Learning a foreign language comes with many things… and one of the big things is correct pronunciation. If you haven’t grown up speaking German, it’s almost impossible to master all the nuances.
Continue readingIntroducing… Claudia Weiss
My favourite baby products 6-12 months
Following on from my previous posts of favourite baby products from 0-3 months and 3-6 months, read on for my picks for 6-12 months.
The pen
Yay, Sam’s started crawling! Uh oh… Sam’s started crawling. Time to invest in a safe place for him to hang out when I need to prepare his food or go to the toilet. We were lucky enough to get a hand-me-down, and even though it’s more like a big cot than a grand play pen, it’s enough to keep him occupied and safe for those inevitable moments.
Continue readingBack at work… for 5 weeks
As mentioned in my previous blog, the Austrian maternity leave system is generous. So I opted to go back to work for two months while hubby stayed home with Sam. During this time I also took all the holidays owed to me, so the end result was a brief five week stint of work for me.
I’m not sure how ideal it is for businesses – to gain an employee back for such a limited amount of time, or to lose one, but it did me a whole lot of good, and in the end, that’s the most important thing.
Continue readingThe Austrian maternity leave system – giving me a break
I was told when I moved to Austria that if I planned to have children I should definitely do it here because the system is so generous. And yeah… it was hard going through pregnancy and postpartum in a foreign country… but the advice was right… the maternity leave is generous. The system is good to parents.
Starting with eight weeks of paid leave before you even go on official maternity leave, it’s pretty standard to take two years off as a stay at home parent. During this time your workplace cannot fire you. And they must take you back in a part time role.
Continue readingTick… tick… tick… boom
I am Australian. I come from the land of dangerous animals… of deadly crocodiles and sharks and jellyfish and snakes and spiders… all of which I never really worried much about when I was in Australia.
But here in Austria… the ticks freak me out.
Tiny little creatures, they are. Innocently bumbling around in grass and foliage on the forest floor. Not too smart, not too fast. But since you don’t feel them bite, they just hang out on you for a while… gorging.
Continue readingIt’s only been a year… and yet it’s been 4 years
I recently went back to work. And it was great. But it was weird… and weird in ways I wasn’t expecting. It was great to be greeted by some familiar faces. But amongst the sea of faces… I couldn’t help thinking one thing… everyone got old!
Continue readingTurning 1
My son just turned one.
My son… that still sounds odd to my ears. But there’s no denying there’s a little guy upstairs asleep right now!
It’s a big milestone, they say. Well… yeah. It’s been a hell of a year. There’s some relief at hitting one year old. They say the first year is the hardest. Now we can drop the breast feeding if we want. Now he can eat table foods. Now he’s going to walk and talk and trade Bitcoin and drive a car…
Continue readingHolidaying… with a baby
My parents recently visited for the first time since Covid hit back in 2019. So it was an emotional time already, and in addition they were meeting Sam. It was great to have them. To have some help at home. To have some Aussie in the house. And to give me a chance to flex my legs and do a few things I’d been nervous about doing on my own. We went to cafes and supermarkets and the swimming pool… and we also went away.
Continue readingThe art of the reaction
One night when we were out at dinner, as the waitress walked away from us after taking our order, she threw an offhand comment back over her shoulder. Nothing out of the ordinary. But when hubby asked me what she’d said because he hadn’t heard and I told him I had no idea, he was surprised… but you laughed?
Yes… because here’s another skill I’ve gained in living in another language: the ability to know (most of the time) what reaction is expected of me, even if I don’t understand the words. I guess we all do it unconsciously anyway – following the visual cues and tone of voice to know how to set your face and how to react.
Continue readingSwimming… the baby edition
I love swimming. So naturally I want my kid to love swimming. However, due to the time of year he was born and Covid, he didn’t get his first official swim until recently. I dutifully made a plan – I bought swim diapers and a UV swimsuit – I packed towels and snacks – and I prepared for it to be a disaster. Because I went along knowing full well that my romantic notion of taking him swimming would not come to fruition.
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an aussie in austria 