thanksgiving in greece

The students and I just spent five days in Greece--three days on the island of Santorini, bookended by some time in Athens. Click here to read up on Santorini; the volcanic island has an incredible history.

In short, the trip was wonderful. We spent a lot of time traveling (the high-speed ferries don't run during the off-season, so it took 8 hours to get from Athens to Santorini) but the island was absolutely worth the time it took to get there.


I would much prefer to be writing some good stories for you right now, but I've got to spend the majority of the next two days finishing my work for the book chapter.

You can see some of my pictures from Santorini here: http://bethstravelpictures.shutterfly.com/ I'll get the Athens ones up in the next few days.

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving holiday!

60 hours in london

I had not planned to visit London this year. I've never really had a burning desire to go, and I figured it would be a relatively easy place to visit in years to come (as opposed to, say, Cracow). But when my friend Elizabeth told me she'd have a great hotel room for 10 days, I decided to book a flight.

My goal for the weekend was simply to see friends and have fun walking around. Thus, my only foray into touristy research consisted of two '36 Hours in London' articles, hastily printed before I ran out the door on Thursday (have you ever read these? The New York Times has a series of travel recommendations for people spending a short amount of time in almost any city--here are the ones for Pittsburgh, Nashville, and Winston. Next time you head someplace, see if they have one for your destination. The writing is crisp and the itineraries will give you a good mix of on and off the beaten path.)

Favorite moments--

• Seeing Phantom of the Opera where it got its start! Elizabeth and I had great seats. Set, singing, and falling chandelier were all spectacular.
• Walking along the Thames River--great views of the city, the Globe Theater, and interesting people watching.

• Grazing at the Borough Market. This was recommended by one of my 36 Hours articles. We had so much fun talking to vendors, watching Londoners mill around, and trying samples of cheese, cider, pesto, and various other delicious things. I'll be trying to recreate the following at some point--
  

• We ended up with freshly made pumpkin tortellini for lunch--glorious--and a variety of chocolate truffles for dessert (the apple cinnamon and cayenne pepper were my favorites). I bought tea here; I would much prefer to support these people than Harrod's.

• Elizabeth and I met our mutual friend Andy on Thursday and Friday evenings for pints at places near the London School of Economics (Thursday) and Leicester Square (Friday). Andy is studying at the LSE for a year before heading to law school. (Unfortunately, Kate from Vanderbilt was ill this week and couldn't meet us, but I'll see her in Vienna in just a few weeks.)

• Window shopping on Oxford Street. Christmas decorations were out in full force...I'm sorry I didn't take some pictures for you.
• Walking through Hyde Park to see lots of little dogs, statues, and a Christmas market. Our hotel room overlooked Hyde Park (and the rest of London!).

• 3-6:30pm on Friday: a quick stop at the hotel turned into 3 hours of watching American television and eating the truffles we had picked out earlier.
  

• Thanksgiving dinner! What a blessing this was. Elizabeth connected with a lovely WFU-affiliated family when she was in London in September, and they invited us and other ex-pat friends for a classic Thanksgiving meal Saturday night. I won't get all melodramatic on you, but I will admit that sometimes it feels like a bittersweet privilege to experience the holiday season over here. Turkey with strangers doesn't seem as though it would help matters much, but I continue to be pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to instantly connect with Americans living abroad. We all seem to have a similar hodgepodge of feelings, challenges, and triumphs that come with being away from America. I left that dinner with an invitation to come back and stay in the home of the family who hosted us as well as an offer to put in a good word should I decide that I'd like to be a school counselor in London next year.
  

(the obligatory Big Ben picture, which highlights the obligatory cloudy weather)

This week, my goals are to finish editing my book chapter and to compile a new set of dinner options for Jane. I'll have two days to do it, given that we (the students and I) are headed to Greece this Wednesday. What a whirl-wind.

i don't spoil my students.

Mmmm...s'mores.

Marshmallows and especially graham crackers and aren't typically available here. There were some left over from the youth retreat a few weeks ago, so Terry let me have the extras...


...And tonight's showing of Forrest Gump was the perfect occasion to bring them out.

a better country

I have been here three months now.

A lot comes to mind when I look at the sentence above. I spent some time recently reflecting on what a rich experience I've had in such a short span of months. I'll spare you the details, and they're just for me anyway, but I will say this: it's been good. Not really easy (those days don't often make the blog), but absolutely and consistently good.

The only other way I can sum up my take on the last three months is by directing you here, to a translation of Hebrews, chapter 11*. The author is talking about the idea of faith--"being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see," (v. 1) and giving his readers many examples of people who have lived out their faith boldly. My favorite part lies in verses 13-16:

"13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one."

