.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.jpg)
.JPG)
Guten Abend!!!
Well, it's been a very long time since I've written. Life, here in Austria as everywhere, gets busy and we let things go. Several of you have written to say that you miss hearing about my adventures and look forward to the next installment. So... here I am. I have just returned home from choir practice and it's a cold and rainy Sunday evening so I thought this would be the perfect time to sit and ponder the last five months.
June... School ended happy and quickly. It's always a bittersweet event here. As teachers we are exhausted and looking forward to a vacation, but at the same time sad, because many of our students and colleagues are leaving us for destinations across the globe and we are fairly certain that, despite best intentions, we will probably never see or hear from them again. However, life is about changes and about enjoying the people you have in your life for the time you are blessed enough to have them. A couple of days after school was out I hopped on a plane for Montenegro. For those of you, like me, who were unaware of what and where Montenegro is, I will fill you in. Montenegro is a small coastal country south of Croatia. It was once a part of the former Yugoslavia and is quickly becoming a popular tourist destination here in Europe. I can certainly see why. Two of my students are from Montenegro and their family owns a hotel in one of the seaside resort towns there. I stayed for a week and fell in love with the place. In many ways it reminds me of my beloved Mexico: simple, beautiful, quaint, culturally rich and unbelievably welcoming. I had the opportunity to sit on the beach, travel the coast, visit remote villages, meet wonderful and interesting locals and take a day trip to Dubrovnik, Croatia. I fully intend to go back and visit again one day and encourage anyone else who loves new destinations to do the same.
July... I spent the month of July in Denver with the intent of visiting family and friends. Unfortunately, somewhere between Montenegro, Vienna and Denver I picked up a nasty flu bug and ended up spending about three weeks of my visit to the US in bed under mommy's superb care. As awful as it was being sick, it was certainly nice to be in the tender loving care of mom and being home where I knew doctors and drugstores and the language with which to moan and groan. I did get the chance to see some people before I left, got a clean bill of health from those "now you are 50" exams and loaded up an extra suitcase full of things I couldn't live without.
August... I returned to Vienna to start the new school year. Prior to the start of school I decided I wanted something alive besides my plants and me. So, I bit the bullet and became a mom. Their names are Brad and Angelina and they are the song in my day, the wind in my wings and the seeds of my joy. No, I haven't lost my mind and adopted kids, I adopted two canaries. A friend named them since that was about the time Brad and Angelina were all over the news for their impending break-up and my two little winged friends seemed to peck and fight with each other for the first few days I had them. We decided that they were like Brad and Ang and it stuck. It's now been 2 months and the three of us have all settled in very nicely, are getting along well and enjoying life together.
September... Lots of fun fall activities. The first big adventure was a road trip with friends to the other side of Austria to an area called Tyrol for the annual CowFest. It is an annual festival that celebrates the moving of the cow herds from their summer pastures up in the Alps to their winter grazing spots down in the valleys. The town is decked out in flowers and decorations, the townsfolk all wear their traditional outfits, beer and bratwurst flow freely and the cows are decorated with flowers and such for a walk down mainstreet. Each small town has their own festival and we happened to be the only tourists in town for this one. It was amazing. Part of the tradition is that you are to be at the town square by 10am for your first beer and to be present for the first herd of cows. Well, not wanting to offend anyone's cultural sensitivities, we were there, beer in hand and cheering on Elsie and her friends. What a kick. We saw the cows, drank schnaaps, rode a gondola to the top of a mountain, hiked along a river, rolled down a hill and shopped at a mountain antique fair. That's what I call a great weekend.
October... A busy. busy month for Jodie. It started with an early Halloween celebration at school. Since we would be off for fall break the week of Halloween, the school PTA hosted their Halloween party a couple of weeks early. I volunteered, again to decorate my car and take part in the "Trunk of Treat" ritual. It's so much fun to see the kids experience something so fun and... for many of them, so new. The costumes are elaborate because the families have the money to go all out and the celebration in the gym is exciting. My favorite part is that the people with American military connections go to the commissary or PX and load up on American snacks and candy and sell them at the party. Cheetos and root beer. I was a very happy girl. Later in the month we celebrated United Nations Day. As I have said before, the second largest UN office in the world is here in Vienna and since our school has a very culturally diverse population (60 nationalities) it is a big deal. The kids all dress in their native attire and we have assemblies, entertainment, educational booths set up by parents and embassies and a pot-luck that is to die for. Each parent in the school makes a dish from their home country and shares it with their child's class. As a teacher, I "must" roam from room to room and sample what each of my students brought. I couldn't possibly hurt some poor little soul's feelings by not eating their mother's cooking!!! The day after UN day, my friend Erin and I hopped on a plane and headed our for Istanbul, Turkey for a week of R&R. It was AMAZING. We walked a zillion miles in this city of 18 million people, saw almost every sight their was to see, ate the most amazing food ever, took a cruise up the Bosphorus Straight and shopped everywhere we could. The people there were unbelievably kind and generous and were more than willing to share their culture with us and showed us a very good time. One of my students is from Istanbul and he and his family were there during that week so they sent a driver for us, met us at an amazing restaurant and treated us to dinner on the night of Republic Day (their 4th of July). It was a real treat.
November... November is only a few days old but already full of excitement. The city is gearing up for the start of the Christmas markets, lights are going up on the streets, Christmas concerts are being advertised and the air has turned snowy and crisp. I am adding to the preparations by taking part this year in a school tradition. Every two years the music department at our school gathers kids and staff together who are interested and we rehearse and perform a Christmas musical mass at one of the large churches here in town. This year we are performing a Haydn mass. It will be on December 5 and there will be about 100 staff and students singing and playing in the orchestra. We had our first full choir rehearsal with staff and students together today and it was amazing. We have some very, very talented kids and our music teachers are incredible. We have the opportunity to rehearse in two weeks for a full afternoon with the conductor of the Vienna Boys Choir who is coming to our school to offer a Master Class. This is an opportunity that the school offers and I intend to take full advantage.
Well, that about does it for the last five months. December and the new year are looking just as wonderful and full. I am going to Denver for Christmas and looking forward to seeing my family and friends. I do intend to stay healthy this visit though. My big news is that at the end of January my beautiful niece, Shawn, now 22, is going to come to Vienna to live with me for 6 months. She will be doing her college work online for that semester and is going to spend time here learning some German, traveling a bit and mostly making her Aunt Jodie very, very happy.
