100 things I learnt during my year abroad in Austria

1. Don’t sleep with other teaching assistants

2. Don’t sleep with your friend’s flatmate

3. Don’t sleep with your students (but that one’s obvious – we learnt it on the first day of TA training)

4. Euros feel like Monopoly money but eventually you’ll get used to them

5. Oachkatzlschwoaf is one of the hardest words to pronounce in dialect and if you’re an English speaker in Austria, everyone will try and make you say it (it means “squirrel’s tail” and is said oar-ch-kat-zel-shhh-voar-f)

6. Wearing Tracht is totally normal in Austria. At the start of my year abroad, I was shocked to see one of my colleagues wearing a Dirndl to work, but by the end I’d often see men wearing Lederhosen at the supermarket

7. When you tie up your apron on your Dirndl, a bow on the left means you’re single and on the right means you’re taken

8. The von Trapps used to live in Zell am See (the next town from where I lived in Saalfelden)

9. Maria and Georg von Trapp were not in love. They married for practicality, not because they actually loved each other 😦

10. No Austrian has ever watched The Sound of Music

11. Having to cook and survive the year with only a kettle and microwave is difficult but not impossible

12. If you have an ingrown toenail, don’t try and perform self-surgery

13. You have to look into each others eyes when you are saying cheers (Prost) otherwise it guarantees a lifetime of bad sex

14. Always say Mahlzeit (or Moizeit in dialect) before you start eating

15. A skinny lanky boy would be called a “Lauch” in German. A Lauch is a leek and I think describing men as root vegetables is the way forward

16. Living in a small town where very few people speak English is the BEST way to improve your language

17. There’s no point living in the Austrian alps if you can’t ski

18. Going skiing just once a week in the winter makes your bum really perky

19. DJ Ötzi comes from Austria (you know the song HEEEEEY, HEYYY BABY OOOH AHHH)

20. Adolf Hitler also comes from Austria (I really thought he was German)

21. Austrians find it hard to pronounce the name Rachel

22. Socialising in Austria always involves lots of food and lots of alcohol

23. You will 100% gain weight on your year abroad

24. Austrians wear Hausschuhe (house shoes) to school because if it’s snowy outside, the teachers don’t want them to bring in loads of mucky snow

25. At first I thought Hausschuhe were tragic but now I think they’re the coolest things ever

26. Austrians don’t wear school uniform

27. I lived in a boarding house last year and I got locked out multiple times. I’ve learnt that it must be more secure than Fort Knox – no matter how hard I tried, I could never break in

28. You won’t regret the things you’ve done but you will regret the things you didn’t do

29. which is why you have to say YES to everything on your year abroad

30. except for drugs and anal

31. It’s worth waking up early to see the sun rise over the mountains at least once

32. Paracetamol is expensive abroad so buy lots in the UK and stock up

33. You can get anything you want if you smile

34. I have quite an approachable face which is nice but also means I attract all the weirdos

35. Skiing alone isn’t as tragic as you might think – I don’t really like my own company but sometimes exercising and being outside by yourself is a good thing

36. I am never ordering risotto in a restaurant again because the last time I did I got food poisoning

37. Smoking in bars/clubs/restaurants is legal in Austria and it will make your clothes smell of stinky fags

38. If you have American friends, try and get invited to their Thanksgiving dinner

39. A Krampusrummel is the most bizarre and scariest thing I’ve ever experienced

40. Austria does Christmas right

41. Austrian food is very salty. In fact, getting used to the food was one of the biggest culture shocks for me. Don’t get me wrong, many Austrian dishes are really yummy (lots of potatoes – I love potatoes) but the rest is just fatty, cheesy and salty. Most meals comprise meat (I’m a vegetarian) and potatoes and salad, but the salad is always SWIMMING in dressing

42. I can go 5 days and 6 nights of drinking in a row before my body collapses

43. Alcohol is really cheap in Austria

44. In fact, soft drinks cost more than beer

45. Condoms are really expensive though

46. Make friends with your students. I was 20 when I started teaching, and most of my students were 19, so there is basically no age gap. They will become your best friends during year abroad and will teach you so much

47. I would strongly recommend not going home during the first term of your year abroad (I didn’t go back to England until Christmas and it makes you appreciate going home and seeing your family even more)

48. If you’re homesick, don’t spend too much time in your room, try and meet up with friends, and don’t ring your parents

49. You’re supposed to carry your passport with you at all times in Austria but I don’t think they actually give a fuck

50. If you block the toilet at an airport, run away before it floods (Austrian loos have two flushes so if you’re laying a brick in a public toilet, I’d suggest pressing the big button)

51. Getting a haircut in a foreign country and speaking a foreign language is scarier than you might think

52. The golden rule of being a teaching assistant is “don’t get drunk with your students” – IGNORE IT

53. I would suggest buying a railcard if you move abroad, especially if you intend to do a lot of travelling – will save you sooo much money

54. Being the only Brit in a small Austrian mountain town is great because everyone knows who you are and you feel like a celebrity (but also means you can’t go anywhere without being spotted. Not ideal when everyone thinks you’re a vegetarian but you’re hungover and you’ve just been caught ordering 20 chicken nuggets in McDonald’s)

55. If you live abroad and have 2 debit cards, I’d suggest writing down your PINs because forgetting the number is so embarrassing

56. There is no such thing as a snow day. Sometimes it’s -20 degrees Celcius. Sometimes there’s 6ft of snow. Sometimes you won’t be able to go outside without wearing two coats. But they don’t care. School is still open, you still have to go to work, no public transport is affected. Life goes on

57. If you live in central Europe you should travel as much as you can

58. Innsbruck is the most gorgeous city in Austria (in my humble opinion)

59. Slovenia is really cheap and surprisingly beautiful

60. Liechtenstein is so small and not really worth visiting if I’m honest (I only went to try and meet the Prince because he’s in his 20s but he wasn’t home that day)

61. Getting into Liechtenstein without a passport is risky but doable (they checked everyone else on the bus except us)

62. Vienna is one of the cleanest cities I’ve ever seen

63. Northern Italy is beautiful but very confusing because they speak a mix of Italian and German

64. Austria is much prettier than Germany (I am biased)

65. Make the most of every day off and every weekend (but also don’t feel guilty if you spend the day in bed watching romcoms once in a while)

66. Get all your Erasmus paperwork done early – one less thing to worry about and more money waheeey

67. Don’t try and throw a pickle at your friend in McDonald’s because it’s really really embarrassing if you miss and hit a random lady (very funny though)

68. If you’re hungover and have to teach a lesson, just make them play a game of Alibi or Pictionary. Takes the whole lesson and requires 0 work

69. The best part of Austrian culture is après-ski and the best après-ski song is Johnny Däpp

70. You need mum friends (Aisha <3) but your mum friends also need you (so that they don’t go full mum)

71. I would suggest going to Fasching/Karneval in February (I went to the one in Mainz and it was phenomenal)

72. It’s okay to take a nap in the middle of the day if you’re tired

73. I have physically become addicted to Pombears

74. If you are teaching English, you’ll discover how terrible your English grammar is

75. Don’t be afraid to wear a skirt in Austria just because everyone else wears only jeans. You might get weird looks, but stick to your guns

76. “The brave may not live forever but the cautious do not live at all.” God this one is so wanky. But I was watching The Princess Diaries when I was drunk and I kept rewinding this part because it’s just so true and relevant for year abroad

77. Sending a birthday card goes a long way (more than a Facebook message)

78. Make the most of other friends also living abroad (free accommodation and tour guides)

79. Always keep a bottle of wine in the fridge – just in case

80. Don’t worry about making a fool of yourself when you’re speaking your second language – I’d rather make a mistake than not say anything at all

81. I don’t take rejection personally anymore (because I’m perfect and clearly it’s a problem with them and not me)

82. It’s not worth wearing uncomfortable shoes just because they look nice

83. One of the hardest things about Austrian life that I had to adjust to was the fact that all shops are closed on a Sunday

84. Your students probably won’t believe you when you explain what Bonfire Night is (same with Pancake Day or a “bank” holiday)

85. Starting a year abroad blog/YouTube channel is a very sensible idea

86. Get photos printed once in a while! Don’t you find it funny that the generation who takes the most photos will have no physical pictures in a few years time? I love having actual photos

87. I learnt all the lyrics to every single ABBA song this year

88. People will stare at you if you speak English in public (especially if you lived in a small town like I did)

89. Beer is not actually as revolting as I thought it was before moving to Austria

90. Throughout your time abroad, make a playlist of all your favourite songs at the time (listening back to your Year Abroad playlist will make you sad but also happy in a nostalgic way)

91. Austrian German is very very different to German German (while in Germany they say ‘Guten Tag’, in Austria you’d say ‘Grüß Gott’ = may God bless you)

92. Austria is a very Catholic and conservative country. I’m not going to talk about the racism and homophobia but I thought it was pretty bad

93. Get a free VPN if you live abroad so you can watch BBC and ITV and stuff

94. You can’t get someone arrested just by tweeting the police @Polizei_Wien

95. It’s really hard removing an unconscious man’s trousers (I’m not a sexual predator by the way, our friend was drunk and we didn’t want him to go to sleep with his jeans still on)

96. When an Austrian says “my English isn’t that good”, their English will probably be better than yours

97. You only get one year abroad – so don’t worry about sleepless nights or spending too much money or forgetting to Skype your parents. Enjoy every moment!!

98. scheiß da nix, donn feit da nix

99. Austria is the best country in the world

100. I managed to move abroad to a country where I knew literally no one, I set up a whole new life there, survived, and made friends for life. If I can do that – I can do anything

I don’t want to be a wanker and say that it was the best year of my life, because it wasn’t. I have had so much fun, done lots of travelling, made amazing friends, and become nearly fluent in German.

But there were days when I hated my life and wanted to catch the next flight back to London. There were times when I’d make a mistake in German and cry myself to sleep because I felt like the whole year had been a waste. There were nights when I was stuck at an unknown train station and it was dark and I was scared and just wanted to go home. There were evenings when I’d be watching Snapchat stories of other friends on year abroad having amazing nights out, and I would be alone and feeling sorry for myself.

But even when I felt totally alone, I was never lonely. Thank you to all my friends at home who would FaceTime me out of the blue, or comment on my blog posts, or even just send a Snapchat (it goes a long way when you’re living abroad and stops you feeling like everyone at home has forgotten about you). Thank you to the friends I made in Austria, with whom I’ll always have a special connection because of the experiences we shared together. Thank you to the people who I never would have met if it wasn’t for year abroad.

And most of all, thank you to everyone who read and enjoyed my blog this year (and even if you didn’t enjoy my blog; I don’t care, because I got the page views lol).

Lots and lots of love,

Rach xxxx

Quote of the year: “what the fuck happened” – Sam
Song of the year: Saufen morgens, mittags, abends
Film of the year: The Sound of Music (of course)
Highlight of the year: orientation week in September, throwing a pickle at someone in Vienna, Hahnenkamm, Landjugendball, Karneval, prom…there are too many to count

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Going, going, gon(dola)

Hello again!

I actually can’t believe how long it’s been since I wrote a blog post. I don’t have an excuse, I’m just a lazy shit.

