skip to main |
skip to sidebar
I would like to take a moment to tell you about my new favorite song, "The Longer I Run," by Peter Bradley Adams. It's usually among the songs I listen to as I walk to the grocery store (these walks have become somewhat sacred, and I really wonder how I made it so long without an iPod).
Peter is my second cousin (that's when your moms are cousins, right?), and though I didn't grow up knowing his family very well, I have loved the times I've spent with them recently at my sister's wedding (at which I sang a song that Peter wrote--"So are You to Me") and in Nashville or Birmingham, where they live.
And what does this have to do with Paris? Well, Peter's touring will take him there in late September. I found a great deal for a weekend flight, so I'll be going at least one of his shows.
So fun. And, this means I won't have to wait until April to see someone from my family (I know, Mom, I see you on Skype all the time).
To listen to "The Longer I Run" and some of Peter's other songs, visit peterbradleyadams.com or link to his MySpace, Facebook, etc. pages. Additionally, he and another artist did an album awhile back called Eastmountainsouth, and everyone I've ever lent it to has gone out and bought it. Absolutely beautiful music.
Other than the show, I have no idea how I'll spend my time in Paris. Let me know if you've got some good ideas (a-hem, Catherine and Allison).
Another gorgeous day. I woke up early and headed out to the International Chapel of Vienna for my first church service in this town. While I recognized many American accents, I also met folks today from Holland, Germany, Kenya, Chicago, and London. All of them graciously welcomed me to Vienna and to their church. I attended the service, a break for coffee/pastries, and the congregational meeting afterward--leaders from each committee in the church (Youth, Missions, Pastoral Care, etc.) outlined goals, specific plans, and needs.
In short, Romans 12 was all over the place. And, even though it took about 45 minutes to get to the church (Bus 40A, UBahn U6, U4, and U1 lines), I met several families who live in my district. One of these families lives just a block or two away, and they invited me to their house for dinner this week.
I know some of you have had sour or even horrible experiences with churches in the past. I am so sorry that's happened to you. It's happened to me on smaller levels. I hope you'll keep your eyes open for a place that's paying attention to simple and important things.
Got home around 2, had a late lunch, did some reading, and went on an unexpectedly loooonng walk in the 13th district with three of the students. We were trying to find a villa that was Empress Sisi's hideaway (apparently she was quite moody and would go there when she was fed up with life), but, after almost 3 hours, the best we did was this field:
If Nate hadn't brought his Blackberry with GPS, we'd probably still be out there.
Most of the students and I got up early this morning to head to the Naschmarkt, Vienna's famous hodgepodge of food stands, restaurants, and (on Saturdays) an enormous flea market. People have sold food and drink there since the 1500s. I continue to marvel at how very old the buildings, streets, and traditions are in Europe.
We arrived around 10am, and I was promptly swept away in the river-like motion of people moving between the stalls. The colors and smells were wonderful, but the cacophony of vendors yelling, carts pushing, and customers ordering/milling/talking/pushing was overwhelming. I walked with the crowd, clutching my small backpack in front of me, and tried to consider each stall from an artistic (do I want to take a picture of this?) and pragmatic (do I want to buy this food/flower bouquet/spice now, or see what else comes along?) point of view.
I bought some dried oregano, rosemary, and thyme (George, I may be emailing you about the masacarpone/rosemary/roast beef pizza recipe). I imagine people probably bargain over prices for produce, but I wasn't about to dispute what was printed on the bags pictured below.
I kept thinking of my sweet friends from Winston. We cooked together a lot, and I know we'd all have a field day at the Naschmarkt searching for the perfect feta cheese. Miss you all. And I do not know whether the cheese below is anything close to feta or not...
I will like this place. I think I will come here on Monday mornings, after I sit in on the students' German class. Saturdays are too much.
Well, here they are--my students for the fall semester. I've really enjoyed them thus far. Their excitement for being here has been a blessing to me and it's been a delight to serve them in small ways.
On Sunday, the students' Art History professor, Dr. O., took us on a fabulous 3 hour bus tour of Vienna and some surrounding areas. We got off the bus at several points to explore, and below I've written a bit about one of our stops and what I learned there:Friedrich Hundertwasser (1928-2000), a Viennese artist/architect, was an outspoken free thinker and environmentalist. As you can see from this apartment building he designed for citizens of Vienna (it's essentially public housing), he was not a big fan of straight lines and loved using color and odd shape juxtapositions. There are many, many trees and plants on the roof because Hundertwasser believed that, if the earth was harmed to make a building, planting things on top could help make up for the loss!
Hundertwasser loved children and saw them as a community's most important asset. So, each section of the apartments had a special play area where kids could have free reign (e.g. draw on walls and wreck the whole place). He also loved incorporating water and bits of nature into the things he did (do you see the snake poking his head out of the fountain below?). If you look closely in this picture's background, you can see that even the street below this apartment building seems to flow (the road isn't flat; it has slight ripples).
