People aren't all bad

This made me smile, and I hope it will make you smile too!



Kacie Kinzer came up with the idea... she's an Art student so naturally the descrption is rather wordy (I used to have to phrase things that way too)... but the general idea is she wanted to see how people would interact with objects in their surroundings.

She created "tweenbots" - small, cardboard-covered robots which can only travel forwards at one speed and have a flag indicating their destination. The experiment she devised was to see how long it would take before the tweenbot was damaged by someone on a journey from the northeast to the southwest corner of Central Park in NYC.

To her surprise, no one person damaged the tweenbot. In fact, 29 people in total picked up the little guy when he got stuck in a pothole or was heading in the wrong direction and set him back on track. One person even picked him up and turned him in the opposite direction, saying "You can't go that way, it's towards the road."

In a world where we're led to believe that everyone is out for themselves and that people knowingly damage other people's property just because they can, this shows that it isn't always true.

It would be interesting to see what would happen if they tried this in Hyde Park - I think much the same result would occur!

All rights belong to Kacie Kinzer.

Tweenbots

Bratislava, Vienna by night and the poshest H&M in the world.

Welcome to Bratislava!

So communist you could imagine yourself as an extra in a John Le Carre novel... walking through the 'modern' part was eye-opening - even the underpasses were oppressive. Perhaps it was just overactive imaginations but it felt very odd... long low roofs, dark walls and so on.

And the centre of Bratislava (once known as Pressburg when it was under Austro-Hungarian rule) looks so completely different...

Even the maestro himself lived here...

Leaving in the rain... the rain certainly didn't help cheer the lovely concrete communist facade up...

St. Michael's Gate, one of the many opulent entrances to the Imperial Palace.

Odd arty smoke thing near the Kunstforum (Art Forum). Still have no idea what it is.

Another view of the odd smoke thing...

The Viennese keep their decorations up for a long time after Christmas...

Chandeliers on Graben and they really are as beautiful as they look!

Arty shot which didn't turn out quite right - that's St. Stephen's Cathedral in the background.

The poshest H&M ever. Ceiling roses, chandeliers, gas lighting...

Shame about the 50% off sign though!

As an aside, I would NOT recommend flying into Bratislava to get to Vienna... flights might be cheap but you arrive at 5:30am, have to catch the bus for 2 hours and are so bloomin' tired by the time you arrive, all you want to do is sleep. Book in advance, fly to Vienna Schwechat, DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES get the CATrain as it's an absolute rip off, get the Schnellbahn to Wien Mitte (Vienna City Centre). It's half the price and takes about 10 minutes longer. Isn't as cushy, but at 7 Euros for a single ticket, comfort isn't much of an issue. The other good thing about the Schnellbahn is it drops you off directly next to the Wien Mitte underground station - when you arrive at the CAT terminal you have to heaveho your luggage for 15 minutes to the nearest station or get a taxi.

A bit of this... a bit of that... Christmas!

Better late than never ;) Only 4 months out...

The Gingerbread House - it took 20 hours to make and they kept it there for the whole 6 weeks... mind you Vienna was so cold they didn't really need a fridge...

Looking back towards the State Theatre

The biggest Advent Calendar in the world - there are 23 windows lining the front of City Hall and the 24 window is in the clock tower. They unveil another Advent every day; the pictures are from the University of Modern Art.

The ultimate Christmas Tree Lights!

View from the State Theatre towards the City Hall

Large Advent wreath!

So! These are obviously photos of the world famous Christmas Market in Vienna. It is as beautiful as it looks - even more so when it snows. I unfortunately left to come home for Christmas before the heavy snow set in but it was magical anyway.

Very kitsch, but magical all the same.

There is nothing like standing watching the lights glitter whilst drinking mulled wine and chomping your way through Maroni (chestnuts) or Lebkuchen. And it is an excellent place to buy unsusual presents - beeswax candles, ceramics, beautiful decorations, music, hats, gloves, scarves etc etc. Naturally there were a few shops which spoilt the effect somewhat - neon, flashing kids guitars, dolls of all kinds, flashing santas hats and so on. I'm not slating the fact that they were selling these things, just WHERE they were selling them.

More photos to follow...

