Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

I've been home for two months now, and this distance from Vienna has made me consider many things about the past two years.

What have I learned in Austria?

1. Things on one side of the world are often very similar to things on the other, except for the expected linguistic difference.
2. Germany German and Austrian German are not the same.
3.  A big city is not a small town.
4. The Alps are magnificent. Alpine culture is fascinating, but not for everyone.
5. I can keep a blog better than I can keep a diary.
6. I should probably keep both a blog and a diary so I do not inadvertently over-share.
7. High schools students, re: #1
8. Certain cultural experiences are unavoidable.
9. Certain cultural differences are inexplicable.
10. The cultural differences that are both unavoidable and inexplicable will change you forever. They may also drive you crazy.
11. Americans claim to know nothing about Austria aside from schnitzel and Schwarzenegger, but if Americans actually knew what Austrian things have permeated our culture, they'd be a little freaked out.
12. Things that ALL Americans know but don't necessarily know are Austrian: apple strudel, Red Bull, Lipizzaner horses, the Austrian Alps, the Trachten, the croissant (yes, really!), the coffee house.
13. Once an Empire, always an Empire.
14. The farther east you go in Europe, the tougher it is to be vegetarian.
15. Even obstinate and independent gals will eventually miss their family.

What will I miss about Austria?

Well, I haven't been having any major waves of reverse culture shock. The scenery is a lot nicer in Austria, but the people are friendlier here - nothing beats good old American enthusiasm, though it does get annoying. I've lamented already about the overwhelming wait staff at restaurants in Green Bay, versus the more subtle Europeans (though my parents prefer the former). I miss the Austrian sense of historical perspective, the good food and - though I have noticed drastic changes in the marketing and distributing of "eco-friendly" products in the USA since my departure - the eco-consciousness of Austria as a whole.

Leaving Austria was not as sad as I had anticipated. It sort of felt like breaking up with someone you know isn't right for you anyway, even though they're a great person. Yeah. I'll leave it at that. After all, I'll always have my memories.

Mach Ma Party

So...we decided to have a party when I got back to the States to celebrate all the Austrian thing I experienced for the past two years.

chocolates - received as "going away" present

Yeah, I've been back since June. It's been interesting being back, since most everything is the same as how I left it. Weirdest was when I dated something as being in 2010 a few days ago--like the past two years haven't even existed! But they have, and that's what worries me.

I baked a Sachertorte for our guests, and Mom and I found Austrian and Hungarian wine at Festival Foods. Honestly, I was most excited about that--you don't find Grüner Veltliner in the States very often, which is likely because of the wine scandal in 1985. Some vintners were putting antifreeze in their wine. I found an old New York Times article on the subject for those interested: thank God for internet archiving!

Anyway, that's old news, and most Austrian winemakers work above board nowadays!

The party was yesterday, and went over quite well. We made a PowerPoint slideshow, Mom make Kaisersemmeln and pizza with eggplant (which she thinks is Austrian) and we enjoyed the company of some great people. We shared stories, and I got to see people I haven't seen for a very long time.

I feel like I'm getting closer to being at peace with my Austrian persona and American persona the more distance I get. Is that normal? I suppose it is. I felt for a while that, being in Austria, I didn't have much perspective on myself, but now I do.

It's gratifying, and not just because I can pig out on Mozartkugeln.

Family Values

Mom, Dad and Little Sister are here for two weeks to visit, after which I will be heading home for the summer. It's bittersweet, seeing them and sharing the past two years of my life intimately - going to all of my haunts, having them meet my friends. We're a close-knit family, but not in a creepy way. We all love and respect one another enough not to interfere with each other's lives. I've been living on the other side of the world for two years, for crying out loud! With my parents' blessing. And yet...the minute we get together, it's just like I'm 15 again, Sissy is 11, and this is just another family vacation.

It isn't, though. There's the rub. I have been living here, I've made my life in Vienna, for better or worse, but now  - just now that I feel as if everything is under control - I am going to leave to go home. I have been acting as tour guide and translator for the family for four days, and I'm exhausted. I was looking so forward to seeing everyone, and now it's as if all that is negated: like my life is being invaded.

It doesn't seem fair to everyone to say this, but it's how I feel. I know we'll get used to each other in a few days, and things will be fine. I still have to work, and pack. I'm worried about making sure everyone has a good time, about my luggage being overweight when I get to the airport, about finishing the school year on a good note and not sloughing off my duties just because my family's here - the list goes on.

