Germanic Stuffed Animals

I really don't want to fall into stereotypes or make fun of strange senses of cute and loveable, but this is a picture of Roland's childhood kuscheltier.



Kuschltier = "Cuddle Animal" = Security and love for little Roland.

It's a wild boar, folks. It even has itchy fur.

It is actually this, in "cute" form.

I got nothin'

I have nothing to say but feel that I owe it to both of my readers to post something. Um...it's hot here...

To answer everyone's questions in one place, though (what a novel idea for a blog...duh.) --

I finish work at HIAS on July 27th and then Roland and I go on vacation. First, a few days in Velden (southern part of Austria) at the lake, reading and sleeping. Then, we'll fly to Berlin to see Constanze and Jascha AND Björn and Katharina and the kids! They are in Berlin for a one-year sabbatical, starting July 1st or so. Roland has still never been to Berlin - can you believe it?! Must be remedied.

After Berlin, we will go to Krakow for a few days and to a friend's wedding in a nearby town. I have always wanted to go to a Polish wedding and I finally have my chance! Last I heard, the total number of guests equalled the total number of bottles of vodka ordered! I will be sure to bring the Excedrin.

I fly back to DC on Aug. 17 and will spend a long weekend with the fam, and then Leslie will drive up to Wuh-stuh with me. I'll move in with my Mass-hole host-family (AKA: Liswa and Sebastian) and am hoping for a cookout on the back deck upon arrival!

Orientation for school starts Aug. 21 and on the 27th I will officially be in the full swing of things with classes! It's been 10 years...when I was last at a university, they were just introducing email! In addition to the classes, I have to learn electronic blackboards and networking and things. (By the way, I am already on top of Facebook! "Friend" me if you are, too!)

I am really geeking out about school and even got a reading list for one of my classes ahead of time and started reading. Who is this person, you ask? I'm not sure, either. Never met her before and certainly not at St. Mary's or UMD! I just can't believe I will soon be sitting at a table full of people eager and willing to discuss the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising for hours on end! I know - dork.

Hmmm...Vienna is amazing, the closer I get to leaving, the less I want to go. But it's really friends and Roland that I will miss and - as I have learned - friends are there, even if you are far away. Roland and I have done long distance before, so it's do-able. Not preferable, but do-able.

Hmmm...anything else you want to know? Oh, I met Roland's Japanese nanny last night! She said he always talked a lot and was stubborn...hmmm...not much changes, eh?

"Echoes" still making me damn proud!

I shared a copy of "Echoes of Memory" with a coworker recently and she was just now telling me how she loved it and found it so touching. Another coworker, just back from a trip to the US, asked me - "You had something to do with the book Echoes of Memory?"

She had stayed with a teacher-friend of hers in Idaho during her trip home and the woman had shared the book with her because she liked it so much and was incorporating it into a curriculum she was developing!

If you can't tell, I am GLOWING right now!

* For those not in the know, I started and oversaw a writing workshop for Holocaust survivors at the Holocaust museum in Washington, DC. The magnificent Maggie (Polizos) Peterson still teaches the monthly workshop and, to date, 4 volumes of survivor writing have been published! It is definitely my most proud achievement!

I'm back in Wien!

I'm home again, after a whirlwind trip. As soon as I have pictures of Leslie's wedding, I'll post. It was a great time, beautiful setting and perfect weather. Of course, she looked beautiful and, yes, I cried.

I got to meet Selah, too! Here she is...



...and here's one of me with the little cutie! Please disregard bra strap...

Arnie for President!

In my first years in Vienna, all the Wieners were convinced that the 2008 Presidential election would be between Hilary and Arnold Schwarzenegger! It made me crazy! I gave many a Constitutional Law lesson at parties. I can tell you, I was annoying, dashing all their hopes and dreams of 2008 being even more ridiculous than the 2000 "election."

"It's America," they'd say, "You all will just change the law."

Good God. I explained - amending the Constitution to allow naturalized citizens to run for President opens this theoretical big door to a bunch of people 1/2 of America doesn't even want to acknowledge!

Dear natural born US citizen friends -- raise your hand if your teacher or your parent or any adult at all told you, "You can grow up to be president!" We're all told that, you should all have your hands up. In addition to it being a huge fat lie (I mean, 51% of the population is female. How dare you tell me that I can do anything, fuckers?), it also keeps all the little immigrant children from being the same. Just one more way they are the "other." And the Republicans will never want them to feel the same, always want them to be "other," so they'll start with the kids. You can NEVER grow up to be president.

One can always rely on racism and xenophobia, my Wiener friends. And, honestly, don't Austrians know enough about that? It's something our countries share, in some spots and regions more than others, and it will even keep that big, hulking Aryan out of office.

Do you think Al Gore is going to run?

I've been thinking about it lately. Um, no, I'm not an idiot. I know the rest of the country has been, too.

But I just wanted to say - I kind of hope so.

I would still vote for Barak in the primaries but would be excited to be relatively happy with any of the big Dems, whomever comes out on top.

Hillary, Obama...Al?

Funny things about Wieners #15687

Paul Rose (yes, I called him out by FULL name) whined that I don't make enough entries on the blog. Those of you who have been with me from the start know that I am now - relatively speaking - prolific.

Okay, so maybe I should muse a bit more about the Wieners.

I love them, actually, am really very, very comfortable here. I am starting to get sad about leaving! I love our apartment, I love our life, I love our friends, I love my quiet time and alone time...it's really perfect.

That said, Wieners are funny!

Funny thing about Wieners #15687:
In Vienna, the definition of "vegetarian" usually includes chicken.

Veggie restaurants serve a chicken dish or two, even ones that call themselves "vegan!" I know that it's probably considered thoughtful to the non-veggie guests...but when I want a steak, am I going to go to a place called "Vegarant?" I don't go to a Kosher place for crabcakes, I don't go to a Persian restaurant for ham...it just makes sense, doesn't it?

Don't get me wrong - I am an all-out carnivore! I'm not necessarily complaining. I just like pointing out funny things about Wieners!!

Happy Birthday, Sgt. Pepper!

It was 40 years ago today...