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Thursday, 02 October 2008

Currently Listening
Alles Neu
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We have crazy neighbors

My boyfriend and I have a neverending battle with our neighbors in our apartment building. We live in between two other apartments- we have never had a problem with the people who live to our right, the people who live to our left are the ones i'm talking about.

So far they have complained to us about:

1. Walking too loud in the apartment
2. Talking in the hallway (in a normal INSIDE talking voice)
3. Me practicing during the DAY (i am a music major at the Bruckner University in Austria)

And instead of coming to us and talking about the problem they have with us like normal people, they bang and scream at us through their door- thats right- we don't even see them. We just hear them having a crazy fit behind their door.

So we have tried to talk more quietly, tried to walk less in the apartment, and i even tried to practice less for fear of them having another crazy fit. But we realized that we were spending so much time trying to appease our neighbors, we couldn't live our life anymore. WE ARE NOT LOUD NEIGHBORS. We are very respectful and do not deserve to be treated like this.

But yesterday was the last straw- on my way to the university, I found a letter lying under our door. I would post the whole note here but it is in German. NOW they are complaining that my boyfriend closes the door too loud when he leaves for work every morning. A few highlights from the letter are: that he closes the door so loud that they literally FALL out of bed and cannot get back to sleep and that we act as if we are the only ones who live in this building.

So we are done trying to be nice to them and we hope they call the police the next time.

Do you have crazy neighbors??

Tuesday, 30 September 2008

How I Chose my Username

I chose the username "Margaretfest" because I recently just went to the opening day of Oktoberfest (September 20th, 2008) in Munich, German. So I guess I have to describe what Oktoberfest is like to those of you who have never been.

Oktoberfest is: the biggest public festival in the WORLD- a sixteen day festival held each year in Munich, Bavaria, Germany during late september and running into early October, originally held to honor the marriage between Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen.

What to do at Oktoberfest:
1. Drink a Mass (1 Liter of Beer)
2. Try to find a table to sit at outside of a beer tent and talk to many interesting, drunk people (it is impossible to find a place to sit INSIDE the beer tents- people are waiting in line since 6am to get a table and they are NOT willing to share with people who stumble in at 9am, thinking they got there early enough for a party that starts at 12pm.)
3. Walk around and try some of the traditional foods at the different concession stands. If you do find your way into a tent- do NOT order food. It is extremely expensive and the prices are not clearly marked on the menu - you could end up, like i did, with a schocking bill.

My friends from college and I holding a Mass at Oktoberfest:

They think you can charge you more for your food just because they serve it on a log...

But I have to say- I have had more fun at the smaller public festivals and carnivals (Villacher Kirchtag, Urfahranermarkt in Linz) that go on around where I live in Austria- that's right- I live abroad (not STUDY abroad- there is a big difference- I have done both, but that is a post for another day).

I moved to Austria in January of 2008 after I graduated college in December 2007 to move in with my boyfriend, who is an Austrian, because I couldn't stand to be away from him any longer. I even worked my ass off in college to graduate a semester early in order to come back and see him again. And although it was hard for me to leave my family, move halfway across the world to a foreign country, and deal with a cultural and language barrier on a daily basis, (Ok i admit- this was the hardest thing i have ever done in my life) I enjoy the challenge and don't regret any of it.

So actually- Oktoberfest was not one of the craziest things I have ever done in my life- MAYBE its in the top 5. It is definitely lower on the list than my trip to Amsterdam. . . i mean- i had fun but it wasn't THAT fun. By going to Oktoberfest, I was hoping I could forget everything that I worry about. (I wouldn't be surprised to hear if more Americans end up going to Oktoberfest this year than in years before- with the presidential election and the economy crisis going on now.)

But it turns out- getting really drunk doesn't help too much- it kinda makes you feel worse- Maybe writing things down in here is a better solution.