November 2008

Can you believe it? It is already November. Where has the time gone. It seems like only a couple of days ago that I was writing telling you what a hectic start to the school year it has been. Well, needless to say, life goes by way too quickly and here we are. In the spirit of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, I am going to prattle on this month about all the wonderful things I have seen and done and the people I've been fortunate to spend time with this month.

To begin, I just put my mom on a plane back to Denver yesterday morning. She came for an 18 day visit. It was soooo... good to see her and spend such wonderful time together, just the two of us. She arrived on a Thursday and just hung out on Friday while I finished up the school week. Then on Saturday we spent the day wandering through the Vienna woods in search of a pumpkin festival. Pumpkins are a big thing here. Not because of Halloween, since they don't really do that here, but because they grow about 500 different varieties of squash, which they call kurbis, or pumpkin. They make everything you can imagine out of pumpkin. They make pumpkin wine, beer, marmelade, soup, schnitzel, salad, strudel, cake, cookies, sauce and pickles. I know I sound a bit like Bubba in Forest Gump, but it's true. Anyway, we found the festival, had a great buffet and took tons of pictures. I bought four great big pumpkins for Halloween and realized when it was time to pay that they were 40 euros/55 dollars US. Needless to say I was shocked. Oh well, sometimes it costs to keep up traditions you love.

The next day we left for an 8 day vacation on the Greek Island of Crete. It was fabulous. We had such a great time. We saw a ton of things that were new and different. We tasted olives right off the tree before they are cured, YUCK!!! (See picture at left.) We ate, drank, toured, slept, read and walked ourselves silly. We were able to spend a day visiting a family in a traditional Greek village up in the mountains, visit an island that was once a fortress and later became a leper colony and later take a 2 hour boat trip to the amazing island of Santorini. It was breathtaking. The villages there are all painted while with royal blue roofs and doors and are built on the top of this volcanic stone island. It's just incredible. We rented a Smart car, one of those little 2 seater jobs for exploring and enjoyed the stares and honks from fellow motorists who weren't as humored by our wrong turns and wrong way on a one way street as we were. No one got hurt or died so I guess all is well that ends well.

We eventually had to come back to Vienna. I went back to work and mom spent a week playing housewife, resting, reading and shopping. It was great to see her relax and enjoy herself. On Friday we helped out with the school Halloween party and handed out candy at the "Trunk or Treat" event. Since the Austrians aren't big into Halloween, we decorated our car trunks and the kids wandered through the parking lot begging candy and showing off their costumes. It was great fun and was a joy to share with my mom.

I must say, it was hard to say good-bye yesterday after such a great visit. The good news is that it's only 6 weeks until I'm coming to Denver to spend the Christmas holiday with my family. I can't wait. There's no place like home for Christmas.

All of my fellow Americans overseas and I are anxiously awaiting the results of the presidential election. With the time difference it will be 4am on Wednesday for us before the polls close in California and we find out who the winner is. There are all night parties springing up everywhere to watch election results and then pancake breakfasts to prepare everyone for work in the morning. Chadwick and I have made a little more sedate plans. He is going to have a sleep over at his house, wake up at 4am to get the results, we'll have a little fun breakfast and then make our way to work. It's still a nasty time of morning to get up but I'm too old to do very many all nighters now.

I am, again this year, hosting a gathering of international friends for Thanksgiving. At present there are about 35 on the guest list and it grows by the day. If it's anything like last year it will be great fun. I provide the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy and everyone else brings a dish to share that makes it Thanksgiving for them. We'll have everything from sushi to schnitzel. It will be amazing. The interesting part is getting that many people into my apartment with a plate of food all at the same time. Last year everyone was great about pulling up a chunk of floor space or sharing a chair and going with the flow. It was fun.

I signed the formal paperwork stating my intent to return to the school for next school year. At this point I have decided that I will probably just stay one more year. I haven't finished doing all of the traveling that I wanted to do from here and I may also have an opportunity to get the tummy tuck done that I really, really want and that would mean staying another year so that the insurance company will pay for it. If that's all it takes, I'm in. As much as I miss my family, friends and home, it's an opportunity I just can't say no to.

Here in Europe we are watching the current economic crisis carefully. It's been interesting to see how the whole world is affected by what is happening in the US. It is also interesting to hear people's thoughts about the US and what they think of the government. Sometimes you want to yell and say "Hey, it's a great country, don't knock it!" Other times you want to hide and tell people you're from Canada just to avoid the hassle. I guess it's kind of like the coffee mug I got in Washington, DC last year. it says, "I love my country, it's just the government I'm afraid of."

Bottom line, however, is... I'm still lucky to be a citizen of a country that lets me say what I want about the government without fear. I've met way to many people here who don't have that privalege. Kinda puts things in perspective.

I continue to love it here, am grateful for the wonderful and dear friends that I have who enrich my life here beyond measure and for the opportunity to live a life most people only dream of. I am grateful for all of you, my wonderful family and friends, and for the security of knowing that no matter where I go, what I decide or the choices I make, I will always have people I care about caring about me.

Have a great Thanksgiving and don't forget to vote. It really matters this time.

Love to one and all,

Jodie