Culture Shock

The Wikipedia Definition (as Wikipedia is The Fountain Of All Knowledge On This Earth And If It Isn't On Wikipedia, It Doesn't Exist):

Culture shock refers to the anxiety and feelings (of surprise, disorientation, uncertainty, confusion, etc.) felt when people have to operate within an entirely different cultural or social environment, such as a foreign country. It grows out of the difficulties in assimilating the new culture, causing difficulty in knowing what is appropriate and what is not. This is often combined a dislike for or even disgust (moral or aesthetical) with certain aspects of the new or different culture.

Particular aspects of Culture Shock:

1. Sadness, loneliness, melancholy
Yep, big tick.

2. Preoccupation with health
Not as yet, but then I have had this recurring stomach virus...

3. Aches, pains, and allergies
I ALWAYS have aches (side effect of being too bendy)

4. Insomnia, desire to sleep too much or too little
The fact that my nextdoor neighbour likes to bang around her room at 6am doesn't help with this point.

5. Changes in temperament, depression, feeling vulnerable, feeling powerless
Never wanted a good strong hug in all my life as I do now. Vulnerable, me?

6. Anger, irritability, resentment, unwillingness to interact with others
Doesn't help that a lot of the Austrians I come into contact with are rude (more about that later) and seem to view foreigners as some kind of infectious disease. No surprise that the far right made serious gains in the last election.

7. Identifying with the old culture or idealizing the old country
I'm under no impression that Britian is Utopia quite yet.

8. Loss of identity
Hmmm, well I haven't lost my passport and haven't changed my name to Heidi yet so no tick here.

9. Trying too hard to absorb everything in the new culture or country
YES. Just... yes.

10. Unable to solve simple problems
Doesn't help that the Austrians are OBSESSED with bureaucracy. The smallest thing requires 4 signatures and 2 stamps from offices scattered across the length and breadth of the city.

11. Lack of confidence
Talking pidgin German with already suspicious middle-aged Austrians behind the tills? You must be joking.

12. Feelings of inadequacy or insecurity
Well, at least Vienna is one of the safest cities in Europe... oh, that's not what it meant. Inadequacy = tick!

13. Developing stereotypes about the new culture
As in, they all eat disgusting sausages and anyone over 40 treats foreigners with distinct suspicion? Stereotyping, me?

14. Developing obsessions such as over-cleanliness
*looks at state of room* Definitely not.

15. Longing for family
I'd like a hug from my mum right now, but I'm not sobbing my heart out over it. I've been at Uni 2 years without them holding my hand...

16. Feelings of being lost, overlooked, exploited or abused
Occasionally lost, but the Austrians aren't really bad people. They'll go out of their way to help you if you're really stuck. But you need to prove you're not a dense, halfwit tourist first!

I feel as if I can't be bothered to go out and do things at the moment - the wrong attitude to take, I know, as it will only heighten my feelings of loneliness and insecurity if I alienate my friends and so on. But it doesn't help that when I DO make the effort to organise a trip to the theatre or opera (student tickets are very cheap over here!) I only get one or two emails back from my so-called friends. I had given them plenty of time and options and didn't get a single positive response. Some people didn't even respond at all. Now I don't know about you, but I think that's just plain rude. Yeah we might all be busy with Uni etc. but it takes 10 seconds to write, 'Sorry, can't come but have fun!' My irritation was increased when one of the friends in question later sent an email asking if we all wanted to meet up at the weekend and go to the zoo - not a mention made of my rather good idea of going to see a play or opera. However, I don't know if she received any responses either. I sent a reply but as my internet is a bit temperamental, I'm not sure if it went. I didn't bother sending it again; it sounds petty but if they can't make the effort...

So I'm irritated, lonely and in desperate need of a good big hug.

The one person who might well understand what I'm feeling and give me the kick up the butt I need to get back out there on the learning offensive is currently very busy choreographing his first dance performance. I don't want to bother him; I don't want to seem like I can't stand alone on my own two feet. I don't want to seem as if I'm chasing him. But I miss being around him as he's been here, done it and I know he'd give me useful advice (and probably the big hug I so desperately want right now). I also don't know if he is interested in seeing me (although he was 2 or 3 weeks ago) and in typically female fashion and much as I hate to admit it, this rankles me. I hate the indecision period which comes when you like someone and THINK they might like you back but you're not 100% sure.