I don't know. When I read this, I am reminded that I will always be a foreigner in a place that doesn't feel as comfortable or livable as I'd like it to be. This constant restlessness will always lead me back to Jesus.


*This is a New International Version translation, but the Bible I have with me here is a Holman Christian Standard Bible--the language is a bit more updated and most scriptures have links to cross-references. The Message is another good translation to pair with whatever you might be reading--the language is almost conversational. Click around the translations on the website I've linked above if you want.

christmas for a month and a half

It seems that, since there isn't a Thanksgiving holiday in Austria to keep people busy, they just head right into Chirstmas after Halloween's over.



Last night, some of my students and I went to the Christmas Market at the Rathaus (town hall building), which just opened this weekend. Before long, the city will be covered with smaller versions of the market we visited. Rows of little wooden houses decorated with pine branches and lights sell everything Christmas and Austria related: ornaments, roasted chestnuts, nativity scenes, a traditional mulled wine (really good...served hot in mugs), gingerbread, homemade candles, pretzels the size of frisbees, etc.. Vienna's known for its Christmas season, and now I'm beginning to understand why.







The Rathaus is all gussied up for the Holidays, and each window along the top of the building is covered by a number (1-24) to make a giant Advent calendar. I'm not sure what will be behind the windows, but I'll be sure to document it for you.


The 24th window is the big one in the middle...must be some sort of grand finale.

We were completely giddy when we left (80% because of the atmosphere and 20% because of the wine), and I have no doubt I'll be frequenting this and other Christmas markets until they close down on Christmas eve. Am off to the grocery store to shop for a salmon and lentil dish I'll be cooking for Jane and Bill tonight. Terry has my favorite cookbooks (Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa series), so I've been borrowing them and using the photocopier in our library to stock up on new recipes. Earlier today I counted all the outgoing linens for our linen service, walked Terry's dogs, and took a student to the doctor for what turned out to be a case of strep throat. Good day. Thank you Christmas markets and Barefoot Contessa.

door bells and sleighbells and...

WIENER SCHNITZEL!

I've had these pictures for quite a while now but am just getting around to loading them up. We had a schnitzel-making class in place of German about a month ago.

When I say 'schnitzel,' the first thing that may come to mind is a song from the Sound of Music, a movie whose course of events and Hollywood filming took place a few hours from Vienna. Schnitzel with noodles, however, is found only in kitschy restaurants trying to snag American tourists. Schnitzel, particularly Wiener Schnitzel (which translates to Viennese Schnitzel), is most often served with french fries or a European-style potato salad (made with a vinegar dressing instead of a mayonnaise-based one) as well as a slice of lemon to squeeze on top. The best schnitzels are made with veal, but you'll often see pork and chicken schnitzels around the block. I've had it at least four times since I've been here; it's really good.

So. Our pictures below will take you through the schnitzel-making process, step by step. If raw meat grosses you out, I suggest you wait a few days for the next blog posting.


Jamie here is using a mallet to pound the already-thin cuts of veal to an even thinner state. It's loud and you have to be careful for the little drops of meat juice that are apt to fly everywhere.




The next step isn't one you might think about. One must essentially cut fringe around the edges of the meat. This keeps the schnitzel from curling up when it's fried later in the process.



Isn't this picture totally gross AND cool at the same time? Both sides of the meat are then dipped into an egg mixture.



Special bread crumbs are next. This picture was taken after many schnitzels were dipped in the bread crumbs...so everything's a little more eggy looking than it might otherwise be.




Here we have a glorious pile of raw schnitzel.

I don't have a frying picture, but this video should give you a sense. An equal ratio of oil and butter was poured into a pan and heated. Schnitzels don't take long to cook because they're so thin...so a few minutes on each side, and you've soon got a golden brown crispy piece of meat for your platter.



Schnitzels are fun to make with lots of people because everyone can have a job along the assembly line.



Those who don't have a job with the meat can be working on the potato salad. I forget what's involved here, but there are definitely a lot of potatoes and onions in that bowl. Generally speaking, I like this kind of potato salad a lot more than the mayonnaisey stuff in America.



Here's the finished product--our schnitzel feast in the dining room. You might be able to see the bottles of apple juice and seltzer water on the table. Austrians love apfelsaft gespritzer, which is simply apple juice mixed with seltzer water. I order it sometimes...it's good.

what's coming up

This is for you, Grandma. Love you.

