The World is Changing..and Fast

I have been out of the world of news for the past couple of months. I wanted to let go of worries and just enjoy life. Little did I know there was a Revolution starting.

Occupy Wall Street Movement and the Stop PIPA + SOPA Movements.

Okay I'll admit I don't know everything, but this is what I know as of now and this is how I feel about it. And I am going to share it because it is my right as an American.

This is insane. Since when did Congress get to choose what information gets through to us and when did they decide that they no longer represent the desires their constitutuents?

I feel like I have no more faith in my government. I don't feel proud of the country we have become. To me America is a place of bankruptcy, high unemployment, and a corrupt government. I don't even feel like a person's vote counts for much. Which is ridiculous, why IS the 1% deciding for the 99%? It doesn't make sense and it sure doesn't sound like democracy.

These internet copyright laws. As it has been explained to me. Things like, my blog could get shut down (if these SOPA+PIPA laws are passed) because I have youtube videos of copyrighted music and video clips on it. How is it freedom of speech when harmless little one person blogs get shut down for something like this? Yeah sure pirating is probably not a great thing but this is not helping anything...it's hurting.

Also, don't we have bigger issues to be focusing on right now? Why are we so wrapped up in internet copyright issues when we have the issue of the US going bankrupt, Europe going bankrupt, no one can get a job and no one can afford the education they want to get the job they can't get?!
Sigh...
Let's not even get into the health care issues. I feel like Congress is just too afraid to deal with the real problems at hand. They are all looking out for their own interests and the interests of the lobbyists, instead of the good of the American People.

They are NOT the voice of the People.

I think it is time to take back our country.

Eating Habits

Okay so my eating habits aren't perfect but I do the best I can on a student budget. I am pretty sure that my biggest concern everyday is, "What will I eat and When will I get to eat it!"

So here's a mini food diary for the past couple of weeks. I tried to be chronological but my motivation ran out. Sorry. Also I would like to apologize in advance for not turning some of the pictures the correct way. Copy and past previous excuse and place here.

This is called a Mozartkugel, if you ever come to Austria it is mandatory that you eat one of these, because Austria is the birth place of Mozart. 

This is what my friend called a Bosnian or maybe it was Bulgarian Hot Dog. It is some sort of wiener with fresh onions and curry powder sprinkled on top. Awesome.

I made it to a grocery store and I bought myself some supplies. I made up some sort of chicken, broccoli pasta. It was so good...first home cooked meal in Austria.

This is called well obviously, Lion. It is like a nougat Kit-Kat with caramel and wrapped in a Crunch bar.

I bought this at the local grocery store bakery. It looked so gross that I just had to buy it to see how it tasted. Guys it was soo good. That pink fluff is strawberry flavored whipped cream and it wasn't artificially flavored. It tasted like actual strawberries! Then they wrapped it up in a crepe pancake thing, drizzled it with chocolate. Best thing ever.

After a little trip to the grocery store this is what I picked up. Doppelkek Rolls, maracuja yogurt, and off brand Nutella. Guys everything here is quality, even the cheap generic brands. And I can't stop eating those doppelkek cookies... I literally can't stop.

In the International group we have been having parties featuring food from home countries. Well one night was Korean night and my friend Kim made these. They are Tuna, corn and onion cakes. Sounds strange but so delicious! She told me how she did it and I made them myself for dinner the other night.  Easy and inexpensive.

In case anyone is interested in how to make these you take a can of tuna and drain it really well, put chopped onion and canned corn, with 1-2 eggs (depending on how big they are) and some flour. Then with a little oil in your pan fry them till they are golden brown.

This is some sort of Kosher Jewish treat. It's like a home made fig newton. It was pretty good, as good as a home made fig newton can get. 50 cents and I have no regrets

Bought it at a cafe in the old WW2 Jewish ghetto in Venice, Italy.

On the island of Lido right off of Venice. This is where you will find the best priced gelato and some beautiful beaches to eat them on. This is mint chocolate chip gelato. Amazing.

That look on my face says, "I'm gonna eat SO much gelato in
the next  24 hours" and I did...

This is Chocolate, can't go wrong with a classic. But if you are ever in Italy and looking at all the chocolates go for the ones that really go look fancy, they have a better chocolate taste, at least that was my experience.

Mmm Chocolate.

This one was called Nutella. I had high hopes for it..but I was let down. It was my last day and I was not willing to leave on a poor note. Hence my last gelato... 

Cremino...ohh my goodness. It was wonderful..beautiful! I should have gotten two scoops. (though the boat ride following would have punished me for it)

Pizza, you have to get pizza when you go to Italy right? 

Well I accidentally ordered pepperoni pizza, not what I had intended. But my friend ordered a great pizza with fresh herbs and tomatoes (uncooked) on top. We wound up trading pizzas. The oh so classic Italian waiters were kind enough to box the leftovers so we could finish it on the night train.

Delicious dinner courtesy of Planet Restaurant in Venice, Italy.

Well there was so much more but those were basically the highlights. Lately I have been on a sandwich kick so maybe I'll start documenting them so I can share the warm and comforting food love. 

Epic fail blogger and Austria 101

Sorry about my epic fail as a blogger, do forgive me blog.

