high-heels from Espirt. After shopping we had the obligatory coffee at IKEA. On Sunday Andrea came over and we swam in the pool with the kids. It was so much fun. It's great having an American here that understands what I'm going through!

Yesterday I met up with Aimi, Mitch, and Maria at Afrocafe. I had waffles for dinner---yum!!! ;) Today Aimi and I hung out. We walked around Salzburg, went to a few cafes, and then went on the Stiegl Brewery Tour! The best part was the beer-sampling. You get to sample 3 beers (0,2 each). Awesome :)

I am absolutely exhausted from running around all day. Time for coffee and then a nap.

<3

Salzburg

This year I will have a lot less money than I have during previous trips. During previous trips, I had scholarship money, money saved up from working, and money that my grandparents had given me as a child. I spent most of that during my year abroad in Salzburg, so now I am left with, well, very little money to spare. The money I am spending now is the money that I'm earning here. That means budgeting, much more than before. Welcome to the real world, right?

New rules:

1) Leave the credit card at home. My credit card will now only be used for emergency purchases. Including but not limited to: emergency plane ticket to get home to my family, meds when I'm sick... I would say that's about it.

2) Never buy clothing the first time I see it unless it is heavily discounted and I really want it. If something is full price, I will let the idea sit with me for a week to see if I really want it. And no matter what, I will never exceed the clothing allowance I've allowed for myself.

3) Speaking of "allowance." I will budget for everything. If it's not a part of my budget, I will not participate.

4) I will write everything down so that I see how much I spend.

5) I will enjoy life with less.

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The nice thing about Salzburg in general is that there are so many things one can do for free. The other day Andrea and I biked to Hellbrunn for a picnic. A couple of weeks ago she and I sat on a bench on the river and talked. Then there are cheap things to do like student discounted museums or going to coffee hour at my church. And of course, I'm taking a lot of pictures :)

Today I haven't done that much. I walked to the mall to send a b-day/father's day package to my dad, and this afternoon I went swimming in my host family's pool. At 30 degrees Celcius, the pool felt almost like a hot tub :)

LG, Molly

More Salzburg

I have been having such a wonderful time in Salzburg. Since arriving, I haven't left the area to travel anywhere else. I am just enjoying Salzburg and its surroundings, my host family, and my old and new friends :)

Teaching English has been a treat and has allowed me to spend lots of time exploring Salzburg's old town. In addition, I've been spending lots of time with Andrea, a good friend of mine who studied abroad in Austria before deciding to complete another bachelor's here. Then there's Kerstin, and my former roommate and friend, Astrid! And of course my friends from the church group I was involved in while studying here.

Just a couple of days ago I was also able to get together with Tina while she was in town. We drank coffee together on the rooftop of the new Uni Salzburg building. The view is just gorgeous!!!

Host Family

In a lovely Einfamilienhaus just outside of Salzburg's Altstadt lives a family consisting of a mother, a father, and two little girls. The father runs a business, the mother a household. The father works hard and has little time off, but does manage to spend as much time with his girls and wife as possible. The mother, the model wife, combines running the household with pursuing her own interests, and still manages to find time to attend those social/work functions with her husband that she finds to be such a bore. High society interests her almost as much as meat would interest a vegetarian.

The girls, 7 and 9, have the curiosity and vitality that suits their ages and gender. At such young ages their futures are already apparent. One will be practical when finding a husband, marry young, lead a good stable life, while the other will most likely scare her parents with tattooed motorcycle riding boyfriends before she finally manages to marry the right man. Only time will tell if these premonitions are correct.

I am living with this family to teach them English, but in fact, they are also teaching me a lot. About Austrian culture, about children, about life. Each family that I stay with teaches me something different.

There is so much more to every family than meets the eye. And I, on this adventure, with this family, have a chance to see it and experience it. One day, every single one of my Gastfamilien (names changed to protect the innocent, of course) will make it into the book that I write about my experiences abroad. (And no, I will not be revealing their secrets. I will be sharing what I have learned from being around them) Having lived with so many families, I've come to see that, despite the fact that they all seem perfect on the outside, all have their imperfections on the inside. Their imperfections, in fact, are what make them the most interesting.

Cheers, Molly

Back with a bang...

It's a rarity for me to go so long without blogging after my arrival in Europe, but this time I just didn't have the time or energy until now. These past 2 and a half weeks have been a combination of "what the hell am I doing here," and "I'm so glad to be back." Add that to the fact that I'm working and well... Well, if one would actually call what I'm doing "work." But I suppose I should start at the beginning.

On May 16, 2012, a day that seems like 100 years ago but was really only just a few weeks ago, I hugged my family and friends goodbye and got on another plane to go on another adventure. My first stop: Munich, Germany, where Susanne picked me up at the airport and gave me that long awaited hug. It was so appropriate for her to be the one to pick me up, as she was the one who dropped me at the airport last year in July when I headed back home after a year of living abroad. Susanne has gone from a person that I vaguely knew to someone that I love and admire. Thankfully she'll never read this, but if she did, I know she'd say oh Molly, shake her head, and tell me I was stupid for writing something like this on the internet. But that's Susanne :)

I stayed with Susanne and her family for the first week after my arrival in order to relax and acclimate myself to my new surroundings. Another highlight was a barbecue with several of the families that had lived in Michigan as ex-pats. I always find it fun to be in Germany talking about Great Lakes Crossing or barbecue sauce. It's like having a part of home with me :-) Other than that, I simply played with the kids, helped in the kitchen, strolled through Munich, drank lattes, and tried not to regain any weight.