11/20-23: London trip with Elizabeth Voelker, my new friend who does international recruiting for Wake.
11/24-25: Christian Marshall comes to visit!!! Christian is a dear friend from Vanderbilt who has been doing graduate work (viola) in Vienna last year and Graz (2 hours south) this year.
11/26-30: Athens and Santorini for Thanksgiving with my students.
12/3-5: Kate Morgan (friend from Vanderbilt) and her parents visit Vienna!
12/12: Students' last day here in Austria. So sad.
12/13-15: Perhaps some skiing or at least a visit to Salzburg to see Liz Kilpatrick (friend from camp).
12/17-27: Christmas Vacation package here in the house. Wake alumni and their families (19 people) will be here for Christmas, along with a Wake professor and his wife. I'll be decorating beforehand, walking them to grocery stores, and doing lots of other hostess-y sorts of things.
12/19-22: Cortney Newell, one of my former campers and dear friends, will make Vienna her last stop on her Fall semester abroad (she's been in Florence)!
12/25: Nutcracker at the Staatsoper with Kristi (Jeremy will be playing)!

november? really?

I wrote the first half of this ten days ago. As life here gets more complicated, it's harder to sit down and pound out exactly what's going on in my planner and in my head.

The last few weeks have been an absolute blur--so much has happened that I can't believe it's only been three weeks since I was in Spain on Fall Break. I suppose this means I don't feel like my life is some sort of strange vacation anymore. I have definitely put down roots here in Vienna--how do I know?

• Someone just called to see what I'm up to for dinner
  
• I borrowed food from a neighbor the other day
  
• I have something concrete going on each day of the week
  
• I've hosted guests in my house
  
• I babysat last Thursday evening

The more I build a life here, though, the less connected I feel to relationships and places back in the states. I will never know what to do with this trade-off, particularly given that I'm supposed to be back in the US in just six months.

So that's how I'm doing--not entirely sure when I zoom out and think too hard about it, but well in general.


My goodness, there's so much to tell you. I suppose I'll resort to some bulleted highlights (that often become paragraphs) yet again...not sure what order to put all of this in, so just read what you want until you get tired of it.

• I found pumpkin. Rather, it found me--Houston, my Vanderbilt friend who came to visit wth his sister and her classmates, brought me three 29 ounce cans of Libby's 100% pumpkin. I've used one and sometimes open up my kitchen cabinet to make sure the other two are still there. What a great week I had with these folks. Best part (well, there were many best parts) was a trip up to the Vienna Woods on the outskirts of the city. Vineyards, hiking, and great views...what else do you need?

• Both before and after Fall Break (10/10-19), I enjoyed spending time with my new friend Elizabeth. Elizabeth works for Wake Forest as an international admissions counselor; she's in month two of a three-month tour of Europe, and in the spring she'll spend another three months in Asia. She contacts international schools and travels to a new country every few days to speak to students about Wake Forest--a great opportunity, but totally crazy (she rarely sleeps in the same bed twice). She used the Flow House as a base for speaking to students in Austria and the Czech Republic. We really enjoyed talking about our time in Europe and life in general (she's thinking about doing the Wake Counseling program), and decided it would be fun to hang out again. So, I'll head to London next weekend to share her Wake Forest-sponsored hotel room and see the city (as well as a Vanderbilt and another Wake Forest friend) for a few days!

• Two of the students found a big pumpkin for 14 euro, and we carved it a few days before Halloween. I tried my hand at roasting pumpkin seeds and had success with a cinnamon seasoning I found online. Below are Megan, Sophie (our Wake professor's daughter), and Katie with the pumpkin:

• Halloween weekend was spent with forty middle and high schoolers and seven other leaders around my age for our church's annual youth retreat. I was involved with some of the planning (and a lot of the baking!) for this weekend, and once again was thankful for all the summers I spent as a camp counselor at Summer's Best. I had a small group of four ninth grade girls, and loved getting to know them a bit as well as listening to them struggle with questions of faith (two of my girls considered themselves to be Christians, one had dropped out of her Catholic confirmation class, and one had been raised in a Muslim family). Terry Kole, who's been like a surrogate mom/great friend to me here, was mostly in charge of things; she pays incredible attention to details and as a result the kids were treated to a ridiculous amount of baked goods, excellent presenters and music, afternoon workshops (drama, cartooning, sports, photography, etc.)...basically a non-stop amazing weekend. My dear friend Kristi put together a great video using footage from the weekend. You'll see me eating cupcake crumbs toward the end...classic. Watch it here if you'd like to...she did a GREAT job.
  

