I Do, Indeed, Finally Fit In

In the middle of November, I wrote a blog post which unfortunately was lost to the depths of the Web when my Internet connection went dead. In it, I remember opining that I would probably first feel totally at home in Austria at my goodbye party, when I would realize that I actually was a valued member of Haus Salzburg for the short time I was there. I'm not quite ready to take my leave yet, but it is true that I both feel totally at home here and finally feel like the Austrians I know see me as someone who belongs here. A few vignettes from the weekend will show you what I mean.

Things that I Will Miss about Austria

1. Prickelndes Mineralwasser
2. The U-Bahn runs all night on Friday and Saturday
3. The man in the U-Bahn that says "Umsteigen zu den Linien U1, U3, 4, 5, 59A, sowie zu Lokalbahn nach Baden"
4. Eating slowly
5. Dialekt!
6. "geil"
7. Hearing German music when I go out
8. Gösser / Ottakringer / European beer
9. Getting made fun of for embarrassing things about America
10. Cooking my own meals (and going grocery shopping)
11. Four-hour dinners
12. Buying alcohol in a supermarket
13. Milka Schokolade
14. Getting to drop the H-Bomb in a new language

Re-Evaluation of My Goals for the Semester

Because I will be unable to attend the final discussion for the required Central College Abroad course next week (I have a final for another class), I was asked to write a response paper re-evaluating the goals I had made at the beginning of the semester and reflecting upon my experience in Wien overall. Again, I'll try to post a translation when I have time.

Migration / Integration

I wrote this as a reflection paper for one of my classes (Penetrating Ethnic Communities) after we visited a mosque and speaking with some of its leaders about what it's like to be Turkish and/or Muslim in Austria. Writing it really helped me to clarify a lot of my thoughts on integration and xenophobia (Ausländerfeindlichkeit) in Austria. It's in German right now (I'll try to post a translation later), but I wanted to post it here anyway, both because I think it's important to understanding what I've learned here and because I want documentation of my German skills at this specific moment -- no matter if I advance or regress after this semester is over, I'll know that at one point, I could write semi-fluently.

It's the Final Countdown

January 27. The day I leave Austria with no pre-determined date of return. The day that's been looming in my mind ever since I returned last Thursday. Everytime I look at a calendar, I get a panicked feeling in the pit of my stomach. I don't want this experience to end.

Reflections upon Coming Back

I was giddy with joy (and from exhaustion after a 30-hour trip) when I first stepped onto Austrian soil after two weeks in America for Christmas. I was once again confronted with everything that I had missed during break --- sparkling water (from Vöslauer, with the purple cap), Mülltrennung (garbage separation), the woman in the U-Bahn who announces "Zug fährt ab"--- and yet, it seemed different somehow. Normal. Alltäglich. I no longer added "... in Austria" in my head everytime I did something. I think I annoyed my family whenever I talked about Austria as "home" during the break, but it was only when I came back to Austria that I first realized how home-y it has become. And home is always a little boring -- it's the comfort of the familiar rather than the excitement of the new.