I wish you all a very happy, healthy and loving holiday season and look forward to hearing from as many of you as possible. It's fun to get messages, no matter how short or long, to hear about each of you and what life has been like for you too.
Auf Wiedersehn und Frohliche Weihnachten!!! Jodie
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
May 26,2009
Guten Tag from Austria! And what a good day it is!!! The Austrian summer came upon us quickly and with gusto. We have been enjoying beautiful, sunny days and cool, pleasant nights. This is when living in Vienna reminds me of Colorado.
It's been a great couple of months since I last wrote. So much has happened and things are so amazingly fun right now that I couldn't wait to write and fill you all in.
For the big start... many of you may already know, but on March 27 I entered the Rudolfinerhaus Hospital here in Vienna and thanks to the wonderful work of a terrific plastic surgeon, I am now 17 pounds lighter in the stomach. My long awaited and much desired tummy tuck is now a thing of the past. The best part is that I recovered very quickly and very well and have NEVER felt better. It is so much fun and I feel like a different person. I was lucky that my mom offered to fly over and stay with me and take care of me after my surgery. She is an amazing mother, a terrific nurse, and a truly dear friend. The surgery itself lasted 8 hours, I spent 12 hours in recovery, needed 2 pints of blood and was out of the hospital 2 days later. I was off of work for 3 weeks and have not had even one little problem. The high school students who were heading up a clothing drive for the poor were really happy because they were the lucky recipients of 8 giant trash bags of clothes that no longer fit. Oh darn!! I have to buy new ones.
During my recovery I had the fun of being able to watch, via internet and ITunes, my friend Nina, the female impersonater perform on a show called RuPaul's Drag Race. She did very well and came in a very respectable second place. She has since gone on to appear all over the country and I am currently in talks with the organizers of several events here to try and get Nina a show here in Vienna. It's been a fun and delightful new hobby!!!
A few days after my mom left to go back to the US, my sister, Dee, and her husband Dale arrived for a 2 week visit. It was their firs time to visit me here and we had a blast. They are so much fun and were so sweet and helpful and took really good care of things and themselves while I was recuperating. Dale insisted he take care of my Honey Do List and Dee cooked and shopped and entertained me well. They took some overnight trips and before they left I was up to a long weekend trip so we went to Lake Bled, Slovenia and the northern tip of Italy for a few days. We had a great time and saw the most unbelievably beautiful landscapes. It was a real joy to share it with them.
Shortly after they left it was my friends' Joan and Zoe's turn. They arrived with their 6 bags in tow. I was their last stop before heading back to live in the U.S. after a year in London. They had had a great time there, shared tons of stories and we played tourists together here in Vienna. I had just gone back to school when they came so they entertained themselves during the days and then we traveled on weekends. One of the highlights for me was a long weekend in Salzburg, Austria. We saw the beautiful city and even took the Sound of Music tour. Salzburg and the Alps around there is where they filmed the movie The Sound of Music.We got to see the homes where they filmed the VonTrapp's home. We saw the wedding church, the lake where they tip over in the boat, the mountain where Maria sings "The Hills are Alive" and the mountain where they are hiking away from Austria at the end of the movie. It was great fun. The interesting thing is that most Austrians have never seen the movie, know it's not a totally true story and think we are nuts for getting so ga ga over it. Oh well, I still love it anyway.
While in Salzburg I chalked up another of my extraordinary life experiences!!! This time, as you will see in the picture at the left, I was the first one to cross the finish line for the Salzburg Marathon. I guess I should add that it was the day before the actual race and that I just happened to be standing at the right place at the right time after they inflated the finish line so I handed Joan my camera and started to jog!!! Just so you know, I have also run in the both the Vienna and Prague Marathons (about 20 feet each) I have sung on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville (Mary Had a Little Lamb during a tour) I have been backstage at the Vienna National Opera House with an Opera Star (that one really is true) and I have played a Steinway piano at the most elite piano seller in Vienna ( That one I played chopsticks and embarassed the heck out of Chadwick). The point is, I've had fun, I have stories to tell and I'm not lying when I say that I've done those things. OK, so I leave out a couple of details, but it sure makes life fun.
My next big event of the last couple of months was that I got to attend the Life Ball here in Vienna. It is the largest AIDS/HIV fundraiser in Europe and draws celebrities from all over the world. This year's big shots were Bill Clinton, Eva Langoria, Pamela Anderson, Fran Drescher, and Katy Perry (the singer). There were also lots of European stars. The idea is that the area in front of City Hall is all decorated up with a huge red carpet. This year's theme was Water and so the carpet was blue. Four thousand people attend this ball and pay the equivalent of $175 US each to attend in an outrageous costume!!! Yes, yours truly was among them. My friend David got tickets and asked me if I'd like to join him for the fun. We had a great time, helped a great cause and had an amazing evening. We even made the main Austrian television station's coverage of the ball. Our picture was one of the ones that was on their internet story too. The picture of two of us at left is the one that was sent around on the web.
This past weekend, thanks again to another Catholic holiday, was a four day weekend and my friend Gail and I went to Berlin, Germany. It was a wonderful experience. I toured the city and saw what remains of the Berlin wall, went to the new Jewish museum which was extraordinary, saw the places that you always read about in history books, met lovely people, ate and drank way too much and bought a whole bunch of new clothes. As I'm sure you can tell, it was a very successful journey.
I only have 13 days of school left for this year. I can hardly believe I've been here two years. It's been the most amazing experience of my life and I have created a life for myself here that is truly wonderful. There are still people and things I miss about home (Cheetos and Mexican food top the list) and I love coming to visit. However, for now, I'm planning on taking it one year at a time. I will be back in Vienna next year and see where life takes me from there. I feel very, very blessed. I am honored, humbled and incredibly grateful for this life.
I will be leaving a couple of days after school is out to visit the country of Montenegro. It is part of the former Yugoslavia and I have friends who have invited me to visit and stay with them at the beach for a week. I'll leave there and come back to Vienna for a couple of days and then head to Denver. I'll be in Denver from June 30 to August 4. If you have time and would like to chat send me an email and we'll see what we can work out. I'm really looking forward to the time just to unwind, relax and enjoy home.
