Here are the things I did last year that I think contributed much to the person I am this new year.

• Successfully completed my German competency course. It wasn’t easy especially because the interest to learn this particular language was not there. There was only the need to learn it. My attitude towards it was: I am learning it because I have to and not because I think it’s fun. I could have stopped sometime in the middle of the course if I wouldn’t have cared wasting the money spent on the course (it was expensive). But there came a time when I started to appreciate it and later on, I am really glad that I did it.
• Left China for good. I could say that in my three years of stay in China, a lot of bad things happened to me but I could not deny that the best thing happened to me there as well. So it’s like, one best thing evens out all the bad experiences I had in China. China has been good to me…to us. It wasn’t always easy (especially for my Austrian husband) but living there was very beneficial for us. In China,  we experience comforts we could never afford here in Europe. I don’t know if I will ever go back there but China and the people we met there who became good friends of ours will always have a space in our hearts.
• Started a life in Austria. I had my doubts. I doubted if I ever could make it here. If I ever could get a job. If I ever could find friends. If I ever could call it a home.  This stage of my life is still a work in progress. There are still a lot about this country and its people that I have to learn. I might not like or like what I’ll learn but so far, Austria has been good to me and I think that I am in the positive way to clearing all my doubts.
• Cut down on my blogging. This was mainly because I was busy with other things. I had to prioritize stuff and that means my blogging has to be given up to some extent but because old habits die hard, I am still here and blogging. In fact, I started another blog.
• Learned how to drive and acquired a driving license. I am from a country that sees being able to drive a car as a luxury not necessity. Earlier in my life, I gave learning how to drive some thoughts but I never considered it as something I must do. That’s until I married an Austrian.  Understandably, it was not easy for me. The theory lessons were done in Austrian dialect so I have to record each lesson and listen to it over and over again so I could understand or, at least, have an idea what the lesson was about. Another thing that made it difficult was: I think I have no talent at all with driving. It is already more than four months since I acquired my license and yet, I still can’t drive well.
• Found a job in Austria. I needed three long months before I landed a job. Within these depressing months, my self-esteem hit its all time low. I am just so glad that I have a loving husband. Right now, I am very much contented with my teaching job. I am not teaching in a regular school but all the same, I am still teaching and that’s great. It’s really a huge blessing that I still can practice my profession in this country without going through the complicated nostrification (educational degree comparison and evaluation).
• Experienced a car accident. It didn’t do me any damage—no scratch. Nothing. It just left me a little bit of a shock. It was not a major accident but it left a major impact on how I look at life.  I often hear clichés like life is too short, enjoy the things you have while you still can, and etcetera but I never really cared. I mean, I know they that these lines are true but I didn’t feel that they should also apply to me but that changed. After my accident, I value my life and all the persons and the things I have more.

vienna in circus roncalli

The title,  “all you need is laugh”, says it all. Those two and a half splendid hours spent in Roncalli Circus were time well spent. Not once, while I was in the circus’ colorful tent, did I stop to think and worry about anything because I was so busy laughing at the jokes and being amazed by the artists.

marcus in circus roncalli

Every act was well thought of and obviously showered with a great deal of effort. I admire these people and their love for their art because, clearly, they worked hard to perfect their skills.

balloon artist in circus roncalli

After the show, I thought of the artists who just performed one helluva entertainment. I imagine them spending most part of their lives traveling to different cities and living in their train trailers. I wonder if they have much contact to other people outside their circus circle. I wonder how their lives are. I wonder how they are behind the make-up and the fabulous costumes.

acrobatics in circus roncalli

I wonder if they are happy.

some people from the audience got included in the show

They must be.

some funny act in circus roncalli

Because obviously they love what they do and they’re very successful in it.

Last Friday, we dined in a Chinese restaurant with our good friend, Eugene. He is also a colleague of my husband. We meet at least once a week to dine or have a drink somewhere. Last Friday, we decided to eat in a Chinese restaurant to break the monotony of our “pizza nights”. Right after the meal, we were given fortune cookies. It was my first time! Imagine after living three years in China and after having eaten several times in countless REAL Chinese restaurants, I just receive my first fortune cookie in Austria! I think the “fortune cookie thing” is a Western thing disguised as an Asian thing.

