First Impressions Report

            So many things are different and odd for me in this foreign world, I don’t know where to begin. I have come to accept the fact that I am a Auslander (foreigner) and I am going to embarrass myself time and time again throughout this coming year. I use the wrong soap, and my entire family laughs. I don’t know which spoon I should use. How in the world do these toilettes work? Wait that egg isn’t completely boiled? Oh good thing I just cracked it open! These instances of total confusion occur often for me, and I just have to shrug and laugh off the embarrassment.

            An initial thought for me was that everything is smaller here. Everything from lampposts and stoplights to spoons and trashcans are of smaller proportion. Even the cars are smaller. I have decided this is to accommodate the insane driving here. People fly all over the streets without any sense of all the cars around them. And somehow it plays out a beautifully choreographed yet chaotic traffic scene. I am thrilled that I am not allowed to drive here. I don’t know if I could handle it!

            My next realization about the coming year arose around my second meal time. I am going to be real fat. No doubt about it. Almost every meal here involves butter, sugar, or something fried. I have noticed that for breakfast, I should eat as much as I can because lunch doesn’t come until late afternoon. So my typical breakfast has become a poached egg, toast with jam or peanut butter, yogurt, and the occasional bowl of European cereal.

 

         

Dessert is always served with lunch, which has become my favorite meal of the day. My lunches range from paninis and pasta to soup and knudle (dumplings). The food at language camp was not so good, and we made common ‘second lunch’ trips to the local Chinese restaurant and pizza place. Dinner is usually not served until 8 or 9 at night, and is not very big. For example last night, I had tomato and cucumber salad, bread, and cantaloupe. With every meal I usually drink water or milk. No drinks here have ice in them. Actually, ice cubes don’t even exist. Ausrians are big fans of sparkling water, and if you order water at a restaurant you have to ask for it to be non-sparkling. Austria is famous for its apple juice. So at restaurants I usually order Apfelsäft spritzer (apple juice with sparkling water). Eating at restaurants is also different. There is never any rush. Often we wait an hour or two before even asking for the check. No one is trying to wrangle you out of the restaurant. Also, the waiters carry money with them and have a handheld electronic menu. So when you are finished they create the bill right there and you pay them then. It is very efficient.

            Vienna is a beautiful city. If a building isn’t two hundred years old, it is constructed to look like it is. In Vienna, I have discovered the world’s most classy Burger King. It is in a two hundred year old dance hall, with painted ceilings and gold columns. Everything seems so much more sophisticated this way. My first week here, I was touring the city with my host siblings and we decided to stop and have lunch on this fountain. I don’t think I will ever stop being amazed by the views.

Our Lunch Spot By the Fountain

 

            Everything is only a ten minute walk away in the city. The convenience of being so close to so many opportunities is new for me. I am excited to use my independence to explore the city and take care of myself. The music and arts in Vienna are unreal. I have already been to several art exhibitions, and the opera. I have seen street performers and flamenco dancers. And I am already totally thrilled about collecting all the art from this city and using it in my music and photography. I know this city holds many adventures for me, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to be here.