Well, my friends, thank you for reading another installment of Life By Jodie. I hope you know how much it means that you encourage my comings and goings and that you cheer me on through emails. I am one very lucky woman.
Until later, Auf Wiedersehen!!
Jodie
It's been a great couple of months since I last wrote. So much has happened and things are so amazingly fun right now that I couldn't wait to write and fill you all in.
For the big start... many of you may already know, but on March 27 I entered the Rudolfinerhaus Hospital here in Vienna and thanks to the wonderful work of a terrific plastic surgeon, I am now 17 pounds lighter in the stomach. My long awaited and much desired tummy tuck is now a thing of the past. The best part is that I recovered very quickly and very well and have NEVER felt better. It is so much fun and I feel like a different person. I was lucky that my mom offered to fly over and stay with me and take care of me after my surgery. She is an amazing mother, a terrific nurse, and a truly dear friend. The surgery itself lasted 8 hours, I spent 12 hours in recovery, needed 2 pints of blood and was out of the hospital 2 days later. I was off of work for 3 weeks and have not had even one little problem. The high school students who were heading up a clothing drive for the poor were really happy because they were the lucky recipients of 8 giant trash bags of clothes that no longer fit. Oh darn!! I have to buy new ones.
During my recovery I had the fun of being able to watch, via internet and ITunes, my friend Nina, the female impersonater perform on a show called RuPaul's Drag Race. She did very well and came in a very respectable second place. She has since gone on to appear all over the country and I am currently in talks with the organizers of several events here to try and get Nina a show here in Vienna. It's been a fun and delightful new hobby!!!
A few days after my mom left to go back to the US, my sister, Dee, and her husband Dale arrived for a 2 week visit. It was their firs time to visit me here and we had a blast. They are so much fun and were so sweet and helpful and took really good care of things and themselves while I was recuperating. Dale insisted he take care of my Honey Do List and Dee cooked and shopped and entertained me well. They took some overnight trips and before they left I was up to a long weekend trip so we went to Lake Bled, Slovenia and the northern tip of Italy for a few days. We had a great time and saw the most unbelievably beautiful landscapes. It was a real joy to share it with them.
Shortly after they left it was my friends' Joan and Zoe's turn. They arrived with their 6 bags in tow. I was their last stop before heading back to live in the U.S. after a year in London. They had had a great time there, shared tons of stories and we played tourists together here in Vienna. I had just gone back to school when they came so they entertained themselves during the days and then we traveled on weekends. One of the highlights for me was a long weekend in Salzburg, Austria. We saw the beautiful city and even took the Sound of Music tour. Salzburg and the Alps around there is where they filmed the movie The Sound of Music.We got to see the homes where they filmed the VonTrapp's home. We saw the wedding church, the lake where they tip over in the boat, the mountain where Maria sings "The Hills are Alive" and the mountain where they are hiking away from Austria at the end of the movie. It was great fun. The interesting thing is that most Austrians have never seen the movie, know it's not a totally true story and think we are nuts for getting so ga ga over it. Oh well, I still love it anyway.
While in Salzburg I chalked up another of my extraordinary life experiences!!! This time, as you will see in the picture at the left, I was the first one to cross the finish line for the Salzburg Marathon. I guess I should add that it was the day before the actual race and that I just happened to be standing at the right place at the right time after they inflated the finish line so I handed Joan my camera and started to jog!!! Just so you know, I have also run in the both the Vienna and Prague Marathons (about 20 feet each) I have sung on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville (Mary Had a Little Lamb during a tour) I have been backstage at the Vienna National Opera House with an Opera Star (that one really is true) and I have played a Steinway piano at the most elite piano seller in Vienna ( That one I played chopsticks and embarassed the heck out of Chadwick). The point is, I've had fun, I have stories to tell and I'm not lying when I say that I've done those things. OK, so I leave out a couple of details, but it sure makes life fun.
My next big event of the last couple of months was that I got to attend the Life Ball here in Vienna. It is the largest AIDS/HIV fundraiser in Europe and draws celebrities from all over the world. This year's big shots were Bill Clinton, Eva Langoria, Pamela Anderson, Fran Drescher, and Katy Perry (the singer). There were also lots of European stars. The idea is that the area in front of City Hall is all decorated up with a huge red carpet. This year's theme was Water and so the carpet was blue. Four thousand people attend this ball and pay the equivalent of $175 US each to attend in an outrageous costume!!! Yes, yours truly was among them. My friend David got tickets and asked me if I'd like to join him for the fun. We had a great time, helped a great cause and had an amazing evening. We even made the main Austrian television station's coverage of the ball. Our picture was one of the ones that was on their internet story too. The picture of two of us at left is the one that was sent around on the web.
This past weekend, thanks again to another Catholic holiday, was a four day weekend and my friend Gail and I went to Berlin, Germany. It was a wonderful experience. I toured the city and saw what remains of the Berlin wall, went to the new Jewish museum which was extraordinary, saw the places that you always read about in history books, met lovely people, ate and drank way too much and bought a whole bunch of new clothes. As I'm sure you can tell, it was a very successful journey.
I only have 13 days of school left for this year. I can hardly believe I've been here two years. It's been the most amazing experience of my life and I have created a life for myself here that is truly wonderful. There are still people and things I miss about home (Cheetos and Mexican food top the list) and I love coming to visit. However, for now, I'm planning on taking it one year at a time. I will be back in Vienna next year and see where life takes me from there. I feel very, very blessed. I am honored, humbled and incredibly grateful for this life.
I will be leaving a couple of days after school is out to visit the country of Montenegro. It is part of the former Yugoslavia and I have friends who have invited me to visit and stay with them at the beach for a week. I'll leave there and come back to Vienna for a couple of days and then head to Denver. I'll be in Denver from June 30 to August 4. If you have time and would like to chat send me an email and we'll see what we can work out. I'm really looking forward to the time just to unwind, relax and enjoy home.
Well, my friends, thank you for reading another installment of Life By Jodie. I hope you know how much it means that you encourage my comings and goings and that you cheer me on through emails. I am one very lucky woman.
Until later, Auf Wiedersehen!!
