Classic Quiz

So, we're in Indiana enjoying time with Anne's family right now. We're about to frost a bunch of Christmas cookies and put together some good questions for a classic Christmas movie trivia quiz. I think we're going to pull stuff from Holiday Inn, White Christmas, It's a Wonderful Life, and Miracle on 34th Street.
Fun, huh?

Are you serious?!?!?!

I've been working on some US tax stuff recently - for myself, and helping some of the newer staff at VCS. There are some different forms to fill out since we're overseas. Anyhow, I was looking through the IRS website, which has all kinds of good info on it. I found this page that is just unbelievable and funny!

Woah!

This is me at 24 weeks, one week ago. That's SIX MONTHS. Wow, I can't believe I'm 6 months pregant. Woah. We went to the doctor the other day, and he reports that Baby Frank, which I've told my class to call Blank Frank, since he has no name yet, weighs in at 950 grams. For those of you who are metrically challenged, that's about 2 pounds. It's amazing to me how much my trust of our doctor skyrockets after we meet with him again. Then it goes down, down, down as I find things to worry about, and then back up when we are reassured that things are okay. You'd think I could just trust him. But alas, I worry about things like preterm labor, chromosomal abnormalities, and flying across the Atlantic being pregnant.
Speaking of, we are flying to the USA in SIX days! We are getting super excited to spend time with both of our families over this short break. No one in the states has seen the belly yet, including YOU, so get ready!
In other pregnant news, I'm super TIRED. It takes all I have to give my energy all day at school and then climb up our stairs to get home. I know it comes with the territory, I'm just not good at being weak. I can usually fight it and just go on, but now my tiredness is taking over! Yikes! I'm trying to find times to nap while my students are at PE or music, so that's helpful. Babies take a lot of work, even before they arrive. Okay, that's enough writing for today. I'm off to bed! Goodnight:).

Christmas Poem by Lydia

One of my fourth graders wrote this poem on her own initiative this week, and I thought it was super cool and wanted to share it with you. Her name is Lydia, and she's Austrian.

I love Christmas!

You celebrate the birth of Jesus
He was born in Bethlehem
I wish I was one of the angels praising him
In Christmas you surely get more than one present
The Christmas cards I made are now ready to send
You get candy in every kind of flavor
But mostly I like Christmas becuase Jesus was born as our Savior!

Audit

Tomorrow's a big day for the business office at VCS. A lawyer/finance guy is coming to the school with his colleague to check out the books.

He might snoop

But he's allowed

He better be gone

Before my eyes droop

What's the stance

of the school cash

Manfred's the man

With our record's

he'll dance.

22 Week Belly Shot

Ooh, Baby Boy Frank is growing! This shot was taken on Thanksgiving Day, BEFORE the feast we enjoyed with some friends. So, maybe now the belly is a few pounds heavier!

Fourth Grade Thanksgiving

Both of these pictures are from the Thanksgiving mini-feast that I had with my class on Wednesday last week. We had food from Japan, India, USA, Nigeria, Austria, and the Philippines. It was worth it to indulge:). We thanked God for all the blessings we enjoy in our home countries before we ate, too. One thing I am thankful for in my home country is YOU!

Weekend in The Hague

I just realized today that I haven't been blogging...so here goes!

I got back late Sunday night from the ECIS conference in The Hague. It was jam packed with learning. I told my students on Monday that I just went to school from 8 to 6 four days in a row. They were impressed, hehe. Really, though, I learned SO MUCH more than I could ever implement this school year. Representatives were there from the International School of Bangkok, Prague, Brussels, The Hague, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Saudi Arabia, and so many more. They imparted wisdom to me and other teachers about teaching science, using portfolios, new books for kids, and having students lead their parent-teacher conferences to name a few. I am really thankful that VCS paid for me to attend this learning-fest! The four of us that went are planning to share all that we learned with our staff during the next few staff meetings.

for you non-German-learning folk

boy

Danktag

A turkey sat
on the backyard fence
and sang this sad, sad tune
Thanksgiving is coming
Gobble gobble gobble gobble
And I know
I'll be eaten soon
Gobble gobble gobble gobble
Gobble gobble gobble
I would like to run away
Gobble gobble gobble gobble
Gobble gobble gobble
I don't like Thanksgiving day
I love it.

Sorry to keep you waiting...

So you might be asking us:
Knabe oder Mädel?

The answer is:
Pimpf! Junge! Bub! Knabe!!

Is this mean and cruel??? I guess it would be if I didn't give you a way to find out the meaning of those words. Never fear - the answer is here. Then type in the word you want to know and hit enter (or click "Suchen"). Then you'll find out!!

What educational fun!

Organ Screen

So, Baby Frank had an organ screening today. It was really amazing to see all the intricate parts - the spine, the brain, the heart, the stomach, the bones all over the body, the eyes, the mouth - just amazing stuff. We heard the heart beat and it was fast! It weighs about 1 pound and is 9.5 inches long.
We were in the same building as where we might have the baby, so we got a tour. It's called Privat Klinik Döbling. The lady was so so nice that spoke to us (which isn't very normal in Austria). The place was so clean, quiet, and seems to have all kinds of the latest technology and nice stuff for people like me that will have to wander around and wait - free drinks, comfy chairs, etc. We were really sold. :)

Oh so you might be wondering if it's a boy or a girl. We aren't. :)
But we can't tell yet. Soon........

