Orientation in Graz

This week was the orientation in Graz for this year's English-language teaching assistants in Austria. Graz, pronounced GRAH-ts, is about 120 miles southwest of Vienna and is the capital of Styria (Steiermark). It is the second largest city in Austria, after Vienna, which is a bit of a joke considering that it can barely be classified a "city" at all. Whereas Vienna has 2.3 million inhabitants, Graz has 288,000, most of which are university students.

In Graz, we stayed in a "castle", specifically designed as a center for seminars. Each day, we listened to lectures designed to inform us about Austrian culture and we participated in workshops, designed to introduce us to teaching English in Austrian schools. The first lecturer gave a basic background of the program. The second lecture was a bit more interesting. Entitled "When Cultures Meet", the speaker challenged people's assumptions about Austria, about one another, and encouraged the audience to always be aware of what assumptions are being made and why. The third lecture was split between the Fulbright Commission and the British Council. Since the English-speaking teaching assistants not only come from the US, but also come from England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, the US-assistants spoke with the Fulbright Commission representatives while all the other assistants spoke with the British Council representatives.

Aside from lectures, the main part of the orientation consisted of workshops. The four workshops dealt with: games and activities, pictures and media, texts, and the basic structure of a lesson. We also prepared a lesson in groups, which we then taught in real schools throughout Graz. My group had a class of 25 13-year-olds (3rd grade in Austria). We introduced ourselves, talked a little bit about where we come from (US and England), held a Q&A session, talked about differences between American and British English (comparing it to the differences between German words in Austria and Germany), and played a game where the students had to match vocabulary from American and British English. After all this we still had a little bit of time left, so we played Hangman and answered more questions. When we were talking to the teacher after class, she told us that most of the students in the class were immigrants, which means that English is at least their third, if not fourth language. It was clear that some students did not speak German as their native language, but I wouldn't have guessed that this was actually the case for most of the students. As I listened to their classroom conversations, it seemed that they spoke better German than I did. In actuality, they probably just speak better slang than I do!

The teacher also commented that the thirteen-year-old third-graders are probably the toughest class to teach. If that's true, I feel fairly confident that I can handle the other classes. I've been told that I could be expected to teach students anywhere between 10 and 18 years old, but several past teaching assistants and another teacher at my school (who is also my landlady) said that I will probably be placed in the older, more advanced classes, i.e. 15- to 18-year-olds. That would certainly be my preference. Although I already have experience teaching 7- to 10-year-olds (as well as tutoring college students), I would feel more useful with the older classes. There's only so much you can do with the younger classes; the older classes are preparing for their Matura (huge graduation exam). They are nearly fluent at this point and can discuss meaningful topics pertaining to all sorts of aspects of society. Apparently, the favorite topic is the death penalty; I heard this multiple times from many different people throughout the orientation. Government structure is another common topic; I'll have to brush up on my knowledge of British government because apparently the students are required to compare the two.

So Monday is the Big Day. I will meet with my contact teacher at the Gymnasium (college-prep school for 10- to 18-year-olds) on Monday morning. After I fill out piles of paperwork, she should give my my basic schedule and I will need to fill in the details. From what I understand so far, she will arrange for me to teach in 10 to 13 different classes, meaning that I will come into each class once every 2 to 3 weeks. It will be my responsibility to introduce myself to each of the teachers and to discuss my role in each of their classes, i.e. listen to them tell me what they want me to do in their classes. At this point, I'm more worried about arranging a seemingly complicated teaching schedule than I am about actually teaching. We'll see what Monday brings.

Word of the Day: die FremdsprachenassistentIn = foreign-language teaching assistant (24 letters; the capital "I" is part of the German spelling reform (die Rechtschreibreform) and refers to both male and female assistants. Otherwise, die Assistentin = female assistant, der Assistent = male assistant)

Brunnenmarkt & other Viennese culinary adventures

I went to the Brunnenmarkt today, which is a large outdoor market mainly for produce, cheeses, and breads, but also for random clothing and houseware items. While I could have bought the couple of things I needed at a regular grocery store, I wanted to experience this market since several people had recommended it to me.