Jodie
Sunday, March 8, 2009
March 2009
Greetings dear family and friends,
I am sitting in my lovely apartment, listening to gorgeous classical piano music and feeling the sun, yes SUN, on my back through the window for the first time in about 6 weeks. I can't even begin to tell you what a thrill that is. Vienna is kind of the Seattle of Austria... not much sun, lots of rain and gallons of coffee. Oh yeah, don't forget the wine and beer too.
It is March 8, Sunday, and all is quiet in Vienna. You see, because it is a Catholic country and the church is such a vital part of life here, EVERYTHING is closed on Sundays. You can go to church, ride public transportation and have coffee but that's about it. The government charges an extra fee to businesses that want to be open on Sundays. I have grown to love this about Vienna. The belief is that Sunday is for quiet contemplation, time for family and rest. Those are not bad things in my book.
The month of January was pretty quiet around here and there wasn't much to tell. I knew that February would be full of news so I waited to write until now. And... indeed, I was right. Lots to tell so I'll get started.
It's hard to believe that two thirds of the school year is already gone and that I've been in Vienna for over a year and a half. Where does the time go?
My first big event of February was a trip during our school's Ski Week break to Egypt. I had planned to go to Iceland but at the last minute my travel buddy couldn't make the trip and I opted to go with friends to Marsa Alam, Egypt on the Red Sea instead. I am glad that I did. There were five of us on the trip. They are amazing and delightful friends and going to Egypt with them was a real treat. We spent a great deal of time at our resort which was right on the beach and beautiful. Since we had the all inclusive plan we ate and drank whatever we wanted whenever we wanted and just layed by the pool and beach reading, resting and recupterating from the long chilly Austrian winter. We took a one day trip to Luxor by private car and had an amazing day seeing the Valley of the Kings where the tombs of Ramses and Tuthankamen (King Tut) were found. There are about 18 tombs buried in the mountains in this area and still more are uncovered all the time. It was incredible to enter the tombs and see carvings and paintings that were done with natural dyes and stains and preserved with a coat of egg white that had lasted and still looked wonderful 4,000 years later. Unbelievably beautiful. It was interesting to see Egyptian men in native dress hauling sand and rock by bucketfulls on their heads away from the excavation sites and working in groups of 20-30 to uncover yet unknown tombs.
We then went to Hatshepsut, an amazingly well preserved temple that still has many of the giant statues and arches, wall and columns that it was built with 4,000 years ago. It was fascinating standing in a place where you knew that thousands of years ago, others had stood. What a feeling of awe. The size of each feature of the temple is unbelievable. The statues of the gods and goddesses were sometimes 60-70 feet tall with unvelievable detail. The columns were even taller than that and had stood in the same place, on the side of a mountain for centuries. The even more amazing thing to think about when I was standing there was that at the time these temples were built, there was none of the technology, power or equipment that we use today to shape, move and erect these huge pieces of rock. No cranes, bull dozers or hydrolic lifts. Only human slave labor and an unforgiving landscape. You can't even begin to comprehend how it was done and who would ever have such an idea in the first place. One of the interesting things of note is that all of these temples and tombs were built as monuments and tributes to the kings, queens and gods and goddesses of that time. They had a firm belief that it was what you did to present yourself in heaven that sealed your fate for the afterlife. Nothing was too great, too expensive, too elaborate for pleasing the gods and assuring ones place in the next world.
We then went for a bit of shopping, some lunch and then on to the temple of Karnak. It is the largest standing temple in the world. It is amazingly well preserved and contains some of the key elements of Egyptian history and culture. One interesting feature, you will see in the pictures on the left, is a giant scarob, or beetle, that is said to bring luck and long life to those who possess it. Everything in their art, jewelry, carving, etc. depicts the beetle. At the temple, there is a pedestal with a giant stone beetle on top. Legend has it that if you circle the scarob 4 times you will have good luck. If you circle it 5 times you will find true love. I, not wanting to get short changed on anything, went around 6 times. For that, I now know, you just get blisters.
On our last day in Egypt, we dressed ourselves in long pants, long sleeved shirts and sunglasses and took a 3 hour tour of the Sahara Desert on four wheel motor bikes (quads). It was incredible. The terrain was solid rock and sand, not the sand dunes one usually thinks of when imagining the Sahara. That is in another part of Africa. We rode and rode and saw the unbelievably breathtaking landscape of the desert. The only tree or vegetation we saw the whole time was an occasional Acacia tree or scrub brush. I think we saw, perhaps, 6 trees all afternoon. Where they came from and how they survive is beyond me. There has probably not been a drop of water on that ground in years. So that we didn't get overcome with the dust being thrown back by the quad in front of us we had to be wrapped in scarves with the turban and face mask style. It was amazing how much it helped. We laughed about looking like terrorists but understood later now un-funny that really was. To the people who live in this part of the world, that headgear is a necessity of life, not an optional accessory that identifies them with a group of political belief. It was amazing to spend time in a Muslim country and have the chance to talk with people willing to share their lives and their cultures and help us understand their ways. It's too bad that doesn't happen more often for all of us. Think of what it could mean if, rather than shooting at people, we could talk to them and understand.
As we walked from the end of our quad ride to the hotel lobby in our turbans, dusty clothes and filthy, filthy faces, we laughed. You see, this same group of friends that had just shared a desert adventure with me on this Saturday evening, was the group that the next Saturday night would be dressed in all our finest and attending the United Nations IAEA Ball at the Hofburg Royal Palace in Vienna. Oh, the difference a shower and a week can make.
The ball season in Vienna lasts from right after Christmas until Ash Wednesday. The idea is to cheer up the dreary cold Vienna winter and have fun before Lent arrives and the season of sacrifice begins. There are probably 100 balls in Vienna during that time. Every group has their ball and it's quite fun to see pictures and hear reports of the fun. The brewmasters have theirs, the opera hosts a huge one, the florists deck out and hold a ball. The chocolatiers even put on a ball. The tickets for the ball range greatly in price and are often times available for purchase by the general public. The trick is to get them early IF they are available.
The IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) Ball is the same one I went to last year. I have a good friend who works for the agency and this year got up at 3am to be at the UN at 5am to be in line to get tickets for a table in the main ball room. The royal palace has about 12 ballrooms, all set up with tables and space for dancing that night. The thrill of the main ballroom is that this is where the philharmonic plays so that the Vienna debutantes can make their entrance all in white and dance with the black tailed escorts to the Viennese Waltz. It's a sight to behold. There were probably 200 young ladies in their white dresses that night, joining Vienna society. It was incredible. We had a table right at the edge of the dance floor and could see the whole thing. It was beautiful.