However, I am receiving male attention and I'm not entirely happy about it (you'd never know it, but I am very shy when it comes to the male species). My Austrian Uni-Buddy seems to have taken a fancy to me and whilst he's a nice guy, he just doesn't 'float my boat/flip my switch/light my fire' etc. I was told by 2 complete strangers that I'm a beautiful woman last week, and was practically pounced upon at the International Students Party by two very enthusiastic Spanish guys. Once I told them a complete lie and explained I was looking for my boyfriend, they lost interest. I was told by one of those Living Statues that I have beautiful eyes whilst he looked down my top and the cashier at the buffet restaurant we went to yesterday for lunch definitely wasn't admiring just the logo on my t-shirt. I think buying a hessian sack and some skater jeans might be the order of the day on Monday...

All this and you can't even buy a decent sausage over here. I miss Cumberland sausages! I miss sausages which are made with an identifiable meat! I miss pork and leek sausages with Yorkshire pudding and gravy... :(

Anyway, before this post becomes even more of a whinge and moan about culture shock, men, and anything else which has riled me even a small amount over the last week, I'll go to bed (and lie awake for an hour trying to get to sleep).

'Til next time,
Liv xxx

Out and about with my camera...

The Hofburg

The Hofburg up close

The Museumsquartier slogan: 'It happens here.'

The Museumsquartier with the Art Hall on the left and the Museum of Modern Art at the back.

The Spanish Riding School (complete with horse poking it's head out of the stable door)

Plaque commemorating one of Mozart's many houses

Turkish cannonball set in gold, from the second Turkish siege of Vienna

The Holocaust Memorial: It is meant to be a library but all the books have their spines facing inwards so you can't read the title. The books are supposed to represent the lives of those executed - as in, you can't read the names but you know they existed. There are no handles on the entrance so you can't go inside - a library no one can enter.

On the other side of the square is a statue of one of my favourite authors, G. E. Lessing. He promoted tolerance of religions long before it became a political point (and was penalised for it)

The old(er) part of the Hofburg

Plaque commemorating the visit of Mother Theresa to Heiligenkreuz Monastery

Courtyard Garden at Heiligenkreuz

Somewhat macabre 'Dance of Death' candlesticks

Pretty Rose Window

Plaque commemorating the house where Beethoven wrote some of his most famous works, including Symphonies VI,V, and VII.

Karlskirche (Church of St Charles)

Votivkirche

Balcony at Heiligenkreuz (not quite sure what happened to the order of these photos...)

Baroque ceiling at Heiligenkreuz

Oldest part of the Heiligenkreuz monastery, the central nave, over 1000 years old!

Alive

So I'm here, I'm alive and I'm absolutely in love with Vienna!

It's a beautiful place, so full of history, art, culture and music all in a chocolate box setting. Every time you turn a corner there is another lovely building with such delicate decoration it looks like someone made it out of sugar icing. I wander around in a sort of daze most of the time, goggling at this gorgeous fresco or that Baroque church or this huge monument.

There are so many museums and galleries that I'm not sure a year is long enough to appreciate them all (especially when you bear in mind I'm supposed to be studying here, not just drifting around with my head in the clouds) but I'm definitely going to give it a try! Not only is there a plethora of museums and galleries, they have some of the most democratic theatres and opera houses as well, with a standing ticket costing only 2 Euros. Yes, you might well be stood on your feet for 3 hours with only a 15 minute interval but where else in the world do you get to see Jose Carreras singing Verdi with one of the best orchestras in the world, the Vienna Philharmonic?

Not only is Vienna itself amazing but I am really looking forward to studying here - the registration system is a nightmare, the course booklet virtually unnavigable and the German department vague to say the least... but it'll be an experience. I have already taken part in a language course over here and could not have wished for a better teacher. He took us all around Vienna, to a Heuriger, to Prater, on a town tour and then for breakfast at Cafe Central on the last day. Not only did he go out of his way to show us Vienna in all its glory, he was an excellent teacher too.

Anyway, I am now running out of synonyms for beautiful and lovely so I will say farewell... hopefully I'll be able to paste up a few pictures in my next post.

