Some things I'm getting used to

- my change doesn't amount to much (and is so light)
- clothing (more sporty clothes) flip flops everywhere, workout shorts, running shoes
- amount of overweight/obese people
- portion sizes
- amount of processed/prepared foods at grocery (a lot that I am admittedly happy to see)
- most food products come with a resealable zipper!  (or some sort of convenience feature)
- general shopping - selection, amount of STUFF - it's truly one of the biggest shocks and it's overwhelming.  I've heard stories of people crying at Target. 
- ice water at restaurants
- commercials - tv in restaurants
- eavesdropping - hearing convos
- coffee options (Starbucks has made people so picky about their coffee)
- very friendly people
- disposable everything - put everything in a paper or plastic bag - wrap it in some more paper - lots of trash...too many receipts
- grocery store - bagging for you - I feel I must help
- loud talkers
- TV is terri (flipping through at the gym...I did settle on Wheel of Fortune..lovin' that)
- miles and inches! lovin' you.
- radio gets on my nerves more easily (prob. bc I haven't listened to it in 3 years bc I didn't drive)
- iPhones everywhere
- no tram - can't easily walk - bus system kinda cruddy
- sports mania and paraphernalia
- pretty old style American homes with pretty yards...all unique with cute porches
- no easy system for recycling

 

Art's junk pick.

Mine.  Hello Peppy Farm.

And, that's it for now.  There's more.  I feel myself starting to get mostly adjusted.  I think Art adjusted after 8 hours.  He's had about 836 Philly cheesesteaks.  I forgot how hard and weird it is to be living in a new place where you know no one and don't have a life there yet.  We're getting there.  The heat is gone (for now) and I'm getting caught up on work and getting our home set up before I go to Houston next week!

Oh, and the belly is kickin'.  Literally.  Any slight incline and I'm winded.  And Pitt is hilly.  Have you seen the steps to my house?  Yikes. 

Elsie's doin' good too.  There's a grazing bunny in our backyard every morning that she rips my arm out of socket over.  She loves all the easy access to everyone's yards and she's likin' her new summer haircut:

She did not, however, appreciate the 9-hour flight and crate lockdown.  When we went to pick her up in baggage her whole crate was shaking back and forth and the guy next to it goes "washing machine?".

Right now I'm at Starbucks (I just asked for a tall iced coffee...and I think it made her uncomfortable that there weren't 8 adjectives before it) and I'm doing some work and waiting on the arrival of my newest niece in Austin!  Any hour now.  Her darling nursery by my talented sis to be debuted soon!

Tschüß or shall I say...later! 

Don't think I haven't said 'danke' to quite a few peeps.

A Nice Way to Wrap Things Up

(actual link here, page 12)

Last week a journalist from the paper here in Graz, Kleine Zeitung, e-mailed me about doing a short story on me and my blog (her colleague had told her about it) in their Sunday excerpt section.  I met her for coffee the next day in the midst of all the packing and furniture selling and had a good time reliving and reviewing my experience here in Graz through our conversation.

The sign I'm holding says "My Story"...a weekly feature they do on a Graz resident.  I never did say I was a cowgirl because I most certainly am not being city girl from Houston, but people can't help themselves when they hear 'Texas'. :)

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English translation:

Traveled to the Past 

A full-blooded American moves to Graz and becomes a Styrian. Proof: her blog.

TEXT: SABRINA LUTTENBERGER, PHOTO: Gernot Eder

On her wrist Carolyn Valentín wears a wooden bracelet adorned with many little Edelweiss. Three and a half years in Graz, and even a well-kept cowgirl from the very conservative Texas now lives white-green. Initially: unimaginable. "Honestly, I did not even know what language you spoke here. I just googled it" said Valentín, grinning. Typical American, that's clear, but that was then.

In February 2009, Valentin's husband took a job at TU Graz University, and together they moved to an unknown land to them, to a city of which they knew nothing. The American created a blog for her family and her friends, and later got many questions from strangers who were interested in living in the city. The first entries were about Valentín handling the culture shock. "It felt like we were traveling back in time. Graz kind of looks like 1950." Today the 32-year-old still sees her second home as old-fashioned, but now appreciates this charm. You can live a life here, she says, that one can also very much enjoy. We learned to appreciate little things again. And suddenly their old ways of living sometimes seem strange to them: "Everybody drives big cars (in Texas) so you are rarely walking and almost always sitting."  In her time in Graz, Valentin has enjoyed the walking,  the fresh bread and the Austrian coffee house culture. About herself she says: "I'm basically still the same person - only more open and less judgmental." An American 2.0.

