Starting to get homesick for Austria. Even though I haven't left it yet. The past few days have been the Most Perfect days. The sun is shining, and when it's not, it's raining warm rain, and the sky flashes purple and the mountains turn blue. On Friday Michi, his mum and I took the horses way up into the mountains, where they'll stay running wild until September. There were Alpenrosen, Highland cows stood in the middle of the road and stared at us, and all the other ponys, cows and horses were galloping about everywhere. Afterwards was Jürg's birthday dinner at a fancy hotel. Saturday was spent eating icecream with Sabbi, and then BBQing at Michi's brother Stephan's house, where I met his girlfriend and daughter who's just turned one year old. Sunday was spent swimming, lazing about in the sun and then watching the football world cup with Bambi and Betti, before going out with a few other 9M people. I said my first goodbyes on sunday night.
It was weird. Really weird.
Today was our 'wandertag'. Our class walked from town up through the woods to Kathi's house, where we BBQed (again) and lazed about (again) and enjoyed the sun and company. And right now I'm late to another dinner- from the two kids who I babysit and english-help-with, and their mother.

Eight days to go...

Thought I'd do another post, just because I'm at school and have nothing to do, and more importantly because I've only got 12 days left in Innsbruck!
At the start of my exchange, I couldn't imagine actually still exisiting in the last few days of my year in Austria. There was just so much to think about that I hadn't thought about coming home. Yet here I am, still alive and better than ever before, and preparing myself to say goodbye to the country that I've grown to love.

I have to admit, that the first eight months or so were spent with the attitude that 'yeah, Austria's really cool, but I Want to go Home'. Then, with 12 weeks to go, it suddenly hit me that here I am in this amazing country, that I have friends, family, school, and a whole life here. The past 10 weeks have been crazy- full on in every aspect. The bonds that I have with my friends have grown tighter, I talk more, interact more with the people around me, and generally just give life everything I have. It's great. You should try it.

The school year is almost over, and since our marks are now fixed, there's not really much point to school anymore. The classroom is now for sleeping and eating- everyone turns up (or not) looking very, very tired, with bed-hair and odd socks and lots of coffee, and all we do is sleep while the teachers attempt to ramble on about something dull (I took a video of my history teacher rambling on yesterday I was so bored. I'll put it up when I get home), and complain about the weather. Every night is something different and usually spontaneous.
The weather, by the way, is well. Hot. On average it's a little above 30°, though today is (thankgod!) a little cooler. Everyone moves slowly, and if you stop and stare in one direction for long enough, you can see the heat waves swirling around off the streets. The classrooms are horrible- with so many people, they're not only hot, but really really stuffy, even though we have huge big celings, and cool tiled and wooden floors.
I, Kelda Morris, am proud to say that I have a tan. Although the rest of Tirol are Really, really ridiculously brown, so I feel just as white as I ever did. (also, everyone else seems to be getting sunburnt, but I haven't got sunburnt at all- erste mal in mein lebens!)

In saying that, there have also been quite a number of thunderstorms lately. On monday I was in the hofgarten with Hannah, and it was a lovely day- we were eating icecream under a huge tree- when suddenly it started raining lightly, and the next thing we know, its raining, and there's thunder and lightning- lots of it! 20 minutes later, after we'd run back into town for shelter (the water on the ground was Hot! I was in barefeet), it was nice and sunny again. Last night I was in town watching football with Michi and Mario again, and all of a sudden it started Hailing-hard- AND there was Thunder and Lightning. Poor Michi had to haul his motorbike into the shelter of a shop window to save it from the hail, and then drive all the way back to Absam in the pouring rain a little while later.

Anyway.
What to say. I'm really nervous about coming home. Right now I'm trying not to think about it too much. Infact, I haven't even started packing yet- that's how much I haven't been thinking about it! For those of you who don't know, I'm meeting mum in vienna on the 9th, and we're doing a quick 4 week backpacking trip around austria, italy and greece before heading back to NZ in early august.

So, I'd better be off. Maybe I'll start packing today. Or maybe I'll do that tomorrow... who knows!
Hope everyone's doing well
ganz liebe grüße
kelda

Hadn't posted in a while, and don't really know where to start, so I thought I'd post up a couple of photos again.
Lately, Innsbruck has been invaded by the Spanish, the Russian, the Sweedish, and a whole lot of other people too... The EM 08 is on right now: for all you kiwis, that the European football Manschaft. Soccer, in other words.

