Live Up Your Mind

Hi there, how are you?
how was your Christmas and New Year's Eve? Has everybody got his/her Christmas card, especially Shane, Katha and Marie-Jose? I would be very sorry if it got lost once again! please report!
Thank you for your Christmas cards and presents!!!! Shane, I guess you didn't do much else in December but copy my DVDs. :)
a BIG thank you!!!
As a matter of fact, I've just watched Ratatouille today. I've heard many good reviews and I also think it's lovely and funny! :)
I've had a nice Christmas with my mum and aunt :

On the 31st my friend Hans invited me to some of his friends on the Neusiedler See. Yes, ON the lake. It's frozen now and so I used to for iceskating, which is really wonderful there!

Wolfgang is alright. He's doing as many skitours as possible.
Everything's alright here. I do the work in the callcenter, but I don't like it at all. Had I imagined what expected me, I wouldn't have done it. However, the circumstances are alright, so I'll do it until I find something better. I'm still giving tutoring lessons. My nutritionist work proceeds slower than I hoped, but I'm sure it will turn out alright.
Hope to hear from you!
Barbara

Hello everyone!
How are you? What a pity you never write, except Shane sometimes. Still, I don't know anything about you, badminton, new assistants, love lives. Mine is told quickly , because there's nothing to tell. I hope it doesn't sound as if I was unhappy... Of course, the ideal man would make my life richer, but I'm not bored and have good friends. I like what I do. The past month I have written my diploma for the nutritionist course. It's been quite fun after the very difficult one in English :) I've also been in school and attended Axel's lessons on nutrition. It's really been a pleasure. I also do yoga with him now.
A friend of mine creates a logo for me, and I have already written an information folder, which makes me pretty proud.
I didn't get the waitress job, but from Monday on I will work in a call center, so there should be enough time for the tutoring lessons and consulting. Tonight I go to a lecture on Ayurveda and before that I go Nordic Walking for the first time. In a few minutes I will rush to a tutoring lesson. On Thursday I will go to the theatre. I haven't gone there for a long time, so I'm really looking forward to it.
Now's a time that I really start to miss you. I'd love to see and chat with you. I think about you a lot, even some of the school kids! I wish I could come in December but I don't have the money...
I wish you a nice Advent season.

My dear friends,
how are you? I hope everyone is fine. Are you still playing badminton? Do the new girls as well? How is the weather? I hope that after all the summer rain you have a sunny and dry autumn! In Austria the weather has so far been very nice. Only a few a days ago it started to be typically autumn weather - rain, cold, no sun. It's pretty depressive and not very "visitable", but it could be worse and fortunately I have the sun in my heart. On Monday I passed my oral exam with a Sehr Gut! (= A). So now I'm officially a nutritionist.

Once I've written my diploma, which will happen soon, I'm even a graduated nutritionist. You can guess what I did recently. I studied for the written exam, which I had last week and which went really well and then for the oral exam. I'm really proud about my new identity and my success, and motivated to work with a doctor. Before I can do that I need to write the diploma and go the classes I missed because I was still in England at the time the course started. I wish I could show you some photos of my colleagues but the battery of my camera is empty and the charging machine is still in England. I borrowed Wolfgang's camera but it will take some time before I can show the photos online.I would like you to see my wonderful colleagues - I'm very lucky with colleagues recently - most of all Maria who I think has become a friend. We did some studying together at the cafe Landtmann, a posh restaurant in the city centre; her idea :)

I'm still giving tutoring lessons. Today I've earned my first money from a student I found via the internet. :) Now I go and donate some of my blood plasma. I'm afraid that's it for today.

So what has happened since my last report?
In July I continued my nutrition-course, which was just fine.
Then, one Sunday the boss of my tutoring school sent an sms to tell me my timetable. I called him and asked if he wouldn't have anything more to do, so half seriously he said: I could well use you here in the forest quarter. ....three hours later I was driving there. And I had the time of my life. I met the most beautiful people and felt better than ever. I even fell in love but he didn't, so I was pretty sad for a while. The situation made me also think of my ex-boyfriend Christian, who I called last week after five years. You must know that Christian has always been my great love. So I'm very curious about what will happen this time we meet....
In other words, I've worked the past month as a tutoring teacher. I gladly realised that my trip to the United Kingdom was not in vain. Giving mostly lessons in English, I observed that it has become better. :))) There were two groups of children in the forest quarter. Obviously, the second group was rather uninteresting and difficult in contrast to the first which felt like family. In the end, it was alright, though. Last week I gave lessons in Vienna to very nice children who don't have an exam which says if they fail last year. However, I'm waiting for the results of some pupils.
Today I started fasting. I am hungry already but I won't eat for another week....Tomorrow starts my last week of holiday from the nutrition course, so I will try to enjoy it.
All in all, I have had a very nice summer! What a pity, that it's almost over! How was yours? I thought about you a lot!