So here I am in a little village in Austria pretending to be a design student. Lots of stories right? Eh yeah I guess.

Here's a little I have learned about Austria.

For one the trains and buses are always always on time, sometimes ever early!! And on evenings and Sundays they run with less frequency, so DO NOT miss your train. Or you will hate life. You will have to wait a minimum of 30 minutes.

Secondly, basically all business close around twelve for an hour or two everyday, because Hey they want a lunch break too! Nice for them, a pain in the butt for me.

Stores also close daily at about six or seven on weekdays, Saturday expect even shorter business hours and on Sunday don't expect anything to be open except a church. Which I guess is a good thing, but what if you really Really REALLY need something?

Three words: The Metric System.

Know your military time, 'cause that's what they use over here.

But hey if you are a fan of organic, fresh, quality made food this is the place to be. Everything here even the cheapo generic brands taste 15x's better than the American version.

More to come..hopefully. I gotta go party it up.

Food Glorious Food

There are so many things I want to learn to cook. I am a little stuck on what I should cook next. There are so many options and then once I know what I am going to cook I have to find a good recipe. Here are the options.

• Cucumber sandwiches; like the ones you see in movies with English tea
• Breads (rye, sourdough...?)
• Awesome french toast recipe I found on another blog
• Pickle soup (maybe just to see what the heck it is)
• Poached eggs (it's harder than you'd think)
• My mother's to-die-for Minestrone
• Waffles, and when I say waffles I mean that I want to find an amazing recipe, one that will blow you out of the water, because waffles are amazing. And for all of those who think there is no difference between waffles and pancakes I will write a section explaining this as well.

Okay, cucumber sandwiches sound pretty delicious. I'll make those first, it'll ease me back into cooking.

Here's a picture of someone else's sandwiches, but don't they look good? Cool, fresh and perfect for summer? I'll put up my own pictures but these people had a nice camera and I want you all to appreciate how pretty they are.

Summertime is Here

Summer is here... I think. In Utah you can never be sure. Curse you Utah. Well the birds are singing and I am now working everyday at two different care centers. I have never worked full time before. 40 hours is a lot of time.

I work a lot of graveyard shifts that go from around ten at night till seven in the morning. Working that shift is kind of like living in the Twilight Zone! Everything is backwards, you eat a meal in the middle of the night. Even though it is not what I am used to I am really starting to like it.

I am getting wayyyy excited to leave for Europe in 3 months! I still have a million things to do and a ton of money to earn. I am just worried that things won't work out, it seems like a trip to Europe is not something that I could ever achieve. It was always a dream, and a lot of times people tell you dreams are not realistic so don't get your hopes up. I guess I still have some of that ringing through my head.

I think I'll try to be productive now.

Guten tag - German Part 1

My goal this summer (other than earn a ton of money) is to at least start learning the German language. I checked out every "Learn German" cd pack and book from the library. I started one of them this week and man this language is easy yet very difficult at once. 

Deutsch is pronounced completely
 different than you would expect. It does not sound at
all like an American word you may be thinking of.

Right now the word I can not pronounce correctly is                              

                 "sprechen" 

                                  

It's like, Shchpr-eken.

Which is a train wreck coming out of my mouth.

Things I find difficult about the language.

1. All the back in the throat sounds
2. The invisible "R". They sound out their "r" like Utahns say their "t's".
3. They have masculine and feminine wording. For example if I want to say my nationality, or a street or a plaza you use different "the's" and different endings. I guess I just have to memorize what is feminine and what is masculine

Things I like about the language.

1. There are many similarities in the sound of words like; here, is , and, yes. I love those words! 
2. I sound like a character from some exciting European movie. (Well I think I do.)
3. It is totally new to me, no background.

Anyway I don't think that after all these tapes I will be fluent, but hopefully have some sort of understanding of the language. Maybe be able to read it? I sure hope so. 

Everyone tells me that, "Everyone speaks English there!" but I know that is impossible and I am sure that they would rather be speaking German than English. So I want to learn the language. Actually my goal is to become fluent or at least close to it.  

How much German I speak as of now

I can say, hello, how are you? I speak a little German, I understand a little German. Do you speak English/German? Are you American/German? Where is this street/square? Goodbye, yes, no, please, pardon, and good. 

Pretty good start I'd say. 

Austria is becoming a reality

A couple months ago I decided that I was going to go to Europe. I have always wanted to and I decided next fall, I will. I signed up for the study abroad program and decided on Salzburg, Austria!!! So beautiful!

Can you imagine?... Living there?

This very weekend I send my information to the school and register for classes! Wow this is really happening, I am really going! I will LIVE in Austria for like four months!

It's not going to be easy getting there though... I need around $8,000 dollars. That's money I don't have...yet. I am planning on working full time this summer, maybe get two jobs if I have too. And a loan if worse comes to worse.

BUT happy news came in the form of an email. An email letting me know that I was awarded a Study Abroad Scholarship! AHHHH dreams come true!! It's not a huge one but any amount even if small compared to the total amount needed I am so grateful for the boost it gives me.

Well everybody it seems I am going to Austria this fall, I guess I better start learning German. Wish me luck!