Summer Memories

So today I took a walk after school around 5, and it was PITCH DARK. I mean, really! As I walked I dreamed of being in Oden, Michigan, like we were in the summer, where the sun shines until 9:30 or 10 p.m. You can water ski AFTER dinner. Oh, the days! Here's a few Michigan memories from this past summer. Top: Us with Chris's parents, Fred & Judy. Second: Us the night we told our parents were were PREGNANT! Third: Anne's crazy cousin, Laura, making a typical Laura face. Bottom: The grandparents to be: The Franks and the Luginbills.

The Business Manager Hard at Work

Chris definitely works hard every day at V.C.S. These are a few shots of his office, which he is proudly decorating more and more as the year goes on. One of his favorite things is the green dog dish on his desk filled with candy for his visitors. Maybe you should make a visit to the Business Manager's office sometime soon. You might win a yummy treat!

Watch out world...Baby Frank is coming!

If you can't see the blue shirt...it says "we're hungry." It was fun to wear it to school yesterday! The we're hungry shirt is 19 weeks, the green t-shirt is 18 weeks. The belly is ever-growing! Watch out world...Baby Frank is coming!

Winter is Coming with Kicks and Punches

The time changed this past weekend, signaling the approach of a stinging winter in Vienna. Ooooh. Bring out the turkeys, cookies and sprinkles, white lights, and presents! I'm ready for the holidays! Really, though, yesterday it was completely dark by 5:15 p.m. in Vienna, and we were shocked but probably shouldn't have been. It has been this way year after year here, but after long summer days our shock is still renewed.

In other news...Baby Frank has kicked its first kick and punched its first punch! I'm pretty sure that over the last few days Baby Frank has begun his or her workout routine that will supposedly continue for the next few months inside the cozy space of my belly. It feels like little hits now and then, and sometimes it feels like bubbles inside. A sensation I've clearly never felt before. Woah. Signs of life. That's really amazing.

Smart Car

We just had a 4 day weekend since it's Fall Break for VCS. Anne and I went to Guntramsdorf - the town where I used to live - and stayed at the International Teams hospitality house. It was amazing weather, inexpensive, and relaxing. Plus - we rented a SMART CAR!! Those things are so cool - and it actually didn't feel cramped or anything inside. It has a sort of manual/automatic transmission.

Anne Frank in Holland

So yeah, Anne is going to leave me for a few days. Sad.
But as I was reading what she wrote, I had a thought. It might seem to you that "Woah!! She's going to Holland just for a conference! Dang, it must be nice to do crazy travelling like that!" Or maybe something else along those lines.

Well, from a European perspective, it's not quite as big of a deal. It's more like saying I'm going to a conference just outside of Denver, Colorado. Cool, maybe. Awesome if you love the Broncos. But otherwise, it's not THAT big of a deal. It's a little more like that for Europe - lots of countries that aren't so big, close together. Oh yeah, and the school is paying for it. :)

So, there's my 2 cents.

National Holiday in Oesterreich

Today is a National Holiday in Austria. 50 years ago today the Russian, American, British, and French occupation officially left Austria and Austria became it's own free republic since before World War 2. It was an exciting day for Austrians. John Foster Dulles was one of the 2 American representatives who signed the treaty giving freedom to Austria at the Upper Belvedere Palace on October 26, 1955. Most Austrians are not particularly patriotic, but today they'll celebrate with a military parade around the city's Ringstrasse, which means Ring Road, and I believe that some Russian soldiers are coming to pay their respects. Chris and I are going to check it out after our work day at school. Congrats to Austria!

Trip to Holland!

Good news! I was asked by my principal to attend a conference put on by the European Council of International Schools with four other V.C.S. staff members in Holland in a few weeks. I'm so excited for this professional opportunity to learn more about international education and bring it back to the others. I will be attending workshops and seminars primarily focused on elementary education, curriculum development, and student learning. The conference is in The Hague, which is close to Amsterdam, and I think we'll have one whole day to check it out, which is fun. Here are some links for those of you who are interested in more information about the conference or The Hague.
www.ecis.org
www.denhaag.com
I'll keep you posted in a few weeks on what I learn:).

Photos from Fall Festival

Fall Festival at VCS

This last Friday was a really fun annual event at VCS...Fall Festival. It's a night when families and teachers come together and we play all kinds of games and enjoy yummy treats from all over the world. I'm loving the international food aspect of living here. Not too long ago I went to an Indian cooking class put on by some Indian moms at our school. Ohhh, yummy. I'm inspired to branch out in my cooking skills.
Anyway, at Fall Festival all the choirs and bands perform, and some elementary kids too. There's a raffle for the Library to earn money to buy German and Reference books, and the prize is a fully equipped Thanksgiving basket. I can't even imagine the value it has, turkey included! We didn't win...bummer. There's also a Student Council Pie in the Face contest, where people put money in jars with teachers' names on them. The jar with the most money in it requires that the teachers whose names are on it get pied! Chris was pied last year, but this year he didn't win. The pies were still extremely funny, though!
That's about it from Fall Festival. I helped paint faces for kids, and Chris roamed around and did security since he's on the Administration Team this year with his new job. It was a really fun night! The photos above are from that night:).

