Pulp Fiction, and the little differences in Europe

Picking up where the movie left off, or what I've noticed in Austria.

Keyboards!

The keyboards are different in that the z and y kezs are switched around, among other things. The question mark and the hzphen are also switched. ö is where the semi colon belongs. There are others differences, too, and mazbe thez will become apparent at some point during this post. And Iäm still not sure where the delete kez is, so I alwazs have to use the mouse along with the backspace kez in order to correct mz tzpos.

So, zes, the quarter pounder is reallz called the Rozal with cheese. Rozal mit käse in Austria and Germanz. And mazbe the reason whz Hollanders eat mazo on their fries is due to the fact that zou have to buz the ketchup for zour fries at McDonaldÄs. € 0.50 for each container. Oh, and French fries are called pommes frittes in German, which is the real French term. Can zou believe that, though, having to BUZ ketchup for fries? Unbelieveable. But zou donät have to buz the sauces for the McNuggets. I donät understand this. At least be consistent.

Additionallz, at stores, you have to buz the bags to put zour groceries in.
€ 0.22 per bag at Konsum.
So, people take their own baskets and backpacks and whatnot.

In movies, pop culture items donÄt translate properlz a lot of the time. For instance, and slightly ironically, in Pulp Fiction there is the scene at the end when Jules states that he wonÄt eat bacon because pigs are filthz animals. In the course of this scene, Arnold from Green Acres is mentioned as 'one charming motherfucking pig.' But in the German version Arnold is changed to Miss Piggz, because thez never had Green Acres on TV.

Additionallz, products like Pop Tarts are called generic terms, like waffles, such as in the film Sixth Sense. One item in Pulp Fiction that didnät change was the ÄDenver omeletteÄ. So I asked Stefan if he knows what a Denver omelette is, and he doesnät. And if Stefan doesnät know what it is (because heÄs a waiter and has travelled extensivelz), then I would guess that almost everzone else who has watched the German version of the film also doesnät know.

But what I reallz, reallz miss is Cheetos. Thez have Pringles here, which are okaz, but I reallz miss Frito Laz products. Chester Cheetah, wo bist du_

And where are the chocolate chips and the peanut butter? I can't find any! However, Diet Coke is called Cola light and itäs more expensive than beer. Naturlich.

Speaking of beer, if anz of zou Sillz Americans order a Budweiser, zou arenät going to get an Anheiser-Busch product from St. Louis, Missouri, zouäll get the original Budweiser bier, from the Cyech Republic. And itäs so much better.

Thez use vanilla sugar instead of vanilla extract. Baking powder and baking soda are combined into one product called Backpulver. Or at least, that seems to be the case. I use it for both.

Indeed, these Austrians excel in their desserts and pastries. However, I do not care for the acclaimed Viennese Sachertorte, as it is too drz and I invariablz end up choking on crumbs. Wretched business, that.

I prefer the Nusskipfel over just about anzthing.

Und Oliven mit mandeln.

Full immersion in Austria

Well, it's been nearly two weeks since I left the US. I am officially a resident of Hallstatt now. In Austria, a person must register with the local government whenever s/he establishes a new residence or moves to a new city. It seemed a little strange to me to have to register like that, and it is something that Americans that don't have to deal with, really, until it comes time to vote in an election. It was a simple thing to do and it is also the first step in securing a visa. Then it gets more difficult. But I don't want to dwell on that, not this time anyway.

I am picking up more German now that I've been fully immersed in the culture. I guess that's sort of a given. I am studying my books a lot and listening to the accompanying CDs. But when we are out at the bars, a lot of thé time it's incredibly hard to understand anything because of the dialect here. The younger people are much easier to understand, but the older generation speaks in this Hallstatt dialect, with different words and accents.

Sometimes It's difficult to not be working and I feel like I'm going a little stir crazy at times. And if I think too much about Bennie and Bun, I feel sad and worried about them. I have emailed for updates on them, but somebody likes to be a jerk, and doesn't tell me much of anything. I guess that's the only way he's capable of getting to me, and so he's using it.

Today the weather is mutable. There were a few bright areas of late afternoon sun on the mountains just a little bit ago, casting long shadows on the conifers, and these spotlights were surrounded by heavy grey skies. The tops of the mountains are still shrouded in clouds. We spent the better part of the afternoon on the lake, when it was smooth and clear and the sun was warm on our backs. Then the clouds rolled in and when I was walking back from the Marktplatz it began to thunder and big drops of rain fell. I was coming back from the Baum, because I always walk Stefan to work.

And, I really need to find an art supply store. Perhaps there is one in Bad Ischl. I really have been feeling creative but don't have a good outlet for it, because I was silly and didn't pack some of my most basic design tools. So I need to find replacements. I have my gouache paints, paint brushes, bristol board, and palette papers, though. So this is good.

When I arrived in Munich, one of my pieces of luggage was lost by British Airways, but it has since safely arrived. They located it and shipped it here within one day, so although it was a little stressful, it turned out fine. Everything was there and in one piece.

So then, the first night here I met Verena, Stefan's sister, and her two children. I really like them a lot. Verena is very friendly and her daughter Jana has managed to wriggle her way into my heart already. She is maybe five or six. The first night Jana was afraid of me and didn't come too close, but would watch me from afar. Then, the next day, she came up to the apartment with her grandpa, and stayed after he left. So I got out my stuffed animals -- two squirrels (one brown, one gray), a raccoon, and a chipmunk, and we played with them. She would talk in German to me, and I'd try to speak in German to her when I knew the right words, but I mostly answered in English. But we had moments of understanding. She didn't mind at all that it was like this. Later that afternoon, when it was time for the whole family (Robert, Monica, Verena, Jana, Nina, Stefan, and me) to walk to a restaurant for dinner, she was walking a little bit ahead of me and Stefan. Jana would look back at us now and again, but then after a little bit she stopped, turned around, and snuck towards me in a shy way. Then she accelerated and grabbed my hand with hers. I'd give her hand a little squeeze and she'd do it back. I hope that Stefan and I go to Vienna to see them pretty soon. Verena wants us to visit as soon as Stefan is finished working at the Grüner Baum. So maybe in a few weeks.