The best-known market in Vienna is called "Naschmarkt", which comes from the verb "naschen", meaning "to nibble" or "to graze". While the Naschmarkt does offer farm-fresh produce and some of the best Fladenbrot (Turkish bread) and baklava in Vienna, it is starting to lose its character as more and more tourist restaurants and cafes open alongside its more traditional vendors. Its prices have been steadily increasing while bargaining opportunities have been decreasing; essentially, it is turning into a tourist trap.

The Brunnenmarkt, on the other hand, is frequented almost exclusively by native Austrians (and operated almost exclusively by Turks). The prices are much cheaper than the Naschmarkt. It doesn't have any restaurants or cafes, but there are plenty nearby. I wanted to take a photograph of it today, but didn't want to brand myself as a tourist. Maybe I will next time.

Now that I've gone shopping a few times in both markets and grocery stores, I've noticed a few interesting peculiarities:

1. Austrian cucumbers (Gurken) are thinner than, and twice as long as, American cucumbers. They are curved in such a specific manner that people joke that the curve is regulated by the Ministry of Agriculture. They are also slightly sweeter than American cucumbers.

2. Potatoes and onions are nearly impossible to buy individually. They come only in five-pound sacks ("Sackerl" in Austrian). This must be Austria's not-so-subtle hint for people to eat lots of fried potatoes and onions. It's working ... potatoes and onions, preferably paired with some sort of Wurst, is a staple meal for families and restaurants alike.

3. For those of you who read about my experience with arugula-pesto a few weeks ago, you'll be happy to learn that Vienna does indeed sell regular basil pesto. I just wasn't paying attention and grabbed the wrong jar last time. To avoid future mix-ups and to literally spice up my kitchen a bit, I bought a basil plant today. It looks great sitting on the kitchen windowsill and it smells soooo good.

4. Speaking of smelling, I was walking home from the Strassenbahn (trolley) stop on one of my first nights in Vienna when I smelled an unmistakable smell: freshly roasted cocoa. Since then, I've noticed that around 8:00 every night, the entire neighborhood smells like cocoa. Apparently we have a chocolate factory on our street. I just have to find out where.

Österreich ist schön = Austria is beautiful.

"Österreich ist schön"
By Franzobel

Österreich? Ist das schön. Und hundertmal und überhaupt. Österreich ist schön, und schon schön ist Österreich. Ich bin hundertmal verliebt in Österreich. Und Österreich ist sehr schön, das lernen wir, hundertmal, dass Österreich richtig schön ist, und das ist das Schöne an Österreich, dass hundertmal schon die österreichischen Schulkinder lernen, wie schön und überall dieses Österreich nun ist, damit sie es nur ja nie mehr vergessen. Ist das schön. Und überhaupt. Die Sonne. Und damit sie es nur ja nie mehr vergessen, wie schön, schön Österreich ist, müssen schon die österreichischen Schulkinder hundertmal, hundertmal schreiben, Österreich ist schön. Ist das schön. So schön ist ¨Österreich, dass schon die Schulkinder es aufschreiben müssen. Müssen schreiben: Österreich fängt schön an, und schön hört Österreich auf. Ja. So ist das mit Österreich. Durch und durch schön. Hundertmal.

Austria! Is that beautiful. And a hundred times over, absolutely. Austria is beautiful and beautiful is Austria. I have fallen in love with Austria a hundred times over. And Austria is very beautiful, we learn that a hundred times, that Austria is truly beautiful, and that is the beauty of Austria, that the Austrian school children learn a hundred times how beautiful this Austria is, so that they never again forget it. Is that beautiful. And completely. The sun. And so that they never again forget how beautiful, beautiful Austria is, the Austrian school children must write a hundred times, a hundred times over, Austria is beautiful. Is that beautiful. Austria is so beautiful that even the school children must write it down. Must write: Austria begins beautifully and Austria comes beautifully to an end. Yes. So is it with Austria. Beautiful through and through. A hundred times.