16 week portrait of Baby Frank :)

So we visited Dr. Husslein last Wednesday to get our latest portrait of Baby Frank. Exciting! Sorry the portrait is kinda fuzzy, but here's how to navigate it. The head is at the bottom in the center-rightish area. As you curve around up and to the left, you see the lit up spine. That's really amazing. In another shot we have you can see each individual vertebrae. As you curve up more you get to the butt, then around is the upper leg, and then the shin bone is pointing straight up. I guess it's the left side? Yeah. Another fun fact: Dr. Husslein says that every baby always has something that grows faster so it's bigger through development than other parts. He likes to watch what will be bigger in each baby, and in Baby Frank, the FEET are big! He lauged about it on Wednesday, and told me that this will even out with the rest of the growth by April 1st. Maybe Baby Frank is destined to be a soccer player with fancy footwork? Hope so!

Anne & Sophie

Anne & Sophie on the observation deck at the Donauturm. Sophie was born in Austria, but her mom is Austrian and her dad is Egyptian. He is a missionary full time, and travels to Arabic speaking countries to spread the Gospel. It's a cool thing. Sophie's mom is pregnant with their fifth child, and is due a month before me. Sophie is the oldest of four girls right now. Wow, that's a houseful! Funny story...Sophie asked me to explain sex to her a while ago. She had read some article about it in a church magazine and was wondering why a man might want to force this girl to have sex if he didn't want a baby. It was a really interesting conversation, to say the LEAST. Wow. Fourth graders really think!

Girls:)

These are some third and fourth grade girls on the observation deck of the Donauturm. They were freezing, but they had fun!

Donauturm field trip

My class visited this tower, the Donauturm, yesterday on a field trip. We rode the lift 150 meters to the observation deck and observed a lot of Vienna and the surrounding areas. This tower is just next to the Donau, or the Danube River, that runs through Vienna. The Austrian government requires that all children in school in Austria learn about Austrian history, culture, geography, etc., so we have a special teacher for this each Monday. Her name is Brigitte Condell, and she and her husband actually went to the U2 concert with Chris this past summer. She's Austrian and her husband is Irish. They're great people, and she is completely a volunteer at our school. No money. No support. Just giving. That's it. Oh yeah, there's a revolving restaurant on the top of the tower, and they have a special deal going on now so Chris and I made reservations for Christmas time. Fun!

16 Week Baby Facts

Well...I've been searching on babycenter.com over the past few days, and I've learned a few interesting things about our 16 week old baby.
1. He or she can hear sound now, not just vibrations, since the ears are close to fully developed, so Chris is prepping the iPod with Crispy's hits so the baby can learn early about U2, Lenny Kravitz, Ben Folds, and other of dad's favorite bands.
2. He or she is 4.5 inches long and weighs about 3.5 ounces. Imagine an avocado in my stomach.
3. His or her heart is pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and that's suppose to increase to 190 by month 9!
4. Toe nails are starting to form this week.
I think that's about it for now. I've really loved babycenter.com because they email me and say, "Hi, Anne, you're 16 weeks pregnant. Here are some things you should know this week." Then it is really great to find out about everything from clothes to healthy snacks to birthing videos. I'm not so anxious about those videos, yet:).
We're going to the doctor on Wednesday, so stay tuned for more information about Baby Frank!

Pulling Out My Hair

Not literally. I feel like it some days, though. Uggh. My student teacher has officially taken over my classroom this week, and she'll be fully in charge until November 17th. I'm stuck in this tension between being involved to advise and make sure the kids are still learning and I also need to be disconnected some so Elizabeth can have time to herself, experiment, do it her style. But it's making me crazy. I literally have 4 weeks with NOTHING to do at school. I've been getting jobs from other teachers, making games for them, laminating, or searching for information on the internet, but it's not teaching, which is why I'm here. So I'm stuck, and pulling my hair out. I'd rather be in or out. Not in between. I heard today that's a characteristic of my personality type according to the Myers-Briggs Personality Test. I'm and ESFJ, and something that comes with it is an all or nothing mentality. I'm definitely that. And right now I'm not all or nothing. It stinks.

Picture of the Day

It's been a while since I've done one of these (a Picture of the Day, not a tatoo, silly). Now what you have to ask yourself is:
1. Is this considered a concealed weapon?
2. Do you feel lucky?

Well..... do ya?

Might Sound Boring to you

So, as I'm starting to get used to my new job as the business manager, I'm having a little time here and there that I can work on stuff that isn't urgent. That can be kinda fun for me. One example is that I've changed a couple forms that people use regularly. Usually a few times a day, various teachers and staff come into my office and cash a US check with me. It's a service we do for them to save some time, hassle, and money in exchanging money to Euros. They write a US check to the school and I give them Euros in cash or I transfer Euros to their Austrian bank account. Anyhow, the little form that they fill out to do this is old and confusing. I've fixed it up to make it simple and included the new school logo too. :)
Honestly, that was pretty fun for me to do. There still are another 5 or 10 forms I plan to do in time.

A little more skin than before!!

