The premiere of The Magic Flute was on Friday, which we expected to be very good because (1) This is one of Mozart’s only operas in German (the rest are in Italian) and (2) Austrians love Mozart. The opera itself was disappointing—the singers weren’t anything special, the costumes seemed like those of a high school musical, and the orchestra and singing wasn’t in sync. The people watching, however, was fantastic. We saw a woman dressed in a corseted, aquamarine dress, which made me think of Ariel the Little Mermaid, Part XXXVIII. We saw men in full tuxes drinking 9 euro glasses of champagne. And, finally, we saw

Austrians making out in their box seats before the show started
Austrians
making out in the refreshment hall during intermission.

I know Friday night is date night, but I thought Italy was the country of love. I never saw this hanky panky at La Scala.

Maybe this is why Italy is shrinking and Austria is not.

Loafing is hard work

There are times now when I really miss Italy. I wish I could pop into a café and get an espresso for 75 eurocents. (Austria’s fault.) Or speak the native language. (My fault). Or not feel guilty about feeling busy but doing nothing. (Georgia’s fault). We don’t have internet in the apartment (instead, we have several mannequins, a hookah, and a paella pan), so I’ve taken to studying Accounting with the book Bain sent me.

It’s a fill in the blank workbook. Sample question:

“The Garsden Company balance sheet has two sides. The heading of the left side
is A_____, and the heading of the right side is L_________ and E______.”

New-hire training will also include finger painting and naptime! Just kidding. Consultants don’t take naps.

Why do I get vegetables by the kilo?

I went to the Nachtmarkt, which has a wonderful selection of spices and a surprising variety of asian food (homemade tofu!). Most of the produce comes from Italy.

My inability to speak German resulted in the purchase of one kilogram of spinach, which is in fact heavier than one kilogram of anything else because it comes with odd stares on the metro. (Imagine getting onto a crowded subway with a Costco-sized bag of carrots. Or a sofa pillow full of green leaves).