What the heck!? part two: What I do each day

So, we have established that I am living in Austria this summer.  But what the heck am I doing?

If you follow me on facebook, you might get the impression of fun, rest, adventure, and constant enjoyment.

This is somewhat true, but probably not the whole picture.

I am currently volunteering as a "intern" with ORA International Austria.  It is a small NGO, which has partner offices in over 20 countries.  The developed world offices partner with people on the ground in developing nations throughout the world.  ORA began with aid to Eastern Europe after the wall fell, and is still active there today.

I worked with ORA International in Arua, Uganda.  We ran the 10 principles of leadership for their staff.  It was a great success.  My dear friend, Katharina (mentioned earlier) is now the CEO of ORA in Austria.  Thus, when I needed a place for the summer, it fit well with what I do and what they need.

I work at the ORA office 3-4 days a week. I am basically consulting for them. Currently, I am helping them to develop a system of monitoring and evaluation, working on creating Win Win partnerships, creating easy to use project request forms, as well as listening to situations and trying to ask the right questions.  (I also help where I can with whatever odd job needs to get done.  The other day it was to take nice photos at the flea market, and today it will be doing some adding/checking of the finances.)  

Kat and I in beautiful Sherding

This is a great opportunity for me to try out being a consultant!  And, so far, so good.  It's a lot of research and learning, but I know that the knowledge I will gain here will help me in future consulting work. 

Mantler Family at Jakob's graduation

At the same time, the "not full time" nature of the internship allows me to do something which I do not find at all fun... job search.  I am currently in the process of trying to find a job in Grand Rapids, Mi for this fall.  It is an enormous amount of work, and it is time consuming.  Thankfully, I am able to create blocks of time to dive into trying to find a job.  I am applying for between 5-10 jobs per week.  It's a lot of work, and hasn't paid off at all yet, but I am trying to stay optimistic.

From what I've written so far, it may sound like life is slow and not very busy.  But that is not actually true.  Katharina and I have a running joke that I am actually her "personal assistant".  I am trying to be helpful everywhere... so "everywhere" included:  the ORA office, wedding prep, helping at home, helping to fix up their new house, creating relaxation for the somewhat stressed couple, and joining them for various life/family
adventures (attending Jakob's graduations, washing dishes and taking photos at Uncle Max's celebration of 50 years of priesthood, visiting friends at a sports camp, etc).
 

"Girl's Night" includes a run to the hardware store

Jakob and Katharina are getting married in a little less than a month.  Needless to say, there is a TON to do.  They bought a beautiful house, but it needs a lot of work.  So, some days, after work, we go to the house and work late into the night.  Or work on something for the wedding.  Or pack up things.  Or watch TV.  We also often have friends come on the weekends to help with the house... this means that we also work all day Saturdays and sometimes Sunday too.  I am mastering the art of taping for painting! 

It is a full and beautiful life.  Small town Austria may sound at first like it would be boring, but it is in fact quite exciting.

I have "my" bicycle (which needs some serious oiling) and that makes me decently free to move about however I like.  I like it because I can then take small adventures like randomly going shoe shopping or stopping for ice cream after work.  This works very well, because it means Katharina and I can have different schedules.  We have agreed that this arrangement is working out great.  We are able to be in the on me place and actually get work done, but we are also comfortable to not "always be around each other"... so it is pretty perfect.

Her family and I already knew each other before I came, and  deeply love them.  Austria is a surpringingly familial culture.  And I love it, being with a family is refreshing and restorative to me.

So yes, I am enjoying life, looving my work, and I am able to rest when my weary body needs it.  But I am not on a permanent vacation; I am working very hard with wonderful people and am proud of all the things we are doing together. I promise to keep up posting pictures. 

And yes, I am making new friends and having some fun adventures too...

What the heck!? part one: How I got here

I think it's time I explain where I am and what I am doing.

Lots of people have been confused, so it's probably time to explain.

Currently, I am sitting on my bed in Andorf, Austria in the Hofinger's house.  My bed is right next to Katharina.  We have the upstairs apartment of this beautiful 140 year old house.  Across the hall from us is Jacob's room.

Katharina and I met at the end of 2004 in Dublin, Ireland.  I had moved there to be a nanny, and she was there doing a training school in my neighborhood.  We became better friends when she came back to visit in 2005, and from then on have remained very close.  I generally call her my "best friend in Europe".  We both are Catholic, have experience with community, and are also development practitioners.  So basically, we can talk about everything.

Last year in February, I went to Ireland to attend a conference called ReLay.  I convinced Katharina to join me, and we stayed together for 5 days and attended the conference, as well as visited some old friends.  It was very wonderful.  At that point, Kat was already engaged, and so I promised that I would come to her wedding in Austria, in August 2013.

Then I decided to leave Africa.  I knew that the timing would be best if I went in June of 2013, for many reasons.  But I didn't want to spend the extra money to go all the way to the States and then come back (in August, peak season) to Europe.  It didn't make sense.  So I started thinking... I came up with a variety of plans, including an internship in Rome, working on organic farms in Slovenia, etc... but all of them would have taken a lot of work to make it happen.