The last thing I'll share with you regarding this artist is a link to a picture of his most famous installation in Vienna. He designed the city's incinerator as a statement that all buildings, even the most pragmatic, can be beautiful; click here to see it.
This, of course, is nothing like typical Viennese architecture, which tends to be Baroque or Gothic in nature (look at me using my new Art History terms). Dr. O said that the Viennese hated Hundertwasser's art at first but have grown to love it over time.
Posting pictures on this thing is a tedious process, so I'll work on a better way to show you the things I'm seeing. The last few days have been beautiful and busy. I'll tell you more about it soon...for now, bed.
--
Ah, my home for the year. It's hard to get a really good picture of the Flow House because it's so oafish in size, but here's one at the corner. 
There are several ways to walk to my favorite grocery store. Here are some of the houses I usually pass along the way:
The houses in my neighborhood are generally quite closely packed, with little yard space. There are several parks nearby with running trails, gardens, ponds, and cafes. 
I particularly like this family's balcony. If I go walking around dinnertime, many families or groups of people are outside on porches or balconies enjoying a glass of wine or dinner.
Gunter, the house manager, thinks that several homes and businesses in my district are around 100-150 years old. Once we learn more about Austrian architecture in my art history class (I'm sitting in on the students' German and Art History courses), I'll be able to tell you more about the styles, which vary quite a bit. One of the really modern houses nearby has some funny art in their yard. I smile when I pass this woman:
...And here's the grocery store that I usually visit every other day. I carry the things I buy in a pink reusable bag (thank you, Christina) back up the hill, and think about what I'll make for dinner (tonight it was spaghetti with basil and Parmesan cheese, a small salad, and a lot of pretzels dipped in Nutella). 
Today is Katie Tison's birthday. I couldn't have gotten through graduate school without Katie; we both arrived at Wake, fresh out of the SEC, wondering what in the world we had gotten ourselves into. And we made it.
Katie is now a highly successful elementary school counselor in Atlanta, GA. One day, when I get a real job, I hope to be just like her. Here's a picture of us in the Flow House when we were here in Austria together last summer:
Several encouraging things to report:- Luggage arrived yesterday!
- I bought a few little things to personalize my already cheery room, and it feels like a place in which I will enjoy spending a year.
- I met with the principal and guidance counselor from the Vienna Christian School yesterday afternoon, and am feeling so excited about the opportunity to work with the students there! My strengths and experiences dovetail just about perfectly with the current guidance counselor (who has an MA in Counseling but has never worked in a school setting). I will be doing some individual work, small groups, and large group guidance lessons with the middle schoolers, particularly the girls. Right now, it seems like early career exploration, dealing with transitions, and body image will be three of the big topics for the small groups/guidance stuff.
- Eight of the ten Wake Forest students arrived throughout the day today, and things have gone really well thus far. I took them grocery shopping and around the neighborhood a bit this evening, and was just upstairs talking with five of them for a few hours after dinner. Best part, perhaps: they loved the idea of my cooking for them every once in a while, so I'll get to try out all sorts of recipes while they pay for me to do so!
- Overall, I'm feeling like I'm right where I should be right now. I've been really trying to live out a section from the Gospel of Luke this summer as I've been preparing for this trip. It feels great to be in more of a groove with that than I've been prior to now. I have no doubt that there'll be some difficult times coming up, but that's alright.
I promise that, once I get more settled, these entries will hopefully become less self-focused and more about fun things in Europe. Thanks for hanging in there with me while I process all my stuff (I miss you, Wake Forest Counseling program).
The last few days have been tiring and humbling. And fun, but mostly humbling. Should you find yourself in Vienna anytime soon, here are some tips I'd like to pass along:- Smiling and nodding (as opposed to responding with the correct German) will work for you, but only about 15% of the time and mostly with old ladies who just enjoy saying something and giggling about it (I have met two of this variety so far, and I enjoy the interaction).
- When getting off a bus at a particular stop, the doors will not simply open for you, even as you stand there and wish for them to (and subsequently wish that folks would not stare at you). There's a little sneaky button you've got to push.
- Along those same lines, you must also weigh and put a price sticker on your produce at the Euro Spar Gourmet. If you don't, the cashier will abruptly leave you. She will take your produce with her, but of course you don't see that because you're too busy studying the card reader to determine how to pay. She'll be gone for a good minute while people line up behind you with their groceries, and then come back and dramatically thump your stuff back on the counter with the labels. You, of course, haven't learned how to say 'I'm sorry' at this point, so you tell her 'thank you very much' about five times as you try to pay and leave as quickly as possible.
Once you know all of this, you'll be about as far as I am at this point. And you'll probably want to take a nap like I did.
I'm here!
After two great weeks visiting family and friends in Colorado, I left for Vienna on Sunday the 17th and arrived here the next morning.