This year it's being held in Austria and Switzerland (hurrah!) There are two games every single day (or rather, night) and three have been held in Innsbruck, at our Olympic stadium (where I do fencing). In town there are at least three large screens, where people flock to watch the football, as well as a huuuuuge screen in Bergiesel, at the Skijump (we sit on one side of the skijump, and the screen is on the other side)

I've watched quite a few games, but for most of my friends, the EM is brilliant because of all the beer and parties and nightlife. There are tonnes of free concerts, and crazy people on the streets to go and talk to. (this is me and a brezel by the way. Despite the look on my face, it was actually really good)

This is Hannah, Tom, Mario and Michael
at the Austria-Germany game on monday. We lost 1-0

Getting into the spirit of things

Hannah wrote 'Love USA' on my arm, and attacked my forehead as well.

Austrian Savages
(by the way, that flag is a tirolian flag, with the Tirolian mascot thing on it. And it's mine :D )

The really cool thing about EM is the amount of people from other countries who come here. And they're all really friendly too- you can just go up and talk to anyone.
The guy on the right is a Sweed who we met(we think he looks scottish), and the hat that Hannah is wearing I stole off another Sweed.

Fresh Kebap. Mmmm...

And this my friends, is my trusty bike. I love my bike. I go Everywhere with my bike. On monday night Hannah decided that she can ride bikes (she really, really can't), and we met some more austrians, who helped her out a bit.

The security is tight. This is last friday- Tobi, his hat, and a security man.


Blowing bubbles..

(Zipfer is our cheepest decent beer. If you go into a bar and say 'a bier bitte', you'll get a zipfer)

This is a glimpse of my week. Enjoy!

AFS camp

I took relatively few, and bad photos, I'm not sure why. But I'm stealing other people's later.

The Aussies: lisa and Matthias (both in Australia 06/07)
by the way. Matthias is my evil, long lost twin. Our reasoning is that we are the same age (give or take two days >_> ) and the same hair. Oooh! And he can do the haka! (his version of which involves sticking his tongue out and saying 'BLLAAARGH!', while waving his hands around in the air. Bloody aussies.)

View from my room in the nunnery where we were staying

All us afsers (there are better photos. I just don't have them on the computer yet)

Johannes (Finnland), Sara (paraguay) and Peter, my support person

Hannah, Siiri and Mariana (chile)



Matura

Monday morning: Rebe, Oli and Prof. Payr, before oral Matura. Nervous.

Maria and Bambi

Then I went back to Bambi, to learn for his English Matura the next day, and in one of our breaks, he played me a beautiful song about learning to ride a bike (in english)

Our principal and 9M maturantins on tuesday night

One of the presents that 9M presented to their form teacher Payr. They also gave him a book, filled with all the stupid, funny things that people said in class in the five years that they've been together. I'll post some of them up later.
no i won't. Here's some now (I couldn't decide which ones to write, and which ones not to write, so there's quite a few. Skip them if you feel the need):

German and Geography with Prof. Payr:

Payr: Who from the girls hasn't brought their excuse note yet?
Bambi: Me!

Marco: Herr Proffesor, do you know who from the class is sleeping with who?

What is the Capital of the Netherlands?
Andy:Amsterdam
Bambi: Na, that's the capital of Holland, you doodle!

Are the southern Kalkalps north or south from the central alps?
Bambi: -thoughtpause-, south of course. you don't need to ask me such stupid questions. I'm not that dumb!

Bambi has toilet paper stuck up his nose
Payr: you have something stuck up your..
Bambi: Yeah. I know.
Payr: Do you have a bleeding nose again?
Bambi: yeah
Payr: There are more elegant methods...
Bambi: ok ok, -turns to the girls- does anyone have a tampon?

The topic: aliens
Marco:I don't think that we're the only intelligent life in the universe
Payr: Yes, there's a neighbouring class to ours.

Payr reads out the marks from the exam:
[Austrian school marks are a scale from one to five. 5= fail, 1= excellent ]
Igor: Herr Professor, what do i get?
Payr: 4
Igor:What? 4? Why?
Payr: Due to incompitence.

Payr: What's an engagement?
Andy: A climax
Payr: na. That's an oragasm.

