Servus Österreich!!

Liebe Gastfamilien und Freunden,

   Es ist einfach wahnsinnig wie schnell die Zeit schon vergangen ist, seit meinem Ankunft wieder in Amerika! Gestern habe ich freiwillig bei einem Oktoberfest in Des Moines mitgearbeitet, und (mit meinen Eltern dabei! haha) etwas Bier gertrunken: Hofbräu München und Paulaner. Ich vermisse euch alle so viel - denke jeder Tag an Österreich - und wollte schon seit lange ein Email / Update schreiben! Ich hoffe das alles bei euch in Ordnung ist, dass es jeder gut geht :) Ich bin hier total beschäftigt und wieder in High School für mein letztes "Senior" Jahr. Ich bin jetzt jeder Tag in der Bibliothek wegen Hausaufgabe von meinen Unterrichten, aber leider musste ich immer was für unseren Höheren Schreiben "Advanced Placement Writing" Unterricht machen, deshalb könnte ich euch nicht schreiben. Schön wird es Emails zu schicken :) 

    Ich habe schon ziemlich viele Sachen gemacht in August und September. Es war sehr sehr schon meine Freunden und Familie wieder zu sehen, in meinen ersten Wochen habe ich mit ihnen unseren "Amerikanischen Sommer" genossen. Als mein ehemaliges Auto, ein lila "Van" oder "Bus" schon kaputt war, haben wir es gleich verkauft und ein neues gesucht. Anfang August fand ich ein perfekte schwarze PT Cruiser (von der Autofirma Chrysler) und derzeit bin ich noch ganz zufrieden damit! Ich suchte auch noch einen neuen Job, und Arbeit fand ich bei einem Amerikanischen Restaurant heißt "Perkins". Dort arbeite ich momentan als Gastgeber, und hoffentlich bald werde ich Kellner. Das Restaurant ist bekannt für seinen Amerikanischen Frühstück. Jedes Wochenende, heute auch, arbeite ich dort. 

       Mit Freunden waren wir im August beim "Iowa State Fair" mich wieder in die Iowa Kultur zu reintegrieren. Dort gibt es viele Landwirtschaftliche Ausstellungen mit Tieren,Traktoren und sooo viele verschiedene Imbisse "an einem Stiel". (z.B. Schweinekotelett oder zwar gebratene Snicker´s/Oreos) Es ist schon American Football Saison, und jeder Freitag gibt es "Friday Night Lights" = einfach High School Fußball und falls wir nicht gestern verloren haben, denn steht unserer Schulmannschaft´s Rekord 5-0! Das ist ziemlich Wahnsinn, ehrlich gesagt, als hatten wir in einer sehr lange Zeit kein Rekord den so gut ausschaut haha! Die Homecoming Feierlichkeiten waren letzte Woche: die Parade u. Krönung des Königs und Königin in der Schule, Freitag Nacht Fußball, und Schulball waren alle voll lustig! Es geht mir noch sehr gut in der Schule, ich hab das Seniorjahr gut angefangen - verspreche das meine Noten sehen gut aus haha! ;) Ich habe dieses Semester Chemie, Französisch, Spanisch und Schreiben Unterrichte. 

       Mit Rotary bin ich auch noch beschäftigt: hab in August zu meinem Heimatclub mein Austauschjahr/Österreich präsentiert, ich war der Schüler des Monats beim Club im September, (eine Ehre für die nominierte Schüler von der 12 Klasse "Seniors") und letztes Wochenende war unser erster Rotex Termin. Das ist das Rotarische Programm für ehemalige "Rebound" Austauschschüler die neue zu helfen und lehren. Es freut mich sehr noch mit Rotary zu arbeiten, und noch mehrere internationale Freunden kennen lernen zu können. Dort darf ich mein Deutsch manchmal verwenden :D 

       Also es geht mir überhaupt sehr gut, nächste Woche besuche die University of Iowa mit meinen Eltern (ich hab einen Termin mit einem Professor von dem Deutsche Sprache Programm/Department). Ich glaube bald in ein paar Monate oder weniger werde ich schon meine Uni wissen! Was fehlt mir jetzt noch ist einfach euch alle, und Österreich! Ihr bleibt immer noch in meinem Herzen, ich will immer noch euch bedanken für diese schönste Chance euch kennenzulernen! Nun, ich will keinen Roman schreiben haha, so ich sage mal eine herzliche, liebe Grüße an jeder in Gutau und Weitersfelden, an meinen beiden tollen Gastfamilien und den ganzen Verwandtschaften, an Gymnasium Freistadt und auch RC Freistadt. Liebe Grüße,

