New place, new travel partner, new adventures

hi friends...
sorry i haven´t been in touch since i got to Austria...its been extremely busy and i haven´t had time to write but hopefully i cna let u in on some of the wonderful things that i´ve been doing..
Daniela and I were lucky to find each other in the huge Munich airport..we headed on the metro to the Hauptbahnhof ...central station in Munich...it was funny because i felt like a local with Daniela in tow since I had already had a chance to kinda figure out the city the day before...at any rate we got there and got my luggae which was in a locker and then went to grab something to eat across the street..
We ordered some food and .5 L of a Sprite like drink which we discovered is quite a lot...haha...Daniela was worried about her potato salad having dairy so she asked our waiter if there was cheese or milk and he stood there and said ...cheese...milk...and thought long and hard and ten said no...it was so funny...Daniela is adding that impression to her repetoire and can´t wait to show it to everyone...hahha
we got on the train and had to transfer about 3 times which was kinda hard because our first change changed the platform from the one on the schedule and the announcement was in German...luckilx this lady was nice enough to ask us where we were going and told us te new platform...we finally got to Dornbirn which is the city near where we are living...if u look at it on the map its actuallz really close to Switzzerland...and Lustenau the city where we are living is on the border on the map and we can walk from our house over the border...ha!
We were sitting at the bus station right outside the train station and it really reminded us of the 905 (SONNY WE CAN´T GET AWAY FROM IT) the buses came like every 40 minutes...
Well we had to sit there for quite a while and suddenly we heard this big group of girls speaking English...i turned and saw it was one of the girls from York so we had found the other teachesr...they were on their way out to dinner cuy it was a Friday night but since we were all tired and sweaty from out trip we decided to just head home...they explained how to get from there onthe bus which was similar to what we had but it was still kinda consugin and very assumptive but for some reason we weren´t worried...until we got on the bus..
We had to get off at a roundabout taht had a huge triangle and circle...
we found it easy enough..the girls told us to take another bus that was across the street and get on and ask for the EISHALLE...whcih means skating rink and that we would get right to the house...which is a scouts house called PFADIHEIM...scouts are called PFADI (pronounced FATTY) here so u can imagine how much fun i´m having with that
We crossed the street and got onto another bus after asking soem kids where the EISHALLE was they looked confused and told us to get onthebus. We got on and asked the bus driver who looked at us completley puzzled...we asked those same boys and somehow they explained to us that they would tell us when to get off...they told us to get off in front of this mall called the Messepark and we did...we looked for something that resemled an ice rink and walked in that direction...however there was nothing...we saw this really cute house that looked like it was out of a story book...white washed walls borwn trim and red flowers in pots in the windows...and hoped it was our house but no...
We asked some man across the street where to go and he said the bus signs were untrue or soemthing along those lines...at which point we were ready to cry..
we decided to take the bus back in the direction we´d come and this time asked for the eishalle in Lustenau to which we got something in German and some signals to get on the bus.
We did and talked to a man on the bus who spoke English..we got ourselves back to the roundabout and the bus driver told us we had to walk 30 minutes down a street because the bus connection wasn´t running...the other guy told us 15 minutes so we were kinda confused...
We started walking and walking and walking....down a street with industiral building on one side and farmland on the other...and a pick your own sunflowers field...haha
we got to a cross walk and didn´t know where to go...some man came by in a car and we asked and he said keep walking 2 more minutes...
We finally came upon a big building that said rhein halle...same as eishalle and the pfadiheim whcih looks like a camping lodge...
the director of the camps had left us a note onthe door stating that the key was under the rock...we thought that was brilliant...
Since none of the girls were home we had a chance to explore and see the house...
its really big and theres wood everywhere...there aren´t beds so we´re on airmatresses right now...but we move to teach in different cities every week so thats not for long...
On that first night some other girls arrived...in total there are 12 or 13 of us and 1 guy...haha...poor Louie..
We all kinda set up that night and kinda got to know eachother...all the girsl are great...its a little surreal to be living in a house full of teacehrs...tonight we were all siting around planning together...it was kinda bizarre...
There are 3 other girls from Canada and the rest are from Oxford in England...we have a lot of time together so its benn really fun getting to know them there are some form london and ireland...and most of them have travelled the world and study modern languages so its so fun to talk to them...and since i love talking well u know how that goes...
This is a really long blog so you should read it in installments but since I have the chance to write i figure i imght as well tell u evercthing...so don´t complain Naomi...
On the Sat. we woke up early and ate whatever was left inthe fridge from the week which wasnßt much we were in dire need of food so we went to the interspar to go grocery shopping...that was an adventure...it took Daniela and I like 15 minutes to decipher that OHNE ZUCKER meant no sugar added and then we found out that it said it in English onthe back of another box...we bought some lunch meats and cheesea nd some breakfast food like eggs and yogurt for the weekend. Since the buses are like in the 905 it took us a year to get back home..and on weekends the bus doesnßt run down our street so we had to walk that bit again...with bags fo food...
We were scheduled to meet with the director at 2pm and thank goodness we made it back in time to make a sandwich and get ready. We had our little orientationa dn got our assignments for the week. There are a ton of materials and the curriculum is all planned out which is reassuring...
I am not teaching this week because they are expanding the program to Spanish and Stefan needs me to translate some stuff so I´ll be working out of the office this week...Daniela is stationed in Bregenz a town about 10 minutes by train from here...but for this week we are living inthe Pfadiheim in Lustenau...which is good..
At night we went to this restaurant for dinner which is right down the stret from our house but inthe middle of these industrail buildings...its a little odd...but the food was great adn they had a live band on the outdor patio which played a lot of classic rock in German...that was fun...then someone from the press came and took lots of pictures at which time we thought we should go home.

This morning we planned to go to Lake Constance which is this beautiful mountain lake in BRegenz nearby...we cuaght the bus into Dornbirn and took the train from there...we got there and just walked aroudna nd got some ice cream while we looked for te beack part of the lake...
We found it and had a day of swimming and sun bathing...i think my tan is a little more even...but u should see the women here they have the most gorgeus tans i have ever seen...i´m so envious...but i think its because they sunbathe nude and i´m just not going there...hahaha
For dinner we ate on this little cafe on water...i had backed camembert in cranberry sauce which was delicious...Jenn you would love it...its like baked and breaded cheese...
The meals here are so slow and you really get to enoy evey part of it...we had a great time talking wtih the girls and enjoying the food...i love european dining more than canadian i think...and i love eating in restaurants at home so u can imagine me here..
Everything here has been great so far and the sights are just beautiful. We´re at the foot of the Swiss Alps and see that everytime we walk down the street to the bus. Its absolutely breathtaking and gets me everytime. The community is so quaint and lovely it looks to be out of a picture book and i love it. The lake we went to today was so stunning with the clear water and the mountains dotted with little houses inthe back grounds...I am so thankful everytime I see something new for the opportunity to be here... I am loving every moment and making the best of it while I´m here...
Sorry for the length of this post but there was a lot to tell and I really felt like my heart was gonna burst if I didn´t share with you all how blessed I´ve been the last couple of days...
I hope you´re all doing well too...i miss u very much
Daniela from Austria