So anyway, let me amuse myself and let’s go back to our fortune cookies. After I’ve eaten mine, I was reminded of Eggnog (not the alcoholic drink but the Philippine cookie). The fortune cookie I got tasted exactly like that (I like that cookie very much).  Then there was a small piece of paper where the fortune is and the one I got says “Someone is speaking well of you.” Hmmm… my brain suggested that this “someone” could be my boss who is definitely selling me good to parents of prospective pupils. My husband got “Your success will be improved each year.” He just got a promotion last July (also one last year) so it could mean that the fortune is late or it could also mean that he’ll be promoted again next year (whew!). Then Eugene got “A firm friendship will prove the foundation on your success in life.” He is good friends with my husband and if my husband gets promoted each year, it could also be good for him (hahaha).  I was not only able to see what will happen but I was also able to fit their fortunes together (*wink).

Back home some people believe that when a person gets a fortune and tells it to another person, the fortune will not happen. It’s like a counter-fortune if you let another soul know about it and that’s exactly what I just did.

Steiermark is a very nice part of Austria and it is known here as the “Green Heart of Austria” because of its many forests, farms, orchards, and vineyard. It’s lovely here in the summer and I am sure that autumn here will be quite as lovely. I’ll have my camera ready and I’ll take photos of the country side.

Austria is incredibly beautiful and sometimes I wish that I could contain some of its beauty in a bottle and bring it home to the Philippines to show it to my love ones (then bring it back of course). I love its rolling hills and well kept meadows. I love its looming mountains along with its countless lakes and streams. I love its century old cities and the old architectures therein. I am glad that I am able to see and appreciate such place.

And if I’d have to say something I don’t like about Austria… it would just be then the fact that Austria is not blessed with an ocean and all that comes with it like fresh salt-water fishes and lovely beaches. But that’s ok because my country has those. For me it’s like Philippines and Austria complement each other and I am glad to have found home in both countries.

All the times that I was put in such situation, I felt under the pressure of being expected to be able to talk in their language simply because I was living there.

It is really too bad that I didn’t learn how to speak Chinese in my three years of living in China because I could have learn a lot from people who stopped by to have a chit chat with me. I always felt that these are the people who are genuinely friendly. In China if somebody approaches me and start to talk to me in English, I usually get suspicious because I know from experience that these people more likely want to sell me something.

In Austria it is pretty much the same except that people here don’t come to you and speak to you in English just to sell you something. I am glad they don’t do that. But I say it is the same because I still have this feeling—the irritating feeling that I am expected to speak in German just for the simple reason that I am here.

I can say that I can understand German fairly well (and when I say “German”, I mean “high German”) but I still have the trouble of speaking in German. After taking two German language courses, my confidence in speaking the language goes as far as greeting people. So if I enter a store or any kind of establishment, that’s what I do because that’s what they do (hell, Austrian people greet so much!). I greet them in their language just to be polite but my greetings always come with a prayer—a prayer that I only receive a greeting back…NOTHING MORE. But Austria seems to be a place of very polite and friendly people so after exchanging civil greetings, you can expect a small chit chat—it’s completely normal here to exchange a few kind words to strangers. If you greet them, you can expect a greeting back, an offer to help you, then probably question about your well being or a slight remark about the weather. If you don’t greet them, it doesn’t matter… they will still greet you. I actually think it is lovely that they are like that but the problem is that I can’t understand them because although I can understand German, they don’t speak German. They speak an Austrian dialect that sounds so funny to me.

So what happens is, I get stunned or I appear to get stunned. I just sort of stop there and try to process as fast as I can what was said. In most cases, I get nervous and so I just reply to them in English. It’s really difficult for me. You see, I need time to process what was said then I also need time to think of what to reply in German. Imagine the stress! Then there’s the pressure of wanting to reply quickly because you don’t want the other person to wait hours for what you’ll have to say.

