I am from Austria

Most of the people I am writing with asking me how life in Australia is! No, no, no! I am not from Australia!

I am from a little country in the center of Europe with about 8 million inhabitants, Vienna as capital and a long history, with a beautiful landscape and huge mountains. Our lakes have drinking water qualitay so clear they are and everybody has to know skiing and our skiing stars and skijumpers are famous like our composers like Mozart and Strauss.

But we can't play soccer :)

I would like to try from time to time introduce my country, our history, culture, cuisine, composers and much more and of course I will write about topics you would like to know more about!

So don't hesitate to ask!

My lovley hard work

As so many penpals of mine asking me if I am as a check-in-agent a stewardess I decided to introduce my job to!

First of all - I am not a stewardess, I am staying at home :) I am a part of the groundstaff and work for a handling company. We are making the check-in for not only one flightcompany, at our airport we make it for all except Lufthansa because they have their own stuff. Then we make as well the boarding, some are ramp agents, coordination of annulled and delayed flights and having as well a ticket desk, make the operations office and much more.

So we have to discuss as well overweight, have to know computer systems, control of handluggage, boardingpasses and passports.

And we have to know HOW to check in - not only baggage, as well bulk baggage, animals, diving gears, skateboards and skiers, buggys, wheelchairs, items with batteries and all the things you are not allowed to check in like for example dry ice. There are a lot of things to attend.

That means if there is a delay of several hours we have to be the ones who have to stay at the airport and have to be fresh, nice and friendly although when passengers are getting more and more moody ...

And the most important - how to react in all kinds of emergency cases and we have to work always on time! No delays, please!!

AND!!! I love my job although it is really hectic every day but I don't regret that I am not a historian as I wanted to be after my studies!

Nordic Walking

Oh, yesterday I've got my Nordic Walking Sticks - my idea about that sport was: Going out in nature, enjoying fresh air and beside that making sports. Just going! But, OMG, that has a special technique! So now I am doing something funny :) That it will not be that embarrassing when I do Nordic Walking the first time outside, I try to learn the technique inside and I am walking from room to room in our flat :) Looks wonderful stupid but it works :))

I hope that I could start next week, because I have to stay at home that week. My doctor doesn't allow me to go to work and if somebody from my work will meet me by coincidence outside doing sports I will get a big problem at work!!!

And I am looking forward that the weather is getting better and better, so hopefully next week we will get between 10 and 15 degrees Celsius!

Beeing Married

A penpal from Japan wrote me that she is single and she doesn't want to write with me as i am married and she is thinking that married people don't have enough time for writing ... I don't understand it, but I have to accept it ...

I don't have an other life then I had before marriage ...

Independent at all

Today a penfriend which i lost during my move from Austria to Germany asked my why i didn't continue writing? She wrote that she thought my husband prohibited writing penfriends!! I was starring into my laptop with an open mouth and was shocked about that idea. But after one minute i remembered that in some countries of that world woman are not living free and my life is not for everybody usual.

I could never imagine that somebody will tell me what i have to do and what i don't have to do, how i have to live my life and how not. Of course my parents did that as long as i was living in their house but when i moved to Vienna for studying and working and having my own flat and my own money i was an independent young girl. My parent's education was always like that i could live an independent life on my own and that i will know how to solve problems.

Nowadays they are giving me advices when i am asking something but always with the addition that i am old enough to know what i am doing!

Yes it's true, i am doing what i want, i travel where and when i want, i am buying and shopping what i want ...

And beside this I am married! But my husband would not even have the idea telling me what i have to do or not or forbids me things to do!! I think that would be the end of our marriage!

For me beeing independent in my life and my decisions is everything!!

Venezuela

Hello everybody and sorry to all people of Venezuela! I am writing today because i am currently reading a guidebook about Venezuela and i have to say that after the first 200 pages i am wondering why the author was writing that book because all he wrote so far was just negative - i will try to list in short what he wrote!!

1. don't go to Caracas as it has little to offer, has a lot of slums and is just dangerous because don't matter what time of the day you will always be robbed and murdered.

2. if you want to drive from the Airport to Caracas the best thing is don't use an inoffical Taxi, don't use an official Taxi but call a swiss men who will bring you safe and punctual as swiss watches where you want to go.

3. never trust venezuelan people as an european tourist because they like telling lies all day long.

4. don't wonder if a venezuelan woman has 5 children from 5 men because betraying is a big part of the venezuelan culture.

This is just a short list of what i readed in that 200 pages ...

So tell me, why is somebody writing a guidebook about a country when he is just pointing out negative things? It's not really good for the reputation of a country!

Hope that some venezuelan people are reading that and writing a comment.

Believe I would like to know some people of Venezuela!

ps. and if there is a truth in what he wrote i am sure that every country in this world has it's good and bad people, good and bad places!!

Homesick for Viennese Waltz

Oh, i always get homesick, when i hear the austrian Waltz - now watching the New Year Concert of the Vienna Philharmonical Orchestra!

When i hear that I am always wondering why i left my wonderful homecountry - a country full of history and culture and friendly and nice people with a beautiful landscape and wonderful weather ... but that's life ... In March i will see my family and my country again!