Every time I wash my hair I think about my blog and feel guilty that I haven’t written a post. So let’s say I wash my hair 3 times a week, and I haven’t written a post in 12 weeks, that means I’ve thought about writing a blog post 36 times and hadn’t got round to doing it until now.

I actually can’t remember much about my last few weeks in Austria because it was soooo long ago, so I’ve got my iPhone photos and my diary in front of me to try and remind myself what I did at the end of May.

Let’s start with Venice:

On the weekend of Pentecost, which is a bank holiday weekend in Austria, Megan and I went to Venice. I was (very generously) given a voucher for 2 nights stay in a hotel anywhere in Europe by one of my lovely teachers at school. I’d been wanting to go to Venice for agesssss, so I used the voucher and Megan and I stayed in a hotel in Padua (20 mins from Venice) on that weekend.

The journey was simply a disaster.

As it was a bank holiday weekend, and the weather was lovely, it turns out the entire Austrian and South German population travelled to Italy too. We had tried to reserve seats on the train from Innsbruck to Padua a few days beforehand, but there were no available seats, which we thought was bizarre. So we met at Innsbruck station, got on the train, and it was rammed. Turns out we couldn’t reserve seats because every single one had been booked in advance. There were SO MANY PEOPLE.

We ended up finding a place to sit, right outside the toilet, and people kept pushing past us to get to the loo. It stank of shit. It was horrendous.

The train journey lasted 6 hours. A horrible start to the holiday.

We (finally) arrived at Padua station, got off, and needed to take the bus to the hotel. Considering we don’t speak a word of Italian and it was 32 degrees and we were tired and stressed, we managed to find the right bus (no air con though) and we drove an hour until we got to the hotel. By this point it was about 3 in the afternoon and the hotel was a sanctuary. We looked like tramps, our makeup was smeared down our faces, we were exhausted – and then we walked into the absolute HAVEN of the hotel lobby with aircon and comfy seats and nice receptionists.

Our room was lovely. The hotel was 5 stars (every other guest and member of staff was wondering how two 21 year old British girls could afford to stay in a 5* hotel).

the view from our room!!!

As well as two nights in the hotel, the voucher that I was given also included spending money to use on the restaurant or bar or spa – so I booked myself a treatment for the Saturday evening.

I was booked in for an anti-stress massage, but this experience was probably the most stressful event of my life.

It was very weird and I was very out of my comfort zone.

So I walked downstairs to the spa, and they don’t speak English there, and I don’t speak Italian, so we compromised (lol) by speaking a mix of Italian and German.

Just as an example: here’s the email confirmation I got.

In the past when I’ve had massages, they’ve been in a dimly lit room, maybe a few candles, relaxing music, a fluffy white towel on the bed, a lovely atmosphere etc.

The spa therapist comes outside, shouts at me in Italian, shakes my hand and leads me into the room. It’s really bright, lime green walls, no music, you can hear people chatting in the office next door, no decorations, just lots of lime green really. Yuck.

Normally when you get a massage you just wear your knickers, but the woman gestures at me to strip off completely and put on a pair of paper pants (like the ones you wear if you’re getting a bikini wax LOL). She doesn’t leave the room while I’m taking off my towel robe.

She then tells me to lay on my front on the massage bed. So I’m laying on my front, stark naked except for a paper thong, and she pours oil all over my legs.

It’s all hunkydory when she’s massaging my calves and thighs, but when she starts grabbing my bumcheeks, that’s when I began to feel awkward.

She moves up to my top half and massages my hands, then arms, then shoulders, then my back and at this point she’s getting dangerously close to my boobs. It’s silent in this room and I’m cringing.

She then said something in Italian which I guessed means roll over, so that’s what I did. In the UK when I get massages, they’ll be really discreet and hold a towel over my body so they can’t see my boobs.

But this woman just watched me roll onto my back like a beached whale, holding my tits because I felt really awkward. Then after an agonising 5 seconds where I was very very naked, she threw a towel over me.

She started massaging the front of my legs and moved down until she reached my feet.

My avid readers will know that I’ve had an ingrown toenail since February, and it was at it’s peak in May (was very infected before I had surgery and started taking antibiotics).

So she clocks my big toe, actually GASPS and starts poking at it. It was obvious that she was hurting me as I was wincing and saying “ow” every time she prodded it.

Now I don’t speak Italian but I’m pretty sure infezione isn’t a good thing. She then walked out the room as I’m laying there on the massage bed, legs akimbo, ingrown toenail throbbing, wondering what the fuck is going on.

ANOTHER woman comes into the room and starts poking about with my toe (I hope to God she was a podiatrist and not just an Italian with a foot fetish). I couldn’t deal with it and told them I had an appointment with a doctor for 3 weeks time (which was true) and woman no. 2 finally left the room.

Masseuse continued and left my toe alone, thank fuck.

Then she got to my face (I’ve just realised she did not wash her hands between touching my butt cheeks and infezione-d toe and then my face. Not sure whether to laugh or be sick). The face massage was fine, albeit slightly oily, but THEN she started massaging my EARS! She stuck her greasy dirty index fingers in my ears and started wiggling them about!! Very confusing.

After this, she said something in Italian and left the room for [what felt like 30 but was probably] 3 minutes. Not sure how many of you went to Catholic school but there was this hymn we used to sing called When I Needed A Neighbour and that’s what I had in my head for those few uncomfortable minutes (“I was cold I was naked were you there were you there?”).

Anyway, she came back in, shook my hand, I put my towel robe on and SPRINTED up to the hotel room to get away from it all. What an adventure.

Megan and I spent the evening relaxing in the hotel; we made use of the steam rooms and saunas and thermal pool and it was so lovely and warm – it felt like a proper holiday. We ate dinner in the hotel and had an early night.

On the Sunday, we woke up early(ish) and took the train to Venice. Rather than talk you through what we did in Venice, I’ll put a few pictures, but long story short, we mooched around Venice, did the touristy bits, had pizza and wine for lunch, had gelato, got some cutesie photos, couldn’t afford a gondola so took a water taxi, did a bit of shopping and headed back to the hotel.

was very windy!!!

outside the cathedral!!!

As I said, it was Pentecost and was very hot and busy, so probably the worst time of the year to visit, but I’m so glad we went to Venice. I honestly think everyone should go at least once in their lifetime. Especially as it will probably be underwater in 100 years thanks to global warming !! Yay !

On the Sunday evening we went for dinner in Padua and ate lots of yummy pasta and drank lots of yummy wine and had lots of giggly chats and it was a lovely evening to end one of our final weekends of year abroad.

We checked out of the hotel on Monday, just before lunchtime, and explored the city of Padua before Meg got her train back to Vorarlberg and I got mine back to Saalfelden.

I thought the journey back home couldn’t have been as bad as the journey there. SURELY it couldn’t have been worse than a 6 hour journey sat on the floor sat outside a smelly toilet. Ha! It was.

Meg got her train from Padua to Innsbruck, but it was cheaper for me to go on a different train through NE Italy, into the South of Austria and back to Saalfelden.

So I took the train from Padua to Venice Mestre and had an HOUR changeover there. I went to a coffee shop and started watching Broadchurch Series 3 (because weirdly it was on Italian Netflix but not Austrian Netflix so I downloaded all 8 episodes). I then took the train from Venice Mestre train station and hopped on the train to Villach, in Austria. I had reserved a seat and had lots of leg room. All good so far.

This second journey was about 3 or 4 hours, I can’t really remember, but at every single stop it was getting delayed by a few minutes more. I had 5 MINUTES to get to my connection at Villach but the train was delayed by 25 MINUTES. So I got off at Villach, and thankfully I was told that there was a bus replacement service from Villach to Salzburg so I got on the bus (I really needed a wee AND I was on my period but didn’t have time to go to the loo at Villach before the bus left for Salzburg so had to hold on for another agonising 2 hours).

Thankfully, the bus stopped at Bischofshofen station, which is closer to Saalfelden than Salzburg is, and I got off there. I had an hour and a half to wait there before the next train to Saalfelden.

It took me 13 hours to get from the hotel in Padua to my house in Saalfelden.
It was supposed to take me 6.
I managed to watch the whole of Broadchurch S3 on the journey because it was so much longer than I anticipated.
I nearly pissed my pants on the bus to Bischofshofen.
It was THE worse journey of my life.

After Venice, I only had 6 more days of teaching in Saalfelden and 2 more weeks of year abroad. These two weeks consisted of (emotional) goodbye lessons, final meals with friends and colleagues, some lovely goodbye presents, and lots and lots of packing.

I don’t think you’re supposed to put photos of people online without their permission so here’s a selfie of me and one of my classes except I’ve got rid of all my students’ faces and replaced them with me:

Here’s the photo I took on my first day of teaching compared to my last. Very cute.

In my last few days I did some really nice things with my friends, we had nights in and nights out and ice cream dates and walks and hikes and it was a really lovely way to end my 8 months in Austria.

Rather than flying home with all my luggage, my parents picked me up and we drove back to England. So mum and dad drove from Fleet to Strasbourg on 2nd June, stayed there overnight, drove from France to Saalfelden, stayed in a very questionable AirBnB (the woman who owned the flat was sleeping in the bedroom and made mum and dad sleep on camping beds in virtually the same room) and we left Saalfelden early in the morning on Monday 4th June.

saying goodbye to Alcatraz!!!

And just like that, my year abroad was over.

But lucky for you, The Sound of Rachel isn’t!!! Lol. I am going to do another few posts on here, so keep your eyes peeled. But for now, this will have to do, because Holby City is on and I don’t want to miss it.

Love,
Rach x

PS we stopped at the Audi museum in Ingolstadt on the journey back home and dad wanted me to show you the coffee he got with the Audi rings:

 

Current favourite:

• Song: Dimelo by Rak-Su
• Film: Mamma Mia 2 (of course)
• Drink: pink gin and pink lemonade
• Thing on TV: the World Cup is over Love Island has finished so I have nothing to live for. Let me know any suggestions

 

Second to Nun

There are so many puns I could have used for this blog post:

Kate Expectations?
The Kate British Bake Off?
Better Kate than never?

(instead I opted for a nun pun because I went to chapel this week and I’m feeling holy as fuckkkk. You’ll hear about that later)

But if you haven’t already got the gist: Kate came to visit!

For those of you who don’t know Kate (she’s cropped up in a few blog posts before), she is one of my bestest friends. We met on the first day of university and we’ve been friends ever since. She is working in Mainz, Germany this year and I visited her in February. I’m also living with her next year!

I think this blog is going to be quite long so I’m gonna skip from my last blog post until 10th May but it basically that week included hiking and drinking and shopping and a cinema trip and an amazing meal which my students cooked for me (because in one of my schools they learn cooking and service as well as the normal subjects. It was stunning).

Kate arrived on Wednesday night after 8 hours of travelling by train to Austria. I picked her up from the station at 10pm and we decided to get an early night, but subsequently spent 3 hours chatting and gossiping and having a huge catch up.

On Saturday, we woke up and headed to Salzburg. The weather forecast for the weekend was actually shit but luckily we got a few hours of sun on Saturday. So we arrived in Salzburg, and you know how much I love to mooch!!!