And then... I decided to email Katharina.  She currently is the director of ORA Austria, a small NGO based here in Andorf.  I knew I wanted to DO something with this summer, specifcally something related to my field (international development)... so I was bold and asked if I could come and help with her NGO as well as help her get ready for the wedding/help with the house/live with her family (whom I had already met)

 She said Yes!

So, it happened!  I traveled in June, which was unexpected and incredible.  The opportunities to learn about the Middle East was amazing, and I now have a lot of learning to do in relation to comparative development between Africa and the Middle East... (hopefully soon Eastern Europe too.)  I also visited friends in Geneva for a short break and took a "congratualtion you survived 3 years in Africa" short trip across Switzerland with Natalie Way.

After a visit with friends in Munich, I found my way to little Andorf, Austria.  I had been here before, so it felt a little bit like coming home.  It's one of my favorite places.  I have now been here for 2.5 weeks, and have another 4ish to go.  So far, so great!

The next post will detail what I am actually doing here... :)

24 hours: Africa and Austria

I am, slowly, starting to process.  I am not forcing it, just living one day at a time and allowing realizations to slowly surface.

So.  Here's the first one:

Time.

I am finding it slightly overwhelming here that I can do so much with a day.  My brain isn't sure how to handle it.  I get up, go to work (more on daily life later), work on anywhere between 2 and 6 different projects, go to Kat's house, work on something there, come home have something to eat, or work out, or read a book, or watch a movie, or talk to people, or.. or.. or..

We went to Vienna last week for Jacob's graduation.  In two days we did more that I would do in a week in Africa.

In Africa, I am used to accomplishing between 1 and 3 things in a day.  I think that 3 was my max.  I quickly learned if I tried to do more than that I would get frustrated. 

Three things.  That's it.  And I felt accomplished! 

The difference is stricking, it's jarring, it's strange. 

In Austria...
The internet works, really well.  There are no power cuts.  I have my own transportation, or share a ride with someone who always leaves on time.  I am not terribly tired (*I am tired, actually very tired, but not in the same way as in Africa).  I am not always on the spot.  People don't always notice me.  The roads move quickly.  Everything works.  There are more activities to do in the evening than go out to eat or watch TV.  There are clear boundaries, on and in everything. 

In Africa...
 It was overwhelming.  The smallest thing could take hours. Very little was constantly reliable. The phone network would stop working.  The power cut sometimes. I am muzungu.  And I found I could not do very much in a day.

But it's not black and white.  Better and worst.   It's not like that.  It's different.  It's hard.  It's change.

Do I miss only being able to accomplish one, two, or three things a day?  No, I don't miss it. 

But I do miss my team.  Pineapples. My apartment. 


And sometime, I do miss the feeling of being ok with not accomplishing so many things.

6 weeks of Sundays: part two

Sunday June 16th
Location:  Amman, Jordan
Mass?  None
Reason:  Jordan is a 96% Muslim country.  This means their weekend is Friday and Saturday... which is very different.  It was so interesting to learn about how Friday in Jordan is a family day.  We spent our Friday morning with Wissam's Family, and the Muslims with us took their time to pray.  I also was on a conference, so our schedule was packed for every day!

I asked Wissam, whos family is Catholic, how it works for them with mass.  He said that some people would go to mass on Friday, and that there are also Sunday evening masses.  I also had some wonderful opporunities to ask some of the Christian Jordanian participants about what it's like to be such an incredibly small minority.  There answer was surpising.

I think in the West there is a perception that if a country is majority Muslim, the other populations must be oppressed, persecuted, or disempowered.  But in Jordan I found that to be totally untrue.

The Christians I met shared with me that they did not feel that they were at all persecuted, or even discriminated against.  They are able to be who they are without fear or violence... they live their lives, in peace with others.  Yes, there are areas where Christians live and where Muslims live, but it's not forces... it'd be like Latinos, African Americans and white people living in different neighborhoods... it happens but they are not always seperate. 

I think western perception of  "The Middle East" is very wrong.  I am so grateful I had the chance to go and learn, listen, serve and share.  I hope I can share more with you over the coming weeks about these eye opening and wonderful experiences.

Sunday, June 9th
Location:  Beruit, Lebanon
Mass?  English Mass with Victor and his brother
Events of the day:  Victor picked me up and we went to mass, with all my stuff as I was moving house that day.  After mass, which was in English! we went to where I would be staying and met Gus, the father of the family.  I then went with Gus to pick up his very fun father and drive into the mountains to have a delicous lunch with his family.  It was some sort of Italian and crzy good.

