Exertions

I could never chin.  I think my body's center of gravity is in the wrong place, even now that I'm fairly light.  I used to earn the wrath of gym teachers when I consistently failed President Kennedy's test of physical fitness, which required students to chin at least seven times.

When we went to the park, Pavel, a very fit student attempted to help me chin, with only minimal success. A native speaker of Czech, he could only communicate with our Vietnamese students in English.

I like having multiple language groups at camp.  It helps students see the importance of having a common language.

I'd forgotten how physically demanding it is to work with young students day after day.  It's not at all like teaching at ETSU.  On the weekends, Joe and I are more or less in a state of collapse.

All my campers were able to climb the tree pictured above.  Alas! I could only make it half way up, and that with assistance.

Transportation

On Vienna streets, cars move at a pace I found pretty alarming，but the place is much lest congested than major American cities.  Public transit by tram, bus and subway is excellent, and there is also a city wide program where one may rent bikes and helmets at very low cost.  These bikes are deposited at the rider's destination just like a rental car.

Singing (or playing) for supper

Vienna is extremely proud of its musical heritage.  Europe's greatest composers all performed here, and statues such as this one of Mozart pay tribute to their work.

From all of the world, people come here to study music, but the competition for professional employment is fierce.  Many accomplished musicians eek out a living by playing in the streets.  Passersby toss them coins. 


These impromptu outdoor performances are excellent.  Not all the musicians have permits to be on the streets, but I'm told the police aren't overly harsh when telling these artists they have to move on.

  

Connectional community

There is a strong connectional community within the ex-pat United Methodist Church.  In Vienna, we stayed at the home of Reverend Kathy Young (pictured left), a Montana native who pastors Vienna's English Speaking United Methodist Church, an ethnically diverse and well-established congregation of about 250 members (sanctuary pictured below). 

The missionaries working over here are an extraordinarily interesting group of people.  Kathy, for example, previously lived in Vienna to train as an opera singer.  

Some of our friends think we're silly to do these overseas "workations" where we have the pressures of following schedules and cranking out lessons as we do at home. 

We do take time for sightseeing and recreation on occasion.  This past weekend, we caught a train to Vienna and toured the splendid Schonbrunn palace gardens, developed by the Habsburg monarchs in the seventeenth century.  We treated ourselves to overpriced apple strudel and enjoyed the view.

Instructional strategies

Our son Michael, who teaches in Philadelphia, came to help with our program last week.  Camp has been growing.  In particular we have more children, and it's counterproductive to have them sit in class hour after hour. 

We've invented a lot of games: pronoun ball, adjective ball, noun ball.  We identify colors of objects out in the parking lot and affix labels.  Our students love the hokey pokey.

Standing room only

Our brief weekend in Vienna began with a train ride I shall describe as memorable.  I didn't know that in addition to buying a ticket I should have reserved seats, and the train was packed. For the first half hour, we stood.  Then, Mike sat down on his suitcase after first offering it to me. I started sliding off and opted for the floor alongside the backpackers with their disassembled bicycles. For a few minutes, this made me feel young, but then I began getting excruciating leg cramps and had to keep standing up to clear them.  Observing my discomfort, a lovely young Asian woman insisted on giving me her seat and later found one for Joe.