Luxuries I wish I had

Some days you just need to vent. Today is one of them for me. Before making too pessimistic of a blog entry, however, I’d like to preface it by sharing with you the luxuries I'm happy I have here in Pöchlarn. First and foremost would be the internet and cell phone. Following close after would be a washing machine (even if it’s an old clunker) tables and chairs, pots and pans, a bed, functioning heat, a shower with good pressure, and a pretty sweet bike called “the Panther.” I didn’t name it, but I kind of wish I had. Then I could say I named my bike “the Panther.” My bike in the US was a Huffy, not nearly as cool.

On a side note, I left “the Panther” at the train station one weekend while traveling. This was Halloween weekend; perhaps it makes a difference. I’m always a little nervous when we return because I’m never quite sure if my bike will still be there. So far it always has been. That’s the good news. The bad news is that on this such weekend I was welcomed back to find my seat and handle bars covered in blue toothpaste! Ha!

I’m thinking it could have been a Halloween prank because I saw silly string elsewhere throughout the city, but regardless, it was a pretty good prank. It didn’t even bother me because I was so impressed by the guilty party’s ingenuity. I did end up walking my bike home only because I didn’t want a blue butt, but that was fine. Michael lucked out; he had left his bike at home, which, by the way, does not have a cool name like “the Panther.”

But back to my story about luxuries, or lack thereof. Of course, when living in another culture, the differences always seem to make themselves most apparent and we tend to overlook the similarities, at least at first. Truly, not having these luxuries really hasn’t been a bother, but some days I wish I could just throw my dishes in a machine or tumble dry my towels so they’re soft and fluffy.

This list is not all inclusive, but I think it covers most of my grievances for today. I try to be resourceful with the things we have and not focus on what we don’t. Living in Austria is not like living in a Third World Country. We have everything we need. That’s why I call them luxuries. Here goes…

Luxuries I wish I had:

• Garbage disposal – instead we have this little tray covering the drain that traps everything from the tiniest grain of rice to leftover chunks of vegetables, meat, etc. The problem is if the tray is full, water can’t drain so you end up with a backlog of very small foot particles that are too large to go down the drain. This is where a disposal would come in handy.
• Dryer - you'd tire of wearing crunchy underwear too!
• Dish washer – even though we only have a few plates, bowls and cooking ware, we still have to do the dishes several times a day. It can get to be a real drag.
• Non-smoking restaurants – Austria is a little behind the game in my opinion. In this country, a person can smoke just about anywhere he or she pleases it seems. This includes restaurants and cafes. Usually going out for a cup of coffee or dinner is enjoyable. Here you walk into a room of haze and walk out smelling like an ash tray. They do have non-smoking tables, but those are right next to the smoking tables. Does that make sense?
• Screens on our windows – I’m not sure why they don’t have screens on their windows here in Austria. I know it's hard to believe, but there are bugs here that will enter your apartment if you leave the windows open (and even if you don't they still come in). This isn’t so much a problem now that it’s colder, but it was a major problem for me a few months ago. The mosquitoes are the size of small birds here. I’m serious. They bite me and then the bite swells to the size of a dime and itches like crazy. Some bite marks are still lingering on my skin if you want proof. Here is also a photo of a mosquito I just killed so you can see what I'm talking about.
• TV – I don’t really need or want a TV but I’m on a roll and thought I better put it on the list just for good measure. We watch movies on our computers so a TV really isn’t critical, but who doesn’t like to turn on the tube every now and then?