This text was read in combination with two other critical texts about Austria at the closing ceremony of our teaching assistant orientation this week. The other two texts dealt with stereotypes of Austrian food and clothing, as well as with the mish-mash language affectionately called “Deut-lish” (part German, part English) that is familiar to many non-Natives in both German- and English-speaking countries.

Everyone knows—even the Austrian school children—that Austria is beautiful. From the Alps to the Neusiedler Lake to the hills of the Sound of Music, Austria offers enough beauty to please every palate. Austria truly lives off of its tourist industry. Yet it is interesting to hear the Natives’ perceptions of the tourist industry. Austrians are proud of their culture. The Sound of Music is not their culture. Austrians are proud of Mozart, of Schnitzel, of wine, of skiing, even of universities (and academic titles, of course). They are not necessarily proud of their past, especially leading up to and through WWII, but the tourist industry romanticizes all of that. Beautiful is Austria and beautiful it will remain.

Word of the Day: schön = beautiful

Lebkuchen

It’s official: I’m in love with Lebkuchen. Those puffy round gingerbread cookies topped with honey and powdered sugar—sometimes dipped in dark chocolate—have invaded all of the supermarkets here. It’s funny because you can’t find them anywhere back home except at the German Christmas markets. Here there are stacks upon stacks everywhere you turn. I’ve counted at least fifteen different brands and varieties, and those don’t even include the ones at the bakeries. The scary thing is that although Lebkuchen are occasionally served at Oktoberfest (which is this weekend in Munich), they are really made for Christmas, which is THREE MONTHS away. Lebkuchen might be the closest approximation to American pre-holiday consumerism that Austria has to offer.

Word of the Day: der Lebkuchen = literally “life-cake” = gingerbread / honey spice cookie

Orientation: Day #1

Orientation yesterday was absolutely exhausting, hence the reason I'm writing this morning instead of last night. We were welcomed by the Director of Austria's Fulbright Commission, whom several people in the room had only known previously as the author of countless Austrian history books. There were certainly some star-struck Fulbrighters.

The day's topics ranged from how to register with the authorities to how to register at the university to how to open a bank account. Most of these things I was able to complete last week before the orientation, but I am still waiting for some bank account information and should get this by Monday. There are a few interesting points to Austrian banking, the most interesting of which pertains to personal checks:

There are no personal checks here. In the words of the Fulbright Director yesterday, "Austrian banks have no idea what to do with a note written out to a person or firm with no bank account number and printed across a desert sunset. It looks fake to them." (Oh, and Euros look real?) Instead, people willingly give each other their bank account numbers so that they can transfer money electronically into one another's accounts at the nearest bank or online, without ever having to use personal checks.

Aside from finances, we spent a fair amount of time discussing the parameters of the Fulbright program: i.e. what we're supposed to be doing (and not doing), who and what exactly we represent, what our expectations should (and should not) be, etc. We were repeatedly told that although the Commission has a Secretariat (secretarial office), we should not rely on them to assist us through every single task. The Secretariat is there mainly to help with any major problems. This comment was followed by the comment: Some US university students "study abroad" without ever actually experiencing life "abroad" because their home university shelters them from so much. As I reflect upon waiting in line last week with all of the immigrants applying for work visas, I tend to think I have not been sheltered all that much here.