If I am lucky, I am able to reply in German and in time but if my nervousness gets ahead of me, I am sure to awkwardly reply in English. If I am luckier, the person will simply smile and start to talk to me in English. If is not my day, I can only expect an awkward silence.

It’s been two weeks and I would really be happy to say that it is like how I thought it would be but that is simply not the case because “not eating a lot” is totally the opposite of what I am doing.

I love Austrian food although it is kind of scary to look at their huge servings of Schnitzel, beef steak, and other kind of meat food and it is even scarier every time I realize that I singlehandedly emptied my plate—consisting a huge piece of meat good for three people, some salad, and a side dish.

Somebody help me!

My God! I am gaining weight and I am gaining fast!

And like the devil isn’t happy enough with my weight gain, he sent a lifetime supply of chocolates through unsuspecting relatives who cheerfully gave it to us for Easter.

This has got to stop.

Seriously.

I tried to post entries during my holiday but unfortunately, I am not well equipped. I brought my laptop but the small hut we stayed in doesn’t have a WIFI. There’s a strong cellular network and a good GPRS connection but the phone I brought with me is crappy. I left my iPhone in Shanghai in the fear that it will be stolen or lost. You see, this holiday is special because unlike our other holidays, this one is done backpacking style. Except for our flights, nothing else is booked. No hotels booked in advance, no day trips planned, no boat rides reservations, etc. So there are no fancy hotels with tight security. I’d rather not use the iPhone for a few weeks than not use it forever.

In short, the only entry I was able to publish was the short poem below.

I still have some unpublished blog entries so the next few posts  I will be publishing will be from these.

]]> http://www.viennalopez.com/2009/03/26/im-back-from-the-remote-island-far-far-away/feed/ 2 http://www.viennalopez.com/2009/03/19/waves/ http://www.viennalopez.com/2009/03/19/waves/#comments Thu, 19 Mar 2009 10:57:22 +0000 vienna http://www.viennalopez.com/index.php/2009/03/19/waves/ Rolling waters to my feet
Oh please stop! Don’t be a tease.
Romance the sand, woo the land
But don’t seduce me, d’you understand?

I know you are so clear so blue
A real treasure to anyone’s view.
But though you are all these and more,
The sun is not, he gives me sore.

He only not darkens my skin,
He also burns it and make it sting.
So alluring Waves, now you know
Why I can only watch you come and go.

Vienna Lopez
18.03.09
Banana Island

Her flight to the Philippines was two days earlier than our flight so my husband and I took her to the airport. That’s how we learned how Cebu Pacific operates in Shanghai.

With Cebu Pacific, the maximum allowed luggage weight is 15 kilos which is already 5 kilos less than the average check-in luggage weight of 20 kilos. That’s completely fine because we learned that when we booked the tickets but Cebu Pacific doesn’t have mercy at all, you can’t go another 500 grams or so… you have to pay for that weight over 15 kilos no matter how insignificant it is. So imagine all those OFWs going home thinking that they were able to save by taking that cheap plane tickets to Manila. They have to pay incredible overweight charges! And there’s more, hand luggage were weighed too! There are these people with bathroom weighing scales standing right before you enter the immigration area. They single out people going to Manila with Cebu Pacific tickets and weigh their hand luggage one by one and if the luggage is over 7kilos, they demand it to be returned to the check in area for payment of excess weight no matter how negligible the excess weight is. Does Cebu Pacific know how their Chinese airport agents are treating their passengers? If the money goes to Cebu Pacific….I’d say it’s a filthy manner by which they do business. Better sell your tickets with higher prices! If the money goes to the Chinese Government (airport)…I’d say why why why is Cebu Pacific letting this happen. They are squeezing these poor OFWs off their hard earned money by making them choose whether to leave their luggage at the airport or pay incredible amounts!

With their cheap flights you can expect to get their even cheaper service!