Euer Amerikaner,

Ben Hoffman Ellis

Ein Spannender Tag / An Exciting Day

Ich weiß das ich habe so lange nichts mehr gepostet, Ich war von diesem Blog tatsächlich Weg (auf Urlaub!) Hahaha aber heute poste ich ein kleinen Beispiel von meinem wundervollen Tag in Linz heute. Ich dachte daran, dass könnte ich etwas interessantes von meinem Österreichischen Leben schauen, Heute's Blogpost wird auch speziales, als es ist nämlich mein erster Post auf Deutsch! (Eigentlich wird's bilingual, sondern wenn ich nur auf Deutsch schreibe, wäre das ziemlich gemein zu meinen lieben Englischsprachigen Abonnenten. Es kann sein das ihr werdet mich mal gar nicht verstehen aber dazu sage ich: es is eh wuascht, du wirst es noch überleben! {Oder schau mal kurz gerade unten auf Englisch, wenn du es lesen kannst} Auf jedenfalls ich werd's total selber schreiben und korrigieren. So dann, los geht's!

I know that it has already been so long since I have posted anything on here. Indeed I have been away from this blog (on vacation!) Hahaha but today I am posting a small sample from my awesome day in Linz I just had. I thought that I could show something interesting from my Austrian life here. Today's post will be a bit special, as it is namely my first post in German! (Actually it's going to be bilingual, otherwise if I only write auf Deutsch that would be pretty cruel to my dear English-speaking followers. It is possible that I will say something that they won't understand, but that's okay they will survive! (Or they can just look right under here at the English if they can read it, however it can still happen that NO one understands my English either! Bahaha) Anyways I am going to write and correct this completely on my own. So now, let's get at it!

The following originated on my spectacular Facebook account, Genieße es bitte: 

•Heid hob i da geilste poar Lederhose gekauft!!!

•Today I bought the most epic pair of Lederhosen!!! 

Hier gibt's einen kurzen Überblick von meinem tollen Tag in Linz: Lederhose shoppen, gutes Belgisches Bier, und der Maibaum in Weitersfelden niederlassen. 

Here's a mini-overview from my sweet-as day in Linz Lederhosen shopping, had a good Belgian beer, and the taking down of the Maypole in Weitersfelden: 

Meine Gedanken an meiner tollen neuen Souvenir/My thoughts on my awesome new Souvenir:

*Wenn ich kleiner wäre, eventuell würde ich mich sowie ein Österreichischer Hobbit fühlen, wann ich die tragen/ If I was shorter I might feel like an Austrian Hobbit in these! 
*Ich habe niemals so viel geselfied als heute mit meiner Lederhose/ I've never selfied so hard than today with my Lederhosen
*Hmm, falls die Lederhose mir gut genug passen, dann werde ich zu Österreichisch anschauen und sie werden mich niemals nach Hause schicken können/ Hmm, if this suits me well enough, I'll look too Austrian and they will never be able to send me home!

Bevor Einkaufen war ich im Hauptplatz beim Linzer Bauernmarkt/ Before Shopping I went to the Linz Farmer's Market at the main plaza:

So viele Käse Varianten/So many varieties of cheese:

Noch mehr/Still more:

Queso Grande jajajaa:

Fleisch Varianten/Varieties of Meat:

Frische Gemüse und Obst/Fresh Fruits and Vegetables:

Eingelegte Oliven und Tomaten/Pickled Olives and Tomatoes:

Frischer Rhabarber/Fresh Rhubarb:

Das leckere Linzer Eis~Gelato/The tasty Linz ice cream~Gelato:

McCafé in Austria w/Muffins, Donuts, Tiramisu, Pastries, Cheesecakes, Macarons and more:

Also das war mein Tag im Augenblick! Ich bin TOTAl gefreut mit meiner Lederhose -die werden meine Zeit in Österreich perfekt repräsentieren-, und bin so froh das kann ich hier in dieser Nähe so viele kulturische Sachen genießen. Morgen bin ich wieder unterwegs als ich fahre nach Graz mein erstes mal, für 4 Tage. Ich freue mich schon so sehr als werde ich Endlich die Chance eine alte Freundin, Donna Crnkovic aus Zagreb wieder sehen, seit 4 Jahre! Sie war bei uns in meiner Heimatstadt Newton eine Rotarische Austauschschülerin auch, während des Jahres mein Bruder Jon in Taiwan für sein Austausch war. Es ist einfach wunderbar das ich mein Austauschjahr mit Rotary International mache, weil es so eine tolle Charitie und Organisation ist mit so viele Kontakte und Verbindungen. Ein Austausch bedeutet neue Kulture und neue Freunde kennenlernen, und Meinungen und Ideen teilen. Eine Hohepunkt kommt doch am wichtigsten für uns Austauschschüler, das heißt Ewige Freundschäfte!

