Spotlight on the Strassenbahn

We want you to get to know a bit about something we do everyday - ride the Strassenbahn (say SHTRAHssen bawn). So the following pictures and descriptions show a little bit about what it's like. :) It's basically a streetcar - of which there are probably hundreds around Vienna going all day long on various routes. They run on electricity and there are usually two cars attached with one driver in the front. Smoking isn't allowed on them (good thing!), but eating and drinking is. You see and hear all kinds of people and can learn about the Austrian way of personal space, eye contact, right-of-way, etc. It's pretty fun if you have the right attitude! Hope you enjoy it!

The sign to look for is the one that says Strassenbahn Haltestelle. It means "streetcar stop". 

What's that off in the distance?? It's a bird. It's a plane! It's a Strassenbahn!! 

Almost here..... 

Now The Strassenbahn is here and it's time to get on! 

The entrance to the Strassenbahn. That's Lisa and Andy Larson getting on (Andy's silly). To get on, you have to push the button above the Blue sign that says "Entwerter".
 

A sign inside the Strassenbahn above the door. They basically say "Warning - keep the doorway clear - the doors close themselves" and "Want to get off? Please push the button at the right time." By the way - what is the "right time"???? Things that make you go hmmmmmmmmm....... in Austria.
 

A view inside the Strassenbahn including Anne. :)
 

The 9th graders in one of Chris' Bible classes. 

But it's coooooold!!!

I just finished teaching P.E. to the middle school boys (6th-8th grade). It's a very energetic group, and not always so easy to handle. Good thing that I have a co-coach, Dan Hanna, to help me out.
So, we've been teaching American Football - totally new and confusing to some, and very familiar to others. It's been pretty fun - eventhough I'm not so good at football. Anyhow, today has been probably the coldest day here so far - maybe around 40 or 45 degrees Farenheit. And it's windy also - making for some cold little hands on those boys.
Cold weather + middle school boy hands + wind = whiny time. It was funny at times and sometimes bothersome - but we made it through. They were running around with their hands inside their shirts and sweatshirts, while still trying to catch the ball. Some of them just couldn't believe that people play that game in rain and snow and really really cold weather.
I think that will help them remember to bring their sweatshirts from now on. :)

The Staff Retreat

I'm not sure if some of you were praying for the past weekend we had at the VCS staff retreat. If you did, thank you so much! It was so great to be there. Really refreshing, some great speaking by a guy I knew from my time in Austria a few years ago, playing lots of sports, and a fun "not so talented show". I think our upcoming newsletter in the mail will have a little more details so I'll leave it at that. I feel more rested after this weekend than any yet - plus encouraged about how God is working in me to change me and use me for whatever he wants here at VCS and wherever else.

This is us and our friends and neighbors, the Hannas, overlooking the city of Vienna. 

Hey Dad!!! Does this shirt look familiar?? :) 

my fourth grade class outside VCS 

that was ME

hey...the fourth grade one was from ME...anne.
thanks!
i'm so excited to be ON THE BLOG now.

a note from fourth grade

Okay, so I never thought fourth graders could come up with questions like the ones I've been hearing over the past few weeks. Wow! One boy asked me whether all water is holy because his father's priest says it is. Another boy asked me if God created only one continent and then it split apart into seven continents years after creation. I mean, really!
I have 13 kids in my class, and I think seven nations represented. Four kids are from South Korea, one from Nigeria, one from the Phillipines, one from Pakistan, one from England, a couple from Austria, and a few from the U.S.A.
It's been so much fun for me to watch kids from all over the world play dodgeball, eat lunch, speak English, and laugh together. Kids are the same everywhere...wow.

This is a cool shirt!! It's sorta bitter-sweet though, since Fisher's amazing shot was all for naught in the end. And now he's left us for Golden State. Oh well 

Volleyball and other sports

I've started being an assistant coach for the girls volleyball team at VCS. It's pretty cool, but athletics just aren't quite as serious here as they are in the US. The school here is much smaller (200 something students) so there aren't as many interested or that are very experienced. Also, it just seems that sport in general isn't quite as big of a deal (in Austria) - especially women's sports. VCS is a little different since it's an American-International school, though. Anyhow, we practice two times a week, and I feel like I'm the mean coach - I push them more. I think that's thanks to Eugene Kim (if you know him, you'll appreciate this more) since he taught me most everything I know about coaching volleyball. And compared to him I'm a softy.

Anyhow, we have only had 2 practices so far, and we have our first game next Monday in Bratislava. That's about an hour away - actually across the Austrian border just into Slovakia. I hear that this school is even smaller than VCS, so I think we have a chance of competing and winning.

Also, I'm co-teacher of 2 middle school boys PE classes. It's pretty fun most of the time. We're teaching them basketball now, but we they can't seem to focus very well or we feel they just need a good work out - we drill them. :) We use everything from leap frog to push ups to wheelbarrow races to "up-downs" (a football drill). It's pretty fun to watch them work themselves into shape. But don't worry - they are STILL junior highers and they still go crazy, we just try to get them in shape in the mean time.

Lieblingslehrer

I'm not sure if that is the right word in German for what I want to say, but I just wanted to say that I was just called that by a kid in my PE class. It's a kid that joined school late and his name is Dejan (say day-YAWN) - he was born in Austria and speaks alomst no English. So it's good practice for my German to speak with him. He's a 7th grader I think...
And just now in PE he said that I'm his favorite teacher - that's what the subject of this was supposed to mean.
Well, time for the staff meeting. Tschuss!!

As I type

There is a Polish guy in our apartment repairing the walls. He actually speaks less German than me since he's only been here one month. But I guess he knows what he's doing - speaking the international language of wall and tile repair. :) I'd take a picture, but I don't want to freak him out. By the way, he must be 6'6" - and I'm sure he could hurt me if he wanted. But he seems really nice.
Yay for Polish repair men!!