After one week with Susanne and her family, I headed to Salzburg, Austria, where my journey continues. On that Thursday I was, as usual, nervous about going to a new place. Okay, so Salzburg isn't exactly a new city to me; I lived her for 2 semesters when I studied abroad. However, change, as much as I thrive on it, scares the hell out of me. One great thing about me though, is that I am easy to please and end up getting used to my surroundings in a matter of days. This time it took just one day. Upon arriving at the train station in Salzburg I was greeted by Sonja, the mother of the children to whom I teach English. I taught her children English once a week while living in the Salzburg the first time. When I wrote to her several months ago about looking for a summer au pair position, she offered me the opportunity of living with her family (room and board included) and teaching her kids English 15 hours a week. As I had originally planned on visiting Salzburg this summer on my own dime, I jumped at the chance to live with her and her family. And here I was that first day, nervous about the whole thing. It's more of a reflex than anything else. I am a worrier.

I had little time to sit and think, which for me is a very good thing. That first day I was already "on duty," teaching one of the girls English for most of the day. I honestly had no idea how I was going to teach either of the girls English at that point, other than through speaking with them and playing games. Luckily recently that changed and I decided to start with the basics. After just 2 lessons with me both girls can say the alphabet in English and can spell words in English! Apparently their parents were a bit annoyed on their recent trip to Prague when the kids wouldn't stop singing the ABC song. I'm really proud of how much they are learning from me and I hope to be able to teach English to children in Austria or Germany full time.

Fifteen hour work weeks naturally leave a lot of free-time. I have had no problem occupying myself. Luckily, all of my old friends are still here! Kerstin, a German friend, and Andrea, an American friend, are both finishing up their bachelor's. The old gang from the college church is still there, too! I showed up during the coffee hour they have during lunch and everyone was so surprised and happy to see me. I definitely look different and since they didn't know I was coming, at first they just stared at me in disbelief. Now, having only been here a little over a week, I'm being invited to all of their parties again. It feels really good. Not to mention the fact that my old roommate, Astrid, is here! I love it here. I'm happy here ;-)

And I know that leaving here eventually will be difficult. But right now I'm not going to think about that. During this journey my motto is: enjoy the moment! I don't want to waste it planning the next one.

Goals:
-Trust my own instincts. Don't let others (no matter who they are) dictate the decisions that I make.
-Enjoy every moment!
-Lose 2 more kilos/5 pounds

Last Night before I fly....

So here I am, sitting at Susanne and Uwe Deuke's dining room table at 10:43pm. Tomorrow morning at 4:30am, Susanne and I are getting up to head to the airport. And then my 13 month adventure will be over.

No more dinners with Verena and Steffi, no more student prayer group, no more bar nights, no more walking around Salzburg, no more visiting Christine and Ingo, no more visits to Munich & to Uwe and Susanne, no more taking the train. There will be no more Milka Mousse Schokolade, no more Fußgängerzonen, no more gelato, no more Mezzo Mix, no Tempo Taschentücher, or Til Schweiger Plakate. I will no longer hear "Anschluss in Richtung: Kommunalfriedhof. Birkensiedlung. Parsch. Hellbrunn. Sankt Leonhard. I won't be welcomed by Deutsche Bahn or Öbb to Freisslang or Rrrrrrosenheim.That's it. That's all she wrote.

But the memories I have from this year are going to stay with me for the rest of my life. During my time here I visited all of my host families several times, traveled to 8 countries on two continents, and learned how to understand Austrian dialect. I dealt with difficult classes, loneliness, and sickness. But I also had the most amazing time of my life.

And there are amazing people I have to thank for that:

Steffi Jobst: you welcomed me into the prayer group and invited me to have lunch and coffee with your group right away. You don't know how happy and welcome that made me feel. You are such a wonderful person and I look forward to staying in touch and coming to visit you very soon. And Franz: You made me feel so welcome, too :) You and Steffi make the perfect couple.

Verena: You and I got close pretty fast. You are just such a sweetheart. We have so much in common and I feel like I can share my deepest emotions with you. I will miss you dearly.

Tobi: You were my first University friend. I'm so glad I went on the trip to Vienna and met you. You were so kind and helpful. It's through you that I met Verena.

Tina & Astrid: My future BG girls: I am so glad we were able to meet this year. You girls are so much fun to be around. Thanks to both of you for hosting me for a few nights. I look forward to seeing you in Bowling Green!

Kerstin: Thank you for picking me up at the train station in Salzburg, for coming to visit me often, for allowing me to come with you to visit your family in Abu Dhabi, and for being an all-around good friend. I am so glad we met in Canada three years ago. It was definitely fate. I am sure we will keep in touch and get together again soon :)

Christine: How many times have you picked me up from airports and train stations? How many times have you and Ingo allowed me to stay at your house or partake in some family event? You are so genuine, so kind, and the life of the party. I hope that there will be many movie nights together in our future. Not to mention skype dates. I need a good "Christine laugh" once in a while.

Susanne: You won't ever read this, but I will say it anyway. Thank you for acting as a host family this year. I so appreciated being able to turn to you and your family when I needed a place to stay or a kind word. Before getting to know you better I thought you were such a "typical German." But you don't fit all of my stereotypes anymore...

Frauke: I can't thank you enough for everything that you've done for me. For taking me to Germany 2x, for letting me stay with you at Christmas ;-)

and last, but not least:

Angi: Thank you for picking me up in Tübingen, for being so kind and helping me through those first difficult days. I had a full year ahead of me and I was scared, but you let me deal with my anxiety and I did pull through. You are such a fun person to be with, and I look forward to seeing you again next summer.

Love, Molly