Miss Euro Blogger - Bursting the Bubble

New Year's Eve is once again upon us. My expectations on how to spend that evening have changed tremendously over the decades. As a child When I was little, the most exciting part about New Year's Eve - and also the only expectation I had about that evening - was being allowed to stay up late. A staple in my childhood for that night was to watch 'Dinner for One'. Other than that it was all about watching TV, trying to stay awake until midnight and if I made it, shoot off some cheap fireworks in the backyard. As a teenager Growing up in the Austrian Alps, going out to a club wasn't really a thing. What the kids in the countryside did was meet at a hut in the mountains where we were surrounded by snow. Someone's uncle always had a hut and we would meet there in the early evening to get started on the bags of alcohol we dragged up there. One by one, we passed out somewhere on the floor or if you were lucky on a chair. It was a simple time. In my early...

So... I got married this year... twice... to the same guy - of course. As you know from my previous blog posts, I have been married before and was a happily divorced woman. In the years following, I didn't think I ever wanted to get married again. I had the 'been-there-done-that-meh-not-that great' kind of attitude. And why do something again that wasn't all that the first time around. Nonetheless, what I didn't think was going to happen happened. I met a boy. Boy was cute. Boy treated me right (respectful, loving and caring). Girl moved in with boy. Fast forward two years - boy popped the question on a cliff by the pacific ocean in Malibu. Girl said yes! And then... the planning phase started. I absolutely hated my first wedding. I hated the dress, the venue, the officiant, the atmosphere and the bored faces of the guests. At the time, I only had a few months to put a wedding together in a city that I just moved to. I had no clue what I was doing. That's ...

Image by photobucket Did you also wake up with a massive hangover this morning? Not just because you jugged numerous glasses of wine to either celebrate or cry over the election results but also because this has been a long and agonizing road. Personally, I am absolutely gutted about the election outcome - as an American, as an immigrant and most of all as a woman. If this election tells us one thing, it is that misogyny is more acceptable to the public at large than being a woman. Men who voted for Trump told their mothers, sisters and daughters that they are below a racists, homophobes and sexual predators. Women who voted for Trump diminished the value of their own existence. They basically said 'yes, I am worth less than a hateful man.' Even if you believe that Trump is a good business man, which I don't think he is (why not show your tax returns if you have nothing to hide? AND he has a c ourt date coming about accusations of fraud concerning Trump universit...

I grew up in the Austrian countryside in the 1980s. People were less open minded at the time - even more so in the small alpine villages. The biggest crime you committed as a woman was being a divorcee. Something must be wrong with her. She must have neglected her marital duties - either in the kitchen or another room. It was never questioned what was wrong with the guy and that he may have been at fault. Divorce was always seen as a failure. Why is it that society at large pities divorced people (mainly women)? Why is it that we see divorce as something negative. I once sat next to two sisters who were both in their 50s. One was married to the same man for the last thirty years. The other was on her second marriage. The latter told the other one commenting on her upcoming wedding anniversary: "I admire you for being married to the same man for that long." She sounded sad while she said that - and her second husband was sitting next to her. I thought to myself 'Didn...

Watching the U.S. election with a non-American, in my case European, perspective leaves one to wonder about what goes on in the minds of Americans. From an outside view, it is very clear that Donald Trump has the mental capacity of a five year old who had his candy taken away from him after throwing his own feces at his siblings. He pouts when he doesn't get what he wants. He interrupts and yells when he is exposed as lying. And he masks his insecurities (especially about his small hands and lack of business skills) by 'adjusting' the facts and repeating over and over how great and rich he is. He called Mexican rapists and is the poster child of misogyny. He is the crazy uncle you only need to see at Christmas and the reason why you get wasted on eggnog before Christmas brunch was even served. via GIPHY However, there is a 50:50 chance that we - and by 'we' I mean the entire world - will have to see the crazy uncle all year round. Earlier this week, I watched ...

Fifteen years ago today, I woke up at my new 'home' in Santa Monica, California, USA. I was still jet lagged. It felt odd to see palm trees when I looked out the window. It was also much warmer than I was used to this time of the year. Helicopters circled over the buildings and along the beach looking for anyone and anything suspicious as the terror attacks of 9/11 only happened 11 days earlier. I was confronted with a lot of unknowns: Will I like living here? Will terrorists attack Los Angeles? Will I find new friends soon? Will I get very homesick? Will I be able to get into and through university? Will I stay here forever or will I go back to Europe in a few years? All of these questions plagued me for weeks after moving to California. I felt very lonely most of the time. Yes, I spoke and understood English. Yes, I lived in an amazing neighborhood just a five minute walk from the beach. However, all of that doesn't automatically make you feel happy and...

Today marks the 15th anniversary of 9/11. Do you remember where you were when it happened? I was in Salzburg at an Irish pub. CNN was running on the TV. Both towers were still standing. I asked the guy behind the bar what happened and he told me about the planes that hit the World Trade Center. "Was it an accident?" "I don't think so..." I only came to confirm a reservation but stayed to watch and find out more. The longer I watched the more scared I got. Why? Because I had a plane ticket going to America for only 10 days after this fateful day that changed the world. Soon it became evident that I was moving to a country that is about to enter into a war. What did that mean? More terror attacks within the U.S.? Fighting on the streets? Bombings? I didn't know what to expect. When I arrived at LAX, the airport was filled with guys holding guns. Helicopters circled above the city nonstop. It seemed like a movie. CNN was on all day and all night long. Loo...