------ @@ ..:Global Bernie's Blog:.. @@ ------

**--- also check out my translations: http://globertran.blogspot.com ---**

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

A huge load off my mind!!!

Yippie, today was finally enrolment day for modules at the translation department of the University of Vienna and although the modules there are hopelessly overcrowded and although the online registration server (the only way to enrol) is crap, to say the least, I made it into all of the modules I wanted to get into for this semester! I feel as if I could hug all of the world right now!!
And: I've chosen a foster dog, his name's Aaron and you can see him on the photo. Isn't he just adorable?! I've already had an hour with a dog trainer together with Aaron and I've already taken him out last weekend. Soon I'm gonna visit him again!

To those of you who can comprehend German, here's a report of my exercises with Aaron last Saturday:

Also dann, hier mein Bericht von heute:
Eigentlich hatte ich heute gar keine Trainerstunde, allerdings war ich von dem gestrigen Resultat, dass wir Aaron sein Halsband anlegen konnten und sogar noch etwas Leinentraining gemacht hatten, so motiviert, dass wir, Aaron und ich, heute noch einen größeren Erfolg hatten!

Und zwar bin ich alleine in Aaron's Zwinger reinmarschiert, wurde dort freudig empfangen und hängte ihm gleich seine Leine an. Das alles ohne eine Spur von Schüchternheit und Zurückweichen.
Gittertür auf und natürlich gleich mal voll ins Halsband gehängt und gezogen. Das wird echt mal besser mit dem K9-Geschirr, dann würgt er sich nicht mehr so. Aber zum auf den Spielplatz gehen geht's so auch.
Im Vorraum noch Beißkorb rauf und dann raus an die frische Luft!

Zuerst war es mal ziemlich lange zu warten, da alle Spielplätze besetzt waren und so ging ich mit Aaron auf und ab, ging anderen Hunden aus dem Weg (Aaron ist zwar ziemlich friedlich, was andere Hunde angeht, aber die anderen Hunde kenne ich ja nicht...) und wir übten etwas Leinenführigkeit - sprich, beim Gehen immer wieder Leckerlies zustecken, sodass er lieber an meinem Bein geht, als hemmunslos zu ziehen. Das zu üben und, wenn er allzu stark zieht, stehen bleiben sollte eigentlich ganz gut funktionieren.

Dann wurde auch mal endlich ein Spielplatz frei und ich natürlich sofort rein mit dem Aaron, den lästigen Beißkorb runter und mit etwas mulmigem Gefühl abgeleint. Aber Christian und Denise wären ja nicht weit entfernt gewesen und ich hatte ja mein Handy dabei.
Also, zuerst mal austoben, die "Zitrone auspressen" (*schmunzel*, den Ausdruck find ich noch immer irgendwie lieb...) und überall mal reinschnüffeln. Dann ein paar Sitz-Übungen und dann fing ich Aarons Balli raus, um zu üben, was mir Martin gestern gezeigt hatte (Gegensteuern gegen Aaron's Besitzverteidigungsverhalten).

Zuerst natürlich das unvermeidliche Hinschnappen. Gut, dann soll er sich eben mit sich selbst beschäftigen. Das hat er dann auch mal gemacht, auf dem Ball rumgekaut und gesabbert, nur ist ihm das doch nach einer Weile langweilig geworden und so hat er mir den Ball vor die Füße geschubst. Erste Belohnung. Langsames Runterbeugen und Aufheben des Balles. Schnapp. Na gut, dann nicht.

So ging das dann weiter, bis wir so weit waren, dass ich den Ball aufheben konnte, und mir Aaron dabei interessiert aber friedlich zusah. Sobald ich den Ball dann hatte - anspring.
Wie ich von Martin gelernt hatte, "verteidigte" ich den Ball, sobald ich ihn einmal in der Hand hatte, dazu genügte ein etwas schärferes "Nein" und ein leichtes Abblocken mit der flachen Hand. Dann "Sitz", was er auch brav machte, ein Leckerli. Weiter im Sitz bleiben, noch ein Leckerli und dann durfte er sein Balli wieder haben.

Wenn wir das weiter üben, dürfte Aaron auch bald sein Frustverhalten ablegen und lernen, dass zum Spielen zwei gehören und dass der Mensch dabei derjenige ist, der das Sagen hat.

Dann machten wir noch Such mit Leckerlies am Holzverschlag, wobei ich die Leckers nur ziemlich bodennahe hinlegte, um das Ganze etwas einfacher zu machen (Aaron kennt die Suchspiele noch nicht so gut) und ihm ein Erfolgserlebnis zu geben. Die Leckers fand er wie ein Weltmeister und steckte natürlich auch ein dickes Lob dafür ein.