So we mooched to Mirabellgarten, had a cheeky photoshoot, mooched across the river, mooched back, mooched to a restaurant and had lunch. We went to this burger place in Salzburg – soooo lush. I, being a terrible vegetarian, ordered the Big BBQ Beef Burger. Hah. Oops.

We then wanted to visit Maria von Trapp’s Abbey so we kept mooching. I got us lost and then we decided it would be best to take a bus rather than walk there. Accidentally got on the wrong bus, he literally drove us round the block almost back to where we got on. Ended up hopping off after a very underwhelming 40 second ride (sounds like some of my ONS’s) and got on another bus to Nonnberg Abbey.

I LOVED it. The Sound of Music is one of my favourite films (can you tell) and it was simply magical walking where Maria and the nuns did. At 5:15pm every day the nuns sing in the chapel so we stayed and listened to them sing. It actually gave me goosebumps (they weren’t that great it was just really cold in there).

For those of you who aren’t aware, I was raised Catholic (I know lol) so on entering and leaving the chapel, I blessed myself with holy water and said a prayer. I think that makes up for all my sins this year.

To end our day in lovely Salzburg, Kate and I went to Augustiner Brau with the wonderful Matt. My loyal readers have already met Matt (on a day trip to Innsbruck – can read it here) and it was lovely catching up with him over a beer (although Kate & I thought “Limo” would be like a radler – a shandy – but turns out Limo meant lemonade). Also if anyone is in Salzburg 23rd/24th May, go and check out Matt in the play “Doubt” at the ARGEKultur.

Kate when we realised she ordered lemonade :(((

Unfortunately, there was only one bus back to Saalfelden so we had to neck our beers and run for the bus really quickly and I felt so bad ditching Matt. I know he reads my blog so hopefully I’ve redeemed myself by giving him and his play a shoutout hahaha.

Kate and I arrived home at the boarding house (Alcatraz), whacked on our jimjams, whipped out the snacks and watched The Sound of Music. It was the perfect end to a wonderful day.

I’ve not watched TSoM since moving to Austria and throughout the film, we kept shouting “we’ve been there!!!” “we were there earlier” “I know that place”. It would’ve probably been really annoying if we weren’t so hysterical.

NO MUM my thighs aren’t chunky they’re THICC

Also I totally forgot how good looking Rolfe is! Apart from the fact he was a Nazi. A boy’s sex appeal definitely decreases when you realise he’s fascist, racist and antisemitic.

But the real star of the show is Christopher Plummer. Phwoar. He’s so sexy. I’m not sure if my type is Naval Officers but I’m going to join uniformdating dot com just to see. Kate and I also established that if I’d been living in Salzburg in the 1930s, I definitely would have been like Maria von Trapp. As in, I would originally have wanted to be holier than thou and join a convent, then I would have discovered that I actually love men too much to be a nun and would have left the order.

Friday was super fun. After lunch, Kate and I met up with Nina and we drove to Biberg . We took the chairlift up to the top of the mountain and had a drink, and then we rodel-ed down. Rodeln is tobogganing. It was sooooooo fun. I love rollercoasters and stuff like that. I didn’t want to pay €6 for the picture to took one of the screen instead.

Then we drove to Zell am See, had a walk by the lake and got dinner. It was actually so naughty but we finished our meal and the waiter gave us the bill. We each had a main and a large drink and the total came to €28 (remarkably cheap no?) so rather than splitting it and querying the receipt, I got the bill and was like “keep the change”. Lol. After we walked out I checked the receipt and he’d given us the bill for another table. I feel bad for the couple who were fleeced for a meal for 3 which should have cost us at least €55. Haha. So the whole way back to Saalfelden we were playing happy music, chuffed that we saved so much on the meal.

After we all showered and changed, Nina came over to Alcatraz and we started pre-drinking. We took a train to Zell am See at 10pm so we started drinking a few hours before, and pre drinks was really funny.

After drinking on the train and hiding a plastic bottle of Bacardi in a bush outside a bar, we went in and had a few drinks. I say a few, I mean a lot. Honestly, none of us can really remember anything after this point. I had to look through my camera roll to remember that we were dancing on a table in the bar. We then went to K1 club which was deeeeaaaad. There were like 5 other people there and 3 of them were students/friends who we’d bumped into in the bar and I’d begged to come to the club. I also remember a bit of beer getting on my phone and I FREAKED out thinking that I was going to ruin another iPhone from water damage. I definitely blamed Kate drunkenly. Sorry Kate. Hahahahhaa

As I said, none of us can remember much AT ALL from Friday night. We managed to piece together some clues – we left at about 2am, I drunk messaged like 8 different people (sorry), I spent about €70 on drinks, we took a taxi home. Pmsl it’s a good job I can laugh about these things. A year ago I would’ve been so embarrassed and annoyed but now I just think fuck it I’m hilarious.

Also discovered loads of egg shell everywhere the next morning. I realised that when we got home, I stomped to the kitchen and ate two boiled eggs. Nina says when she got in she cooked spaghetti bolognese for herself. I’m PMSL thinking about it. What a mess.

Saturday morning was roooough. Kate and I woke up and put Mean Girls on in the background. We are the two biggest drama queens I know. Because we were hungover, we were rolling around in our beds, shouting and groaning at each other saying things like

“I think I’m going to die”
“My head hurts SO MUCH”
“I’m going to be sick”
“I’m NEVER DRINKING AGAIN”

(but, of course, we ended up drinking again that same night)

So for lunch on Saturday, we walked to Ritzensee and had a lovely meal there, apart from feeling utterly hungover. I went back to bed and we watched some YouTube, and then got ready for our next night out (weren’t feeling hungover at that point).

On Saturday night there was an event in Maishofen. Maishofen is a very little village near Saalfelden. We went to an event called a Landjugendball. Now I don’t think this is really a thing outside of the Austrian alps, but it’s basically a ball for all the young farmers. It also takes place in a beer tent. In my head, I was expecting it to be some tiny shitty little beer tent with about 20 farmers in it. I also thought it started at 3pm. I was soooo wrong.

We started predrinking at 8ish and arrived at 10:30pm, and it was so lit. It was like this HUGE tent, and 1300 people went. There was food and drink and tables which people were dancing on and a band and a dancefloor and it was really, really banging haha. I also saw loads of my students which is always fun (obvs Nina is a student but she doesn’t count lol because I see her pretty much every day). Everyone was wearing Tracht and drinking loads and dancing to Austrian music. You know that Perks of Being a Wallflower quote and they say “and in that moment we were infinite”. I’m not saying I was infinite lol but it was definitely one of those nights I’ll remember for a long long time.

Unfortunately, Kate had to leave on Sunday lunchtime but I wish she could stay forever. I had so much fun last weekend – if we had that much fun in 4 days, think how amazing next year is going to be when we live together!!! Maybe I’ll have to carry on the blog next year and keep recording our adventures.

I have been considering this actually. I always planned on just doing the blog for one year, but judging by how successful it’s been and how much I love writing it, I just might carry on. You’ll have to let me know if you actually want me to carry on or nah.

Nothing really much to tell from Monday or Tuesday. I went shopping with Nina on Monday and I had a full day of lessons on Tuesday. I went to bed early Tuesday night because I woke up at 2:30am Wednesday to travel to Neuschwanstein Castle!

Things that were rubbish about yesterday:

• I had to wake up at 2:30am
• I got a train at 4am
• I had to change 5 times before eventually making it to Neuschwanstein Castle
• It was raining all day and my trainers are old and shitty so my feet were soaking
• Because I was wearing crappy shoes and my feet got soaking, my toenail is really bad again
• Like I think it’s infected
• On the train journey from Fuessen to Munich, two really loud Americans sat in the seats opposite
• I’m not sure where exactly they were from but I’d never heard that accent before and listening to them talk made me want to stick pins in my eyes
• I packed a fruit smoothie thing to have on the train and split it all over my leggings

Things that were great about yesterday:

All the travelling and the faff went out the window when I saw this view. Isn’t it just spectacular?!

I’d been wanting to go to Neuschwanstein for years, and it was so so so so worth it. I honestly spent about 20 mins stood on the bridge just admiring the view. I felt like a Princess (unfortunately there were no Princes around but hey ho).

ye ye i had 3 hours sleep so i am aware i look rough af

After I was done, I got the train to Munich (slept on the train) and met up with my uncle Nick! You all already know this I’m sure, but he’s the one who lives and works in Munich during the week. I was such a lovely evening. I was knackered when I arrived at his so had a nice long bath and we went out for a gorgeous meal. After a long and stressful day, the evening was bliss. He’s also a trained doctor so he had a look at my ingrown toenail and says I should definitely go back to the doctor and ask to be put on antibiotics.

I woke up this morning after an amazing night’s sleep in the comfiest bed in the world. I had a chill morning and ate breakfast while watching the season finale of Riverdale (OMG has anyone else watched it yet????!!!! Let me know what you thought).

Then I walked into Munich old town and listened to a podcast on the way. My priority was shoe shopping. I’m going to VENICE this weekend (!!!!!!!) with Megan!! Wooop!!! But I have decided I need some sensible sandals as I can’t really wear proper shoes at the moment. So I went to Deichmann and bought a new pair of walking boots/trainer things, and also a pair of sandals.

Hm. How can I put it nicely. They’re very…butch. I have incredibly large feet so I ended up buying them from the men’s section. I’m going to have to wear a skirt to make sure people know I’m a girl LOL. Honestly feel like I should pair them with a fleece and ponytail and kendal mint cake and I could pass for a 45 year old hiker in the Lake District. I’ve told Megan she can’t take any full length photos if I’m wearing them in Venice.

The rest of the day I just spent walking around Munich, doing a bit of shopping and having lunch in a cafe (I say cafe, it was a Starbucks hahaha). Was a lot less hectic than Tuesday but I definitely needed a quieter day.

Next week is Pfingsten (or Pentecost) so we get next Monday and Tuesday off, which is why Megan and I are going away from Saturday until Monday. The week after that I’m only working Mon-Weds because the Thursday and Friday are bank holidays too. Then I’m finished in Austria! AAAAAHHH!

I think this weekend is going to be really good, so get ready for another fabulous blog post from me soon. LOL.

Must go now, I’m super exhausted.
Lots of love,
Rach x

• Song of the week: Laendler from The Sound of Music
• Or anything Tina Turner
• The Austrian folk band played so many of her songs at the event Saturday. How random hahhahhaa
• YOU’RE SIMPLY THE BEST
• Always going to remind me of year abroad now
• Amount of Bacardi drunk in 2 days: 85cl. I have an alcohol problem lmaoooo
• Money spent in the last 10 days: €650. AGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH clearly I have a spending problem too

 

Blood, sweat and beers

Hi!

I feel really emotional as I’m writing this. Maybe it’s because I’m hungover. Maybe it’s because I just took my pill and my body has been flooded with hormones. Maybe it’s because I only have 4 weeks left of my year abroad(!!!). It’s probably the hangover.

Arriving in Austria feels like a lifetime ago but also as though it was just yesterday. I’ve been reading some of my old blog posts from September/October (they’re actually really funny) and I feel sooooo nostalgic. I’m not sure if many people will be able to relate to how I’m feeling. But I imagine if you are on/have done a year abroad, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. I am going to miss Austria so much. In fact, I’m already dreading moving back to the UK, even though I should just be enjoying the rest of my time here.