Damit muss ich jetzt schon gute Nacht sagen, und einer liebe Grüße zu jeder aus Weitersfelden!

Well that was a look at my day. I am incredibly thrilled about my Lederhosen -they will represent my time here perfectly-, and am so happy that I can enjoy so many cultural highlights here. Tomorrow I will be on the road again as I am traveling the Graz for 4 days, it will be my first time there. I am already very excited as it will Finally be my chance to see Donna Crnkovic again after 4 years!! It is simply amazing that I am able to do my exchange year through Rotary International, the wonderful charity and organisation that it is with it's so many lasting connections! An exchange means getting to know new cultures and new friends and sharing opinions and ideas. A high point that truly rings in importance is for us exchangers, Everlasting Friendships.

With that I must say gute Nacht, and a liebe Grüße to everyone from Weitersfelden!

Exchange Year: HALFTIME!!

Halftime: The period indicating completion of half the time allowed for an activity: e.g. Football, Basketball or Exams.

         It is not merely due to my nationality as an American that has the word "Halftime" popping into my head this time of year. Yes coming from NFL-Land I do indeed get excited for the SuperBowl and follow the team standings in the charts religiously. Well, okay perhaps the last bit is an exaggeration. However just like other Americans, the words "quarterback" "touchdown" "cheerleader" "SuperBowl Commercials" & "Halftime" do truly float around in my head this time of year similarly to how "Sugar Plum Fairies" dance in the heads of sleepy children on Christmas Eve. Yet, I am not so much a die-hard fanatic, and so my life is currently focused on other activities as well, particularly my exchange in Austria. Halftime is for me not only the most exciting point in the SuperBowl, but also where I am currently at in my exchange year. And yes, try as I might, I can't avoid the reality of how fast time flies. Thankfully, I have a relative 6 more months to enjoy my new-found life here!
         Exchange is a grand year packed full of transitions. From new families, new friends, to the odd, curiosity enticing tastes & sounds in the host country; all this culminating into a brand new life. For me Austria is a new scene to dive into and explore. The Mühlviertel region I've come to know with it's green pastured hills -qualifying as mountains in the eyes of an Iowan- it's "Little Red Riding Hood" forests and it's intriguing yet rather difficult to decipher dialect are steadily  (or more so rapidly) becoming the place I would begin to call 'Home Number Two.' Yup número dos. There is enough corn & a pleasant attitude similar to the familiar Midwestern friendliness, for me to make myself pretty darn comfortable here. I find the system of greeting folk with a handshake or a kiss on the cheek to have an positive, familiarizing effect on folk. At the beginning of my "Year of Transitions" I found myself thrown into a land of rich culture unknown to me and the situation the new language. Perhaps the clearest, most notable change in one's life as an exchange student is suddenly not understanding the people around you. At first this is highly confusing & it makes knowing what's going on a much harder task. For students who learn a foreign language in the classroom they are likely to find when immersed in the land where the learned language is natively spoken, that it sounds like a completely different one than that which they had studied. In fact French to a beginner might sound strikingly like Greek or Chinese at first (this can be exciting :) ). For me, I can say that what I heard here in my first weeks sounded nothing like German to me, nothing like what I had heard in the Berlin Airport on my way here anyways. After language camp and the period of time required for me to utilize & comprehend those newly picked-up lingual skills, I realized the folks here actually do use at least 5 of the same words found in the German language. Now considering all of my business transitioning into the new life here, it pleases me to say I am at the point where I do have a decent clue as to what is going on. It is now quite clear in my head what is High German, (the standard form) & what is Mühlviertler Dialect. The relationship between the two is now clearer in my mind making the local language perhaps not fully comprehensible, yet for me manageable. What was at first Not German to me is now a familiar sounding variation of it. I find my conversational German to be at a satisfying level for now, and the dialect, well I get the gist of that, & that is what's important at the moment.
         From the start of my time here I could see clearly how well this environment readily fit me. The culture and language is endearing to me in a manner has me hooked. Being open to the new social setting meant learning when is too much and when I have to push myself to become more outgoing. Getting to know the new social setting abroad was incredibly different compared to my dearest mother's exchange in Sweden, or even my cousin Amber's only 10 years ago in northern Germany, as I did not have to wait until I arrived. With the technology found in Facebook, I could see a glimpse of who I would be meeting here, and through Google Earth and Images what the country looked like. Yes given it was a mere glimpse, however a striking change from a few years ago. Entering the school on my first day in "Gymnasium" was nevertheless the start of my time in a completely new learning environment. The setup is that usually 2 classes, one following a language line and one on a more technological line of study exist per grade. These students then stay in the same classroom with the teacher coming to them for the majority of the lessons. This creates a totally new social setting compared to home where we change classes and see new people every period. I believe a somewhat healthier harmony exists here among the classmates in the school as the same group of 17 students spend the majority of their time together throughout the day. I am pleased to be allowed to join in & become a part of this. At home, I quickly found that Gutau, my first host village, had nearly everything for me, minus the vital train connections. A seemingly perfect, clean and tidy little place with a broad range of kind inhabitants I was incredibly lucky to get to know. The experiences around my Gutauer friends and at the music Kapelle are something I hope to keep up with even though I have now moved on:
          Weitersfelden: As of January 15th became my new and current Austrian home-base. That includes the house, an incredibly old building with a bakery on the first level belonging to my second host family Honeder. My newest host parents Helga and Reinhard run Honeder Naturbackstube (Bakery) which is a Linz and Mühlviertel regional and tasty business. I have 3 host siblings, Franz the oldest is currently completing his military service in Linz, Johannes is in a boarding school during the week in another city called Wels, and Sophie Honeder is in northern Minnesota for her exchange with Rotary. Our exchange goes between the two of us as Rotary Freistadt sent her to the USA, and subsequently chose me as they needed to then take a student from the same country. The village itself is located a bit farther east along the roads from Freistadt, at a higher elevation with an even better snow guarantee. Mühlviertel is perfect hiking country, and the Weitersfelden area of that is the paradise. The village has such quintessentially peaceful Mühlviertel scenery and even John Deere at the supply store, so I already am comfortable and happily settled in! So far my time here has been spent exploring the village and surrounding hills by foot, and as a few days ago the snow finally came, I of course had to do that all over again. The higher elevation here in Weitersfelden means we receive and keep more snow for a longer time, and it's appearance completely refaced the world over here! I find myself in the position of expanding on the new life I have created here, and a welcome, tasty, pastry-filled chapter this will be indeed! Life is calling right now, so I must call it quits in order to go pick up the phone ;) I will leave y'all with a handful of snowy photos freshly captured from what is technically the first snowfall of 'Winter':