I realise that it's quite some work to write the blog, so I wonder if anybody is reading it anyway? - I haven't got a single comment...
Maybe it makes more sense to write to Shane who diffuses all the news...
Please find some pictures of the second group in the forest quarter. - as you have probably assumed the Forest Quarter is a region in Austria with a lot of forest. It is really beautiful as well as popular. There is also the Wine Quarter, Mill Quarter and Industry Quarter. Together they form the county of Lower Austria which surrounds Vienna.

See Florian, my favourite boss, in the middle.


The kids had to bring other kids through the net.


Here, they tried to use as little space as possible.




Ben playing volleyball.


Philipp (my student - passed the exam), Caro and Nicki

Hello everybody!
how is everyone? thanks a lot for your emails! I hope to hear from you also in the future!
can you believe it, I'm back home for a whole month already!
In this time I passed my first exam of the nutrition course and was at two piano concerts. Today I have painted some of our windows.
I have also called a friend who I haven't seen for 7 years.
I met most of my friends in the past weeks. Only Bettina is not here yet. She is back from Portsmouth but not from the USA. I have been to the Viennese Danube insular festival where I have seen an important Italian singer, Lucio Dalla. I have also seen Shrek the third. Have you seen it? I liked it.
At the moment I spend three days in Vienna and the rest of the week in Burgenland. Here's a foto of our yard.

I try to find a job because school is really easy-going and the money would do me well. I applied for a job as a waitress in a bar, as a tutoring teacher and next week I will try to donate some blood plasma for which they give you some money in this country.
I can finally present you my beloved cat Shelley:

and I think I should mention that my mum made me a skirt.

Oh, and we run now, my mum and I. We motivate each other. It's really cool. Of course, running cannot compete with badminton...
As you can see my life is not boring at the moment and I'm fine.
Only, I miss you all!
Love
Barbara
Congratulations, Allan, to your girlfriend!

Deutsch: siehe unten

THANK YOU, SHANE for the provision of many fotos!

Hello everybody!
I finish off my blog in English so that everyone can understand it.
Obviously, I'm back home. I feel really happy, not just because to feel home is a good feeling, but also because I am richer than before, I have got an additional home, England. I am proud to have spent this year in England. This makes me really satisfied.

Being home is really nice. I love to have my cat, which I missed so much, around again, and I dare say, she is happy too.
Yesterday I've been to Ikea and today I've spent the afternoon sunbathing. Later on I'll meet my friend Andreas on the Eisenstadt city festival. Everything's in the flow, although I've heard today that my nutrition course has been canceled. I'm starting on Monday now, instead of Wednesday, in the middle of the current nutritionist course. I can attend the classes I missed in autumn, and can even save 3% of what the course costs.
I guess that is all news for today. I'll switch to German now, but please watch the fotos of my favourite school classes and some with you in it...


Es gibt nicht viel zu erzählen. Die letzten beiden Wochen verliefen meist schön und ruhig, manchmal fad, manchmal voll Vorfreude auf zu Hause. Tja, ich bin wieder daaaaaaaa!!!!
Wie ihr aus dem obigen Text versteht, geht es mir sehr gut. Ich bin sehr zufrieden und stolz eine 2. Heimat zu haben, aber auch froh zu Hause genießen zu können.
Trotzdem, hier ein paar Fotos. Zuerst ein paar von meinen Lieblingsklassen.



(das Mädchen ganz rechts kam die meiste Zeit nicht zum Unterricht - sie war schwanger, mit 16!)


Die Französischgruppe


Irène, Sam, Laura - 3 Kolleginnen von mir

Mein Abschlußessen beim Inder


Bilder vom letzten Mal Badminton.






Jetzt hätt ich fast vergessen euch Peter vorzustellen :)))




Das war also ein Jahr England. Mir bleibt nur zu sagen:
Vielen Dank fürs lesen meines blogs, die Kommentare und Antwortmails!!!
Eure Babsi

Bevor ich von meinen letzten Ausflugszielen berichte, muß ich eine große Neuigkeit verkünden :

eine Woche nachdem ich zu Hause bin, fang ich auf der Vitalakademie den Ernährungstrainerkurs an.

Eine Anstellung an einer burgenländischen Schule hätte ich nur in Oberwart oder Güssing bekommen - mindestens eineinhalb Stunden von Eisenstadt, und der Wr. Stadtschulrat konnte mir noch gar nicht sagen, ob ich einen Platz bekommen hätte. Deshalb hab ich mich nach einem gewaltigen Schock - nach schwerem Essen Darmkrämpfe und Reierei (wiedermal) - dazu entschlossen gleich die Vitak zu machen. Zum ersten Mal heißt es jetzt volle Verantwortung zu übernehmen und mich ein bißchen ins Ungewisse zu stürzen. Mittlerweile freue ich mich schon sehr darauf!