Visually Speaking

Budapest

I'm probably going there tomorrow with the volleyball team (as a coach). It's about a 3 hour drive to the international school there. But there's a chance the game will be cancelled because of injuries and some of the girls not getting visas to be able to go into Hungary. Citizens of the US have it pretty easy in most countries, but some citizens of other countries have to do a lot of work to be able to go into another country.

I'm kinda hoping I won't have to go, honestly. It'd be nice to get ahead on some projects in the office - wow that sounds so desk-jobish. Hmmm....I guess that's what I have. Speaking of, I've been thinking about working on an MBA. It'd help my with my job, give me good training for whatever in the future, and VCS would pay for it (I'm pretty sure). Seems like IU would be the natural choice - for location and since Kelley School of Business is a top business school from what I've heard. Top of what? Top of the pile of spaghetti? Top of old smokey? Top of the world?

Something like that.

Peeping Toms

So, we've had construction going on to our building for about a year. Some days it's been frustrating - like the days when they seemed to be dropping 50 pound metal bars right above our bedroom at 7am on a Saturday, or when they covered all of our windows with a thick plastic and duct tapped all the edges down. Prison-like? You decide.
Anyhow - one of the funner things about all of this is the fact that they have scaffolding around the entire building. This past week, there have been guys out there sanding the entire building (made of stone I think) and now they're doing painting preparations. The funny part is seeing guys RIGHT outside our windows. Plus we live on the 4th floor and these guys are yelling and singing in Kosovar or Macedonian or some Baltic language.

We are: low on privacy, high on entertainment.

There we go!

So, we finally got the picture to load correctly!
OK, so she's been getting a little more hungry than normal. Snacks are important, of course, but the size of the snacks are needing to be bigger. Interesting thing is, though, that as of her last doctor appointment, she hadn't gained any weight. According to the doc, it's no problem. He says don't eat for two and exercise and almost act like nothings different. He's really laid back and it helps relax us too. :)

14 Weeks

I'm not sure why, but the picture won't load right now. You'll just have to wait and trust me that it looks like Anne has a plate stuck in her belly.

Showing

Anne is.

I'm going to take a picture right now. :)

Solomon's Wisdom

So Chris and I decided to lead a bible study this year for some of our fellow staff. We did this in Bloomington, too, and really enjoyed doing it, so we're taking it on again. So far we've met a few times and we're studying Ecclesiastes. Our goal is to open the Bible, read it, and talk about it. It's just a simple time to come and eat and talk. Honestly, I thought the book was all about wisdom, and how things are meaningless! There is much more to be learned, as we've noticed over the past few weeks. We're also making dinner for them, too, which is a huge blessing especially to those who are coaching high school sports who make it to our place just in time after practice. I LOVE being able to do this for people, and Chris is doing a great job guiding our study through the Bible. Stay tuned for more:).

Letting Go

I'm learning of this process as I watch Elizabeth, my student teacher, take over my fourth grade class gradually. Right now she is teaching Bible and in charge of all the procedural things including lining kids up in the hallway and taking them to special classes like music. Next week, though, she takes over math, and then science and language arts. Then she'll be the full time teacher and I won't be needed anymore. Wow! Part of that sounds really enticing...what will I do all day long? Email many of you! Part of me, though, is already sad at this idea of losing contact with my students even if it is for only a few weeks. Hmm. I'm learning that letting go and letting someone else take over what I thought was "my" domain is harder than I thought. How can I teach Elizabeth to care for those kids' hearts like I do? How can I teach her to be creative and be sensitive to the kids' learning styles and quirkyness that allows them to succeed? These are questions I've been asking myself recently, and I come up with nothing. A healthy tension between Elizabeth and me needs to exist where she can function freely within my classroom boundaries. Yikes! I need to let her fail sometimes, reflect on her progress, make mistakes, and succeed, because someone did that for me not too long ago. It's just a hard thing to watch and I'm not to the point yet where I'm thankful this has come my way this semester. I've been reading Ecclesiastes for the past few weeks on the U-Bahn in the mornings on my way to school, and one piece of wisdom Solomon discovered in his life was that people come and go and are replaced. Such is life, people are dispensable. So how can I do my job well and still know that someone else could and probably will someday do it better than me? Tough questions to ponder. And with Baby Frank coming next spring, I will face this issue of letting go once again on a grander scale. Maybe God is prepping me for the next step. Letting go of teaching, for a while at least, for something He wants me to invest my time into. Wow. That's big. All for now!

Shelley Comes to Town

It was almost as good as Santa Claus coming to town! Our good friend Shelley came to Vienna last weekend. She just earned a Master's Degree in Counseling from Mars Hill Graduate School in Seattle, WA, and treated herself to a vacation! We spent a few days in Vienna shopping, eating, and hanging out. She met a lot of our friends here from VCS, and then on Sunday she boarded a train to Switzerland. Bye, Shelley!

The latest Baby Picture

So, this little baby inside Anne's belly is 6 or 7 cm long now. I think that's 3 or 4 inches. Pretty amazing. We saw him/her moving his/her arms and stuff all by him/herself. Wow - that's a pain to type it all politically correct. It's easier to use it until we really know.
By the way, our doctor couldn't tell yet if it's a boy or girl yet.
Next month :)

Windy Words

The US national soccer team recently beat Mexico 2-0 in Ohio. This is matchup between two pretty serious rivals, so you can be sure the smack talk was flying.
The win for the US qualified them for the World Cup next year in Germany, while Mexico has yet to qualify. Even after being shut out, Mexico's coach Ricardo Lavolpe said, "The US is a small team. They play like my sister, my aunt, and my grandmother."