Danach zum gefürchteten Wiederanleinen am Spielplatz. Auf die Leine ist er zwar noch immer nicht scharf, allerdings vertraut er mich schon ein bisschen mehr und eines hilft bei ihm wirklich gut - wenn man sich nicht allzu groß macht. Darum habe ich mich auch (aufsprungbereit) zu ihm hingehockt, ihm Sitz befohlen und ihn erstmal beruhigend gestreichelt.
Ist mir schon klar, dass man mit dem Gesicht nicht zu nahe zu gänzlich Unbekannten runtergehen sollte, aber beim Aaron glaube ich ganz einfach nicht, dass er mir urplötzlich das Gesicht zerfleischen würde, nicht ganz ohne vorhergehende Warnsignale! Außerdem war ich ja bereit, schnellstens wieder hochzufahren.

Jedenfalls, wenn man seitlich neben Aaron hockt, er im Sitz ist und man ihn am Nacken und Halsbreich krault, ist das Anleinen gar kein Problem. Also wieder zurück in den Stall, Ableinen im Sitz, was Gutes zum Kauen und bis zum nächsten Mal!

Übrigens waren wir auch mit Tini draußen und ich hab ein paar ganz gute Fotos von ihr machen können, und ein gutes Leckerli hat sie dann auch gekriegt!

Also, in Kürze gibts dann Fotos von der Tini! (muss noch rausfinden, wie man hier Bilders hochladen kann...)

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Saturday, February 24, 2007

French course - 終わり!

So, last Thursday my short-term French course ended and that's when I took this photee. Quite nice group, isn't it? At least I found em peepz quite nice!
Btw, after our last course we all went to a restaurant together to celebrate the succesful conclusion of our efforts with a few pints, yea!

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Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Ice skating.

One thing's for sure: it's mainly the nice little surprises that make life worth living.
As for example tonight, after my French course, Andi, one of my mates from the course asked me whether I wanted to come along and go ice skating with him and a couple of his friends. Sensing that this would be good fun and not having anything important to do really, I agreed and so I found myself standing in front of the Rathaus (the town hall) at 10pm where you can find a rather large rink during January and February, prepared to make the most of the remaining one hour before the rink's closure at 11pm. After getting our tickets and borrowing skates, Andi, Johannes, Lukas, Kathi (I hope, I got the names right... lol) and me hit the ice. Not having been ice skating for years I'd almost forgotten how fun it can be and so the time flew by, just as we flew by the bystanders... :D
At eleven we had to part but maybe we're going to do this again. To me, it was a perfect evening!
Btw, comments are appreciated in German too, there's nothing such as an "English only rule"! Those, who are addressed by this, will know it... ;-)

"And a one, and two, and jump!" ...and they did jump one millisecond later, it's only that I took the pic a tad too early... :p

Just look at how I'm enjoying myself! I'd almost forgotten how much fun ice skating can be...

"Catch me if you can!"

"Oh yes, I will!"

"Oh no, he won't! Ha, ha, ha..."

And smile for the camera one last time.
Cheers for the evening, mates!

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Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Fasching Tuesday.

Today's Fasching Tuesday in Austria.
Fasching (carnival), in Western Austria called "Fas(t)nacht", the period between Epiphany and the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday. Carnival celebrations are characterised by music, dancing, the wearing of masks, masked parades, wearing clothing of the opposite gender, silliness and farcical court trials, the custom of "verkehrte Welt" and a general joie de vivre. The carnival reaches its high point in the last week, beginning on Thursday and continuing through the three "holy days of carnival" (Shrove Sunday through Tuesday before Ash Wednesday). Carnival customs include elements of old peasant culture, masked balls at court and late-medieval, early Renaissance fools' festivals held by tradesmen and guilds.

In spite of the recent tendency toward uniformity to incorporate elements of the Rhenish Carnival (Carnival guilds, "royal couples", parades, and cabaret-like shows) and elements of the Villach Carnival (Carinthia) many local customs in Austria have remained, such as Blochziehen in South-east Austria, the carnival race and bear hunt in the Murtal valley in Styria, the "Fetzen-Fasching" ("Rag Carnival") in Ebensee, the carnival custom in Aussee of wearing the characteristic masks, "Pleß", "Trommelweiber" und "Flinserl", the "Fasching der Vereinigten" in Tamsweg or the carnival dance with its custom of satirically "reprimanding" carnival participants on Rudenkirtag in Sierning near Steyr. Larger parades held in Tyrol every few years are also very popular, named for the characteristic masks to be seen there; the mask names include "Schleicherlaufen" in Telfs, "Schemenlaufen" in Imst, "Schellerlaufen" in Nassereith, "Mullerlaufen" or "Huttlerlaufen" in Thaur und "Wampelerreiten" in Axams. Carnival celebration in urban area, in particular in Vienna, are characterised by dances and balls.