Christina reads, Makus chats
Payr: Markus, did you hear?
Markus: Ja
Payr: What did she say then?
Markus: I don't know! But you asked me if I heard, and yeah, I heard her. Doesn't mean I understand what she said!

Payr gives us a sheet about Austria in Geography. It has one (unintended) mistake. Task: find the mistake.
Long silence, while everyone searches...
Bambi: Is it perhaps that Austria doesn't have nine States..?
Payr: Yes! Exactly! Austria has 17 states... how could something like that happen...

Payr: Bring me an excuse note
Olivia: Written or spoken?
Markus: Oral

Since Kelda, a New Zealand exchange student came to our class, Prof. Payr translated, from time to time, a few words into english:

'des ist mehr als exakt!'= 'It is more exact... exactly... It is more exactlier!!'

'Ihnen sollten die Haare zu Berge stehen!' = 'The hair should stand them up to the mountain!'

'... des is irgenwas.' = 'It is anywhat'

'Da passiert was' = 'There happens what'

Maths with Professor Kühberger:

Bambi goes through the Maths homework on the OHP. For one answer, he writes 15.666666666667
Elisabeth: Bambi, that's reoccuring...
Bambi: Na it's not. Cos on the calculator, right at the end there's a 7!

Kühberger: Then there's Ultraviolet, and infrared...
Igor: and bluetooth.

Olivia: (at the blackboard) And now I'll draw a blue line in..
-takes the yellow chalk and draws a line-
Kühberger: because you're not colourblind at all!!

Latin:

Markus has to translate a sentence: Ma schiße, there's no commas at all!

Bambi: Frau Professor, I want to ask if I can leave 10 minutes early, cos I have a violin lesson. You could say 'no' and then I'd just go 5 minutes early.

Religion:

Markus: Can I ask something? Is there an M-preis [local supermarket, like New World in NZ] in the Vatican City?

Topic: Marriage and it's symbols
Mayr: What are the symbols of marriage?
Laiminger: Rings
Mayr: Yes, what else?
Alex: Easter candles!!!

Markus: Maria [girl in our class] is the mother mary, and is therefore the granny of Jesus.

Chemistry:

Dechant: The whole of Tirol has the same population as München
Bambi: na.. na... is Tirol really as big as München?

General:

Elisabeth: You're so arrogant!!
Markus: I'm not arrogant!... what does arrogant mean?

Sophia: Has anyone got anything to write with?
Maria: Nah.. I've only got a pen

Betti and Bambi at the dinner/party afterwards

Me and Maria

18th Birthday!

Me and Andrea spazzed out on the floor, waiting for people

Andrea and Matze

That's nici. And matze. Matze and Priska biked through pouring rain from town to get to my house.

Hannah, Siiri, Priska and Nici

Uhh.. this is a charades-y board game we started (and never finished) playing. This is Priska's rendition of 'Thunderstorm'

Priska, Sara, Lis, Oli and Anna-Maria

Matze, Hannah, Siiri, Priska, Nici, Andrea and Yasmin.

Not strange.

Me and tobi (I wasn't quite ready for this photo. Even though I took it)


Spontaneous sandwiching of Priska
(Priska is tiny, and tobi is huge, which made it all the more funny.)


Then the circus began. Johannes, Matze, Priska and Matze all juggling at the same time.

Tobi wasn't particularly interested.

So he dreaded Yasmin's hair instead.

Afterwards, Yasmin, Priska, Matze, Oli and I went into town. It was still pouring with rain. Yasmin caught her last bahn home, Matze, Priska and Oli were exhausted, and I realised on the bus to town that I'd left my key at home. So we wandered around, sang stupid songs, danced, and I realised that my rain jacket wasn't as waterproof as I'd thought it was; proof being that my phone, which was in my pocket, was drenched (including the sim card- eek!), and didn't work anymore.
Saying of the night (supplied by Tobi):

'Endlich wochenende, endlich drouge consumieren'

ps. The european football cup Thing is being held in Austria this week. Everything is crazy. There's free Everything. So far, I've been to a free concert (by 'Juli', from germany, held at the Skijump), and on sunday I watched the Austria vs. Croatia game on a huuuuge tv at the skijump, where we lost 1-0. Tonight off to the skijump again, to watch Italy vs Holland with Bettina and Elizabeth, and tomorrow we have no school, because there's a game being held in Innsbruck. I'll chuck some photos up in a bit.

bussal!