‘ SALZBURG, Austria-‘ To my disappointment, the Austrians don’t say that when fencing. I don’t even know if the Americans or French say that when fencing, but that doesn’t affect my newfound love for the sport. ‘ This past weekend I participated in my first non-class tournament, a hobby-level venture called Salzburger MuskeStier, a wonderful play on a musketeer turned steer. ‘ Unfortunately, I cannot impress all of you with an outstanding display of fencing skills from me; the most I can do is say that I did not fail miserably when pitted against fencers who all had much more training and skill than me. ‘ I don’t count a 0-13 record as a failure. You may laugh or think that I am a bit silly, but I did not lose because I did not try. I improved as I went, and the final match I fought was definitely my best. I also learned some things about my fencing style and where I frequently leave myself open for attack. ‘ My friend Laura, who is in my fencing class, competed in the tournament with me and also went 0-13. Even though were the least experienced of the group (participants were supposed to have taken the beginners test, which we haven’t done), we were congratulated for our bravery and willingness to participate, along with widening the internationality of the contest, as I brought the USA and Laura brought Germany and Italy. ‘ Participating in this tournament proved beneficial because I learned some new vocabulary and how to properly do some things Austrian-style. First I was scolded for not eating my Frankfurter with mustard and told that ketchup is only for K’auml;sekrainer, a sausage filled with cheese (and my favorite kind). ‘ Later I was stared at for eating my Pinzgauer Kasnockn, a Salzburg specialty of cheesy sp’auml;tzle, with only a fork (I think I’ve mentioned the Austrians’ love of eating everything with a fork and knife before), but was then told that there is no official rule for silverware usage. ‘ The next lesson came as I incorrectly toasted with my glass of Wei’szlig;bier. I hadn’t known there were different toasting practices for the type of beer and the type of glass it comes in. A mug, which would be filled with a lager-style beer, requires a toast with the rims of the glass touching. ‘ A white beer, which is an ale, is served in a glass that is slender and tapers at the top and requires a touch at the bottom of the glass. That is what I did not do, but now I know. My Wei’szlig;bier knowledge was also increased with a pouring demonstration. ‘ I hadn’t known that I would get so much out of a day with fencers. ‘ My weekend also included a holiday that I slept through, an afternoon at the pool, and fencing strategizing. I managed to fit in some homework as well, because exams begin this Monday. It’s hard going to class and taking finals at the same time (this system is absolutely bl’ouml;d (foolish), as we would say here), so I have big plans to start preparing earlier this time around. ‘ And speaking of exams, that means my return is ever-so-quickly approaching in two weeks. But I don’t like thinking about that because it will be here sooner than I’d like. ‘