Maybe he should recruit some women from his family since they seem to be good enough to beat his national team.

Back to the 80's

Anne, Andie, and Becky decked out in their

80's outfits for a friend's birthday party!

All Are Accounted For, Sir

This is the 4A gang this year at V.C.S. All are accounted

for, healthy, and ready for a great year:). Today was a

great day, and we're ready to roll!

New Year, New Kids, New Student Teacher

Above you see 6 of my 10 fourth graders this year, and our student teacher, Elizabeth. The first day of school she taught a lesson about maps and did an activity with the kids about where they are from. It was really great! She'll be a great addition to our classroom this fall. The kids are so far great, too. I'm going to need them to be a little louder, though! I'm used to a bunch of boys, so this is quite a change. Hopefully the missing four will arrive soon, too. Selyn has the chicken pox, Rina came today, and Adanna and Maryam are not coming until some payment issues have been resolved. So, my class is ever growing. It's fun to only have a few kids, though. They're so much fun to be around.
Just some background, here's the info from left to right:
Lydia, from Austria
Glory, from India
Elizabeth, from Canada and Sweden
Sophie, from Egypt and Austria
Noah, from the USA
Kevin, from India
Elizabeth, (student teacher) from the USA but lived in Peru and Ecuador for 16 years, so yes, she's fluent in Spanish. Wow.
That's all from fourth grade for now!

First Belly Shot

So, this is the 8 and a half week belly. I'm almost 10 weeks now. It's a little bigger now, but I'm still wearing my regular clothes. Lucky for me! I'll keep updating the photos...stay tuned!

A Picture can be worth MORE than a thousand words...

Well, we can't just leave it at that. :) We have a baby on the way and here are the facts:
The baby is due April 1st (that's not a joke).
We want to find out if it's a boy or a girl whenever the doctor can tell.
We don't have any names yet.
We're going to have the baby here in Vienna.
Anne hasn't been very sick.
Anne doesn't care if it's a boy or a girl, but Chris kinda wants a boy.

How's THAT for good news?!?!?!

New Kids on the Block

This might seem a bit overdue...

On August 1st, 9 new V.C.S. staff arrived in Vienna. They jumped off the plane and have hit the ground running, and just hearing about it takes me back to last year when we did the exact same thing. New apartment, new city, new furniture, new ways of doing EVERYTHING, new friends, new language, etc. You can imagine. But this year their transition has gone amazingly well, and they are all hanging in there. They are all really great, and seem like a really outgoing group. They already love hanging out together and with all of our staff. It's interesting now that we've been here a year. Everything that is new to the new staff isn't new to us anymore, and we're REALLY thankful. Coming back from the U.S. this summer was like going back to your sophomore year of college from a summer at home. We quickly resettled and now feel like we have both feet on solid ground and we know more what we're doing. It's a great feeling.

Too Much Talking!

No, not from my fourth graders, because they haven't arrived yet. I have been the one doing too much talking. Whew! This year, as most of you know, a girl from Trinity International University, Elizabeth, is doing her student teaching requirement in my class at V.C.S. She has been here two weeks now, and we have spent every waking teaching moment together. Wow, there is so much to explain to someone who hasn't taught before. She's eager, ambitious, and willing to take on new tasks, but it's taking all I have to plow through all this information that normally just stays inside my head.
Also this year, since the fourth grade class grew, there is another fourth grade teacher, Tricia. She's from Santa Barbara, CA, and is more experienced than me. Shouldn't she be having the student teacher? Go figure. Anyway, the three of us have been talking, talking, talking so much, and today I hit my limit! Yikes! I need to listen, listen, listen from now on.
So school starts on Thursday, and we have half days Thursday and Friday. The full deal begins on Monday. I'm really looking forward to this year with new students and a new atmosphere. Please pray that Elizabeth, Tricia, and I can develop a good relationship and that the transitions between me and Elizabeth teaching would go smoothly. Thanks!

So, this is us just after the wedding we went to yesterday. Behind us is the Hofburg - the winter palace of the Hapbsburg family that used to rule Austria for a long time. Pretty fancy schmancy, huh?

Austrian Wedding

Anne and I are going to the first wedding we've ever been to in Austria. There's not much time cause we have to get all spiffied up. It's going to be in downtown Vienna right next to the palace where the Hapsburgs lived - in a church that is something like 800 years old. Very cool :)

Later tonight, there is a cookout at school - a back to school party kind of thing. All of the staff will be back from the summer and we'll all get to hang out, officially welcome the new staff, and eat a roasted pig!! Some of the guys are really excited about that - cooking an entire pig on a special kind of grill for that. And......... some of the ladies aren't so excited :)

Just had an idea - I should take a couple pictures of my new office and post them. I haven't really decorated yet, but in time I will. It's been busy learning this new job but I really like it. Now I know my official title - Business Manager. I'm not part of the administration yet, so CFO wouldn't work.

We got 'em!!!!

