Location: Yep, still Horn, Austria
Well I guess my “real world” is a little unusual, but it’s hitting me pretty hard right now. Living by myself in a town where I can barely understand people is difficult, not to mention with the added stress of being away from my family and friends.
Anyway, I’ve been able to explore my town a little more. Tonight I went on a walk while the sun was setting. It deepened my appreciation for Horn and also made me excited to tackle the Wald Viertle (surrounding forest). Since I’ve decided to stay in Horn this weekend and clear my mind I should have plenty of time over the next few days. Part of my walk took me through a near by neighborhood. The houses here are adorable! All are painted with bright blues, yellows or greens and have flowers on the windowsills as well as the garden. Unfortunately, I didn’t take my camera with me tonight, but I’ll try to get some pictures of them later.
I have also been able to improve my German this week. Actually, I’ve been given several opportunities. The hot water quit working at my apartment. (I can’t imagine this happening in the U.S., but this seems to be a common occurrence among Americans living here…) So that made for:
Opportunity #1: I got the opportunity to speak to my landlord on the phone (difficult) as well as in person (less difficult) about the lack of water and a broken shower thing (not sure of the English word). Two and a half days later and the hot water is back. This may not seem like a big deal, but trust me there are many things you need hot water for, not just showers. Opportunity #2: Awkward mini-party at one of my schools (with champagne?!) whereI felt I needed to talk to someone. So, I struck up a German conversation with the French teacher, who also speaks English. I struggled through it with no major mishaps. No, I did not have any champagne. Opportunity #3: My doorbell rang the other day and no one else answered (there are three other middle aged men living in the same house as me-like the YMCA! plus Ali). I went to the door to discover two construction workers . After about 5 min of me apologizing for my horrendous German/my lack of ability to understand their thick dialect, I realized they wanted to look at a room. After all what YMCA is complete without a construction worker? Of course, I didn’t let them in and I think I told them to contact the landlord via email.
Well, I guess I’ll go cook myself dinner and watch some German NCIS. Exciting evening at the YMCA, I know.
The Foreign Traveler 