I must tell you, that night, that ball was, without a doubt, the most amazing night of my life!!! I had a dress that was what every little girl dreams of when she sees herself someday as a princess. I was with amazingly good friends and danced till dawn to every type of music you can imagine. We had a dinner party at John and Gregg's house beforehand and shared an evening that we won't ever forget. At about 3:30am we left the palace and walked through old downtown Vienna, hearing the clippity clop of horses hooves on the cobblestones and ended up stopping for a snack at McDonalds. Yes, Chadwick in his tuxedo and I in my ball gown joined the passed out drunks in McDonalds and had a burger before heading home. It felt just like something from a Billy Crystal comedy. Who else but Jodie and Chadwick would do such a thing. I must say, it made an already perfect evening even better. I would love to say that I got home in time to watch the sun rise, but as I said at the beginning, today is the first day we've seen the sun in a long long time.
This morning, I woke up to the sunshine, showered, put on my Broncos sweatshirt and some jeans and headed outside for a walk in the sun. There is no shortage of amazing places to walk here. Everywhere I go there is beauty, amazement and joy. Today, I headed for the city hall. Each winter, after the Christmas markets are over, the city creates an ice skating wonderland called Eis Traum Wien , Vienna Ice Dream. They flood the grounds in front of the huge city hall building and create an ice rink. There are two main rinks and then a series of pathways through the trees, statues and park on which you can skate and explore and enjoy the fresh air. I haven't skated for 40 years and wasn't about to try again and ruin the moment. So instead, I got a cup of coffee, parked on a bench and watched young and old alike skate and smile and laugh. It was another one of those moments that just makes you glad to be alive. Some of those quiet, peaceful and simple moments in life are often my very favorites.
The big news in my life is that on Friday, March 27 I am going into the hospital to have my long awaited tummy tuck surgery. I have been fortunate to have found the very best plastic surgeon in Vienna and, as many of you know, this is something that I have dreamed of for a long long time. My mom is flying over to be with me and take care of me after I get out of the hospital. I am so fortunate to have her. She's the best. I know I'll be in good hands. The health care system here is set up so that if a doctor says you have to have surgery, the insurance company has to approve it. The doctor and I are submitting the necessary paperwork and have high hopes that there will be no glitches. Regardless, I am moving forward and can't wait to see the results. I am supposed to only be in the hospital for 3-4 days and then be home and up and around. I will be taking 2 weeks off of work for the surgery and then have a week of Spring Break so a three week recovery time all together. The doctor assures me I will be in great shape when it's time to return to work. I can't even begin to tell you how thrilled I am with this happening. It has been something that have wanted and can hardly believe it is really happening.
After my mom goes back home I am thrilled to say that my sister, Delene, and her husband Dale are coming to Vienna for a visit for about 2 weeks. I can't wait to show them my world and enjoy their company and their fun at seeing Vienna. Shortly after they leave, my dear friends Joan and Zoe are leaving London after their year living there and coming to visit me before returning to the US. We have a little trip to Salzburg planned and, of course, Zoe and I have our traditional "Dump the Mom" day planned. We are going shopping, a movie and to the top chocolate shop in Vienna to have hot chocolate and pastry. Zoe turns 14 in April so I am also going to have a little birthday celebration for her. Not sure yet what that will look like but can't wait to have them here.
Well, my friends, I have a date to meet a friend at the museum cafe down the street for lunch and coffee so I must say Auf Wiedersehen. Thank you for you continued interest and support in my life here. I, as you can surely see, very happy, healthy and enjoying life. Oh yeah, work is good too. Almost forgot that!!! I have a new saying..."Life is too short to work". I'm sure somebody else already said it but I'm claiming it for now.
May the luck of the Irish, the coming of spring and the joy of the season bring you health, happiness and good memories.
Love,
Jodie
I am sitting in my lovely apartment, listening to gorgeous classical piano music and feeling the sun, yes SUN, on my back through the window for the first time in about 6 weeks. I can't even begin to tell you what a thrill that is. Vienna is kind of the Seattle of Austria... not much sun, lots of rain and gallons of coffee. Oh yeah, don't forget the wine and beer too.
It is March 8, Sunday, and all is quiet in Vienna. You see, because it is a Catholic country and the church is such a vital part of life here, EVERYTHING is closed on Sundays. You can go to church, ride public transportation and have coffee but that's about it. The government charges an extra fee to businesses that want to be open on Sundays. I have grown to love this about Vienna. The belief is that Sunday is for quiet contemplation, time for family and rest. Those are not bad things in my book.
The month of January was pretty quiet around here and there wasn't much to tell. I knew that February would be full of news so I waited to write until now. And... indeed, I was right. Lots to tell so I'll get started.
It's hard to believe that two thirds of the school year is already gone and that I've been in Vienna for over a year and a half. Where does the time go?
My first big event of February was a trip during our school's Ski Week break to Egypt. I had planned to go to Iceland but at the last minute my travel buddy couldn't make the trip and I opted to go with friends to Marsa Alam, Egypt on the Red Sea instead. I am glad that I did. There were five of us on the trip. They are amazing and delightful friends and going to Egypt with them was a real treat. We spent a great deal of time at our resort which was right on the beach and beautiful. Since we had the all inclusive plan we ate and drank whatever we wanted whenever we wanted and just layed by the pool and beach reading, resting and recupterating from the long chilly Austrian winter. We took a one day trip to Luxor by private car and had an amazing day seeing the Valley of the Kings where the tombs of Ramses and Tuthankamen (King Tut) were found. There are about 18 tombs buried in the mountains in this area and still more are uncovered all the time. It was incredible to enter the tombs and see carvings and paintings that were done with natural dyes and stains and preserved with a coat of egg white that had lasted and still looked wonderful 4,000 years later. Unbelievably beautiful. It was interesting to see Egyptian men in native dress hauling sand and rock by bucketfulls on their heads away from the excavation sites and working in groups of 20-30 to uncover yet unknown tombs.
