Rain, Rain Go Away

So, in case you were wondering, life isn't always happiness and hydrangeas in Graz. It's been raining for 4 straight days here...all day, every day. It really puts a damper (pun!) on things considering walking and tramming it are our only forms of transport. And when it's raining, the trams get really crowded with wet, stinky people all smushed together. Try keeping your balance holding one dangling, moving handle with one hand and a 2 liter Cola Light with the other while standing on a slick floor in a jerking tram. Not ok.

(I know I'm complaining to people who are melting into their cars as I type and I apologize, but at least people speak English there, K?)

Short sidenote...I don't have any cute rain boots that serve the dual purpose of snazzin' me up and keeping the bottom of my jeans and feet dry. So many other girls do...dang it.

So, if you are thinking "Why walk around in the rain? Why don't you just stay inside and eat bon bons...you don't work anyways?". Well, today I went out to show my face to these language schools since they don't answer e-mails or call me back. I even fancied up my CV and added typical Austrian info like date of birth, place of birth, religion (actually, didn't put it down), parents names and titles (omitted that one too) and marital status and number of children (are they joking?...no, they are way behind the PC times here). Anyways, my trip was not successful. Apparently you need certification to teach English to adults here and it is pricey and time consuming. Also, knowing a lot more German than I do is a must. So, feeling completely defeated and crusty and wanting to punch any German speaking person in my sight, I walked home...in the rain. Did I mention my umbrella is a piece and when a tiny whisper of wind blows it pops back inside out into my face? This added to the fun ambiance of the day.

So, I will be starting my intensive German course (through the govt...I might even get a daily stipend...woo hoo) hopefully in late August or early September. I will be traveling Germany, Czech Republic and Austria with Lindsey a lot of next month...more to follow on that!! My German course will be M - F, 4 hours a day for 12 weeks. I better know me some Deutsch after that...and get a jobby job! See how I'm now writing with exclamations? My mood changed when Art brought some ice cream home. That's all it really took.

And last complaint for today...our landlords, a nice older couple that live on the third floor, have freaking four English Spaniels. Now, this is not a complaint in itself. I love these dogs..they are so pretty and mostly well behaved. (Definitely not a substitute for Ty though.) The thing is...they must be taken outside at least 8 times a day. Well, the oldest is 14 years old and she moans and howls the whole way down the 3 flights of stairs....so, every night around 1am and every morning around 6am, we got some hootin' and hollerin' going on for a good 10 minutes. Poor thing...I get out of breath after going up to ask Hubert for his drill.

Alright, that's all I got. Off to get some ice cream.