The American Way

Last night I sat by the fire with the Austrians again. I have to clarify what I said before, though, Christian and Gerhard are mountain climbers and Barbara is here visiting them for the last leg of their journey, so I don't think she's a mountain climber. Christian is headed back to Austria at the end of the week while Gerhard and Barbara stay behind to travel a bit more. I feel bad for them because when they get back from their trip they all have to work the next day! There is a 10 hour time difference between here and Austria! Ouch! I told Barbara to take the day off because she's an anaesthesiologist. I'm sure they'll be okay.

I had a good time talking with them last night. They're very intelligent and interesting people. I learned about a new way of building tunnels pioneered by the Austrians, which is something these guys are involved in I think because I'm assuming the new tunnel they're working on is being built that way. Usually in tunnel construction they blast out tons of rock and then cement the hell out of the inside. This new way they blast out the rock and then they pay attention to it for some time to see how the rock behaves on its own and they tailor the inner tube of the tunnel based on the rock behavior so that it can move with the rock instead of being crumbled away when the rock shifts over time (or at least that's how I understood it). I told them they were more than welcome to come fix The Big Dig! Turns out they do have a few offices in the US, too. They're building something in San Francisco right now, but I'm not sure what.

I've been talking with them about my plans after here and I mentioned I'm considering where in Europe I'd want to visit, so they told me about some areas. They've all traveled all around the world because other countries know how to have a vacation, damnit! They get 2 months vacation EVERY YEAR! It isn't just their professions, either, that's somewhat normal! We Americans need to work on that. There are a lot of things we need to work on! At one point, Gerhard asked me, "how is it that you got to be so critical of the American way of life?" hahahaha!! At first I thought I wasn't and I thought he asked because I was making fun of fried fish, talking about how gross it is and how it ruins the delicate flavor of fish. Before that I think I was making fun of the people that go through the drive through, get the supersize meal and then order a diet coke to offset it and be 'healthy.' And before that I was making fun of how Americans live by the clock when they eat at a restaurant so it's not a leisurely thing, and how Americans live by the clock in everything else, for that matter. So, yeah, I suppose I am critical of the American way of life.