Carnival ends in some areas with a symbolic "Fasching-Begraben" burial ceremony, "Fasching-Verbrennen" burning ceremony or the custom of "Geldbeutelwäsche" ("purse washing") on Ash Wednesday. In parts of Tyrol and Vorarlberg, carnival lasts until "Funkensonntag" (the first Sunday of Lent, also called "Holepfannsonntag" or "Scheibensonntag"), when piles of wood are set on fire, a doll ("Hex", or "witch") is burned and burning wood chips are thrown into the valley Scheibenschlagen).

(Copyright text www.aeiou.at)

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Tuesday, February 13, 2007

J'ai fait ma première presentation en français.

Today, I had my first presentation ever in French. For that presentation I had to talk for around five minutes about current affairs in France, I chose the ban on smoking in public places that's effective in France since 1st February.
Well, I think that it's quite important to protect non-smokers from the evil fumes but hey, have a look at those guys in the picture, doncha feel at least some pity for them?!
Anyway, all went well, I was talking for more than five minutes and quite proud of myself for being able to do that...
To those who don't like it, simply try to ignore my bragging... ;-)

And of course I've been adding new translations!

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Sunday, February 11, 2007

Where I'll be walking more often...

Today I was quite lucky with the weather - hardly any clouds in the sky and warm sunshine - so I could do what I'd planned to do for today: going hiking in the suburbs of Vienna. Here are some photos from a really nice and relaxed afternoon I had.

Footpath from Vösendorf to Perchtoldsdorf.

Funny sign I found along the way...

Landscape of Perchtoldsdorf dominated by vines.

Outdoor person that I am, I enjoyed the 5hrs walk greatly.

Last few kilometers on the way.

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Saturday, February 10, 2007

Things to do on a foggy Saturday...

When I looked out of the window this morning the sight that showed itself to me was different - because there was no sight at all but only heavy fog. Well, what to do on a day like this? I went to a sauna for the first time in Vienna.
Luckily, the sauna here wasn't really different from the saunas in Upper Austria, where I grew up, it was clean, spacious, people enter it naked and dry and sit on towels. I've always found it sort of disgusting to sit in a sauna in wet swimshorts... it's also nice, by the way, that people only enter and exit the sauna at predetermined times so there's no steady fluctuation...
And there is also an Aufguss*, the climax of each sauna session - both in temperature and enjoyment. I've simply used the German term as I just can't seem to find an English equivalent for it - maybe because in English speaking countries Aufguss and sauna in general is not so common... see below for what it means...
Anyway, I found this sauna afternoon really enjoyable, you guys should go to the sauna more often too, it's really good for your health - and then, to finish off this nice day properly I went to the cinema to see "Chanson D'Amour", the new film with Gerard Depardieu (just in case it's title is different in English...)
Hopefully the weather will be a bit better tomorrow!

*Aufguss: A word common to German sauna terminology. It is when someone stands up to pour some water (often mixed with nicely scented essential oils) on the sauna stove to instantly raise the moisture level in the chamber to about 40-50%. Takes place in regular intervals - usually every 30 minutes.

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Tuesday, February 06, 2007

J'ai reçu ma carte de la bibliothèque!

What you see on this picture is the French Institute of Vienna (l’Institut français de Vienne), an institute that represents the culture of France in Austria and particularly in Vienna. So this is where I went today to get my discounted student library card which will allow me to access the rich pool of the institute's library that contains everything from comic books to classic literature - all in French. For a foreign language student such as me that's like heaven on earth!
So, once more, I'm so glad to be living in a versatile city like this, a city that seems to be offering anything I could desire - be it foreign countries' cultural representations, quality translation studies or dog fostering... ;-)

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The real Chrisu.

The dog story goes on... :-)

That's the real Chrisu, by the way, I took his photo on Saturday.
Aww... isn't he just a sweetie?

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Sunday, February 04, 2007

Fosterlings - facing a decision...

Yesterday afternoon I went out to the animal shelter of Vosendorf to have a closer look at the dogs there for finding out for what dog I'd make a good foster daddy. So I went to the D stables again where I already know a few people - Claudia, Denise and Christian - and also a few dogs. First I had to wait for some time as all the caretakers were busy but then Denise, one of them, invited me to come along and see the so-called "cat test": in order to find out if he gets along with cats, we took Gandalf, one of the dogs, out of his kennel, put a muzzle on and took him to the cat section to see how he'd react - he was totally calm and only sniffed them a bit and so he'd get the label "gets along with cats" which will be of advantage to him for finding a new family.
Then Christian, also one of the caretakers, showed me around the D stables and pointed out all the dogs he thought would be suitable and we also took two of them out for a short walk: Bongo, a Jack Russell Terrier mix and Aron, a Labrador mix and I really liked them both although I'm tending towards Aron. Soon I'll go there again to have a look at a few more dogs and then, eventually, I'll have to make a decision what dog to take on as my fosterling...
The photos are not of the actual dogs, actually, I didn't take any photos yesterday - so I picked photos with dogs bearing a resemblance from the internet again.

Bongo is a Jack Russell Terrier mix...

...and Aron a Labrador mix - surprisingly no one's taken them home yet.

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