Last updated on August 12th, 2007:
"I began working in Austria at bwin on the 2nd of May, and continue to pursue my MFA on the side. I just recently included some images from my office space, my German course, a street performance in Graz, as well as a few words about my recent happenings."

Oktoberfest 2007

bwin Action Day!

<- click to enlarge

World Map of GU Alumni

Remembering Good Ol' America!

Click here to watch the image slideshow!

La Strada

La Strada:

This was a rare mixture: street circus that also takes the street as its theme. The things we typically see in the background, sometimes left behind us, became the incidental playthings of these street performers. A nice cup of tea, barely sipped, was just as important as matches or an old bucket, also ideal for juggling. It really brought me back to the days when clowns were entertaining, clever, and witty.

Below is just a few images from one act that I caught. This act was really cool. It was slow at the beginning, and simple, but really picked up pace towards the end. Just before a huge thunderstorm swept in overhead.

Here's a link to the 'La Strada' site...

http://www.lastrada.at

GERMAN 101

With alittle push from my girlfriend, I enrolled myself into my first German course. What better place than the Internationales Kulturinstitut (IKI), which is a non-profit organisation. It has specialised in teaching German as a foreign language for the last 20 years and is one of Vienna's most renowned language schools.

I enrolled in German 101, and had a wonderful experience. It was alittle difficult to manage 2 classes per week for 2 hours at a time, but it certainly helped me to get through the basics of the language. I plan to enroll myself again in September, but this will be a program internally within my company, so I'm not sure that it will be as good as IKI. However, the program within my company will be free, and that says a lot.

Monthly, IKI has between 250 and 350 students from all over the globe learning German, and although the images below don't show it...there were about 12 different countries represented during my studies. Students, mostly working adults, came from all over the world; Montenegro, Serbia, Iceland, China, Ireland, Japan, United States, Portugal, Columbia, India, Malaysia, Norway, Czech Republic, and Germany (our Teacher).

In the images below, we are all pointed to where we come from on the map, which was alittle like playing Twister. If you click on the image of us standing shoulder-to-shoulder, you'll see the larger image of us, which also displays the Karlskirche in the background. A beautiful backdrop for class, it was great!

More about IKI...

They are an Österreichisches Sprachdiplom (ÖSD) examination centre and a member of the Union of Austrian Language Schools (CAMPUS AUSTRIA), which was founded by the Austrian Ministry of Education. IKI has two locations. The school office and five classrooms are located at Opernring 7, while five more classrooms are in Bösendorferstrasse 9. Both are close to Karlsplatz/Oper underground station which can be reached on the U1, U2 and U4 trains, the 1, 2, D, J, 62 and 65 trams, the 4A and 59A buses and on the Badener Bahn.

http://www.ikivienna.at/en/