I’ve been a bit crap with blog this last month. So let me fill you in on what I’ve been up to:

Uni

I know that it looks like I spend most of my time travelling and going out and drinking; it’s easy to forget that I’m actually here in Austria for a reason. My year abroad counts towards my degree, and I’ve had to do quite a bit of work for it.

But I’ve finally finally finally finished my year abroad work. It consists of 2 essays in German and a portfolio (9 log sheets about intercultural competence, language acquisition and employability, a personal development plan, vocab sheets, my German CV and a cover letter applying for a grad job in Austria). I’m not gonna lie; it was really fucking boring. 9 months and nearly 11,000 words later, I have submitted my work and I can now enjoy the rest of my year abroad.

Here’s a funny story. I spent last weekend just finishing and editing my work. So on Saturday night, I ordered takeaway as a treat for working so hard.

The delivery guy rings me to say he’s outside with my food, and I was starving. I just wanted to pay, take my food and gobble it all up while watching shitty TV.

So, I go outside and he starts making small talk, and I could tell he was trying to flirt with me. But I just wanted my food and I couldn’t be bothered to speak in German, so I tried to end the conversation quite quickly.

Well, then he says “you’re a very beautiful girl, do you have a boyfriend?”, so to shut him up I said “yeah I do actually”.

THEN he started asking me loads of questions about my ‘boyfriend’.

Long story short, I ended up telling him that my boyfriend is from Austria and I met him a few years ago in London, and I moved to the alps to be with him (because he works as a ski instructor) and I’ve not been home or seen my family in 2 years because they don’t approve of me dating an Austrian.

Oops.

Toe

This is so grim but I wanted to include it because my blog posts are always honest. Before Easter, I got an ingrown toenail (I think because of all the skiing I was doing) and it got infected but I didn’t bother going to the doctors in the UK. So I flew back to Austria at the beginning of April and it got 100x worse. I ended up having an emergency doctors appointment because it was so painful. I couldn’t walk, I was going through dozens of painkillers a day, I was literally in agony. Sorry, I know that’s a bit disgusting, but I want to record the lows and not just the highs. I think it’s important to remember not just the highlights, but also the time when I spent 2 days crying because I was in agony from a toenail. Life is definitely not always hunky-dory (but the toenail is almost completely better now though).

Easter

I’m really pleased that so many people enjoyed my last post 21 things I’ve learnt before 21. I was proud of it and I’d love it if you could go and check it out.

Since then, I’ve been up to quite a lot.

I got a hair cut and went blonder! (please tell me it looks nice because it was really fuckin’ expensive haha)

I turned 21!

To celebrate, I went to London with my mum and dad on my actual birthday. We went to Covent Garden and had cocktails at Rules (oldest restaurant in London), then we watched Kinky Boots, which was possibly one of the best shows I’ve seen (and I’ve seen a lot of shows), and then we had a wonderful dinner at Boulevard Brasserie. It was such a lovely birthday, I’m smiling just thinking about it.

(Dad is pulling that face because he didn’t realise Kinky Boots was a musical lol)

I also went out with friends to celebrate, visited lots of family, had a spa day with my mum. I basically just got spoilt rotten, I am so lucky. All my presents were amazing, but the one I’m most looking forward to is New York! In 49 days, I’ll be going to NYC with my mum for a city break. I am soooo excited.

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Back to Austria

After 2 wonderful (and crazy busy) weeks at home, I flew back to Austria for the final part of my teaching placement.

This also included a birthday party with my Austrian friends that first week back, which marked the last of my (many) 21st celebrations.

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i hob eich voi lieb 🙂

I also met the family who I’ll be au pairing for in August. I spent a day with them in Salzburg, we went hiking and had a lovely day.

Talking of hiking, the weather here has been gorgeous so Alayna and I have been going on walks in Saalfelden.

I also went to Königssee with Aisha and Pearl last weekend. The journey was looong; we took a bus to Berchtesgaden and then a bus to Königssee and then an hour long boat trip across the lake. But my God, it was so worth i3t. These photos really do not do it justice.

Then we missed the last bus back to Salzburg, but I don’t think I’ve ever been on a day trip where something hasn’t gone wrong.

We also went out in Salzburg; I had quite a bit to drink, bumped into some students, got even drunker, ended up embarrassing myself. A classic night out really.

My final year students are now on study leave – I can’t believe they’ve finished school for good. I know I’ve only known them for a year, as opposed to the other teachers who have watched them grow up, but I still felt so emosh saying goodbye to them. I had breakfast with one of my favourite final year classes to say goodbye, it was so lovely of them to invite me.

Yesterday, I had the most Austrian day of my life. When I pictured my year abroad, this is exactly what I had in mind. To celebrate May Day, lots of Austrian towns/villages host a Maibaumaufstellen which basically translates to erecting (ha) a May tree.

It’s really hard to explain, but basically: a group of attractive firefighters spend a few hours hoisting the tree up while everyone else is drinking beer, and then once it’s up, men in Lederhosen try and climb the pole and grab the sausages and pretzels.

It was also my first chance to wear my Dirndl. I think the whole event was just an excuse to have a piss up and show off your boobs.

Pearl and I stayed until the evening, we were drinking with her students and I crashed at her’s. That’s why I’m so tired today. Since handing in my YA work, I’ve basically just been getting boozy and making bad decisions.

Anyway, hope you’re all well. I can’t believe I’ve been doing The Sound of Rachel for 8 months now. Thank you, as ever, for reading and supporting the blog.

Love,
Rach x

Insta: @warwickrachel
Snapchat: rachelcwarwick

• Highlight of the week: 3 families (8 people in total) approached me at Salzburg station when I was wearing my Dirndl to ask me for directions because they thought I was a local
• Lowlight of the week: a wasp flew into my bra and stung my boob
• Film of the week: 22 Jump Street. I’ve watched it like 6 times so far this year
• Song of the week: Macho Man. I must stop listening to Village People because I’m gradually turning into a gay man from the 70s

a wasp stung my boob

21 things I’ve learnt before 21

1. Friends are not the family we choose.

I totally understand the spirit of the “friends are family” quote, but in reality, I’ve found that you don’t actually get to choose your friends until you’re a bit older. For ages it was determined by who I sat next to at primary school, parents’ family friends, people I was put with in halls, coursemates etc. Now that I’m 21, I’ve realised I don’t have to be friends with everyone. I know that’s such a depressing one to start with. But honestly, year abroad shows you who your true friends are. I’ve decided life is too short to spend time with toxic people.

PS on that negative note, I just want to prove that I actually do have friends

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2. I am not, and never will be, good at yoga.

I really wish I was. I’ve done dozens and dozens of classes but I still can’t perfect the triangle pose or the downwards facing dog. And after every class, as I sit there sweaty and frustrated, I have to come to terms with the fact that I am not flexible, I am terrible at stretching, and I will never be a yoga goddess.

3. I cry a lot. A LOT.

I cry when I watch films (Four Weddings and A Funeral). I cry watching TV shows (Call the Midwife). I cry when I listen to music (James Blunt). I cry when it’s cold (Austria). I cry when it’s warm (UK). I cry when I eat too many Pombears. I cry when I drink too much wine. I cry when I watch adverts (Debenhams Christmas ad 2017).

Sometimes I go on YouTube and watch wedding ceremonies just to induce crying. The frequency at which I cry is above average, I’m sure. I guess I just have a lot feelings.

(I know I’ve used this gif on my blog before but I love it so much)

4. Living abroad is hard. And no one can prepare you for being the “quiet one”.

I’m a social person, I talk a lot. But back in September, when I wasn’t as confident speaking German, it was really fucking difficult. Nothing is more frustrating than being part of a group conversation and (kind of) understanding what the others are saying – but not being able to contribute. I love being the centre of attention and so it was really hard to be fully involved in conversations when you’re not speaking in your native language. Lesson: grin and bear it, because eventually your German will be good enough. Also you don’t need to dominate every single conversation, you attention-seeking cow.

I really do love living in Austria. But my God, it’s not always easy. I think some of my family/friends take it for granted how difficult living abroad can be.

5. Always carry a condom in your purse.

STDs don’t seem to be as terrifying to (some) men as they are to me (reminder: they can literally kill you). I would much rather practise safe sex than end up with herpes because a guy said “you can trust me”. You need to be the one looking out for your own sexual health.

6. Starting a diary in 2015 was the best decision I ever made.

In August 2015, I started a Q&A a day diary. It’s a 5 year journal, and on each day, it asks a question like “What colour socks are you wearing?” or “Write down a news story from today” or “When was the last time you went dancing?”. So I answer the question, and then write a sentence or two about what I did that day.

It’s such a fabulous idea. I love looking back and comparing my answers from previous years. I’m really glad I started, and I guess what I’ve learnt is to remember all the small moments in life.

7. A smile goes a long way.

In a world full of resting bitch faces, a smile will help you stand out from the crowd. Great things happen if you choose not to look like a moody cow.

8. You should always do a patch test before using a new skin product.

I learnt this lesson a long time ago yet I STILL forget it.

This was last week. I’m pretty confident that I was allergic to that face mask

 

9. Change your hair up.

I’m relatively conservative with my hair, but I once or twice a year I get balayage/highlights/ombre. I truly believe that having a haircut is the best way to get out of a rut. And if you’ve just been dumped – you should get a haircut after a breakup to symbolically cut off another useless 4 inches.

10. No matter how good you think your hair looks, you’re going to hate it in a few years time.

What was I thinking. Even when I’ve been cremated my hair will still look less dead than it did in 2014.

11. Being tired is better than having FOMO.

Sometimes I’ll have plans and I will be really tempted to cancel. But if I think that I’ll regret not going, I force myself to go, and it always works out for the best. I would much rather be broke, tired and/or hungover the next day than have had a quiet night in.

12. If you have done something wrong, apologise.

I hate admitting I was wrong as much as the next person, but sometimes you have to put your pride to the side, not be a stubborn cow, and own up. I used to be really bad at saying sorry, but now, I can look someone in the eye, and sincerely apologise. I think that qualifies me as an adult.

13. Blades of Glory is the greatest film in the history of American cinema.

14. If you’re going to be in the sun, you must wear sunscreen.

This one took me a while to learn, and it started when I was about 11. Being at an all girls school, there was an obsession with having a tan. So when I was in year 7, I started using a gradual fake tan every day for about 4 months. My legs looked like Wotsits. It was dire.

Then, when I was about 15, I would sunbathe for hours to try and get brown. I’m incredibly fair and I also don’t want skin cancer, so this was a stupid idea (even worse than the fake tan).

Finally, I learnt my lesson last year. I went to Exmouth beach with my friend Hannah, and we spent the day in the sun without any sunscreen (see point 5: always use protection). I spent the summer of 2017 with a bright red neck and face. It was the worst experience ever, and I’m pretty sure I kept Soltan in business due to the amount of Aftersun bottles I went through.

 

15. Money does buy happiness.

You can’t take money to the grave. What is the point in “saving your money for a rainy day” or worrying about the cost of everything?