My life here has been independent until now. I haven't had to be part of a family, really, but just look out for myself. The feeling is so freeing and nonrestrictive, it's like being high. It's something I needed - I still need - to be an adult, unburdened and happy about it. I keep thinking, even though Mom and I have been planning their trip for several months, my lifestyle had changed in a snap - overnight - and in two weeks, it will change again in an instant.

I wonder: am I ready to move on - and what have I truly learned from Austria?

One More Month

On June 8, I will be flying back to the United States for the summer. Although I'm sure with time and distance I will miss Vienna terribly, I am currently very happy with my ticket purchase and - more importantly - with my decision to go home.

I've been debating whether or not to do the summer camp for a second year. I decided against it, since, when I'm honest with myself, I am quite homesick. My parents are coming to visit on May 25, and that will cheer me up. I thought I might want a bit of time to myself after they left, perhaps another week to say goodbye to Vienna on my own. My living situation unfortunately does not allow for that, so my decisions are not my own, at least not entirely.

Since this is my last year with the teaching program, and I have not pursued a means to stay in Austria, I will not be coming back to Vienna to live anytime soon, but I will be in Europe (France) again next year. After some thought, I've decided this feels right to me. I need a familiar change in my life. That sounds like an oxymoron, but it's not. I need a situation different from the one I'm in, but not so different that it will be worse. Thus, I would like to do something I'm familiar with, but haven't done before. This precludes moving back home to Green Bay, at least permanently.

Ein kleines Update...

For those keeping up, my landlady recently moved back in from being abroad in the USA with her daughter to help take care of her new grandbaby. Over a weekend, my living situation dramatically changed. I'm sure it will all be great, but at the moment, I'm still in the struggling, "gotta get used to this" mode. The biggest struggle is sharing not only with Jo, but with her family - especially the other grandbabies that live in Vienna!


I like kids, don't get me wrong. But I haven't had to deal (up close and personal like) with babies since my 10th grade babysitting gigs stopped. Seriously. Listening to little screams the minute I get through the door from work is almost making me reconsider having my own kids. At least in the near future...although, they are pretty adorable when they're not screaming their heads off. Like most people.


School is school. My schedule is a lot different this year than last year. I'm teaching until 6pm twice a week (for Wahlpflichtfächer, or mandatory elective courses) which is a bit tiring, especially since last year I only taught in the mornings, having every afternoon free. It's a little depressing leaving and coming home in the dark - at this time of year, at least. 


Also, for those interested, I will officially not be coming home for Christmas. Unfortunately, I didn't book a flight early enough to get a good deal, and last-minute flights are ungodly expensive. This means I will be in Vienna for Christmas, or, failing that, traveling to somewhere close by. Hopefully to places I haven't been yet. I just got back from a weekend in Prague, and although that was really a lot of fun, despite chilly December weather and a couple of snafus, I'd been to Prague twice before. The upside is I got to play tour guide!


I'd like to get to some of the out-of-the-way places before I leave Austria. I've been thinking of doing places I haven't been yet, at least for day-excursions, like Eisenstadt, Innsbruck (I've only ever been in the train station), Southern Tirol (Bozen, for example) and other places I've heard good things about. Well, I guess Eisenstadt really only has a palace...but that's good enough for me. I can get my kick living vicariously through the former empirical nobility, can't I? 

Another Side of Thanksgiving

I suppose my last post was a little mean, and maybe I was feeling sorry for myself that I was missing out on Thanksgiving with my family in Wisconsin, being here in Vienna and all. I feel much better after partaking in a Thanksgiving party put on by my friend Jake - though I could have skipped the cooking for oodles of people part of the holiday (which Jake did most of anyway). Gross consumerism (re: Black Friday) is also evident everywhere, not just in the US. I can see it quite plainly just walking out my door onto Mariahiferstrasse, the Madison Avenue of Vienna, especially at this time of the year - Christmas shopping is in full swing.

Here are some photos of the Thanksgiving party:

It really amazed me how much effort Jake went through to get a dinner for ten prepared (with all the fixings). I come from the "lazy" school of entertaining, I guess. My mom never makes anything gourmet for our holiday celebrations - it would probably never go over with the traditional side of the family anyway. She normally does recipes she knows by heart, that take as little effort as possible, e.g. scalloped potatoes instead of mashed so she doesn't have to peel 6 pounds of potatoes. In any case, she always has time to make her own bread, which is really the best part of the meal, in my opinion. And really, who can blame her? I'm a pretty lazy chef myself.

Life in America

Mom, Sam and I went to Door County this week... These photos are a reflection of a January day on Lake Michigan.