Two of last year's Fulbright Scholars spoke with us yesterday. One woman emphasized how our first priority is to the school where we are teaching, not to our research. If I were to change anything on the Fulbright application, it would be to clarify this point. The application focuses so much on the research project and gives the impression that the teaching is a "side job". I don't yet have a sense of how I am going to divide my time. I will theoretically teach for 12 hours per week, do my research at the university, and take 2-3 classes (though I'm leaning more towards 2, as I find out about the other demands on our time.) Scheduling is really a Catch-22: we don't get our teaching schedules until October 1, which is also the first day of university classes. Therefore, we can't register for exactly the classes we want because we don't know when we'll be teaching. I'm planning to register for as many diverse classes (and times) as I can and then drop the ones that do not fit with my teaching schedule. Oh, and by the way, Austrian universities have no idea what a Registrar is. For most classes, you either need to register in person with the professor or (if you're extremely lucky) register online for each class individually. I do have a slight advantage in that the Master's classes tend to start a week after the "official" begin of the semester, so I might have a little bit of extra time to figure out my schedule.

The final point of yesterday's orientation I'll comment on is the explanation of what we can and cannot do as Fulbright Scholars. After having volunteered with AmeriCorps for a year, where we weren't even allowed to register people to vote--and this was supposedly a citizenship program?!--I was relieved to hear that we ultimately retain our status as "private citizens". This means that we are free to do what we want as long as we comply with Austrian and EU law. "No flag-burning", the Director joked with us, but we can become involved with politics and controversial issues without having to worry about dis-identifying with the Fulbright program. We were warned that if we do make any controversial statements, we should mention that we are not making them in an official capacity as a program participant, but we are still entitled to our free speech regardless. Not that I plan to become involved in politics or make any controversial public statements ... but it's still good to know. I just wonder what previous participants have done to make such commentary necessary.

And on that note, I'm heading to Day #2 of the orientation. Today's topics include: higher education in Austria, the Austrian collective consciousness, and a tour of the city.

On the Eve of Orientation

Tomorrow begins our four-day Fulbright orientation. Each day begins bright and early at 9:30 am and lasts the entire day. Our schedule looks roughly as follows:

Wednesday
Welcome
Overview and distribution of orientation materials
Challenges of daily life in Austria
University enrollment
Tips for dealing with Natives

Thursday
Guest lecture: Higher education in Austria
Guest lecture: The Austrian "Condition"
Austrian residency permit
Walking tour of university

Friday
Guest lecture: Transatlantic relations and the European Union
Guest lecture: Austrian domestic political scene in transition
Tour of Austrian National Library

