Sammy does daycare

debbiekaye1980Leave a comment
daycare

Like many other places in the world, getting your child into subsidised care in Austria, means registering early. But given the two years of potential maternity leave, there’s more time for planning. You don’t, for example, have to think about it before you even get pregnant! But there were some things about childcare in Austria that I wasn’t quite expecting. Though to be fair, I based it all on my perceived notion of Australian childcare. And obviously I’ve never had a child in Australian childcare! But here’s how it works here.

Continue reading →

Did I just have the best three days ever?

debbiekaye1980Leave a comment
Italy beach

This might sound bad, but last week my husband took Sammy, along with the in-laws, for a beach holiday to Italy. They went for the week, but I could only join toward the end because I had to work. You might think I’d be bummed… missing out on long beach days, and mouth-watering Italian food, and my kid running around on the sand with a big grin on his face.

Well… in a way, I was. But in another way, I was ecstatic.

Continue reading →

You know you’re in Austria and not Australia when… you say goodbye in many different ways

debbiekaye1980Leave a comment
German goodbye

I’m not sure if it’s a German-language thing, or just an Austrian thing, but it seems that when you say goodbye to someone here, it’s not as simple and just saying “bye” and heading on your way.

Everyone I hear combines a few different words into a kind of muddled up sentence as they are leaving.

For example they might say: “Tschüss… Baba… Pfiati…” and add a “Ciao” on the end for good measure.

Continue reading →

Products/brands that are almost the same

debbiekaye1980Leave a comment

Same same… but different. I’ll be strolling through the supermarket here and see a familiar packet only to realise… it’s not the same… and yet it is the same. I know companies often have to change the names of products from country to country, so perhaps this is the case with many of the following that I’ve found.

Weetabix

Weet-a-bix: my favourite classic Australian cereal does exist here. But it’s called Weet-a-bix instead of Weet-Bix and it has rounded corners.

Continue reading →

Hilarious product names

debbiekaye19802 Comments

Being in a different country obviously the supermarket looks a little different. And the names of products in the supermarket are different too. So, the other day I browsed through the supermarket, with the mindset of a 16 year old boy. And here’s what I found. I hope your inner 16 year old boy enjoys them as much as mine did.

Bum Bum

Bum Bum: a delicious ice cream that comes with chewing gum as part of the stick

Continue reading →

Understanding a German-speaking toddler

debbiekaye19801 Comment

Being home with Sammy for the first two years of his life, I just assumed that he would be more proficient in English than German, at least until he started daycare.

Turns out I was kind of wrong.

I guess it’s because it’s the local language, so although he tends to hear me speaking English most of the day, German is the thing that’s on in the background all the time. He also spends plenty of time with his grandparents, who obviously speak German to him, and I’m also in the habit of speaking German when they’re around so they understand me.

Continue reading →

Sammy’s birthday… yeah so that made me sad

debbiekaye19802 Comments

I didn’t expect Sam’s birthday to make me sad.

In hindsight, I should have. My birthday and friends’ birthdays always make me sad. But it never occurred to me that Sam’s would. I guess I thought I didn’t care that much. He was only turning two. He’s barely aware what a birthday is. He was more overwhelmed by the presents, the food, the attention… and yet…

Tears came to my eyes. I had to excuse myself and walk away.

Because it was what was missing.

Continue reading →

You know you’re in Austria and not Australia when… this label is on your beer/cider

debbiekaye1980Leave a comment

That’s right. This delicious alcoholic drink is fine to drink as long as you’re over 16. Because in Austria, the laws on alcohol consumption are different. From the age of 16, you are allowed to purchase and drink certain types of alcoholic beverages. Namely, beer, cider and wine. Any hard liquor or schnapps is off limits until you’re 18 though.

Yes, alcohol is a drug and consumption for teenagers should be limited. Maybe it’s an irresponsible law. Or maybe it just legalises what goes on anyway, since I think you’d be hard pressed in any country to find a teen who hasn’t drunk alcohol before they’ve hit the legal limit!

In any case, this is Austria!

Why I always buckle up on the plane

debbiekaye19802 Comments
Aeroplane aisle seat

There have been a few incidences of bad turbulence in the media lately, and it got me thinking about turbulence. It’s one of those things you try not to think about when cruising at 35,000ft. Much like those weird beeps and noises that sometimes happen during take-off and landing, you curl your fingers tighter around your arm rest (or your vodka tonic) and tell yourself it’s normal. Nothing is going to happen. I mean, it’s not like we’re going to drop out of the sky.

Except sometimes you do.

Continue reading →