There's this small but important thing that everyone has to apply for when they stay in Austria for more than 90 days. No, it's not college. And it's not a loan. It's a visa! Well, we applied in February and were told that visas weren't being given out, but since we are Americans they would just overlook us. Maybe a year or 2 or 3 later we could get a visa. That makes life difficult in a few different ways.
Well, we are now a part of the avalanche of people from VCS that are getting their visas. We just got ours today!! That's a great thing and an answer to prayer. There was even this large man just inside the main door of the building where we got our visas that greeted us and asked us what we needed and where to go. He was really nice - and you'd have to know the Austrian culture to know how TOTALLY STRANGE it was for him to do that. Customer service is just not very important here. Plus I've been to quite a few of these buildings and other similar places and there is NEVER someone at the door to help, let alone a friendly helpful one.

WOOOWZERS!!!

Oden

So this is our last night in Oden, Michigan. It's been a great 2 weeks here at the Schindler Cottage. We've gone water skiing, walking, swogging (swimming-jogging), riding wave runners, gone on boat trips, ran in a 5K in Mackinac City, ate tons of good food, slept in, watched a few movies, played bocce on the grass, played pier ball, built the Gynie Gate Bridge, went shopping, etc. The list just goes on and on. It's hard to explain how ultra cool this place is, but it just is.

It's kinda sad that we're leaving tomorrow, but we have a few things to take care of before we fly back to Vienna on Sunday. We arrive Monday morning and I might actually work half a day to keep myself awake. We'll see.
Gotta love jumping from one world/county/language to another.

The Mitchell Street Band

So, I wanted to wait to write an entry about Mitchell Street Band until I heard them with my own ears. My brother, Mike, is the lead singer in this band I've been hearing about for months. The five guys in the band are from Bloomington, Indiana. They have a jazzy rock sound, and they're REALLY GREAT! We've seen them three times, and each time has been awesome. They sing original songs and some covers that you'd recognize but aren't the normal ones. Some Stevie Wonder, Bill Withers, Maroon 5, etc. They're now getting gigs in Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio, which is pretty amazing.
So I write all this to tell you that they may be coming to YOUR city, and you should consider checking them out.
This Wednesday in Indianapolis, they're the opening band for the Spin Doctors. An old band, yes, but they just came out with a new album that they're touring with I guess.
The last thing I wanted to mention is their website: www.mitchellstreetband.com
Go to it, find out about upcoming shows and get some free downloads of their original songs. Keep in mind that they've made the songs a little more funky now, so it will sound different live. If you go, please let us know how it was, and maybe we can hook them up in your city again. Just a sister trying to make her brother's band more successful...maybe. Enjoy!

Weekend in Bloomington

We just spent last weekend in Bloomington, Indiana, the town where we used to live. We hung out with friends and explored the new things that have arrived since our departure. One favorite thing we did was to visit Jiffy Treet, the local ice cream place within walking distance from our old apartment. Mmmmm, it's the only place that REALLY makes a good chocolate chocolate chip shake for Chris. They use the chocolate sauce that hardens quickly to make chunks of chocolate in the shake. He LOVES it. We loved being in Bloomington, and if we hung out with you there, thanks for making time. We appreciate it, and we look forward to the next visit!

PARTY TONIGHT

So if you're within driving distance of Indianapolis, you should come to a little party we're having tonight. We're going to have dinner (BBQ pulled pork and chicken, some desserts made by Anne, etc!), show a short video of our apartment and school in Vienna, and give you a Leckerbissen (tasty treat) from Austria. Hopefully you like chocolate or coffee because we don't have too many things that aren't chocolate or coffee.

So, we'd love to see you. By the way, this is not any kind of fundraiser, we just want you to have the chance to get a little taste of Vienna and our lives there.

Wir freuen uns auf Ihren Besuch!

More on the U2 concert

Here's a link to u2.com's review of the show I was at. Too bad there's no pictures. But there is on this blog!!

U2 Pictures

Check it out!! I was even closer than it seems in these pictures. My pals doing a little concert in Wien. Shoulda' come with me (that includes you, Kelsey).

WOWZERS!! AMAZING!!

I went to the U2 concert here in Vienna last night along with at least 50,000 other people. It was pretty much unreal. I was about 9 people deep from the very front where Bono was in the middle of the stage so I had a really good view! I'll attach a couple pictures soon.

Down to the O-town

Today we went down south of Vienna to the Oasis. The Oasis is the place Chris worked a few years ago with International Teams. He spent two years helping out refugees who came to Vienna for many reasons from all over the world. I spent a summer doing the same thing, which is how we met. Anyway...

Today we went down there to help with a program they do called Clothing Room. It's basically where refugees come and take a number. While they're waiting for their number to be called, they are served free coffee and tea, and they have the chance to just talk to people. When their numbers are called, they go back to the closet called the clothing room, and they may choose four or five pieces of clothing that has been donated by churches in the U.S., Austrians, and others. After they leave the clothing room, they are given some small goodies that differ each week. Today it was coffee, a chocolate bar, and a small travel bar of soap. They also received some literature about God in their own language. Whew! It's an all day process, but definitely worth it. Often, refugees don't understand why someone would ever give them anything for free. It sparks questions and relationships. That's cool.