I might spend a lot of money, but I have a fucking blast.

16. Just because it’s Mac mascara, it doesn’t mean you should keep it for 3 years.

17. Your mum is always right.

18. Your dad is the only man you should trust.

19. You shouldn’t care what other people think.

20. If you drink half a litre of gin, chances are you’ll end up passed out on a roof wearing nothing but a towel, and have to get taken home by campus security.

21. No matter how hard I try, I will never be a proper vegan, because when I’m drunk all I want to eat are chicken nuggets.

Term 2 say goodbye

Today is the last day of term before the Easter holidays. I’m over two thirds of my way through my Year Abroad.

The best thing ever to have happened to me will be over in 10 weeks and that makes me feel sick. And scared.

I’m scared because I know that May is going to come around really quickly.

I’m scared because I turn 21 next week and I still have no idea what I want to do in the future (was hoping I’d be famous by 21 so I need to find a Plan B).

I’m scared because I’m in the process of picking my Maths/German modules for next year but I don’t want to go back to uni.

I’m scared because I can’t imagine my life away from Austria.

I’m scared because my Year Abroad is the most amazing experience I’ve ever had and I just don’t want it to end.

If this is how emotional I feel now, just imagine what I’m going to be like at the end of May when I have to say goodbye to Saalfelden. 😦

Anyway, I really need to pack so this is just going to be a short post. Since my last update, I’ve been doing the usual; drinking, skiing, embarrassing myself. I wish I was joking. Here’s what I’ve been up to, plus a couple of pictures:

• I went skiing with Graham and Ian in Saalbach last week and it was hilarious
• I corrected a lot of work (coursework and fairy-tales) but now I’m finally done so I don’t have to worry over the holidays
• I was aiming to finish my uni work before Easter but that’s not happened so I’m still cracking on with that
• I went to Vorarlberg last weekend
• We went to Liechtenstein on Saturday (I want to go to all the countries bordering Austria – done Liechtenstein, Germany, Slovenia, Italy, Hungary. Still need to visit Czech Republic, Slovakia and Switzerland. I have been in 7 countries so far this year)
• St Patrick’s Day was celebrated in style in Feldkirch
• I got really drunk with Nina on Wednesday and then we decided I’m gonna have a huge birthday party and I accidentally invited loads of students. Oops
• Meanwhile some of my final year students were working on their A-Level projects at school so I went and joined them til 4:30am because I wasn’t tired

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(Only just discovered how to do a slideshow lol)

This was quite a pointless post, I’m just really anal about my blog and I have to document everything in chronological order.

I’ve got another post coming this week though; 21 things I’ve learnt before 21.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Check out my Instagram (warwickrachel) and Snapchat (rachelcwarwick) to follow what I get up to in the Easter holidays. I haven’t seen my family in 11 weeks so I’m really, really excited to catch up with them.

Love,
Rach x

• Family-sized bags of Pombears eaten this week: 5. It’s an addiction
• Song of the week: Dead And Gone – T.I. ft Justin Timberlake. A blast from the past but definitely have a listen, you won’t regret it
• Drink of the week: raspberry flavour Bacardi
• Favourite photo this week:

Let’s Talk About Specs, Baby

Helloooo!

I cannot believe I only have 2.5 months left of my year abroad. It feels like just yesterday I moved here: terrified, landing in Austria with mum and blocking the toilet at Salzburg airport (haha if you don’t know that story then read it here).

The last few months have gone crazy quick. I’m already dreading the day that I have to say goodbye to Austria – which is why I’m coming back in the summer to work as an Au Pair !! Wahoooo!!!

My job isn’t 100% confirmed yet, but it’s pretty much guaranteed that I’ll be back in Austria for 6 weeks during the summer. I’ll be working in Salzburg again which is great. That also means I can go on nights out with my students (if you think I’m a bad drunk now, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Wait until we go clubbing in the summer and I’m not your teacher anymore).

I’ve also kind of neglected my blog in the past few weeks. It’s not because I’m having a shit time, but because I’ve been so fucking* busy.

*Mum and Dad said I’ve got to stop swearing on my blog. They’ve given me a quota of how many times I can say “fuck” in each post and they’re trying to convince me to use words like “sugar” instead of “shit”. Ha ha. No fudging way.

Right now, my life is currently work, work and work. I’ve got quite a bit of uni stuff to do – 2 essays in German, 9 log sheets, write an Austrian CV and some vocab lists.

These essays are so fucking boring, let me tell you. I’ve only started one of them, and it’s about the “pragmatic differences between German and English”. I had to Google what pragmatic meant before I started writing it.

Also, my final year students have coursework at the moment, and each student has to write an abstract of their project (I teach in a technical school and a business school so topics vary from “how to construct a mountain hut” to “the negative impacts of sugar and other sweeteners”). But bizarrely, their project summaries have to be in English. So I’ve been correcting them all, and it’s a loooot of work.

I really really care about my students which also means I really really want them to do well, so I’ve been meticulously reading and correcting their coursework. That’s why I’ve been too busy to write a blog post – I’ve been spending most of my breaks and lunchtimes correcting work and talking it through with my students.

I’m also correcting some fairy-tales that my third year (16-17 y/o) students have written. They’re actually really sweet and funny to read, but that also means another load of marking to do in between coursework corrections and uni essays.

Anyway, apart from work, I have actually been doing other things. Here’s my highlights from the last couple of weeks:

As the winter season draws to a close, I’ve been getting value for money from my ski pass. I’ve had quite a few ski days recently – when I come back from England after the Easter hols, I doubt there’ll be much snow left, so I want to cram all my skiing in now.

Yesterday I met up with Graham and Ian. They’re on holiday in Austria at the moment, not too far from me, so we went skiing in the Hochkönig region. It was such a fun day! It’s so bizarre seeing friends from the UK in Austria though. It’s like, this is my place, what are you doing in Pinzgau lol. But we had a great day of skiing, and on Wednesday I have no lessons so we’re spending the day skiing in Saalbach-Hinterglemm. I’m excited.

I went to Italy last week. My friend Juliet has moved from Austria to Trento, and she’s doing a semester at the uni there.

It was a very, veeery boozy weekend.

I arrived at the station on Friday evening, expecting to see Juliet. Except she got lost on the way (what a divvy cow) and we ended up meeting in EuroSpar by the vodka section. A modern day fairy-tale.

We had cold Subway and flat Fanta for dinner, and then started pre-drinking at about 7pm.

To make sure we got really fucked up, we thought it would be a good idea to consume over 50 units of alcohol in 3 hours. Juliet had 2 bottles of wine and I had about 3/4 of a bottle of gin.

Me, Rach and Juliet

And boy, did we get fucked up. I love nights out with Juliet. Even though we feel shit the next day, they’re always so funny.

I woke up with a mega-hangover, an empty bottle of gin and a random boy in bed next to me.

On Saturday, we went for lunch (pizza yum), went shopping and had a nap, ready for the next night.  Saturday night was really fun, don’t get me wrong, but we ended up in this bar which only played reggaeton music. And I felt pretty out of place considering the only Latin pop songs I know are “Reggaetón Lento” and “The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)”.

Either way, it was a lush weekend. It was also really great to see Juliet so happy in Trento, she’s settled in really well and her friends were just so fun and fabulous.

This is literally the only photo I took when I was sober. It’s a building in Trento. Maybe the Cathedral??? Idk

Last week I went for drinks with Nina. She’s one of those friends where we’ll go out for drinks somewhere classy, then suddenly we’re in a bar at 2am on a school night and we’re being bought shots and getting chatted up by drunk 18 year olds. Then we had an English lesson only 6 hours later. Heroes.

But it’s really important to remember: you only get one year abroad. I really don’t care about spending too much money, not getting enough sleep, drinking too much etc etc. I’m 20, I’m getting paid to do the dream job, being a Language Assistant in the best. So why not be the most alcoholic, embarrassing and inappropriate one Saalfelden has ever seen? Lol.

This is pretty cool and I wanted to mention it: a couple of weeks ago, I did a radio interview with 2 students (shout-out to Lisa and Carina) for their school project. They asked me questions about my experience abroad, the education system in England vs Austria and just general questions about what I think of Austria – but it was all in German !!! How cool is that!!!

Later that day, I had a phone interview and then a Skype interview with two potential Au Pair families (also in German). They weren’t proper interviews because they were so so casual, but still really scary!!!

In other news, my package finally arrived.

I was very chuffed to receive a parcel filled with chocolates, makeup and contraceptive pills the other day. Also, mum gave Graham a package to bring out to Austria, so that means more chocolate (so many Creme Eggs!!!!!!) and also more paracetamol.

But I did something really stupid. I’ve run out of contact lenses. I forgot to ask mum to send me more in the parcel/give them to Graham to bring to Austria. I am sooooooooooo annoyed. I have ONE pair left (which I need for skiing on Wednesday).

And this weekend I’m going to Vorarlberg, which means 2 nights out without contact lenses. Mum (the superstar) has posted me some pairs so hopefully they’ll arrive before Friday. If not, I’ll either be blind as a bat on the nights out, or I’ll have to wear my glasses and look like a librarian. I usually wear contacts at school too, so this week I’m having to wear glasses every day. Ugh. Yuck. I hate how I look with glasses.

I feel like because I’ve called this post Let’s Talk About Specs, Baby I need to add a picture of me with glasses?? I just took this a minute ago, as I’m writing this. I don’t look like me with glasses on. I’m gonna get laser eye surgery I’ve decided. Do you like my headphones btw?? They’re so great I love them

Can you BELIEVE I go home for Easter in less than 2 weeks?!!! And that I turn 21 in 16 days!!!! Jesus.

Also, it’s unlucky in Austria to “vorfeiern” (celebrate your birthday early) so I’m going to organise a big birthday night out for after the Easter holidays.

But in the meantime, if anyone wants to go out this week then please let me know. I’ve not been properly drunk in 8 days and really need to prepare my liver for the St Patrick’s Day bar crawl on Saturday.

Ok. I’m really tired now and I still have tons of work to do for tomorrow, so I’m going to leave it here.

Thanks to Caro for getting this action shot of me being teachery

Hope you’re all well and thank you, as ever, for reading.

Love,
Rachie x

• Song of the week: Masterchef Synesthesia (I really do love the buttery biscuit base)
• TV show of the week: Call the Midwife. The last 2 episodes of this season were soooo sad. I spent 40 minutes crying the other night because I was so sad after watching episode 7 (if you’ve seen it you’ll know).
• Quote of the week: “SLAM… poetry. YELLING! Angry! Waving my hands a LOT! Specific point of view on THINGS! Cynthia! Cyn-thi-a! Jesus died for our sin-thi-as! Jesus cried. Runaway Bride. Julia Roberts! Julia Rob… hurts! Cynthia! Ooh, Cynthia. You’re dead. You are dead. Bop boop beep bop bop boop bop. You’re dead. That’s for Cynthia… who’s dead”
• Photo of the week:

Brilliant.

 

I put the Germ in Germany

Well guys. I’ve officially hit rock bottom.
Things could not be any more dire.

I have flu.

My skin looks shit.

I can’t breathe out of my nose.

I’ve run out of the contraceptive pill and my new ones got lost in the post.