"Come Again": My goodbye sign from Gutau. It was truly amazing, & not easy to leave. Herzlichen vielen Dank allen Freunden in Gutau. Die Zeit bei euch war super, unvergesslich und besser als ich es mir vorher vorstellen konnte! Pfiati seawas :)

Welcome sign to Weitersfelden!

View of the snowy village from a distance:

Wintry Overlook:

The "Little Red Riding Hood" forest in white:

The town centerpiece:

Servus aus Weitersfelden!

Holidays in Austria: Thanksgiving, Christmas & Other Travels

A compilation of photos illustrating my most recent experiences in Austria and beyond...

The main plaza in České Budějovice or Budweis, (auf Deutsch) the home city of Budweiser Beer. As I am fortunate enough to be hosted by the Rotary Club of Freistadt, near the border with the Czech Republic, I enjoy the exchange student benefits of traveling with them on trips to visit the sister club. 

An hour and a half north of where I live is the larger Czech city. A reminder of the short distance is the delightful food we ate during the meeting, with dumplings, meat & gravy cooked and presented much similarly to what I might find on my plate in Austria.

This shot is from the concert hall Brucknerhaus in Linz, where the Mayrs, the Rotarian couple and friends of mine from Gutau took me for a concert. 

We heard 2 pieces from Mozart including his work: "Jupiter", with a overture from Beethoven to separate them.

These are model buildings from medieval times, on display at a Christkindlmarkt or Christmas Market in Linz.

Another type of stall with cheese wheels and meat products.

The McDonald's on the Landstraße in Linz, an internationally frequented spot in a much more fancier, older building than one might find at home in the USA.

The long main road running through Linz, with it's shops on the way, the Landstraße, and a Freistädter Bier themed tram making it's circuit. 

