long-winded highlights

Well, hello. It's been a few days. Time seems to be moving fast around here; my schedule is starting to fill out a bit more with classes, meetings, and working on a project for one of my dear professors back at Wake.

I've seen lots of great things since Tuesday, but unfortunately haven't captured anything on my camera for you. Still, here are some long-winded highlights:

On Thursday, I attended a lecture by American editorial cartoonist Chan Lowe. The US Embassy sponsors lots of great programs which are free to the public. Mr. Lowe's speech essentially explained both the election process and some of the theories about why Americans vote the way they do (he talked a lot about the Religious Right, for example, and said that some base their votes entirely on a candidate's stance on a single issue, like gun control. He also spoke about 9/11's effects on our voting--one of his main points was that fear drives our decisions more than anything else. He argued that Bush's campaign for '04 was successful because he convinced Americans that they should be scared and that his administration would protect them). His speech was illustrated by several political cartoons he had drawn. If you click on his name above, you can see a bunch of them.

I was sitting in quite an international audience (I'd guess there were about 50% more non-Americans than Americans in attendance) during all of this. What an intriguing experience it is to watch someone explain your culture to people who aren't familiar with it! I saw and heard first-hand the anti-Bush feelings among most Europeans (if anyone didn't hate him, they certainly didn't say it!). I was also very interested in the questions people asked after Lowe's lecture. One woman asked (with several others nodding in agreement) why Americans would care at all about an elected official's family or off-the-clock activities. "Because politicians are sold like products," Chan replied. "And when Americans are looking to purchase a product, they want to know everything about it."

There was a lovely reception after the lecture, and I was glad I had dressed up a bit for the occasion. As I was looking for a place to sit, a middle-aged man approached me and told me he absolutely had to tell me something. "You smiled at me when I passed you on the way here," he said, "and I don't think I've ever had that happen leaving the U-bahn [subway]!" He went on to say that Austrians are such stoic people that they rarely greet each other while walking in the city. I wonder how many Austrians I've smiled at and surprised during the last three weeks.

I also met a new friend, Michael, after the lecture. Finally, someone my age who speaks English! Michael is from Washington, D. C. and is doing a foreign services rotation at the Embassy for two months. We enjoyed a visit to the MAK (Museum of Applied Arts) on Saturday, which is housed in a gorgeous 19th century building with just tons of exhibits--we saw collections of East Asian ceramics (absolutely stunning--my favorite exhibit), European lace, stained glass windows, art nouveau fabrics/jewelry/houseware, Austrian designed chairs...if you can wear it/drink from it/sit on it/use it somehow, we saw it. Admission to the MAK is free on Saturdays, but in the three hours we were there I never noticed even the slightest crowd. Click here to read about the museum's collections.

Then, it was off to the grocery store again. Stores close early on Saturdays and remain closed for all of Sunday. There are so few exceptions to this that it's essential to make sure you've got everything you need (chicken and chocolate, pretty much) by mid-day on Saturday.

Most of the students were gone on Friday and Saturday. I didn't mind a quiet house for a few days, but I was glad to have them back Saturday evening. They were full of stories from their travels and definitely in need of showers. We watched Wake Forest beat Ole Miss on the classroom projector; the online feed was just about perfect.

Yesterday, I visited the church from last week and was welcomed by name as soon as I walked in. There was a pot luck lunch after the service, and I met girls my age from Vienna, South Africa, Grand Rapids, and Kenya. As per ususal, the food was amazing.

The last thing that comes to mind is dinner Sunday night. I've been looking forward to cooking for the students since I accepted this position in May. We had a great family-style meal together--sauted chicken with garlic/rosemary, roasted potatoes, and green beans/red peppers. And, everything was ready at the same time...bonus.

I really can't tell you how much I love these students.