'Til next time,
Liv xxx

So long, farewell... (for now)

Well, I am signing off for the next few days at least as I'm up to my ears in paperwork and ironing as well as thermal undies... won't be needing them for a while yet but it's best to be prepared. I'm not taking my laptop with me for just the language course as it is just another thing to get lost, bashed or misplaced as I heave my bags from the airport to the Halls of Residence. Naturally there will be internet at the University, so if anyone is remotely interested, I'll be able to let them know I'm alive. But not dead. Actually, I wonder if they have Wifi in Heaven/Hell? Would make God's life a lot easier, probably.

Anyway, point in hand is that I'm leaving on Sunday so you won't be hearing from me for a few days... look out on the news for reports of strange happenings in Austria (I have been warned to stay away from cellars : so no creepy strange happenings I hope) and you can be almost certain I will be involved somewhere.

Dya think I've got too much luggage with me?

And that's not including my shoes...

Liv xxx

Getting the job done

I would talk about some of the happenings at the Care Home recently, but I'm sure it would merely end up as one long whinge. I was blamed for something which I had no knowledge of by two senior members of staff and then threatened with a reprimand from the Matron for not doing something when asked by a SHCA, despite the fact she knows I'm a hard worker and would get round to whatever it was when I had a moment to spare. I was not impressed; enough said. I wish I had had the alacrity and wit to say something equally barbed back to her but I was so sick and tired of everything I just let it slide.

Anyway, my flight to Austria is just over 2 weeks away and my parents are in nag mode. I know I should be getting my insurance sorted etc etc, but when I get home after work I'm so tired I forget how to use the TV controls never mind all the things I have to do for Vienna. I find that when I have a lot of things to remember, I remember everything - when I have only a few things to do, I forget them all. There is that saying - If you want something done, ask a busy person. I think I am that kind of person!

I have a list of things to do which is threatening to consume me - I think I keep putting all these little things off so I don't have to think about the fact that I'm flying out to a foreign country alone in just over two weeks for 10 months and I'm scared witless that it is all going to go horribly wrong.

I have a past history of this - I KNOW something is going to go wrong.

But even if it does, at least I'll be covered by my uber-comprehensive year abroad insurance (thanks Mum :S ).

Liv xxx

A little lost...

A lot of the residents at the Care Home have some form of memory loss, be it short-term (ie. they forget that they have sent their favourite blouse to the wash and thus can’t find it) or full-on Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), consisting of mood swings, aggressive behaviour, serious confusion and ultimately loss of bodily functions and death. We fortunately have no residents with AD this severe as they would need more care than we can give them but we do have some residents with progressive memory loss. It can be very upsetting for these people; imagine not being able to remember the last time you ate, drank, washed, or went to the toilet. Imagine this combined with a constantly changing group of HCAs who whisk in and out of your room like small tornadoes with meals, tablets, washing and bedding, saying ‘Do you want to go on the commode?’, and ‘Would you like to have a wash before we put you in your nightie?’ even though you don’t even remember having lunch and is it really 7:30pm already?

It must be very distressing at times and with the best will in the world, we HCAs are not always as understanding as perhaps we should be. I try to see things from their point of view and listen closely to what they are saying so I can help them if I can but when you’ve people to feed, wash and dress in the morning for example, trying to explain patiently to an angry resident who can’t find their favourite blouse that they asked for it to be washed the day before can be a very frustrating task.

I have compiled a few incidents from the last few days and weeks which prompted me to write this post below.

#1. Stealing

Some of the residents with more severe memory loss misplace items and cannot remember where they put them, as you would expect. The trouble starts, however, when they begin to believe that someone has stolen whatever it is they are looking for. For example there is Gerry in room 12 downstairs. He refuses all care from the staff – he always refuses a wash and help with changing his clothes which means he can end up staying in one set of clothes 24 hours a day over a period of days until the District Nurse and one of the SHCAs manage when changing the dressings on his legs to distract him with their chatter for long enough to give him a good scrub and change his clothes. Despite this, he is generally courteous to the staff and a happy person. However, a few days ago I went to ask if he would like to come to the dining room for lunch (sometimes he does, other times he doesn’t) and I found him grumbling to himself. On asking him what the matter was, he said he couldn’t find his best slippers – one of ‘you lot’ (meaning the staff) had pinched them and nothing I could say would change his mind. In the end I had to leave him turning his wardrobe out as I was afraid that if I tried to convince him of our innocence any further he would file a complaint against me for either bullying or stealing.