So today we helped out. I passed out the coffee, chocolate, and soap, and literature. Chris talked to many African men out on the front porch, and some of the time he helped the men choose clothing appropriate for them. Today was men's day for the clothing room. If I tried to talk to the men, they usually wanted my phone number and asked for a ticket home with me to the U.S. Perfect! I'm not interested. So, I kept my conversations with those guys short.

It's great to be able to help out with a ministry that we don't do every day. It gives the people who do it every day a break. We're happy to help:).

Dance Party for One

Our apartment has hardwood floors, and if you wear slippers or socks, it makes a great dance floor. So, last night I took my house shoes (cheap slippers that everyone has here) and my iPod shuffle, and made my own dance party, just for me. It was so much fun! While Chris fiddled around on the computer, I was danced around our apartment to a variety of fun music and no one heard a thing, except for my singing:). Hehe. I even did the electric slide, and a dance that my old roommates and I made up. I highly recommend this activity.

United Nations

Anne and I and a friend Heidi went to the United Nations European headquarters today. We went on a tour. It's made up of some really funky buildings that all interconnect. Check it out right here.
We got to see the conference rooms where they have the meetings with the 6 main languages being translated in various attached rooms. All pretty cool looking. It seems like the division they are most proud of and is maybe has the most security in the UN there is the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency).
We learned some interesting facts about the UN - how many countries are members (192 I think), the exceptions to that, the rules of some law about not doing atomic testing they they are trying to promote (41 of 44 countries have signed in agreement), etc. That was one of the more interesting facts - that with this atomic treaty thing, that all 44 countries that have the ability to make/use atomic weapons must sign. So the 3 of the 44 countries that haven't signed yet are India, Pakistan, and North Korea. Hmmm.... adds a little more depth to the things going on in international news.

Hey Detroit!!

How does second place feel??

Hoffest

Tonight was the Robertgasse Hoffest...a party in the courtyard for everyone who lives in our building. It was great! The best thing about it was that we spoke German the whole time. This class is really paying off, especially for me. Chris usually does pretty well, but tonight I felt victory!
We met an Austrian couple, Sabina and Hermann, who run a business that works with Austrian schools and sports. They wanted to know all the best places to visit in the U.S. We then talked with a Japanese woman, Junko, who has lived in Vienna for 20 years. She teaches piano at the Vienna Music University, and we gathered that she must be REALLY good. After that we met our Hungarian neighbor, Zita. She is pregnant and due in August. I found out she really likes to run and cook, just like me!
It was really good to be around lots of different people and feel like we really are living here. We're beginning to build relationships with people outside of V.C.S., and learn more about the community in Vienna. That's a really cool thing. I'm happy we decided to stay here most of our summer.
Sidenote: I had another conversation tonight with the Indian guy, Olikara, in my German class. He taught me how to make one of his favorite Indian recipes. I wrote it all down. I'm SO excited. He told me not to hold him responsible, though, if it doesn't work. Hehe:). And, I learned that curry is really a generic word in India, used to describe dishes made with Indian spices. Curry powder is just made up of a bunch of other Indian spices, like the ones I've been cooking with. So, I continue to learn new things each day. How fun!

Lange Nacht der Musik

This past Saturday was the Long Night of Musik in Vienna. It's a night where you pay 12 Euros and you gain entrance into over 100 concerts in the city between 7 p.m. and 1 a.m. We ventured out around 7 and first we saw some jazz. We then went on to hear a really loud rock band, and on the way we watched a man playing 27 water glasses with a guitar accompaniment. It was pretty amazing! We then saw four elementary age boys playing stomp-like music on trash cans, ladders, and xylophones. Again...amazing. After that we went to the Wiener Musikverein and heard a concert called "Strings Meet Blues." Aside from the really cool concert hall it was held in, the music was great. We heard Eric Clapton, Jimmy Hendrix, Deep Purple, and other cover music played by professional Viennese musicians. After that, we grabbed some ice cream and heard little more jazz before calling it a night. Whew!

Flip a Coin Game

Tonight we played a new game! Before that, though, I experimented with Indian cooking. I made Dry Chicken Curry, and it was successful! I never imagined how many different spices go into one tasty Indian dish. I went to the Nashmarkt today to investigate. I bought garam masala (a common Indian spice mixture), curry leaves, and turmeric. I also used chili powder, garlic, cumin, and freshly grated ginger. It was so much fun. Our friend Heidi came over for dinner, too. She's here for the next two weeks before her vacation home, so we've been hanging out.

Now on to our new game. We decided tonight after dinner that we'd go to the O strassenbahn stop near our apartment building. We flipped a coin. Heads meant we'd ride it right, and tails meant we'd ride it left. We then rode until the next possible stop where we could switch to another strassenbahn. We then flipped a coin again. Heads we stay on, tails we get off. We did this for two hours in Vienna, and we experienced some new parts of the city! We took pictures along the way. You never know what teachers will do with free time:). Scroll down!

During our journey, we stopped to admire the Votiv Kirche (church) in Vienna.  

Chris is pondering the maps of the D and the 2 strassenbahns during our journey.  

Chris and Heid flipping a coin to decide which direction on the strassenbahn we'll take next!  

