TA Orientation in the Alps

This week, the teaching assistants of the US and UK had orientation in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, a heavenly ski town tucked away from the world in a valley of an Alpine mountain range.  Most of the trees and brush were still green, while others have turned bright red or gold as autumn nears.  The mountains were snowcapped at the top, and the air felt refreshingly ice cold at night, while during the day it was a comfortable 70 degrees in the sun.

About 80 new TA's were there for orientation from four states (Bundeslaender) in Austria: Voralberg, Tyrol, Salzburg, and Upper Austria.  We attended workshops and classes to learn fun ways and approaches to teaching English which were useful.  There were teachers from each state who taught the classes, all of whom were very friendly and knowledgeable.  Since all of the TA's are in different schools, the orientation was a great chance to get to know other people and make friends.

One of the best things that I'm looking forward to is the fact that teachers get to wear slippers to class (Hausschuhe 'house shoes')!  During orientation, everyone was required to bring slippers to wear in the conference center hotel where we stayed.  The Austrians like to keep things clean so what better way to clean the floors less than to encourage everyone to bring in slippers to wear indoors?  This includes students and teachers at schools, etc.  Everyone in Austria also always takes off their shoes when entering a person's home.

We had an afternoon off on one of the days to take a hike to Reiterkogel - one of the surrounding mountains which gave 360 degree views for miles and miles at the very top.  Because of the Air France strike, my luggage was lost, which had all my shoes and clothes inside. So I had no choice but to wear my slip-on Toms for the hike while everyone else had proper sneakers and hiking boots.

We were told by one of the Austrian teachers who led the way that the hike would be about 1-1.5 hours up.  It definitely took a good two hours to make it to one of the restaurants towards the top of the mountain, and then another 45 minutes or so to the very tip top.  Some people dropped out along the way but the majority of the group made it.  The hike and views were amazing and it all was well worth it as I knew it would be.  I toughed it out with Rachel from the UK, one of the good friends I've made here who will also be living in Linz.  Our breath was not only taken away from the hike but from the unbelievable views along the ridge to the very top.  Rachel skis and I snowboard so we will definitely be returning to Saalbach in the winter.  I made the hike in my shoes without blisters or a sprained ankle, so thanks, Toms!

From the top of the mountain:

Hiking to the top with Rachel and other TA's:

There is a small pool towards the top with ice cold water for hikers to walk through with bare feet.  The cold water takes down the heat and swelling and feels so refreshing:

Those who had Liederhosen and dirndls wore them on the hike.  The leader of the hike and teaching representative from Upper Austria is on the left side, he was such a nice guy:

On the last night of orientation, we had traditional Austrian dancers come and perform for us.  Many people were chosen out of the crowd to come and dance in front of everyone, one of them including me.  It was so much fun and I want to take a class!  Here are some friends dancing with some of the girls, who were wearing traditional dirndls:

We entered and left Saalbach-Hinterglemm through the Zell am See city train station- a city about a half hour bus ride away.  It's a relatively well-known city in the state of Salzburg, and we had two hours there to spend there on the last day until our train came:

Great beginning to my time here in Austria!