Summer Camp Austria: the Beginning

Starting on the 26th of July, I have been hired to teach German at an international sleep away summer camp in Zell am See. After a week of orientation with all of the staff members, the campers arrived yesterday. It's been pretty hectic getting all of the kids situated and dealing with parents, regulations, etc. I'm a bit afraid the kids are going to be spoiled brats from what I've heard about the socioeconomic standing of some of them...

The kids come from all over, but mostly Russia, the Middle East, Switzerland and other parts of Europe. I was on airport duty picking up the kids from Munich, which was incredibly stressful. I never realized how hard it can be to try to wrangle 60+ kids around an airport!!

All of my co-workers seem pretty cool, though. I met two on the train ride from Salzburg to Zell am See and the rest when I got to the camp. They've traveled all over the place, and many of them are from New Zeeland, though there are also a number of Americans, a couple of Canadians, an Australian, and various Europeans. Our orientation was a bit less hands-on than I had imagined, but I guess it did the trick.

I will stop here, being absolutely pooped. Hopefully more news will pop up soon...and pictures, too!

Cinque Terre: Another Look at Italy

Callie and Sarah: Vernazza from the pier

I have so many pictures of the Cinque Terre - mostly because of all of the beautiful scenery - and, seeing as we mostly just hiked and ate delicious food and drank too much wine I can't think of a reason to give my usual lengthy explanations of any of them.
I will, however, clarify what the Cinque Terre is, for those unfamiliar: it is both a national park in Italy (protected wildlife and all that...camping, hiking trails, etc.) and five towns near the national park, which, if I may, are basically an Italian Door County (i.e. tourist destination) with overpriced restaurants, charming views, cozy B&Bs, and the odd cultural event.

Onto the photos:

VERNAZZA (where we stayed)

MONTEROSSO

lemon groves

more lemon groves

Vernazza from the trail

Callie and Sarah on the trail

CORNIGLIA

from the trail

at the train station

Funny story: there was this refrigerator on the trail
<--
We had to wait for it to pass before we could continue. Guess that proves people really do live up in these hills...

Me and Sarah on the trail

My happy-face Latte :)

MANAROLA

A church in Manarola - we did not go in.

Callie & Sarah on the Vineyard walk

view of town

RIOMAGGIORE

The "Via dell'Amore" - Way of Love :)

Amore

Portofino: where the movie stars hang

And last but not least, Portofino (not technically part of the Cinque Terre, but part of the Italian Riviera)!

We went to scope it out...and maybe hope to do a little celebrity stalking ;) - but to no avail! Ah, well.

Naturbad Amstetten: a Review of the Pool and Brainstorming Session

A few weeks ago, I discovered Amstetten's public swimming pool.

Not thinking much of swimming in a pool...especially since these sorts of things are hit or miss...I had actually known about the pool since November, but decided not to go. I was afraid it would be dozens of screaming children running around scantily clad and under light (if sometimes nonexistent) supervision by parents and/or babysitters.

Nevertheless, I decided to check it out. Spurred into a new fitness kick, I thought I would take up swimming again after a LONG hiatus (by "long" I'm talking a couple of years). And I was pleasantly surprised - at first - by the lack of screaming children, the sauna/steam room/whirlpool/restaurant areas...and the fact that there are massages available as well (for an added fee). At the slick price of €3.50 for an hour and a half, or €7 for four hours, this is possibly the best thing to do in Amstetten,

There are other, free things to do in Amstetten, such as going to church or going for a walk. Depending on your tastes, attitude and cash flow, I can recommend certain enjoyable activities: grocery shopping, drinking and going to the CCA (City Center Amstetten, i.e. the mall)...going for a gelato at the Cafe Excel, loitering in front of the ATOLL skate park/Jugendzentrum, and going to a musical and/or theatrical evening at the Pölz Halle...and now, I think I've covered each and every activity to partake in in Amstetten.