We then went to Hatshepsut, an amazingly well preserved temple that still has many of the giant statues and arches, wall and columns that it was built with 4,000 years ago. It was fascinating standing in a place where you knew that thousands of years ago, others had stood. What a feeling of awe. The size of each feature of the temple is unbelievable. The statues of the gods and goddesses were sometimes 60-70 feet tall with unvelievable detail. The columns were even taller than that and had stood in the same place, on the side of a mountain for centuries. The even more amazing thing to think about when I was standing there was that at the time these temples were built, there was none of the technology, power or equipment that we use today to shape, move and erect these huge pieces of rock. No cranes, bull dozers or hydrolic lifts. Only human slave labor and an unforgiving landscape. You can't even begin to comprehend how it was done and who would ever have such an idea in the first place. One of the interesting things of note is that all of these temples and tombs were built as monuments and tributes to the kings, queens and gods and goddesses of that time. They had a firm belief that it was what you did to present yourself in heaven that sealed your fate for the afterlife. Nothing was too great, too expensive, too elaborate for pleasing the gods and assuring ones place in the next world.
We then went for a bit of shopping, some lunch and then on to the temple of Karnak. It is the largest standing temple in the world. It is amazingly well preserved and contains some of the key elements of Egyptian history and culture. One interesting feature, you will see in the pictures on the left, is a giant scarob, or beetle, that is said to bring luck and long life to those who possess it. Everything in their art, jewelry, carving, etc. depicts the beetle. At the temple, there is a pedestal with a giant stone beetle on top. Legend has it that if you circle the scarob 4 times you will have good luck. If you circle it 5 times you will find true love. I, not wanting to get short changed on anything, went around 6 times. For that, I now know, you just get blisters.
On our last day in Egypt, we dressed ourselves in long pants, long sleeved shirts and sunglasses and took a 3 hour tour of the Sahara Desert on four wheel motor bikes (quads). It was incredible. The terrain was solid rock and sand, not the sand dunes one usually thinks of when imagining the Sahara. That is in another part of Africa. We rode and rode and saw the unbelievably breathtaking landscape of the desert. The only tree or vegetation we saw the whole time was an occasional Acacia tree or scrub brush. I think we saw, perhaps, 6 trees all afternoon. Where they came from and how they survive is beyond me. There has probably not been a drop of water on that ground in years. So that we didn't get overcome with the dust being thrown back by the quad in front of us we had to be wrapped in scarves with the turban and face mask style. It was amazing how much it helped. We laughed about looking like terrorists but understood later now un-funny that really was. To the people who live in this part of the world, that headgear is a necessity of life, not an optional accessory that identifies them with a group of political belief. It was amazing to spend time in a Muslim country and have the chance to talk with people willing to share their lives and their cultures and help us understand their ways. It's too bad that doesn't happen more often for all of us. Think of what it could mean if, rather than shooting at people, we could talk to them and understand.
As we walked from the end of our quad ride to the hotel lobby in our turbans, dusty clothes and filthy, filthy faces, we laughed. You see, this same group of friends that had just shared a desert adventure with me on this Saturday evening, was the group that the next Saturday night would be dressed in all our finest and attending the United Nations IAEA Ball at the Hofburg Royal Palace in Vienna. Oh, the difference a shower and a week can make.
The ball season in Vienna lasts from right after Christmas until Ash Wednesday. The idea is to cheer up the dreary cold Vienna winter and have fun before Lent arrives and the season of sacrifice begins. There are probably 100 balls in Vienna during that time. Every group has their ball and it's quite fun to see pictures and hear reports of the fun. The brewmasters have theirs, the opera hosts a huge one, the florists deck out and hold a ball. The chocolatiers even put on a ball. The tickets for the ball range greatly in price and are often times available for purchase by the general public. The trick is to get them early IF they are available.
The IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) Ball is the same one I went to last year. I have a good friend who works for the agency and this year got up at 3am to be at the UN at 5am to be in line to get tickets for a table in the main ball room. The royal palace has about 12 ballrooms, all set up with tables and space for dancing that night. The thrill of the main ballroom is that this is where the philharmonic plays so that the Vienna debutantes can make their entrance all in white and dance with the black tailed escorts to the Viennese Waltz. It's a sight to behold. There were probably 200 young ladies in their white dresses that night, joining Vienna society. It was incredible. We had a table right at the edge of the dance floor and could see the whole thing. It was beautiful.
I must tell you, that night, that ball was, without a doubt, the most amazing night of my life!!! I had a dress that was what every little girl dreams of when she sees herself someday as a princess. I was with amazingly good friends and danced till dawn to every type of music you can imagine. We had a dinner party at John and Gregg's house beforehand and shared an evening that we won't ever forget. At about 3:30am we left the palace and walked through old downtown Vienna, hearing the clippity clop of horses hooves on the cobblestones and ended up stopping for a snack at McDonalds. Yes, Chadwick in his tuxedo and I in my ball gown joined the passed out drunks in McDonalds and had a burger before heading home. It felt just like something from a Billy Crystal comedy. Who else but Jodie and Chadwick would do such a thing. I must say, it made an already perfect evening even better. I would love to say that I got home in time to watch the sun rise, but as I said at the beginning, today is the first day we've seen the sun in a long long time.
This morning, I woke up to the sunshine, showered, put on my Broncos sweatshirt and some jeans and headed outside for a walk in the sun. There is no shortage of amazing places to walk here. Everywhere I go there is beauty, amazement and joy. Today, I headed for the city hall. Each winter, after the Christmas markets are over, the city creates an ice skating wonderland called Eis Traum Wien , Vienna Ice Dream. They flood the grounds in front of the huge city hall building and create an ice rink. There are two main rinks and then a series of pathways through the trees, statues and park on which you can skate and explore and enjoy the fresh air. I haven't skated for 40 years and wasn't about to try again and ruin the moment. So instead, I got a cup of coffee, parked on a bench and watched young and old alike skate and smile and laugh. It was another one of those moments that just makes you glad to be alive. Some of those quiet, peaceful and simple moments in life are often my very favorites.