And I’m sat in front of my laptop eating baked beans straight out the tin.

We’ll do this in reverse order:

As I mentioned, I have flu (whoopeeeeeeee!) which means I’ve been sleeping A LOT. I fell asleep at 5pm this evening (20/2/18) and woke up at 10pm. I had a shower, freshened up, and went to the kitchen to make some hearty Heinz Cream of Tomato soup.

The kitchen was locked.

So I plodded back to room 329 and searched around in my cupboards for something to eat. But all my nice food is in the kitchen – salads/ready meals/soups are in the fridge, crackers/biscuits/crisps etc in the cupboard.

And the only thing in my bedroom was either Pot Noodle (but have no kettle) or one single, lonely tin of baked beans.

So here I am, sat on my bed, 22:34 on a Tuesday night, eating a tin of cold beans.

Have you ever heard anything so I’m a Celebrity?

God, I wish my life were a reality show, because I would be screaming GET ME OUT OF HEREEEEEEEEE.

Next on the list: The Pill.

I’ve been on the contraceptive pill for 2 years now and I’m usually really good at making sure I have enough spare pill packets and taking the pill every day. But I flew back to Austria with none of my pill packets for the months ahead, and I only had enough in Austria to last me until the end of February.

Well, you guessed it! It’s nearly the end of February! And I have no pill packs! So a few weeks ago I asked mum to send me 2 more, to last until Easter, and she sent a parcel with my pill and also some other goodies that she’d bought from America a few weeks beforehand.

They got lost in the post!!! Yayyyyyyy!!!!!!

So I now have until Monday to figure out what to do. I’ll keep you updated. I’m sure it’s not going to be the end of the world if I stop taking the pill, I just don’t want to fuck my body up too much (update: I went to the pharmacy earlier and bought a pack but keep reading and you’ll find that out later).

NEXT: I can’t breathe out of my nose.

That one is pretty self-explanatory. I am ill. I have been blowing my nose too much. I can’t breathe. I sound like Hannibal Lecter when I sleep. It’s fine though, I keep waking myself up in the night because I can hear a serial killer in the room, and then I realise it’s just me :))))

Next: My skin is shit.

Yep, really really bad. I have been drinking far too much recently.

I know I always joke about being an alcoholic…
but do you ever get to that point
when you’ve been drinking every day for a week
and you think
shit
maybe
…I actually am an alcoholic?

Nope? Yeah me neither. Eek.

Finally: I have flu!!!

So this started on 7th February, when I was starting to feel a little run-down.

And rather than letting myself get ill, I spent that Wednesday evening in bed watching Call the Midwife, and in the space of 6 hours, I took 4 paracetamol, 2 ibuprofen, drank 2 lemsip, took 4 kaloba, and ate about 27 multivitamin gummies.

I knew I had a big week coming up (Thursday = end of semester party, Friday = Anja’s birthday meal/night out, Saturday-Wednesday = Carnival in Mainz) so I really, really didn’t want to be ill.

It worked fine at the time, but probably backfired as I’m currently feeling doubly shit.

So now that you’re all caught up with how I am at the moment, I’m going to take you back 2 weeks and (very briefly) fill you in.

Tuesday 

My lovely friend Juliet was in Saalbach-Hinterglemm for her school ski trip, so I met her for lunch and a catch up before her move to Italy (!!!)

Wednesday

As I said, I spent the evening in bed. Very grannyish.

Thursday

was such a fun evening. I went for dinner/tobogganing with my loooovely students. It’s hard to have a favourite class when they’re all so fabulous, but the class I went with are definitely one of my faves.

We had such a nice meal at the top of the mountain, and then went night sledging back down.

After changing out of our sledging clothes, we headed into town for Half Time.

On the Thursday before each school holiday (Christmas, Half Term, Easter etc) my schools have this Big Night Out, where all the bars and pubs in Saalfelden are open and it’s just students who go out. I missed the one before Christmas because I flew home on that Thursday. So Half Time was my first one, and it was sooooo goooood.

I wish we’d had stuff like that when I was at school/college (although I probably wouldn’t have gone because I was really tragic when I was 18. That’s why I love being a TA because it’s like I’ve gone back to school, but for the first time in my life, I’m part of the cool group lol).

It’s an unwritten rule that you’re not supposed to get drunker than your students if you go out drinking with them.

Um

definitely

not

drunk

lol

I was clearly hammered because the next morning I slept through my alarm and realised I’d left my coat in Milwaukee bar (I’ve got it back now).

Friday

I was so so so hungover. I spent the day eating food, lying in bed, showering to wash away my sins and drinking cheap Lucozade equivalents. I had to be fit by that evening, because it was Anja’s birthday meal, and the plan was to go to a few bars. Turns out I didn’t take any photos from Friday night oops – but basically, we went to this restaurant in Maria Alm, it was so nice and cosy and cute!!! The food was yummy and the cocktails were even yummier – then we went to a few bars/Apres Ski places. It was such a fun night.

Saturday

Am pretty sure my 2 day hangover hit me on Saturday. I got home at 2am, was asleep at 2:30am, and then my alarm went off at 4:30am. So after 2 hours of sleep, I had to pack my little weekend bag, because I was going to Mainz to see my absolute bestie Kate.

The taxi picked me up just before 6am, and I made the 7 hour train journey to Rheinland-Pfalz in Germany.

I was very lucky because it was actually cheaper to travel 1st class, so that loooong, hungover journey was made a lot more bearable by comfy seats and free chocolate.

7 hours, 4 trains, lots of sleep – when I arrived in Mainz it was the best feeling ever.

Kate is probably the wisest friend I have so after a dramatic few days, it was nice to fill her in on all my gossip and hear all of hers.

Catching up over a few capri suns xx

That afternoon, Kate’s lovely, hilarious housemates took us shopping and we stocked up on booze/food for the next few days. We also went to a hardware shop which was a bit random. Kate truly does take me to all the best places!!

In the evening, we went to Kate’s friend’s leaving party, had a few drinks and ordered pizzaaa. Was so lush.

Sunday

We slept in until lunchtime, went for a mooch around Mainz (the atmosphere was crazy – that whole week was Fastnacht, or Carnival, and there were so many people everywhere) and went for lunch at this yummy Indian restaurant.

We went home and got ready for our night out. It was this event in like a warehouse type thing – I don’t know how else to describe it but it was a cross between a rave and a primary school disco??? Everyone was dressed up – Kate was a leopard, I wore a Hawaiian necklace and Fiona dressed as a pirate (and Kate’s housemates wore onesies). It was a really really good night out.

Monday

Monday was one of the best days of my year abroad, possibly life, so far.

It was the main day of Fastnacht/Karneval/Fasching in Mainz and the whole city was litttttt. Pre drinks began at 9am (but Kate and I stayed in bed for a bit and started drinking at about 10:30am) and all of Kate’s housemates and friends went really OTT with the costumes.

How cute do we look? It was barely 11am and we were totally pissed, ready to go out.

So after a few hours of early morning drinking, our huge group headed into the city for the parade (and accidentally ended up in the middle of the parade and got told off by security). We spent the day drinking, watching the parade, dancing (lots of DJs around) and I had the most phenomenal day.

We went home, had a nap and a karaoke session, started properly drinking and then headed out. The club we went to was so cool, they played such a random mix of music (ranging from The Village People to The Notorious B.I.G to that Johnny Däpp song that everyone in Austria/Germany loves) and I had the best time. Someone stole my handcuffs from my FBI outfit though, I hope they make good use of them. I’ll be annoyed if I ever meet Christian Grey because I’ll be wanting them.

Tuesday

This was my last full day in Mainz. Didn’t get to sleep until 4am so we stayed in bed til gone lunchtime. We went for coffee and cake in an adorable cafe in Mainz.

We’d planned to watch 50 Shades in the cinema but instead chose a film called Wunder (or Wonder in English). It was so so so soooo good, Kate and I basically spent the whole time crying (happy tears). I thought it was fab, would definitely recommend. Also stars Julia Roberts and she’s my favourite actress ever.

After the film, we went for dinner to this amazing restaurant. I actually can’t stop dreaming about the burger I had. I’ve probably thought about it once every day for the last week or so. It was a walnut burger with goats cheese and fig chutney yummmmm !!

and the cocktails were mega yummy too

Wednesday

Wednesday was Valentine’s Day, and was also time for me to leave Mainz. I was super poorly at this point, so spent the train journey home just blowing my nose and watching films and feeling a bit sorry for myself.

I had the BEST few days in Mainz though. It was quite a spontaneous trip but I am soooo glad I went. I really think I needed some Kate TLC and it was such a fun 5 days. I can’t wait for Kate to come and stay with me in Austria and I can show her round Saalfelden (it’s definitely not as glamorous or cosmopolitan as Mainz though).

Once again, thank you so much for having me to stay Kate, love you so much. And thank you to your housemates for being so hospitable and accommodating, they really went above and beyond. Lol.

Thursday and Friday

I spent both days in bed. I had planned to go skiing but couldn’t move. I also tried to do lesson plans, but had to go back to sleep because I was just shattered.

On the Friday evening though, Aisha arrived in Saalfelden and we had a picnic and drank a fair amount of wine. I’m not going to lie, I should have had a few days of not drinking and just sleeping – that’s probably why I’m so run down at the moment. Oh well, I’m only 20.

Saturday

Aisha and I had a really fun day – we went skiing in Maria Alm, had lunch in a mountain restaurant, went for a cheeky Apres Ski, came home and napped, and then went out in the evening.

Look how cute Aisha is in her ski outfit!!!

We went to Baum Bar in Kaprun (by bus) and it was really fun. Also bumped into loads of students (sorry we were so so so so drunk). We are actually terrible people though. We didn’t pay for a single drink that night; low- to moderately-attractive men kept buying them for us and then we’d drink them and run away. That’s probably why we got so drunk, and why Aisha spent the end of the night with her head down the toilet (sorry babes).

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday

After Aisha left to go back to Salzburg on Sunday, I just went back to sleep. Honestly I have been really, really fluey. I missed my lessons on Monday because I couldn’t get out of bed, but Tuesday I forced myself to go to my 4 lessons. After doing my lessons, falling asleep at 5pm and waking up at 10pm, I started writing this blog post.

You can tell how ill I’ve been because I usually manage to get one blog post out a week. It’s quite funny, about 4 people now have asked me why I haven’t posted, they’ve been checking my blog and there’s no new post and is everything ok??? All is gooood it’s just taken me about 3 times as long to write this than it normally would because I sleep for 2 hours and stay awake for 30 mins and then fall asleep again.

Wednesday (yesterday)

I had no lessons so was able to sleep until midday. Waheyyy.

This was the first day I’d been outside since Saturday, I hadn’t been feeling well enough until yesterday.

I went shopping with Alayna, and FINALLY we bought Dirndls!! You might remember this was one of the things on my year abroad bucket list.

Will try and get a better photo for you, but it’s green and pink and I LOVE IT. Honestly I think every woman should own a Dirndl, their sole purpose is to make your boobs look massive.

The socks really complete the outfit :))

We then went for a Chinese buffet which was soooO good but I reckon I ate about 20,000 calories.