In the driver's seat, Part 2

Well, the day wasn't too interesting - except for this one huge gigantic monsterous answer to prayer. There are a bunch of students at our school whose parents work for the Nigerian embassy here. There have been some financial problems with their embassy and they haven't been able to pay a lot of their school bills. Well, I just happened to receive a phone call from the Nigerian embassy today (rookie CFO boy that I am). They said they now can and are paying everything they owe. Let me just say it is a HUGE DEAL and a big answer to prayer for Vienna Christian School. I feel like I just showed up and picked up the phone.

BOOM!

In the driver's seat

So, now that the school year is over, I've had a few days to spend with Gary. Gary is the current CFO at VCS (love those acronyms!) who is training me. Well, on Monday he said I was in the driver's seat while he roamed around and helped me out with questions. Well, he had the chance to leave for the US early, so he did. Today. So today I was truly in the driver's seat. It went pretty well. The highlights were that I bought paint for the guys that are going to re-carpet and re-paint my new office and that I interviewed a potential student and his parents. I just basically talked to them about the financial aspects of enrolling in VCS. I think it went fine - and the dad actually went to Miami of OH and lived in Luxembourg for a while - another Miami of OH connection there (double yay for Anne!).
So tomorrow will continue the adventures of Crispy in the driver's seat. I might even blog about it if something interesting happens.

Mike (3rd grade teacher), Kiseok, Kiju, Kathleen (5th grade teacher), and Anne at our farewell dinner. 

Chinese with Koreans

This weekend we had a great opportunity to have Chinese food with the Kim family. Kiseok and his brother Kiju have been at V.C.S. the past two years because their dad is a diplomat to the Korean Embassy. They recently found out they are moving back to Korea in July, so this was our farewell dinner. Kiseok was in my class this past year, and Kiju was in fifth grade. This was the third dinner this family has taken us out to, which shows their generosity! Things like this are just like a cherry on top of a super tasty ice cream sundae!
Here's just a few of Mr. Kim's jokes...
~We must have fruit tonight, because if not our night would be fruitless!
~Any time you come to Korea, we can have a Seoul Train!
We'll miss his kids...and his humor:).

Paper Airplane

I am reading a book by Max Lucado entitled "It's Not About Me." As I was reading last night I was struck with a powerful illustration that I actually used when communicating my final words to my fourth graders today, on our last day of school.

Lucado posed this question: How are YOU and a paper airplane alike or different? Would you challenge the airplane to a game of one one one? Would you play a spelling game with it? Would you have a spitball contest with the plane?

The answer is of course not, but the point is this. We are infinitely more powerful than the plane, and it has no control or influence over us. We'd beat it hands down.

Lucado then explained that in light of the stark difference between us and paper airplanes, God is infinitely different than us. Why, then, do we try to compare ourselves to Him or what His hand has fashioned? Why, then, don't we seek to just know Him more? Instead, we think of what we can get from Him if we do this or that. How will we fare in this circumstance? If only God would rig it my way.

My whole point in saying this is is to challenge you to meditate on God's power. God is to you as you are to the paper airplane. Make sense?

We can try to compare ourselves to God, or even try to live life without Him, but when the rubber meets the road, we have no chance.

Huts in the Wild

So I'm taking a German class for the month of June at the Deutsch Akademie in Vienna. I am one of two Americans, the other being the 5th grade teacher at V.C.S. We signed up together. The other seven students are from Bulgaria, India, Romania, Hungary, and Sweden. Often the teacher, Eva, asks us to talk to the person sitting next to us in German. So tonight I talked with Olikara, who is from India. He had some interesting things to say...

He told me that the U.S. is the #1 country in the world because we name our winds. When a massive, damaging wind moves across the U.S., the expert meteorologists name it Hurricane Andrew, Typhoon George, you get my point. Olikara says that the reason people in the U.S. do this is because there are already enough people in the country to make it function well that the other people need to have something to do with their time. Hence, they become an expert on something, like meteorolgy, or my favorite, naming wind. He believes that the U.S. draws all the brilliant professionals from the world to live and work because there is opportunity for them to become educated and apply what their skill. I deduct that in most countries, this is not possible, and therefore most people prioritize their time to accomplish daily tasks that allow the country to merely function. Maybe India is this way?

I had never thought of this before Olikara mentioned it tonight during our pause (pow suh), or break, in German class. Is this true? What do you think? I am thankful to be a teacher, and even more thankful that I had the opportunity to pursue a degree I desired. Much of the world is not this way.

Lastly, he told me that the people from years, back, meaning Native Americans, who inhabited the U.S. before the white Europeans took over, don't participate in this phenomenon in the U.S. They're still living in huts in the wild!

Hilarious:).

Tick Shot?

I just received my second tick shot of the season. Yes, tick shot. Since much of Austria is the Wienerwald, meaning Vienna Woods, people are concerned about Lime's Disease here, which is acquired from ticks in the woods. So, as new V.C.S. staff members, we are required to receive this stick in the arm. The tick shots come in a series of three. The first, then the second a month later, then the third a year after that. I'm due for my third next June. For now, I hope I'm protected from ticks!

Nice combo of English and German, eh? 

Here's Anne and some of the other women folk who ran in the half marathon around the lake at Halstatt. Way to go ladies!