The big news in my life is that on Friday, March 27 I am going into the hospital to have my long awaited tummy tuck surgery. I have been fortunate to have found the very best plastic surgeon in Vienna and, as many of you know, this is something that I have dreamed of for a long long time. My mom is flying over to be with me and take care of me after I get out of the hospital. I am so fortunate to have her. She's the best. I know I'll be in good hands. The health care system here is set up so that if a doctor says you have to have surgery, the insurance company has to approve it. The doctor and I are submitting the necessary paperwork and have high hopes that there will be no glitches. Regardless, I am moving forward and can't wait to see the results. I am supposed to only be in the hospital for 3-4 days and then be home and up and around. I will be taking 2 weeks off of work for the surgery and then have a week of Spring Break so a three week recovery time all together. The doctor assures me I will be in great shape when it's time to return to work. I can't even begin to tell you how thrilled I am with this happening. It has been something that have wanted and can hardly believe it is really happening.
After my mom goes back home I am thrilled to say that my sister, Delene, and her husband Dale are coming to Vienna for a visit for about 2 weeks. I can't wait to show them my world and enjoy their company and their fun at seeing Vienna. Shortly after they leave, my dear friends Joan and Zoe are leaving London after their year living there and coming to visit me before returning to the US. We have a little trip to Salzburg planned and, of course, Zoe and I have our traditional "Dump the Mom" day planned. We are going shopping, a movie and to the top chocolate shop in Vienna to have hot chocolate and pastry. Zoe turns 14 in April so I am also going to have a little birthday celebration for her. Not sure yet what that will look like but can't wait to have them here.
Well, my friends, I have a date to meet a friend at the museum cafe down the street for lunch and coffee so I must say Auf Wiedersehen. Thank you for you continued interest and support in my life here. I, as you can surely see, very happy, healthy and enjoying life. Oh yeah, work is good too. Almost forgot that!!! I have a new saying..."Life is too short to work". I'm sure somebody else already said it but I'm claiming it for now.
May the luck of the Irish, the coming of spring and the joy of the season bring you health, happiness and good memories.
Love,
Jodie
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
January 2009
Happy New Year!!!
Can you believe it's 2009. It seems like just yesterday that we were all stockpiling water and food, digging out the camp stove and preparing for a return to caveman days with the change in the millenium. Oh... the good ole days!!
2009 has started of well for me. At the stroke of midnight on January 1 I was cozy and warm in my mother's living room. I was home for 2 weeks in Colorado to be with family and friends and get some R and R. There was not much rest and relaxation in my trip but I did have one heck of a good time.
I arrived in Denver on Saturday the 20th of December just 15 minutes before the Continental jet skidded off the runway and broke into flames. The news today said they believe part of the problem was wind gusts which were causing a dangerous cross wind. Let's hear it for competent Lufthansa pilots!!! I went straight from the airport to a Christmas party hosted by dear friends and visited with lots of friends and sang Karaoke until I hit the jet lag wall about 10:00 and begged to be taken home. I was having a great time but those of you who have done the overseas flight thing understand. After 24 hours of travel with little or no sleep, there comes a point where the brain just says, "that's it, you're done"! You have no choice but to abide.
The next few days were spent in Denver attending my favorite drag show, visiting friends and making the rounds at my dentist, eye doctor and massage therapist. Then it was off to Boulder for hair rescue from the hairstylist extraordinaire, my sister Dee. I got a much needed cut, color and pampering. It's good to be the princess!
Soon, it was Christmas and we were all at mom's house for the traditional food, games and fun that is a part of a Grandma's Christmas. It was so good to see my niece and nephew. I miss them so much. My sisters, brother in law and nieces boyfriend also spoiled me rottten and made it a fabulous Christmas.
I'm not sure where the rest of my two week trip went but I spent time with old friends, dancing till dawn and spending lots and lots of money. I even had to buy an additional suitcase for all the new clothes I bought while I was home. The fashion here doesn't quite work on a real world size body so I opt for the fashions of home. Way better options for me.
I am so, so blessed to have a family of friends around me who love and support me no matter how far away from home I am and whether or not I get much time to spend with them. Antonio and Jorge were great hosts and pampered me for both weekends and helped me party like a rock star at clubs and parties. Kathy and I had lunch and were able to catch up on all the happenings of my old district and catch up on each other's lives. Linda and Laurie made a point of including me in their new year's celebration. LJ and Chadwick threw a great Christmas party and were kind enough to schedule it around my arrival in Denver so that I could take part. There were so many others that I wanted desperately to see but with the holidays and appointments and wanting to spend time with family, it just couldn't all happen. I am happy and sure that even though I didn't get to see everyone that when I return in the summer they will be waiting with open arms and hearts to welcome me back into the fold.
My family all continue to be a source of strength and enjoyment for me. Dee and Dale have a beautiful home and seem truly happy together and ... have tickets to come and visit me in Vienna in April. Shely continues to look after the stray souls in the world and warms my heart with love and pride everytime I see her. She has the biggest heart and freely shares it with everyone. Shawn is still in school at Metro and is working at two restaurants to help put herself through school. Not at easy task in these economic times. Brandon is now a manager at Lodo's in Westminster and continues to make me smile everytime I talk to him. He is happy, healthy and handsome. I am so proud of him and the life he has made for himself. Then there's mom. What can I say, mentor extraordinaire. This woman is a tough act to follow. She continues to work, travel, serve and play like a youngster. She never stops and has so much fun in life. She is truly an inspiration. I am always in awe and so honored to be her daughter.
The year ahead promises new and exciting adventures for me. For my ski week vacation in February I am planning a trip to Iceland to see the Northern Lights. A friend and I are in the planning stages of that trip and I just can't wait. I've been told that because of global warming the intensity of the Northern Lights has reduced and that if I want to see them at their best I'd better get going. So, pull out the down coat, thermal underwear and heavy snow boots, I'm on my way. In April, another friend and I are looking at going to either to the island of Mauritious off of the east coast of Africa or to Egypt. It will depend on our financial status at the time. A trip to Egypt from here is like going to Cancun from Denver. It's the cheapest warm vacation you can get. Mauritious, on the other hand, is like going to the French Riviera and requires some major financial committment. We'll see. I'll keep you posted. I change my vacation plans more often than most people change their underwear so who knows how it will turn out. In June I may try to go to Montenegro (the former Yugoslavia) and Croatia for a little time on the beach right after school is out. I am then looking at spending some time in Vienna and then heading for several weeks to Colorado for that R and R I was looking for at Christmas.
