Things that have beein going on that mainly have to do with but are not limited to Bregenz and Thankgiving

It's 10:07 and Alanis Morissette is wailing from her digital prison in my neatly organized iTunes folder. I got up an hour ago to my cleaning lady (actually, either there are several cleaning ladies, or the one just has a great make-up artist and is changing her appearance to drive me slowly insane) barging into my room without knocking. Really I can't blame her. Technically I work on Fridays. Well, every other Friday. Sometimes. Basically, what it comes down to is that half of the time I'm gone every time. But I digress. The important thing about having a cleaning lady is accepting that there will be some inconvenience from time to time. The question you have to ask yourself is: "Is getting woken up early on your day to sleep in worth 20 euro per month and having your trash emptied daily?" I am trying to reconcile that right now.

On the bright side, my coffee is black and delicious. If it was 11:00, and if I had just got up, I'm sure the coffee wouldn't taste so good.

I hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving. And I hope if you had tofurkey it gave you salmonella. No, ok, you can eat tofurkey. Just don't tell me about it. I have a weak stomach in the mornings. Some people have asked me if we celebrate T/G in Austria. The answer is a resounding no, with undertones of yes. American T/G is uniquely American, but Austria has a harvest festival in October where they give thanks for their blessings. Doesn't seem to be widely celebrated, and nobody gets the day off of work.

I celebrated in Bregenz, which is as west as you can go in Austria. A teaching assistant and friend from college hosted and made a turkey. I came early and helped with some of the fixins. Others brought dishes to pass as well. We really did our job as cultural ambassadors as there was a healthy mix of Germans, Austrians, and Brits enjoying the festivities. Survey Says: 100% of those polled loved Thanksgiving. Next time I'm doing a turducken though.

Bregenz is on the Bodensee, which borders Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. (Oh Oxford comma... now that I know that to some you are a fount of discontent, I love you all the more). We took a gondola up one of the mountains (and these really are mountains) to look out over the landscape--really a sight. There's snow on top of the big mountains... (guessing here.. 2,000-2,500 meters) but the top of the one I was on was grassy still. (Not anymore, though. The night I left it apparently started to snow there. They got over a foot.) From the top I could see all three previously mentioned countries, which was cool.

Otherwise not much to say. I have the next 5 days off, so I am going to make the most of it. I'm visiting another local TA tonight to make some dinner and catch up. Saturday there is a Christmas Market in Waidhofen, so I'm going to check that out. Gluehwein for all! And Sunday I'm going to Vienna again to hang out a friend and see a movie. (I hear you ask yourself: "Why does he have to go all the way to Vienna to go see a movie? Aren't there any theaters close by?" Don't worry--there are movie theaters. This isn't quite Cambodia. So there must be some other reason to go to Vienna.)

Alright. I'm off to make another pot of coffee. Til' next time.

Oh yeah, and I think I'll keep the cleaning lady.