The last time I wrote about school, (apart from the Der, Die, Das disaster) I was in Guatemala studying Reiki. Now, I am studying German in Austria and thoroughly enjoying being an international student.
Don’t get me wrong, German isn’t easy (see my last post) but I am enjoying the class time I get with people from around the world. In my first month I was 1 of only 2 native English speakers…now I am the only one. And definitely the only one from the southern hemisphere. It makes for interesting conversations about seasons…I was dubbed a ‘summer’ baby for being born in July. I quickly had to point out that mistake.
But I am probably the least interesting of the group. Everyone else is from Eastern Europe (mainly Russia, the Ukraine, Serbia or Slovakia). My accent totally does not fit in. Neither does my lack of interest in bread or beer.
The other day in class we were talking about being sick – I’m still not entirely sure why I would need the phrase ‘My small intestine is sore’ – however the conversation about cures for the common cold become very interesting when the Russians got involved.
You guessed it, Vodka. And sure, it may not see so strange when you think about people who drink brandy (or is it whisky?) when they want to cure a sore throat. But the Russians aren’t drinking the Vodka…they are rubbing it on themselves. And turns out, that I was the only one in class who thought that was strange! (Spot the non-Eastern European). Apparently it draws out the heat….or just gets you drunk enough by absorption that you forget about the cold maybe?
If that isn’t your thing, then you can always do a potato steam.
A what?
Well, it’s just like we do….putting a towel over your head and placing it over a bowl of hot water and breathing in the steam. Except that in Russia you add potatoes and herbs to the hot water.
Or maybe hot water with raspberry marmalade is more your thing?
So. Interesting.
Maybe I will sign up for another month of school purely for the stories.
