Update Time

Hello to all my readers. Since the prom I had a few things going on. On Sunday an Au Pair from Oregon who is living in Salzburg for a year come to visit in Freistadt. She got in around 4 in the afternoon. We walked around old town and had a coffee. At six we headed to the Freistadt Brewery for the release of their seasonal (strong) beer. Luckily it wasn't too cold because this party was outside. The had a band playing rock music from the 60's and 70's. They played a lot of Rolling Stones and CCR. They had a lot of fires going just so you could keep warm. The party started at 6 but the new beer, called bock, wasn't released until 8. Apparently if a beer is more than 7% alcohol then you can't call it beer. So I heard they just print 7% on the label but the alcohol content is more than that. There were a ton of people there. There was a national holiday on Monday (I think flag day) so everyone stayed out late on Sunday. My friend took the last bus from Freistadt to Linz (since that's where she was staying with a friend) at 9:15. I went back to the party for about another hour and a cab took me home. On Monday I was able to do some tutoring with Gerlinde.

On Tuesday I went back to the school to visit with two new English classes. It was the same routine as before. Before school I went to Sparkasse Bank. All this week all the banks in Austria are giving away little gifts to their customers. Sparkasse's mascot is called Spar Froh. I heard from my collector friend in Sandl that they would be giving away a dispenser of Spar Froh. I got to the bank as it opened and there was a line of about 500 people (just kidding). I walked right in and the teller asked if he could help me (but he said it in German). I just said Spar Froh and Pez. At first he didnt understand but then he knew what I was talking about. He walked over to a big box and brought one over to me and said I could just have it. I said danke (that means thank you). I was happy. The rest of the week should be pretty quiet.

I did plan a little trip though. I am going to Prague on Sunday through Tuesday with another English tutor named Alex. She is tutoring in Munich and will meet me in Prague. I am going to be staying in my first ever hostel. This should definitely be interesting. I can't wait for Prague. Everyone has said so many great things about it.