After lunch we went to a Christian Community meeting and I got to say hello to some different friends.  Then I went with my hosts, Gus and Madonna, to their friend's beautiful home, and we all went to a town about 20 minutes from us for the evening.  It was lovely time with great conversation, interesting and delicious food (including fruit cocktail which was awesome) and seeing Lebanese traditional culture at a large school event which was open to the public.  It was a beautiful evening.  On the way home, Gus and I discussed development issues at length, which of course made me incredibly happy.

Sunday, June 2rd
Location:  Kampala, Uganda
I didn't go to mass... it was the day I left Uganda (posted about previously)

6 weeks of Sundays: part 1

This past Sunday I was thinking about my last 6 weeks of Sundays.

The last 6 weeks have been... crazy.  I have learned so much I don't even know where to start! I have had adventures, a vacation, worked very hard, and seen big changing in my life and the lives of others.  For a quick overviews sake I will give you "6 weeks of Sunday"

Because I am a practicing Roman Catholic, I try to go to mass on Sunday, though traveling does not always allow this.  So let's walk through these 6 weeks of Sundays...

Sunday, July 7th:
Location:  Andorf, Austria (where I am currently living)
Mass Language: Austrian high German
Attended with:  Katharina and Jacob
Events of the day:  I actually went to mass on Saturday and it was celebrated by "Uncle Max", Katharina's uncle who currently occupies our wonderfully packed house.  He is celebrating 50 years of priesthood this year and is currently on vacation with us.
    So, on Sunday, Katharina, Jacob and I went on an adventure!  We went to lunch at an "Alm" in the Austrian Alps.  We parked the car and walked about half an hour to Katharina's friends Alm.  An Alm is a place where people keep cows during the summer, but also operates as a sort of inn.  These friends have had this Alm a few years, we went to visit!  The food was excellent and it was wonderful to get to spend time with the "Inn Keepers".  Then we continued onto a sports camp about 20 minutes awaz from the Alm, where we heard a paralympian speak about how he got there.  I got to meet Jacob's whole family and many other friends of theirs.  We left very late, after 11 pm McDonalds run, and got home around 1:30 AM to start the week off right.

Sunday, June 30th
Location:  Munich (Olching), Germany
Mass Language:  Germany German
Attended with:  Members of the Kantert Family
Events of the Day:  Up at 6!!  Ahh, why?  To say a sad goodbye to my dear Natalie Way who was off to the airport to catch her flight home.  She went to the airport by train and I went back to bed.  I woke up around 9, and soon after heard the "breakfast bell".  I hurried upstairs to join the Kantert family for a traditional German-Austrian style breakfast of breads and cheeses... and coffee, apparently advertised by George Clooney!  We went to mass around 10someone... it was a lovely and creative family mass.  Afterwards there was a parish picnic, but I was tired and in a lot of pain from my back... I also hadn't packed for the journey ahead.  Claudia, my dear friend, stayed with me and we talked endlessly about many great things.  Tea, close friends, cold days, are wonderful things.
  We had a hurried lunch and made it to the train station with plenty of time.  We'd mapped out my route, so I knew all my connections and had the right tickets.  And thus, I began my journey to my new home in Austria.  It was uneventful for the most part... except that Berti (my massive blue backpack carrying my earthly belongings) broke in Passau!  With one connection to go, he gave up!  So it was a little challenging to carry him around after that, he was pretty massive.  When I reached Andorf, I lugged Berti up and down, thank God for elevators!  And Katharina eventually found me and we headed into my new, quiet life in our Austrian village.

Sunday, June 23rd
Location:  French-Swiss Boarder (began from home in France, had mass in Switzerland)
Mass Language:  French
Attended with:  Pierre Angleys
Events of the Day:  I had arrived in Geneva, from Uganda on the Friday before.  I got up and got organized and headed out the door with Pierre and Terri.  Terri dropped us off at the old, beautiful Catholic Church and continued onto her church just around the corner.  We were a bit early, so Pierre was able to give me an incredible tour of "St. Pauls"... he told me all about the art stlye, the history and the artists who had contributed.  It was pretty cool!  After mass, he showed me the tram stop and I headed into Geneva, and my own public transport nightmare.  I don't speak french or german, and when trying to get where I needed to go, this proved a challenge.  I finally got onto a train headed to the airport, which was mz destination.. but without a ticket.  Oh well.
   I was late to the airport, by a while... and I didn't have Natalie's flight information, which would have been wrong anyways because her flight had been changed.  I was looking around frantically, affraid she may have gone into Geneva already, and imagining how in the world I would find her there!  But then, I spotted her!  It was wonderful to see her... we got money and used 2 heads to get into Geneva.
  We went to Nations, where the United Nations are, and there met up with one of Natalie's Ugandan friends!  We had lunch with him, which was great fun.  Then we journeyed home, including a beautiful walk from the bus stop to the Angley's home.  We had a wonderful afternoon and evening with them, including naps, food, wine, and watching halks pick up food from their garden, it was like National Geo live!  We played a fun game that evening and then headed to be, both decently exhausted but incredibly happy to be together!!

Keep an eye out for part two in the next day or two!