Vor zwei Wochenenden haben wirs endlich geschafft nach London zu fahren. Am Tag zuvor waren Bettina und ich jedoch in Mottisfont Abbey, bei Romsey.

In London hab ich mit Bettina wie immer viel Spaß gehabt.

Ganz besonders hat mich gefreut, daß ich beim Paddington Bear und dem Shop in der Paddington Station war.




Vielleicht fragt sich schon manch einer wie es denn nun meiner Mum gefallen hat. - Super! Sie hat nur so gestaunt und hat die paar Tage voll genossen.
Auch mit meiner Mama war ich in Stonehenge,
in Salisbury

und Winchester
Am Abend waren Shane, Marie-Jose, Malcolm, meine Mama und ich im Prezzo Essen. Prezzo ist zwar eine Kette, die suchen sich aber immer die schönsten alten Häuser und machen Stimmung zu einem angenehmen Preis.
Am Samstag hab ich meiner Mama Romsey gezeigt.

Endlich hab ich auch eine Gelegenheit euch meine schöne Abbey in Romsey zu zeigen.

Am Nachmittag waren wir beim Portchester Castle.

Am Sonntag vormittag haben wir Marie-Jose's französisches Frühstück genossen. Am Nachmittag waren wir am Lepe Beach und beim Exbury Garden. Leider war es schön zu spät um noch 3h zu wandern, weil der Garten so groß ist. Am ein schönes Fotos gibts trotzdem.

Tja, das wars dann auch schon wieder mit Bildern von meiner Mama in England. Ich bin noch eineinhalb Wochen da, und dann könnt ihr mich zu Hause wiedersehen, worauf ich mich schon sehr freue! Zuvor wird es noch Fotos von meinen lieben Schülern geben, also bis bald!
Eure Babsi

So lange habe ich den Besuch von Wolfgang und Günther herbeigesehnt, und nun scheint er schon lange wieder vorbei.
Dank meiner tollen Kamera, werd ich mich aber ein bißchen zurückerinnern können.
Also am ersten Tag, Freitag der 13. April, waren wir in Winchester und haben uns u.a. die Tafelrunde angeschaut.

(ein Jammer, daß ich die Bilder nciht drehen kann...)
Ausserdem sind wir auf süße Küken gestossen.
Zuvor habe ich Günther Romsey gezeigt, und da haben wir zum Beispiel eine Wisteria entdeckt (die Desperate Housewives wohnen in der Wisteria Lane).

Am Samstag waren wir in Stonehenge.
Dann haben wir bei einem Polospiel vorbeigeschaut, ganz nobel, wie bei Pretty Woman. :)



Im Anschluß waren wir in den Hillier Gardens, in der Nähe von Romsey.





(die Pose war Wolfgangs Idee)


Nach kurzer Entspannung zu Hause, waren wir dann noch im Pub:




Am Sonntag sind wir auf die Isle of Wight geshippert.



Wir haben Yarmouth, The Needles und Ventnor gesehen.

Wirklich lustig wars dann am Abend.
(Shane und Katha)




(Pamela, Malcolm, Günther) Günther hat ganz schön geschaut, als er gehört hat, daß Pamela vor langer Zeit nur 20 Minuten von seinem Heimatort gelebt hat. Daher wollten wir nach dem Pubbesuch nochmal ein Pub besuchen, aber in Romsey ist um 23 Uhr Bettruhe. Mir fehlen die Worte!


Am Montag haben wir uns das Portchester Castle angeschaut.



Danach waren wir in Portsmouth. Besonders aufregend war der Spinnacker Tower. Man hatte nicht nur eine tolle Aussicht, sondern konnte durch eine Glasplatte in die Tiefe starren.



Bevor mir die Prinzen wieder entwischt sind haben wir in aller Eile unseren Cream Tea zu uns genommen, aber davon gibts leider keine Fotos.
Ich habe nicht viel zu unserer Laune geschrieben, aber das liegt daran, daß es einfach nur super war. Ich glaube also, ich kann für alle drei sprechen,wenn ich sage, daß es 3einhalb superbe Tage waren, an denen wir viel Spaß hatten und einfach alles gepaßt hat. Wetter, Laune, Ausflugsziele... Schade, daß diese schöne Zeit so kurz andauerte!
Momentan bin ich dabei mich auf den Besuch meiner Mutter zu freuen! Ich bin ja ganz stolz auf sie, weil sie diese mühsame Reise ganz allein auf sich nimmt!
Ahja, vergeßt nicht, Kommentare, Wünsche, Beschwerden sind herzlich willkommen!
Eure Babsi