Thursday

I went to the Pharmacy earlier and asked about the contraceptive pill. I’ve managed to get a month’s pack which should last me until Easter – but hopefully my other packs (and presents and sweets) will come in the post!! But at least it’s sorted for now, phew.

Thank you for listening to me babble on. I hope this post wasn’t too long and boring.

Speak to you soon!

Love,
Rach x

• Film of the week: Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging but in German lol – ich bin eine gefüllte Olive !!!
• Song of the week: Who Needs Love by Razorlight (from the Angus, Thongs soundtrack pmsl)
• Food of the week: porridge. Isn’t it immense? Honestly golden syrup porridge is just the bomb.
• Photo of the week:

God only knows why I was single on Valentine’s this year?????

 

PS throughout the year, I’ve been updating a drafted post called “Year Abroad Confessions” with all my crazy, juicy, explicit stories that I’ve not been able to post on my blog because they’re too X rated (and I would probably lose my job). If I get 12,000 blog views by May then I’ll probably publish it, so if you want to see that then make sure you share my blog with your friends/family !!!

PSS everyone should watch Stormzy’s performance from the Brits last night. I get goosebumps every time I watch it. The man is a living legend.

Mission: Impossible

Hellooo,

I have tons of gossip and loads to fill you in on. And when I say loads, I mean loads – this is the longest blog post I’ve ever written. So grab a cup and straw, because this is gonna be juicy.

Do you remember back in October and I got locked out of the boarding house?

Well, I thought lightning never strikes twice.

Evidently it does. Because I got FUCKING LOCKED OUT OF MY HOME AGAIN.

As Maria von Trapp says, let’s start at the very beginning. Picture the scene:

It’s Saturday afternoon, tonight is my school’s Matura Ball (like a UK prom but way better) and Megan has just arrived in Saalfelden. She’s super hungover so eats a sandwich while I start on the wine. Megan has a flight booked from Salzburg to Manchester on Sunday morning. She also has a shuttle booked from Saalfelden to the airport at 8:30am, and a train from Manchester back home for Sunday lunchtime. This will be important later in the story, so bear this in mind.

We spent a few hours getting ready, doing our hair and makeup etc. Megan drank a spritzer (still a bit delicate) as I was necking the wine.

Obviously I live in Austria and it’s February, so it’s really snowy. We didn’t want to walk in the snow wearing heels so I booked a taxi to prom. We also took a bag with 3 spare pairs of shoes, 2 hoodies, 2 bottles of wine and 12 peperami things to prom. Classy huh?

So I’d booked a taxi for 7:30pm to take us from the boarding house to Congress, where the ball was held, and the taxi company had promised they would be pünktlich. My bedroom faces onto the car park, so I can see every car pulling up, but it got to 7:35 and there still wasn’t a taxi, and then he finally pulled up 10 minutes late. We ran down the stairs, but he’d disappeared once we got outside. So stood in the snow, I rang the taxi company and apparently he’d been parked outside for over 10 mins (clearly not though???) and we had to wait for him to come back. That’s Drama #1.

We got in the taxi, he took us to the ball, and just as we were about to get out, I’d realised I’d forgotten the tickets. So we ended up driving back home, I ran in to get our tickets, and went back to the prom. Drama #2. Also meant I had to pay 3x as much for those two extra journeys.

And my God, the queue was enormous. We spent 30 minutes in line for the ball. And you know me, I’m a massive drama queen. When I’ve been drinking I’m even worse. I was basically shouting “I’m a TEACHER I’m a VIP this is RIDICULOUS”. I actually feel really bad about that now, I can be so wanky but it didn’t even matter because we got in before the important bits. What a diva.

One of my lovely teachers managed to reserve Megan and I seats, so we didn’t have to stand all night. We also kept our bag of alcohol/snacks/spare clothes under the table, and luckily the teachers found it funny when we whipped out our water bottles filled with wine.

Every year the students come up with a theme for their prom, and this year they called it “Final Cut” – everything was movie/film related. Apparently a few years ago the theme was “5 Years A Slave” and I don’t know whether I find it hilarious or shocking. Anyway, the final year students did their Polonaise dance, themed around films (the 50 Shades one shocked me a bit I’m not gonna lie lol).

It was so so so lovely to see my students in their dresses and suits. The boys looked amazing and the girls looked stunning. The next few hours were spent mingling, dancing and drinking. The whole venue was buzzing – 1600 people went, how crazy is that!!! It’s veeery different to UK prom. Then at midnight, they announced prom king/queen and all the final year students performed some skits and sketches and it was really really sweet.

I can’t really remember too much after this point because I was pretty boozy, but they had a band in the main hall and a DJ downstairs so the rest of the evening involved lots of dancing and loads of drinking.

In the early hours of the morning, Megan wanted to go back home and I wanted to stay out a bit longer, but I only have 1 key (Drama #3) but then we made the decision to get a taxi back to mine, I’d let her in, and then go back out after dropping her off.

So we got the taxi with 4 other people, 2 of them got dropped off first and then the taxi took us back to the boarding house. Drama #4 was when I lost my keys, but turns out they were just in the taxi and had got stuck under the seat.

The plan was for me to run in, let Megan into my room and drop off the bag.

BUT then the FUCKING KEY DIDN’T WORK.

As I explained in the post from October (when I got locked out the first time), the main key I have is an electronic fob and you need it to get through 3 sets of doors (the main entrance, the door to your floor, and then the bedroom door). And when you want to let yourself in, the light flashes green and you can waltz straight in.

Nope, not this time. It made a beeping noise and started flashing red. Obviously tried again and again and again. Still no luck. Drama #5. I was panicking but wanted to be calm for Megan’s sake.

So the first thing I did was ring the man who runs the boarding house – he is the same guy who came and rescued me last time – but of course it was 3am on a Sunday and he wasn’t picking up. I kept trying (probably about 30 times) and then I was pretty confident that he was asleep. We knew he wasn’t going to check his phone for at least a few more hours. This is definitely Drama #6.

And now it gets juicy. I hope I tell this story well because I want to do it justice.

The next thing I did was run round the boarding house trying every door, wearing my prom dress and sliders, freezing/soaking wet feet from the cold, hoping and praying that a door would’ve been left open – obviously not, because that would be a massive security risk. There’s actually a huge fence with a locked door guarding the back of the boarding house, and it wasn’t open so I gave up and walked back round the front. Megan and I were starting to panic. I tried ringing some of the students who also live in the boarding house with me, but of course everyone was either drunk or asleep.

I have a key to the staff room at school, so I then ran round the whole school building trying every single door. The key is clearly just an internal one and no doors were open. By this point I was just super out of breath and deflated. So I walked back round to the boarding house and told Megan the bad news.

Wasn’t sure what to do at this point, so once again I went to the back of the boarding house and stood facing the huge fence. The only thing left to do was climb over it. So, little old Rachie, wearing her bloody expensive prom dress and trainers (I’d changed out of my sliders by this point) climbed over a 7ft metal fence in the middle of a blizzard. The top of the fence had loads of little metal poles on it, so when I reached the top, I lost momentum and had to sit down on said poles. Big mistake. My bum and the back of my legs are covered with bruises. The pain was excruciating. I jumped down and fell into the snow (luckily it was a soft landing) and then continued to run around the back of the boarding house and then school, trying every single door. I attempted every single door, I tried to break windows, I climbed up stairs and went onto the roof of the school. Nothing worked. Drama #7.

obvs not going to post a pic of my arse but it is COVERED in bruises

I was still round the back of the boarding house (after an HOUR of trying to break in) and eventually I decided to ring Veronika, my friend/student who is honestly such a life saver. I know she’ll be reading this so I just want to say I literally love you so much. If she hadn’t have picked up the phone we would’ve been sleeping outside in -10°C temperatures. I rang Vero because she also used to live in the boarding house (but now in a house share with 3 other students) and I feel like she was definitely the most qualified person to talk to. So after explaining the situation, she really kindly offered for me and Megan to stay at their house on Saturday night – I didn’t even expect anyone to let us stay with them, I just needed someone to explain the situation to. But a couple of other people were staying at their house on Saturday night too and she said it would be no problem for us to crash there. I think Vero might actually be my guardian angel.

I got off the phone, excited to tell Megan the news that we wouldn’t be homeless, and then I remembered I had to climb that fucking fence again. This time was easier because the snow was higher on my side and I could use the fence perpendicular to help me up. Rather than sitting on top of the gate this time, I hoisted my leg up and was stood on top of it. IT’S OVER 2 METRES TALL.

I’m gonna put a video clip in because it was pretty fucking scary.

 

 

Eeek I don’t know how to shrink videos so just click “open video in new tab” if you’re on PC or watch in full screen on phone/tablet.

I had to jump/climb down this 7ft fence. And of course, just when you think things can’t get any worse, they do. I got the back of my dress stuck on one of the pole bits and ripped the beautiful lace. Drama #8 and probably the low-light of the whole evening.

So I’d been gone for ages and it was such a relief to see Megan. I filled her in and told her we’d be walking a few mins down the road to stay in my students’ house.

Can you imagine how frustrating this was though? All we wanted to do was get inside and into bed. Realisation hit us at this point. Megan had a flight booked for the next morning, and her passport, bag, money etc was locked inside my room. It was likely that she’d miss it unless the caretaker answered the phone.

We walked to their house, let ourselves in and crawled into bed. I was sooooooooooooooo cold and sad and tired. But THEN the others arrived home and found us in bed and asked if we wanted to come down for a few drinks. It was gone 4am now. Megan was stressed and tired (understandably) so went back up to bed, but I, being the responsible and wonderful teacher I am, went down and stayed up all night drinking with my students.

When I say all night, I really do mean all night. 3 hours of drinking and talking. I think I’m quite a heavy drinker but I’ve never had Gin & Tonic for breakfast before. 3 hours of drinking came and went, and it got to 7am-ish. To tell the truth, I was still plastered at this point. We had some scrambled eggs for proper breakfast (they had ham in them but you know me, I’m a shit vegetarian so demolished it anyway).

I then decided to ring the man in charge again, hoping he’d pick up now, but still no answer. So Megan and I walked back to the boarding house, Megan really tired, me still drunk after 12 hours of solid drinking, both wearing one of my student’s clothes, looking rough as fuck. Tried the key again in the daylight, also didn’t work, but then a miracle happened!!! One of my students was in the reception of the boarding house and he let us in wahooo.

So there we were, hugging and celebrating, thanking God that we were able to get inside and Megan would be able to catch her flight.

Nope.

Drama #9.

As I said, I have to get through 3 sets of doors before I’m in my room. If you ever watched Jungle Run on CITV when you were younger then I’m sure you’ll appreciate the situation. The door on my floor also wouldn’t open with my key.

I realised this story is really really long so I’ll keep it concise now:

• We were inside the building but not able to get into my room.
• Inside the boarding house is another set of stairs, for emergency use only. I tried to get in and set the alarm off. Oops.
• I then went outside and remembered the fire escape outside the building. The door was locked so I climbed underneath (it was very tight, only about 30 cm to squeeze under). Honestly I can’t believe how adventurous I was. Indiana Jones has nothing on Rachel Warwick.
• So after squeezing under, I ran up the fire escape and tried every door – no luck, my key fob was flashing red with those as well.
• By this point, Megan’s taxi/shuttle had already arrived and we had to send him away. She had missed her flight.
• We stayed downstairs for the next hour or so, until 10am, when the guy in charge rang me back. He managed to fix my key from his computer at home, and finally got into my room.
• Of course it was too late – Megan’s flight left just after 11am.
• She booked a flight for that evening and ended up wasting the £100+ on shuttle, flight and train. Gutted doesn’t even come close.