Next week, the current web designer, her husband and the baby in her belly move back home. Next Residence: Pittsburgh. What they'll miss: the Schlossberg and the medical care. Really looking forward to: more choice in supermarkets and their family. There is only one thing the blogger regrets: to have never really learned German. Without fixed employment, it was almost impossible". "It was one of the best times of my life" They would like to visit again - she says it's a "must". Her husband already has plans to retire in the Styrian wine country.

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Thanks to Sabrina for the feature!  It was a treat and a great keepsake.  

We'll miss you, Graz!

We fly out tomorrow!

Non-scrapper & calligrapher/painter

{this is only part of the stash. don't look at my boobies}

You think after two years it might be time to actually load all this crap I lugged to Austria (I only brought two suitcases and still brought this...I must have still been on a wedding high) into the nice scrapbook I bought?  Ugh.  Don't want to.  A box works just fine.  This scheiße has been sitting in the storage compartment of our couch for, oh, almost two years. 

It does bring back some memories (of glee and stress) to look at.  One time when I was on a train to Vienna, a girl about my age told me she thought Americans are obsessed with marriage.  I think she really meant weddings.  I think she was a bit correcto.  

My sister drew this map for my Save the Date and did all the calligraphy (for my invites too).  I colored it in on the computer. Is it not wondey to have a sis with a fine, steady and talented hand? 'Tis.

Look at this aboriginal painting she saw on a blog and then painted herself.

this is her inspiration:


and this is hers:

and this is an 'in progress' shot that gives you an idea of how big it is.

 
She's not only talented, but patient (sometimes).

In Less Than a Month...

I will be enjoying the following things:

Most importantly:


with a side of this:


oh, and loving up them:


and these bimbos:


Riding in an actual car:


which comes with some of this:


sleeping in a real cozy bed higher off the ground than 5 cm:


Hitting up some of this


and the likes of this


with these sistas and a mutha


oh, and let's not forget these little people:


and this guy. (elsie's predecessor)


and streets full of this.


I'm excited.

From "Bush Country" Texas to...well...

(a place where they have graffiti stencils...guess it makes those nighttime spray jaunts more efficient)

Not everyone partakes in stencil fun...some just crank out "I LOVE MY ^%$#*$" in good old wave the arm, spell-it-out ragged fashion. i sort of prefer it raw. what's grafitti when thugs start using stencils?? i think i'll bust out the ole red Krylon tonight and hit up downtown. if you see a "Graz is wondey" written on the Rathaus, it wasn't me.

(someone posted this Graz gallery of grafitti with some other fine stenciled artistry in the comments below.)

Your Ideas of American High Schools Are Probably Dead On

I know Europeans get most of their ideas about American culture from our movies. (and MTV and our fabulous reality tv shows). Great. Thanks for representing, freaks of our nation.

I had to laugh when I read my sister's most recent post on her high school happenings. I mean...real American high schools are pretty dang close to what you see on the big screen. I know our obsession with football is seen as a little weird, but definitely a large part of American high schools...especially in Texas. And our activities that surround it can seem downright silly to an outsider. (or possibly to insiders as well...I mean, they are a bit ridic. But, it's a big part of the high school I know and remember...and it looks like things haven't changed too much.)

These are some of the movies that depict American high school culture that come to mind:

Varsity Blues


Gymnasium pep rally in movie


In real life at Memorial High School (where I attended high school and so does my Senior sister)?
Check.

We dressed up every Friday during football season in the fall. A different theme every Friday: camouflage, hippy, nerd, red and white, etc. After lunch a pep rally was held in the gymnasium to fire everyone up for that night's game. I have to say, it made Fridays so much more fun.

Big bronco trucks raised on ridiculously high massive wheels with a boatload of douchebags inside? (this movie takes place in a small Texas town)


Don't have a pic (get me one, Molly), but trust me, mega check. The big truck phenomenon is prob. just unique to Texas.

Dazed and Confused:


The scene where the senior girls harass the freshman and have shaving cream parties in the school parking lot and wear senior shirts.


Check.



{thank you, Molly, for being modest and hiding yourself behind people.}

Bring It On


Spirited up cheerleaders.


Check.




Cheerleading camp in the summer.


Check.


Sue Sylvester. (Glee)


A huge and unfortunate no. Sue cracks me up...I wish she was trolling the halls of our high school.

Was I a cheerleader? (my friends are laughing.) Hell nein.

I do have several high school pics easily accessible thanks to a great printed book of memories my sister put together for a wedding gift.


freshman year at a Western party. We ALL shopped at The Gap. I love this because jean vests, jackets and dresses are back in style now. This was 1994. 15 year trend turnaround.


Camo day with Kristen.


Long live high school. See you later. College was SO much better.
(Look, no crows feet. Going to Oil of Olaz it up tonight.)

*thanks to Molly for providing my Euro readers with a taste of American teenage life.