Saturday
Bus trip to Melk Monastery, Wachau, Danube Valley, and Dürnstein

~~~~

The program looks great, but I'm most excited about meeting everyone in our group. There's about 23 of us and I've met 7 so far.

Adventures at the Grocery Store

Apparently I need to pay more attention to ingredients of the products I buy here, even if I THINK I know what's in them. Case in point: I made some spaghetti with tomatoes and pesto tonight for dinner. I boiled the spaghetti, tossed in the tomatoes, was about to stir in the pesto when I smelled something a little strange in the pesto. The jar was fully sealed, so I checked the expiration date just in case: 2009--okay, no problem there. I then scanned the list of ingredients on the side of the jar's label. That's when I found it:

Since when is pesto made of ARUGULA?!?

I want arugula in my salad and BASIL in my pesto! Instead, this pesto contains: arugula, olive oil, pine nuts, capers, garlic, and pepper -- not even a pinch of basil. I've never heard of such a thing. I bought this pesto in a normal grocery store, not in a fancy gourmet shop where they might be more likely to include unusual ingredients.

Some other unexpected foods/ingredients sold in Austria:
1. Curry ketchup - everyone could use a little curry with their ketchup.
2. Boxed milk - needs refrigeration only when opened
3. Sweet tomato sauce for pasta - a la "everything in Vienna is better with sugar"
4. Müsli (granola-type cereal) with chocolate - see sugar comment above
5. Almdudler - "herbal" version of Coca-Cola

Word of the Day: die Rucola = arugula

Potential Courses for Winter Semester '07

I've registered for two Master's classes for the winter semester:

1. Water quality management for municipal and industrial water use

Topics include:
Typical uses and requirements of municipal and industrial water management
Institutional and legal conditions
Requirements for data aquisition and processing for decision support
Stakeholders within management processes, decision support systems and measures.
Examples for development and implementation.


2. Sustainable Development I - Principles of sustainable economies

Topics include:
Non-sustainable trends
Theories and concepts of sustainable development
History of the term "sustainable development"
Global networking
Integrated Sustainability Assessment
Measuring ecological sustainability
Empirical trends of environmental usage
Economics and sustainability
Labor and sustainability
Quality of life and happiness
Taxes and governance
Political instruments and measures

The courses this semester are primarily based in the social sciences, i.e. management and principles of sustainable development. Next semester, the department is offering some more technical case studies that I hope to participate in.

Things in the city that made me smile today

1. Registering at the university and finding out that the main building is surrounded by organic gardens and a quasi-forest
2. Getting my first research assignment -- Read Report X! Read Report Y! Read Report Z! Did I mention I have some reading ...?
3. Getting a free cell phone from one of my research advisors (though I still have to get a phone number).
4. Finally opening a (free) bank account
5. Finally signing my lease -- the apartment is MINE!
6. Decorating the apartment a little bit.
7. Stumbling upon three parks and a public outdoor swimming pool
8. Being mistaken for a native, and then being complimented on my German
9. Remembering my way around the city and not getting lost
10. Eating red raspberry gelato with REAL raspberries in it. Mmmm. Lecker.

Word of the Day: lächeln = to smile

COUSCOUS

I met the first four people of our group today for brunch. We sat for hours at a little cafe at the heart of the city, chatting long after we finished our meal. After touring the city, we were all a bit tired, so we went back to our perspective hotels/hostels/apartments to rest.

We met up later in the evening for dinner at an Arabic-Egyptian restaurant that we happened to find by wandering the back streets near one of our hotels. The Arabic-Egyptian culture combination brings many thoughts to mind, not the least of which is the way women are (mis)treated as second-class citizens in traditional society. Yet even though I may not agree with Arabic patriarchy, I cannot deny that their food is so good -- and cheap. I had a lentil soup (Linsensuppe) with cilantro that was out of this world. Then there was falafel and goat cheese and grilled veggies and, of course, couscous. We had enough food for a feast. I don't think we've tasted much "Austrian" fare yet, but we'll all be going back to COUSCOUS very soon.

Literary Living

I went to the library yesterday to pick up some reading material because I didn't bring anything with me to Vienna except my dictionary and grammar reference books. I picked up a German novel, an environmental engineering reference book, a cookbook, and a film. I was amazed at the section of foreign-language literature. There's English and Turkish and Spanish and French and Russian ... the list goes on and on. What's interesting is that most of the English-language books are actually mixed in with the German-language books. Most young people, by education and practically default, are bilingual here. Reading Harry Potter in English, for example, is just fun, not necessarily a challenge.
Hence, Americans are often defined in lingual communities as those who speak only one language. Stereotypes, stereotypes, stereotypes.

Word of the Day: die Bücherei = the public library

Austrian Bureaucracy