Leaders from top left: Bill and Laurie Matthewson (they live down the street and I babysit their four kids often), Petrina (friend from Tanzania who's lived in Vienna for the last ten years), Kristen (American but grew up in Vienna), Kristi (see below), me, Peter (from here but sounds American; he heads up the youth group stuff and our whole church teases him because they think he looks like Barack Obama), Patrick (student at University of Illinois who's studying here this fall; his roommate goes to Vanderbilt!), and Em (from South Africa and working here as an au pair). The couple standing on the right is Scarlett and George Tice; they live in Ireland now but lived in Vienna during the last eight years. And sweet Terry is the blonde sitting below them.

• Have I told you about Kristi? What a blessing she's been to me during the short time I've known her! Kristi and her husband Jeremy are from a little town near Nashville, and she studied at Belmont while I was at Vanderbilt (Belmont's a great school located just down the street from Vandy...Kim and I used to walk through it all the time). She graduated in '04, got married soon after that, and last year an absolutely incredible turn of events led them to Vienna where Jeremy has become the only American to play for the world-renowned Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (the best orchestra in Vienna and some say in the world...!). He plays the trombone. Jeremy and Kristi are expecting their first BABY sometime around Christmas! Anyway. You'll hear lots about Kristi in months to come, I'm sure (last night we went out to dinner near Shonbrunn and then back to her apartment for hot chocolate). She updates her blog a lot more consistently than I do these days, and it's especially fun to go back and read some of her entries from when they were adjusting to life in Vienna -- http://theviennawilsons.net/.

• Last weekend, the students and I visited Cracow, Poland on our third and last university-sponsored trip. What a great city--I'll get some pictures up in a few hours and write a little more about our time there at some point (I know I always say that...this time I'll try to do it). This picture is right after I asked them to make Renaissance arches (Megan down in the corner there thought I said something about hearts and wasn't sure what was going on):

• London this weekend, and GREECE the weekend after that! The students and I are going to Athens and Santorini for our long Thanksgiving weekend, and we're getting really excited about it. I have spent many hours researching hostels, hotels, ferries, and other logistical and touristy things for the trip (I am busy around here, but I don't have to do papers and reading like they do...). Most things are worked out at this point but so much shuts down at the end of October that it's difficult to know exactly what will be available to us once we get there. Somehow, I think we'll be okay. :)

• I continue to cook dinners twice a week for Jane and Bill (a busy American couple who live right across from the Rathaus!). As I described when I first moved here, grocery shopping can be quite an adventure around here, but I've got a pretty good gameplan for my cooking days. Just skip down to the next bullet if you don't really care. Here's what I do--first, I walk (about 15 minutes) down to the BioMarkt, one of Vienna's best organic grocery stores. Recipe (and index card with food translations) in hand, I usually can find at least two or three things I need here. For the rest, it's on to EuroSpar (twice as big as my local Spar Gourmet, it boasts a greater selection and better consistency but still doesn't compare to an American grocery store). A tramline just down the street from EuroSpar can take me to InterSpar (the MOTHER of all grocery stores in Vienna. I was there yesterday and just wandered for ten minutes before I even put anything in my basket!) if I am still missing something for the meal, but so far I've not had to play that card while cooking for Jane. Then, it's back home for as much advance prep as I can do (chopping vegetables, that sort of thing). I pack up my groceries and prepared food in a cute shopping bag, and hop on the bus to go down to Jane's house. The bus drops me off about five minutes from her condominium, so I enjoy a leisurely walk through a fun part of town (stopping at a butcher along the way if my meal requires a special kind of meat) and buzz her to be let in. Once dinner is well on its way, I let Jane know what she needs to do to complete it ("Here's some fresh oregano; when Bill gets home, just throw that in the soup and you can serve it 3 minutes later!") and am on my way with reimbursement for my groceries, a generous reward for my time, and often a fun coupon or set of tickets she doesn't think she'll be able to use. So much fun, not to mention how lucky I am to be able to have someone else pay for my kitchen experiments! I've been cooking (well, baking) for the students quite a bit as well. Kurt especially liked this carrot cake with melted chocolate on top.

• Hmmm, what else. I got a haircut yesterday. Despite the fact that I live in a country where I can't converse well with people, I decided to have the stylist cut bangs for the first time since I grew out my bowlcut in fourth grade. Armed with a recent picture of Reese Witherspoon, I gave her my best "das ist gut," and let her go to town. Not really...she spoke pretty good English, actually. But, as she was explaining that she was going to cut my bangs a little shorter than Reese's picture dicated, she literally paused, frowned, and used the phrase "well, it is difficult to say in English. But it is best." "Okay," I said. And it was fine. Now, my bangs look almost like they did when I was three. But more Euro.