Some of my thoughts while traveling:
- I'm not going to get a seat on this flight (DEN-CHI, as I realized an earlier DEN-CHI flight had been cancelled and, like about 15 others, I hadn't been given a boarding pass as of the final boarding call. Ended up flying business class)
- I'm going to miss this flight (CHI-VIE, as the final boarding call resounded over the loudspeakers and I was still far from the gate)
- I'm not going to see my luggage (still haven't seen it. Perhaps it'll be here tomorrow)
- If I had waited to buy a bathrobe in Vienna instead of in Winston-Salem, I could have packed like ten more books or at least forty Clif bars
- The movie Dan in Real Life is so great (watched it twice during my overnight flight)
Andy Karr, the house assistant for the summer (and the son of one of my Counseling Department faculty members!), met me on the other side of an airport tram and we spent the day reviewing important locations and tips (i.e. emergency room, Naschmarkt, best gelato, clubs to avoid, etc.). And, I sort of made 3 friends--we had lunch with some of his friends, and now I have their phone numbers. That counts, right?I was pleasantly surprised by how well I could recall bus bus lines and U-bahn (subway) stations. Most encouraging was how happy I was to see the house and its surrounding neighborhood again. I am living in one of the nicest and most beautiful neighborhoods in Vienna. I'll put up some pictures soon--I think I have some good ones from my time here last year.This morning, Andy left and I officially took over responsibilities. So far, this has entailed buzzing in two plumbers. I greeted them in German and smiled pleasantly as they told me what they were going to do (I have no idea what they said). Currently, they are downstairs with jackhammers (steckfassungshammer).
Don't think I'll be making a flashcard for that one.
Am off to the grocery store to buy some food and walk around a bit. It's a gorgeous day here (sunny and 24). Dr. Rupp, the faculty member for the fall, and her family will arrive later this afternoon. I will also meet Gunther, the famous Viennese house manager who always has his dog, Hikon, with him.
Well, here we are.
I look forward to using this blog as a way to keep in touch with you all this year as I head back to Vienna, Austria for nine months (August 18, 2008 - May 9, 2009). I will probably write more than you care to read, so know that I won't be offended if you just look at the pictures.
Some context:
As a student in Wake Forest's Masters of Counseling program, I studied in Vienna last summer with a ten of my classmates and two of our professors. Because Viktor Frankl (Man's Search for Meaning), Alfred Adler (individual psychology), Jacob Moreno (psychodrama), and, of course, Sigmund Freud (Oedipus complex, other sorts of rants) all studied and/or lived in Vienna at some point, there's a lot of context to see and people to meet there. Wake owns a house in one of the nicer parts of town, and several undergrad and graduate programs use it for study and conferences.
I quickly became fond of Vienna. After class, afternoons were spent exploring art museums, the classical music scene, markets, coffee houses, and neighborhoods. I also visited Salzburg, Mauthausen, and Melk. I returned home with a broadened view of the world, a bunch of pashmina scarves, and a hope that I might return to Europe someday soon (blatant foreshadowing).
In the year since then, I completed my second year of coursework as well as an internship at Summit School, a wonderful independent school in Winston-Salem. Experiences at Summit, Wake Forest, and the American Counseling Association's national conference helped solidify my interest in school counseling, and I began to apply for jobs in North Carolina in April.
I then learned from one of my professors that the Director of the Flow House (Wake's house in Vienna) was looking for someone to serve as an assistant in the house for the upcoming academic year. My professor had recommended me for the position, and we shared a laugh over what would surely be an absurd way to spend some time.
Then, I started thinking about all the books I've been wanting to read.
And all the places to which I've been wanting to travel.
Maybe a year in the Flow House might actually be the perfect thing for me right now.
I applied, interviewed, interviewed, interviewed, and waited. A whirlwind month after I learned of the position, I accepted an offer two days before I graduated from Wake.
My responsibilities are simple and sporadic. I will serve as a resource for the 10-15 undergrads living and studying in the house each semester, keep track of the linens and towels that come and go from a cleaning service each week, help the visiting professor with anything she/he might need, and be available to show service men the latest plumbing or washing machine problem. I'll get to do some coordinating and hosting over the holidays, but I think that's about it.
Given that I'll have some free time on my hands, I began looking into opportunities that would incorporate my counseling degree. This led to a connection with the Vienna Christian School, an English-speaking international school that conveniently has use for a part-time volunteer counselor (my visa does not permit me to have a paying job). The school knows that my responsibilities to Wake Forest may take me away at any moment to let an electrician in the house or pull a student out of the Danube, so I think it should work pretty well.
So that's that. I am thrilled to have an opportunity to serve a variety of folks in simple ways this year. I am also pretty nervous about the whole moving-to-Europe part of what's before me. I don't know German. I've been learning a little at a time (thank you, Amanda), but it's been rough. Aside from the language, I don't know that I've ever entered a situation knowing less about what it will look like and how I will react. But that's good for me, I think.