I spent the majority of Thursday trying to pick up two simple documents: 1. my residency permit, and 2. my national ID card. To get the residency permit, I sat in a waiting room for an hour and a half before I could even speak with a government official. To get the national ID card, I waited OUTSIDE a government office on the other side of the city from the first office with about 75 other people, all waiting to get their ID cards and working visas. Thank goodness we had good weather; I couldn't imaginge waiting that long in the cold.

As I stood in what was supposed to be a single-file line, I realized I had never felt more like a foreigner in my life. Simply by virtue of applying for these documents, I was automatically detected and labeled as "Foreigner", as "American", as "Other". Even so, I know I was lucky; I had filed the necessary paperwork months ago. Many of the people waiting in line didn't even know which forms to fill out, nor did they speak enough German or English to command the respect of the officials and get the assistance they needed. It was a frustrating experience for everyone involved, both applicants and officials.

Those of us waiting in line were (are) all non-Austrian citizens, Ausländer. You'd think there would be some sense of solidarity in that, but none was to be seen on Thursday. Instead, I watched some people struggle with and ultimately fail at basic communication--they were told to come back another day--others were rejected for missing documents, others were sent to fill out more forms, stand in more lines, and pay more money to more government officials.

I understand the need for documentation of people entering and leaving a country, but this level of twisted bureaucracy is ridiculous. There must be a better way.

Word of the Day: die Bürokratie = the bureaucracy

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood.

The sun is shining for the first time in weeks (and the for the first time since I’ve arrived). The temperature is in the mid70s. Absolutely herrlich, glorious. Don’t worry, I’m not sitting inside on the computer all day. I'm taking the subway to Schloss Schönbrunn--the palace and national gardens--in a few minutes. I’ve just stopped back at the apartment to make some lunch and pick up my camera. I’m considering buying a strap for my camera case, so that I can always have my camera on me. I find the best opportunities for photos at the most unsuspecting times. For example, on my way to the grocery store (Hofer = Aldi) this morning, I passed graffiti with the message “NAZIS RAUS”, which translates to “NAZIS OUT”. I know that there has been a surge of historical remembrance and searches for the “truth” about the Nazi era in Austria, especially among the younger generation, but to be confronted with that message in such a mundane setting really brought the point home. History, particularly history of WWII, is a part of everyday life here.

So ... back to the beautiful weather. Here are some pictures I took from my kitchen window today. More later.

EDIT: I'll figure out how to post photos directly on this blog when I come back from Schönbrunn. Ciao.

Word of the Day: die Vergangenheitsbewältigung = coming to terms with the past (That's 25 letters, 26 if you count "ä" as "ae".)

First Day in Vienna

I awoke this morning to the sound of an old-fashioned alarm, the kind that has metal bells for ringers. Someone who lived in the apartment before me kindly left it behind, so I set it to test it out. Yep, it works ... and it's LOUD. There will be no sleeping through that alarm!

My main task of the day was to meet with three professors at the university at which I'll be studying and researching -- the University of Natural Resources and Applied Sciences (Universität für Bodenkultur = BOKU). The name makes it sound like a technical or trade school, but actually it's an environmentally-based university and belongs to the network of undergraduate and graduate universities in Vienna. The meeting with the professors went really well. I'll post more tomorrow about my potential research options once I have a chance to read the various project reports and decide which project(s) I want to work on this year.

...

I thought I'd introduce a new feature to this blog: Word of the Day.
Today's word: die Wochenkarte [dee Vo'-ken-car'-teh] = seven-day public transportation ticket
I bought a ticket today, thinking that I could use it for next seven days until our orientation begins. Apparently the tickets are only good from Monday to Monday, so I lost two days. Oops. I'll be able to buy a semester ticket October 1 and then I can ride wherever I want on whatever mode of transportation I want without having to worry about having a valid ticket.

Welcome to Vienna!

I arrived safely in Vienna Tuesday afternoon after a 15-hour flight, including a 5-hour layover in Frankfurt. I slept through most of the flight from Philadelphia to Frankfurt and stayed awake for most of the flight from Frankfurt to Vienna. Once in Vienna, I took the train and subway to get to my final destination: the apartment where I'll be living for the next ten months. I was carrying one large suitcase, one duffel bag on wheels, a backpack, and a laptop. This was actually surprisingly manageable until I came to the stairway of the apartment building. My apartment is on the 3.Stock, which actually means the fourth floor. Luckily, the landlady met me at the front door on the ground floor and her husband was nice enough to carry my suitcase up the three flights of steps. I felt bad, letting him carry a 72-pound suitcase, but I was also quite grateful!

By the time I moved all my luggage into the apartment, the landlady gave me a quick tour, and we set up the wireless internet connection, it was about 6:00 pm. I bought a quick salad for dinner, made some tea, took a shower, and went to BED. I was asleep by 9:30 and slept soundly through the night.