Hello blogosphere, short time no see. Sorry that it's taken me till now to update what has been going on my in life, the general lack of enthusiasm at the beginning of the week combined with a quick trip to Vienna the second half of the week has been keeping me busy enough to stay away from my computer for at least 3 whole days. Imagine that being possible!! It was almost liberating.
This week at work has been for some reason highly stressful, yet very unfulfilling. You think that the stress should be worth something after all, but my Monday-Wednesday classes just did not fulfill this expectation...and in fact, these three days were terribly underwhelming more than anything. I am forgotten on a daily basis, and while this sometimes is a welcomed break, it is also sometimes a little disheartening to know that you are easily forgotten in someone's little world. So it goes.
Anyway, after a quick trip to Bischofshofen on Wednesday to see Fleur with Keri, I was off again the very next morning to WIEEEEN. Wien is a far "cooler" town than Salzburg is in terms of size, things to do, dining options...but as I've said before, Vienna has class, Salzburg has charm. Salzburg is terribly charming and has far more heart than Vienna ever could (that is not to say that the trip was a complete bust), and while that may also be based heavily upon my own personal views (because we have such a fabulous group), I truly believe that Salzburg in general is really a beauty of its own. Vienna has all the modern conveniences that one might need, but the anonymity of it seems...so lonesome. When I think of Vienna, I think of the song lyrics from Kleingeldprinzessin, "Selten, aber manchmal, fühle ich mich unter tausend Menschen allein"which roughly translates to: "Rarely but sometimes, I feel alone even though surrounded by thousands of others"(this is far more poetic in German, and it's almost 2am, gimme a break). I did quite enjoy Vienna though, especially because I went with people who had lived there before and who could get me to the places I needed to go to. Always a win when you have a place to go/you know where you are going.
I went to Vienna to attend a supplemental conference to our first introductory session in Hinterglemm, and while some of the information was interesting, I really just went to check out what the Wien TAs are like and to not have to suffer through another day of work. A precious few of the Wieners were nearly as cool as the Salzburgers, so that was endearing. Thank god our group really is as cool as it seems sometimes!
I do have to mention though, that while there are certain things in Austria which I can get used to (such as the following: the buses NEVER being on schedule, the fact that it will take 8 years for your waiter to come back to your table after being asked what you would like to eat and drink immediately after sitting down, shops being closed in Sundays), I have to say that getting to know the culture and politics of Austrian behavior is fascinating. Austria has a culture that enjoys nothing more than to be reminded how great it is, how wonderful it's people are, and how "generous" it is. We went through 3 full rounds of thanking the exact same people, the same bureaucratic figure heads who we always thank, and who always show up to be thanked although I'm not quite sure they deserve the recognition that they get. Yes, they may be "important people", but really what makes them any more important than anyone else?
I decided to try to figure this out by introducing myself with Nebby to both the Minister of Education for all of Austria, as well as the Fulbright Executive Director. These two people are higher ups, who make the calls, who can get you in or out in the blink of an eye. Unfortunately these conversations happened after 3 glasses of champagne on an empty stomach in an overheated room, so minus the mild sweating that happened, I can only imagine that I left at least a positive impression. I talked with the Minister of Education for a good 5 minutes, solely auf Deutsch mind you, and he was very complimentary on my German. The fact that he could not believe that I did not learn it as my mother tongue as a child was an absolute SCORE in my book, and the highest of all compliments to receive.
While he was nice enough, he started to mention how he thought it was great that all the Americans travel all over Austria (within the province) to their different schools and never complain. Hah. What was I supposed to say to that? "Yes, we love traveling out of our way to schools that are waaaay the FUCK out of town. As an American, I enjoy wasting my time, thanks for that opportunity". No no, that was not said, I tried to be as polite as possible and just say, "Naja, wir müssen hin wo wir müssen hin. Es gibt nichts dazu zu sagen! Die Schulen brauchen uns." ("Well, we gotta go where we gotta go! And that's that! The schools need us.") All I could think about are the people who get up at 4am and kill themselves to make it to school by 7, and are almost dead for the rest of the week. It's tough.
The second person who I met was the director of the Fulbright commission. My. What can I say about him in such an open forum....I'll say that he was very interesting, in the Minnesota sense. He's actually from Minnesota, and knew exactly where St. Olaf is, and gave me a quick, "God Bless" for going there. When I asked him where he is from (With a last name like Johnson...you must be from Minnesota. It's the Norweigan capital outside of Norway, I'm convinced), he told me he was from Golden Valley, but in the wonderful time before "rich and homosexual couples came in and ruined the neighborhood." Hmm. I'll leave you to make your own opinions about that one, but I have to say that it took me a milli-second to pick my jaw up off the floor for the homophobic comment, put it back in and make the surprised look on my face disappear instantly. After that biting quip, he started to rant on about how the youth of today are ruined by facebook and cellphones, and how staying in constant contact never allows you to experience anything outside of your online world. In his words, "You must learn to be lonely."
Once again, I leave that to your discretion to decide how you want to interpret it. All I know, is that even with these social networking sights and cell phones, being lonely is not a feeling you can really avoid im Ausland. I cannot say how appreciative I am to have things like internet, email, skype, and a cellphone...if I had to wait 4 months to send a letter when I was in Germany 2 years ago saying I had been to the doctor and found out bad news...well, I can just say, that I might not be here right now.
In any case, it was a very social interaction weekend. I'm fascinated by this type of culture and also terrified of it. I don't trust that this type of person might actually have my best interest in mind.
I guess that's life though, best to start recognizing it now.
All I can say is, Thank You parentals for teaching me early how to schmooze with the best of them. I am glad that I am able to weave my way in and out of this society, although I cannot say that I would want to stay in the pish-poshness of it all. Keeping up appearances seems like a waste of a life to me.
That's it for now folks. Let me simmer in my own thoughts for a while, and I'll get back to you.
LOTS OF LOVE!
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