So on Saturday, we both showered and chilled, went for a McDonald’s lunch and then Megs got a bus to Salzburg station. It was undoubtedly the most stressful situation of my life.

God. Sorry. That was a very long story, but I felt like I have to document it all because it’s one of those times where I’ll want to remember all the little details.

Anyway, the rest of my week was fab but I won’t go on for too much longer.

Wednesday I spent the day shoe shopping because I forgot to bring any nice shoes for prom. I tried every shop in Saalfelden, but I’m a UK size 9 (43) to it’s pretty impossible finding shoes. In the evening, I went for dinner and drinks with Alayna. It was such a lovely night, we drank far too much – neither of us had lessons the next morning though, thank God.

Thursday was also super fun. It was the Pre Ball party, so I had pre-drinks with my students. Played lots of drinking games – honestly you learn so much new vocab from playing Never Have I Ever in German (e.g. friends with benefits, to take someone’s virginity – all the important things). The girls who I pre drank with are hardcore though. I cannot believe how many shots we drank in only a few hours. We then went to a bar in town, and I was pretty plastered. People say to “never get more drunk than your students” but I don’t really care. I see them more as friends now anyway, not students.

Friday was the hungover-est I’ve been since Induction Week in September. Was a nice feeling knowing that my students were equally as hungover as I was. And for once in my life, I didn’t feel embarrassed after a night out. Like, obviously I was embarrassing, that’s always going to happen when I drink. For example, YMCA came on and I went fucking mental and I think I shocked a few people, but I’m a really fun drunk so I wasn’t wanting to die on Friday morning. At lunchtime, I took the train to Europark in Salzburg and went shoe shopping. I bought lots of new clothes and bits, and then ended up in Ikea. I only went for food but I got lost and walked round the bedroom section at least 4 times. But I got my (veggie) meatballs and was happy.

I don’t think much else exciting has happened recently. This is also the longest post I’ve ever written so should probably end now.

But I just wanted to say: this week has been sooooo good. And it’s suddenly made me really sad because I realised I only have 3.5 months left of my placement. I know that sounds like a long time but it’s going to go really quickly, so I really need to make the most of it.

Also I think I want to come back and work in Saalfelden/the Salzburg region during the summer, maybe au pairing or bar work? So if anyone knows of any restaurants or shops or hotels in which I could work then let me know pretty pleaseeee. I would love to spend my summer going out and getting drunk with all my Austrian friends, just as I’ve spent the last 4 months.

Loads of love,
Rach x

• Thought of the week: I am so so excited for Mamma Mia 2. I watch the trailer about 4 times every day (not joking) and I’ve been listening to When I Kissed The Teacher on repeat
• Regret of the week: spending €16 in McDonald’s and only eating a few chips
• Song of the week: that fucking Johnny Däpp song. All my Austrian readers will know what I’m talking about. It’s this apres ski song they play on every night out and I actually hated it at first but now I’ve heard it so many times that I’m enjoying it. Am listening to it now while writing this

Lovely Ljubbly

I think it’s easy to forget what an amazing opportunity I have, being able to work and live abroad. This week I had an epiphany and realised that it actually is so fuckin’ cool. For the rest of my life, I’m going to look back and think “wow. I lived in Austria for a year in my 20s”. I’m literally spending a year of my life living in another country and I’m not even 21 yet. For anyone who lives abroad: congrats! It’s definitely something to be proud of, not many people would have the balls to live in a foreign country. Well done us!!! And for those who don’t: you’re missing out, the world is huge and you should explore it you narrow-minded wankers.

(Loool my mum is definitely going to tell me off for saying that. I was joking)

Anyway, with that in mind, if last week was blue, then this one was most certainly yellow (that’s a happy colour no?). I really have had such a great week:

Wednesday 24th

I didn’t have any lessons last Wednesday, so I spent the afternoon with Alayna. We went for a walk around Ritzensee, one of my favourite places in town, and then went for ice cream. I know it’s January and we live in the mountains, but the weather was so nice – not a cloud in sight, and really mild (lol 6 degrees) so we felt ice cream was appropriate. We went shopping and bought some bits, and then headed to the library. I signed up at the library and now I have a Saalfelden library card. Wahoo! I took a book and 2 DVDs out. You might remember that one of my New Year’s Resolutions is to read a book a fortnight. Um, yeah. Lol. That’s not happened yet. But fingers crossed I’ll be able to finish this book.

Thursday 25th

Thursday was just a normal day of teaching, but in the evening, there was an opening for a new art exhibition in Saalfelden. And I was asked to do a reading! Hahhhaaa how crazy is that.

But as you know, you have to say yes to everything on your year abroad (except for drugs and sex with students), so I signed myself up and read at this event. My friend Laura very correctly pointed out that I’m pretty much a celebrity in Saalfelden, getting asked to speak at this event (as well as being a wannabe I’m also a massive wanker) 🙂

So at the opening of the exhibition, after the speeches, I read an extract from Hemingway’s “The Old Man and The Sea”. Bit awkward because loads of people asked me afterwards if it’s my favourite book. Eek, no. My favourite books are the Bridget Jones/Shopaholic series. Not blooming Hemingway haha. Anyway it went well I think.

Friday 26th

This was a very exciting day. I only had 3 lessons on Friday morning. So after eating my lunch, I plodded down to Saalfelden station and got on the train to Schwarzach St Veit. I changed there, met the fabulous Aisha and Imran on the train, and we had a 3 hour journey to Ljubljana! The train journey was very funny, and we quickly cracked open a cold piss warm one with the boys.

We arrived suitably tipsy in Ljubljana, walked to the hostel, and got ready for dinner. The hostel was about a 20 minute walk from the city centre and it only cost €18 for two nights – who care’s if there was shit in the sink and the window wouldn’t close!!! As I said in my Vienna post, I’m not really a hostel kind of girl. I’m much better suited to 5* hotel resorts in hot countries or gorgeous chalets in the mountains. But considering how cheap it was, it was pretty bearable for 2 nights.

So on Friday evening, we went out for a lovely (and cheap!) meal in the city, and then hit a few bars. I was really impressed with the city – everything was so clean, people were friendly, and it wasn’t too expensive at all.

Saturday 27th

Woke up at 9am-ish and headed out for a day of exploring; the weather was truly gorgeous – we were so sooo lucky. After getting some breakfast from Hofer, we strolled into the city. First of all we mooched around the old town and saw the gorgeous buildings in daylight. We then hiked up to the castle and got a wonderful view of Ljubljana. The town just looks so eastern European though – I feel it could have been any city (Bratislava, Dubrovnik, Prague) in Eastern Europe and no-one would know the difference. Oh well, it was still beautiful.

Then we went for ice cream and smoothies and sat in the sun for a while. Ha ha for a vegan I sure do eat a lot of ice cream! Oopsie!!!

After a few more hours of walking around, seeing the city and popping into old buildings, we had lunch at a Japanese restaurant by the river.

We headed home, bought some snacks to eat for dinner, and napped for a few hours. I was really reeeeally lethargic after having such a good nap, but once I’d done my makeup and got a bit of vodka in me, I was ready to goooo. We went on the ‘Ljubljana Pub Crawl’ – €15 got us 6 shots, drinks for beer pong, funny challenges to do throughout the night, and entry into this great club called Cirkus.

The 3 of us were pre-drinking together, then Aisha and I headed into town, drinking our bottles of vodka orange (tasted pure shite). We met loads of lovely people on the bar crawl, and it was a really really fun evening. Plus the club we ended up in was actually so good – the music was great and it reminded me a bit of Ibiza or Sunny Beach or something. Only downside to the evening was that there were no places to eat after. All I wanted was a McDonald’s, but the only place we found was a kebab and horse burger shop.

Sunday 28th

After getting a grand total of 2.5 hours sleep, we packed our bags and walked to the station. Due to the lack of McDonald’s the night before, I was craving a burger all morning. I prayed for a McDonald’s the whole way there, and someone clearly answered my prayers because there was a Maccies at the station. I finally got my McMuffin – thank you God/Allah/Ronald McDonald.

“When the Lord closes a door, somewhere he opens a window”

The train journey back was mostly spent sleeping and watching La La Land. I wasn’t that hungover, just so sooo tired. I had to change at Schwarzach, get the train to Saalfelden and then get the bus back home. Was quite a trek. I spent Sunday afternoon planning lessons and went to bed super early.

Monday 29th

Yesterday was blissful and it just sums up life as a teaching assistant in Austria.

I had one lesson in the first period (7:50-8:40 lol I hate early starts) and then I finished for the day. So rather than just watching Riverdale or going shopping, I thought I’d make the most of the gorgeous weather and I went skiing in Zell am See.

you jell am see?

After a few hours of skiing, I got on a chair lift, this super chatty Austrian man joined me and we started talking. Turns out he’s a ski coach and he works on Kitzsteinhorn, and he’s been training people to become ski racers for 40 years. He very kindly asked if I wanted to ski with him, so of course I did, and it was one of the best things I’ve done. He gave me loads of tips, he showed me how to properly carve (he calls himself the Carving King) and I also learnt loads of new vocab from him. I think he must be quite well-known in the area, because we kept bumping into people he knew, and they asked if I was his new project. He told them he’s training me up for the 2022 Olympics. Haha. I think they thought I was his little protégé.

Yesterday really was perfect though. It doesn’t get much better than that – finished work at 8:40, on the slopes by 10:30am and spent the afternoon skiing with a ski racing coach. Amazing.

What else is new:

• I finally FINALLY got my Erasmus grant. I was supposed to get this sorted in September but I am really shitty and only just managed to fill in the paperwork. Am very happy though, an extra £2200 has just been plonked into my account – for FREE !!!
• My mum’s on a cruise in the Caribbean and my dad is on a boys ski trip in France. I think they must be going on all these holidays because they miss me so much. Haha.
• One of my schools is having their Matura Ball (prom) this Saturday. Megs is coming to stay with me and words cannot explain how excited I am. I need to go into town to buy some nice shoes tomorrow though, otherwise I’ll be wearing ski boots with my dress.
• ALSO I just found out one of my favourite YouTubers reads my blog. His name is Barry and he runs the cooking channel MyVirginKitchen – how crazy is that! So if you’re reading this, hi Barry !!!
• And finally, I’ve decided my calling in life is to be a soccer mom – the way I dress just screams trophy wife. So if the Maths and German degree goes tits up, at least I’ve got a back-up plan.

Lots of (s)Love(nia),
Rach x

This week in numbers:

• Steps: 87,811
• Cups landed in beer pong: 2
• Times I’ve listened to The Greatest Showman soundtrack: 0. Everyone seems to be banging on about it, might have to jump on the bandwagon and watch the film.
• Satsumas eaten: 8