Another time I heard one of the residents, Joan, saying to another that money was being stolen from her room – you could see the ears of every HCA in the vicinity perk up as that is the kind of thing which makes us extremely wary of going into a resident’s room alone – but the other resident gave her short shrift and told her to make absolutely certain that she hadn’t just misplaced it before she started pointing the finger. As it happened she had put her money in her knicker drawer so it would be kept safe and had forgotten. You could hear the sigh of relief whistle around the staff room when this was announced.

#2. ‘Visions’

A strange title but an apt one. The above mentioned lady, Joan, charged me with abuse in a roundabout way last week because I had apparently gone into her room and told her that I could see into the future and that she was going to die soon. Obviously this was complete nonsense; firstly, I have never claimed to have second sight (nor would I want it if it were ever a possibility) and secondly, I would never ever tell anyone that I had foreseen their death (even if I had been so unfortunate as to foresee such a thing). Despite the obvious ludicrousness of it all, I was called into the Matron’s office and asked about it. I was utterly speechless at first; I must admit I wondered for a moment if she was playing a joke on me. But when she called the secretary in as a witness to what I said, I realised she was being completely serious and I found myself having to explain that I had never told Joan anything of the sort and even if I could see into the future I was hardly going to tell people when they were going to die soon. However, I did track down what the source of the problem was; as I had been getting Joan ready for bed, there was a programme about ghosts and haunted houses on the TV. There was a man on who could supposedly speak with the ‘spirit world’ and we began talking about that and foreseeing the future, etcetera etcetera. Her memory loss and frequent depressive episodes as a result of a brain haemorrhage meant that she had forgotten the TV programme entirely and had pieced together what she remembered of our conversation into something which had no resemblance to it at all in my eyes, but which to her was the absolute truth. I could tell Matron put little stock by this but had to follow it though as the HCA she had told HAD to report it. Abuse is a very grey area within Care but even the merest whiff of it must be reported just in case. It reminded me that you have to be very careful what you say and how you say it with people.

#3. Losing yourself

One of the most upsetting aspects of memory loss for the staff especially is seeing residents lose all memory of themselves. Seeing someone who only needed assistance with putting on their socks and shoes of a morning deteriorate to a bedridden shell of their former self can be disheartening and distressing. Ina is a good example of this; last summer I remember her as a quietly spoken but interesting woman in an electric wheelchair who needed assistance with the commode and that was pretty much it. Now, after 5 TIAs, she is almost entirely bedridden and can do very little, if nothing, for herself. She has an ulcer on her right heel, another one burgeoning on her left heel and is on a 2 hour tilt chart. Her legs are contracting and her neck is stiffening in one position. She is often very sleepy and slow; doing her menus takes 20 minutes at least and feeding her some soup and sandwiches can take up to an hour which is obviously very problematic when it comes to caring for the other residents. I find dealing with her quite saddening; I remember her when her mobility was her only setback. That quiet but kind person is still in there; she is just a little lost.

Fred was another example of this; he had AD but it progressed very slowly; last summer he could get around in his wheelchair and was a very nice chap to talk to, although he kept himself to himself. A week before I returned to the Care Home he took 3 tumbles in 2 days. He was put in bed with cotsides and went from lucid but bedridden to palliative care within 3 weeks. Feeding him became increasingly difficult – initially he would forget to chew but would do when prompted by the HCA. In the last week or two when asked to open his mouth, he would just purse his lips and suck up miniscule amounts of food off the tip of the spoon. Giving him a drink was nigh on impossible as you couldn’t get him to loosen his jaw enough to get even a straw in. One teatime I was trying to feed him and in between little sucks off the tip of the spoon, he murmured in a surprised tone that he had never been in a room with a woman alone before and he didn’t know what to do. It occurred to me that possibly the only woman he had ever been ‘alone in a room with’ in that way (ie. in a bedroom) was his late wife; maybe he was, as his memory deteriorated, fusing that memory with the fact that I was a lone female voice chattering to him whilst giving him his tea in his bedroom. I found this quite upsetting. Once again the person he had been was obviously still in there as he was piecing together memories from decades back, but he was also losing his grip on life. He died only a few days later of pneumonia.

Until next time,

Liv xxx

Playing with my camera...

We went on holiday to Wales last week and I had a fab time playing with my camera :) Here are some of the best results!

'Til next time,

Vienna xxx