Being home was fabulous and I had a wonderful time. I miss all of you tremendously and I also discovered something nice. I love Vienna just as much. I still know that I made the right decision in coming here. I love my life and friends here, and I still have some things I want to do, see and accomplish before I'm ready to move back. It is such a wonderful feeling to know that I can be happy and at home no matter where I choose to live. It's also incredibly good to know that I have people who care about me in both places. Thank you to all of you.
Well, it's time to go crank up the furnace and settle in for the night. My apartment is very old and has very high ceilings all making for equally high heating costs. I have learned that layers, blankets and hot beverages are really good during a Vienna winter. Now that the Christmas season is over and the hot spiced wine stands are gone that eliminates one option for keeping warm. I am on a quest, however, to find a suitable replacement. The current frontrunner is hot apple cider with cinnamon schnaaps. Try it, you'll like it. It's like eating a grown-up candy apple but easier on the teeth.
Love and best wishes to you all for the new year. May you be happy, healthy and surrounded by love. I know I am.
Jodie
Can you believe it's 2009. It seems like just yesterday that we were all stockpiling water and food, digging out the camp stove and preparing for a return to caveman days with the change in the millenium. Oh... the good ole days!!
2009 has started of well for me. At the stroke of midnight on January 1 I was cozy and warm in my mother's living room. I was home for 2 weeks in Colorado to be with family and friends and get some R and R. There was not much rest and relaxation in my trip but I did have one heck of a good time.
I arrived in Denver on Saturday the 20th of December just 15 minutes before the Continental jet skidded off the runway and broke into flames. The news today said they believe part of the problem was wind gusts which were causing a dangerous cross wind. Let's hear it for competent Lufthansa pilots!!! I went straight from the airport to a Christmas party hosted by dear friends and visited with lots of friends and sang Karaoke until I hit the jet lag wall about 10:00 and begged to be taken home. I was having a great time but those of you who have done the overseas flight thing understand. After 24 hours of travel with little or no sleep, there comes a point where the brain just says, "that's it, you're done"! You have no choice but to abide.
The next few days were spent in Denver attending my favorite drag show, visiting friends and making the rounds at my dentist, eye doctor and massage therapist. Then it was off to Boulder for hair rescue from the hairstylist extraordinaire, my sister Dee. I got a much needed cut, color and pampering. It's good to be the princess!
Soon, it was Christmas and we were all at mom's house for the traditional food, games and fun that is a part of a Grandma's Christmas. It was so good to see my niece and nephew. I miss them so much. My sisters, brother in law and nieces boyfriend also spoiled me rottten and made it a fabulous Christmas.
I'm not sure where the rest of my two week trip went but I spent time with old friends, dancing till dawn and spending lots and lots of money. I even had to buy an additional suitcase for all the new clothes I bought while I was home. The fashion here doesn't quite work on a real world size body so I opt for the fashions of home. Way better options for me.
I am so, so blessed to have a family of friends around me who love and support me no matter how far away from home I am and whether or not I get much time to spend with them. Antonio and Jorge were great hosts and pampered me for both weekends and helped me party like a rock star at clubs and parties. Kathy and I had lunch and were able to catch up on all the happenings of my old district and catch up on each other's lives. Linda and Laurie made a point of including me in their new year's celebration. LJ and Chadwick threw a great Christmas party and were kind enough to schedule it around my arrival in Denver so that I could take part. There were so many others that I wanted desperately to see but with the holidays and appointments and wanting to spend time with family, it just couldn't all happen. I am happy and sure that even though I didn't get to see everyone that when I return in the summer they will be waiting with open arms and hearts to welcome me back into the fold.
My family all continue to be a source of strength and enjoyment for me. Dee and Dale have a beautiful home and seem truly happy together and ... have tickets to come and visit me in Vienna in April. Shely continues to look after the stray souls in the world and warms my heart with love and pride everytime I see her. She has the biggest heart and freely shares it with everyone. Shawn is still in school at Metro and is working at two restaurants to help put herself through school. Not at easy task in these economic times. Brandon is now a manager at Lodo's in Westminster and continues to make me smile everytime I talk to him. He is happy, healthy and handsome. I am so proud of him and the life he has made for himself. Then there's mom. What can I say, mentor extraordinaire. This woman is a tough act to follow. She continues to work, travel, serve and play like a youngster. She never stops and has so much fun in life. She is truly an inspiration. I am always in awe and so honored to be her daughter.
The year ahead promises new and exciting adventures for me. For my ski week vacation in February I am planning a trip to Iceland to see the Northern Lights. A friend and I are in the planning stages of that trip and I just can't wait. I've been told that because of global warming the intensity of the Northern Lights has reduced and that if I want to see them at their best I'd better get going. So, pull out the down coat, thermal underwear and heavy snow boots, I'm on my way. In April, another friend and I are looking at going to either to the island of Mauritious off of the east coast of Africa or to Egypt. It will depend on our financial status at the time. A trip to Egypt from here is like going to Cancun from Denver. It's the cheapest warm vacation you can get. Mauritious, on the other hand, is like going to the French Riviera and requires some major financial committment. We'll see. I'll keep you posted. I change my vacation plans more often than most people change their underwear so who knows how it will turn out. In June I may try to go to Montenegro (the former Yugoslavia) and Croatia for a little time on the beach right after school is out. I am then looking at spending some time in Vienna and then heading for several weeks to Colorado for that R and R I was looking for at Christmas.
Being home was fabulous and I had a wonderful time. I miss all of you tremendously and I also discovered something nice. I love Vienna just as much. I still know that I made the right decision in coming here. I love my life and friends here, and I still have some things I want to do, see and accomplish before I'm ready to move back. It is such a wonderful feeling to know that I can be happy and at home no matter where I choose to live. It's also incredibly good to know that I have people who care about me in both places. Thank you to all of you.
Well, it's time to go crank up the furnace and settle in for the night. My apartment is very old and has very high ceilings all making for equally high heating costs. I have learned that layers, blankets and hot beverages are really good during a Vienna winter. Now that the Christmas season is over and the hot spiced wine stands are gone that eliminates one option for keeping warm. I am on a quest, however, to find a suitable replacement. The current frontrunner is hot apple cider with cinnamon schnaaps. Try it, you'll like it. It's like eating a grown-up candy apple but easier on the teeth.
Love and best wishes to you all for the new year. May you be happy, healthy and surrounded by love. I know I am.
Jodie
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)