Frisch

Frei

Freistädter

The main plaza in Linz taken over by it's own Christkindlmarkt.

Next are a handful of perfectly wintry pictures from Gutau, on Thanksgiving. It made a perfect Christmas Eve atmosphere, and that was awfully nice considering we had no snow and it was warm Christmas Eve and Day for us in Gutau! 

This was at night in the Marktplatz in Gutau earlier in December as it snowed.

Lights and decorations around Freistadt's old town, including a bell hanging in the street matching up with the church's own bell tower.

Foggy, frosty morning in Freistadt's main square.

From the southern bridge looking off to the east and the hills.

The frost with it's cold hand over the town.

The appetizer to a meal with the Mayrs alongside a baked Krampus.

Venison, potato noodles, a pear, dumpling and red kraut.

Schweinsbraten: A prepared meal of pork, Austrian style with dumplings and kraut.

Typical Austrian Rotarian Fare: Stuffed Dumplings & Sauerkraut!

Nikolaus & Krampus: The ultimate Advent pair of the Turkish Saint Nick and the Alpine devil, this time in chocolate form.

(Cookies) Kekse und Krampus

The carriage for the two Advent characters.

Krampus is the demon that comes on the 5th of December to harass people, traditionally a threat to kids. His counterpart Nikolaus comes the day after on the 6th to gift the good children a bag of sweets or something special.

His holiness brought all the essentials in our bags for the Kapelle, the town band I played in, to their Christmas party. Amongst the goodies were chocolates, nuts, oranges and Jägermeister.

The elaborate Christmas party meal prepared for the Kapelle including: Venison, Red Kraut, Potato Noodles, Dumplings, a Pear, a Lemon Slice, small Tomato & a beer.

From the Rotary Freistadt's Christmas party: Vorspeise (Appetizer): Proscuitto + Melon

Chocolate & Ice Cream Crepe Dessert

My order of Fish for the Christmas Day meal with the whole host family at a local restaurant. We celebrated the birthdays of my host dad Christian and my host sister Julia: 60 yrs + 30 yrs = 90 yrs 

A model of a cross between my host city of Freistadt and it's notable towers and that of Bethlehem, found in the city's main church.

A sunny morning during the Salzburg Weekend with the Rotary students. We got to head up into the castle Hohensalzburg, one of Europe's largest fortresses.

Rooftop view of the city as we hiked up the mountain to the castle itself.

The high-rising, imposing walls of Festung Hohensalzburg impress their might upon the visitor.

Looking down on the city from a barred castle window.

A nighttime shot of Salzburg.

The Salzburg Train Station, clean, modern, and with the Alps in the back end view.

From my host club's Christmas party. We walked to one of the small churches on a hill (Kapelle) and drank warm Austrian alcoholic Punsch, ate the Kekse Christmas cookies and chatted, then entered the building to listen to 4 talented singers. They filled the entire hall with clear Christmas voices, singing beautifully in German.

The Dead to Remember

A Reminder to the Living: This is unfortunately not a direct translations as the first is, because while it makes sense to write that in German, we would rather come up with something else to put down in English.

A Merry Christmas from Philipp, Tobi and I with our Christmas Tree and it's multiple fiery Sparklers and Candles!

Our family meal for Christmas Eve was "Raclett" A Swiss creations with a sort of mini-grill to cook bits of meat, cheeses and veggies and then prepare as you like with a choice of sauces.

Julia and Tobi together :)

As Christmas has been here and gone already so fast, here are 3 pictures with some of my new close friends :) The time flies admittedly fast but we are certainly enjoying it as we can. Here our my classmates and fellow exchangers: Genevieve van den Bosch, my Tasmanian Oldie and Oriannyd Duran "Ori" from Venezuela here with AFS. We team up to add a bit of entertainment to the lives of our Austrian classmates on a daily basis! 

My dear Paloma Ros from Madrid, Spain and I at Tauplitz in the Alps during one of our Rotary exchange student weekends.

An Autumn photo taken of Gen & I at Pöstlingberg, the twin-tower cathedral perched on a mountain topping a view of Linz. Our time together has been fantastic, a learning experience for us both and undoubtedly an opportunity for me to gain highly valuable guidance whilst here. She flies home to Australia in January as she's a Southern Hemisphere kind of girl. From her ever-so-eloquent words "It's Good" that is how I choose to describe the dream life here in Austria! Bis nächstes mal! Liebe Grüße aus Mühlviertel-

Ben Hoffman Ellis