Category: Graz

Posted on

The end

Today was the last day of the program. We did not really have class today, but instead we went to a cafe across the street and had coffee and cake.

Overall, it was a very sad day. After a few hours people began to leave, and I suddenly realized that I may never again see some of them.

Last night was our Abschiedsfest, a nice dinner with all the host families followed by a few performances by the students. I contributed by singing a song with a couple other students to Volker Horn who is the Resident Coordinator for the program.

Volker is in charge of all the housing arrangements and trip arrangements for the program. He is also a really great guy who seems a little shy at times. So one can easily picture the look on his face when we pulled in front of everybody and started singing a song to him.

It was great. Although he was very embarrassed, he told me later that he really liked and appreciated the song. (I’ll try to get a copy of the lyrics posted here soon.)

In all, the Abschiedsfest was a big success, and a great way to cap off the program. But it was ultimately sad because it was basically the end of the program.

Tomorrow morning around 5 a.m. I am heading to Venice, Italy. I am not sure how much internet access I will have after I leave Graz so I must apologize in advance if this blog gets a bit boring in the next week. Hopefully I can find an internet cafe in Venice where I can write a quick blog post or two.

When I return to America in a couple weeks, I will be posting an in-depth analysis of the program and my time in Graz. I did not want to hastily post something today, but rather have some time to reflect a bit on the experience first.

Posted on

Reservations?

I have my train reservations made for Venice and back … finally. I have been putting it off for weeks, which is really sad considering I have been through the train station five times in the past two weeks.

Since I am traveling with a Eurail Pass, I also got it verified at the ticket counter today.

Just my luck, I happened to pick the lady at the ticket counter who was having a case of the “Mondays.” She was not rude, but I could tell that she was not happy about something. Also, she seemed as though she was mad at me for asking for something.

The whole experience rattled my cage a bit since the well-known stereotype for Austrians is friendliness. I definitely did not see that today.

As far as the friendliness stereotype goes, I have not seen it. It’s not that everyone is mean here, but rather that Austrians don’t sing merry songs while skipping to work everyday like the stereotype implies.

Posted on

In the country

Austrian Countryside

Today I took a drive with my host family into southern Styria. This was the first time that I had been out into the heart of Styria and away from Graz.

Graz, like most big cities, is completely different from the outlying areas that surround it. Technically I have been living in Styria for the past five months, but in reality today was the first time I had explored the area.

Styria has a bunch of what the locals call hills. But the Austrian definition of a hill is different from the American definition. Some of the “hills” here as tall as the Smokey Mountains. My theory on this is that they are called hills because they in do way compare to the Alps in the Western Austria.

Styria is also known for its wine. Wineries cover a large portion of the hills, and Buschenschanks (wine pubs) can be found in almost every small village.

Life has a much slower pace out in the country in countrast to the fast-moving life in Graz. It was so amazing to just set in a hill-top Buschenschank today and just gaze at the valley below. In all it was a pretty neat day. We did not see a bunch of flashy, touristy stuff that one might find in Vienna or Salzburg. But then again I liked it that way.

Posted on

One week

In one week, I will be in Venice.

Right now I am a little scared, a little anxious and a little sad to be leaving Graz.

That said, this next week will be one helluva week. Monday we will be visiting the synagogue in Graz. Apparently the synagogue was built by the city and given to the local Jewish community as “an act against forgetting” the Holocaust.

The building, built partially with bricks from the original synagogue destroyed in 1938, was dedicated on the anniversary of Kristallnacht in 2000. (Here is an interesting story about the building.)

After Monday, the “fun” begins. Wednesday I have a language essay test followed by culture essay test on Thursday.

On Wednesday I am hoping to do a Church Crawl in Graz. As of yet no one in the group is interested, but I am hoping more people will want to come. My plan is to see all the churches in Graz in one evening after school.

Thursday evening is our “Abschiedsfest” or going away party. We are supposed to be coming up with something to perform there for our families. I am kind of excited about it. It sounds very interesting.

Friday is our last official school day although we are not having regular class. The only thing on the schedule is a visit to a Cafe Sacher located across the street from the building where we have school.

Finally Saturday morning is when I leave for Venice. I had to change some things around on my itinerary again so I would have enough time to change trains. Now I am set to leave the house at 5:30 a.m. in order to make it to the train station by 6:54 a.m.

It should be a very interesting week.

Posted on

Fuel prices

Fuel prices as of Tuesday:

Gasoline – $5.80 per gallon
Diesel – $5.14 per gallon

Not surprisingly the station where I got these prices was not very busy unlike most stations in America. Since I have been here, I have not seen more than one car at a fuel station at one time.

Posted on

Hooters

On our way to Riegersberg on Saturday, we spotted a Hooters out by the UPC Stadion. So naturally we had to go eat there to see if there were any cultural differences.

I had heard that the Hooters in Austria is a totally different experience because the waitresses wear more clothes.

Totally untrue.

It was in fact the opposite. In addition, the food was good, which immediately separates it from the American restaurant. I was not disappointed when I noticed that they did not have buffalo wings on the menu.

But the thing that surprised me the most about the place was how fast we got our food. We walked it, took a seat, ordered and had our meals in five minutes. (Our beers were there in two minutes.) It was simply amazing.

Posted on

Homework

It is really cool to be in Austria, but right now I am really hating the homework.

Since I am studying through the university, I am in fact taking six credit hours worth of classes here. Each morning at 8 a.m., I have Sprachunterricht (language) followed by a contemporary Austrian culture class.

For the language class, we are reading “Das ewige Leben” by Wolf Haas. It is a detective novel set in Graz. That makes it interesting since I go by some of the places mentioned in the book during my morning ride to class.

But other than the setting, this book stinks. It is incredibly hard to understand and the author has a bad habit of rambling about nothing for pages. On average, it takes me between four and five hours a night to read a single 10-page chapter in the book.

My instructor told me it should not take that long to read and to “quit taking it so seriously.” But I do not want to read through it quickly then fail the final over the book. Come on, it’s homework. You have to take it seriously.

On top of the nightly reading assignment we also have exercises out of our grammar book to do. These are not as bad as the book, but they do take a fair amount of time nonetheless.

Anymore it just feels like all I get done anymore is homework. When I get it done. I feel as though I am spending too much time inside at my desk doing homework and too little time out experiencing the culture.

In short, I am really frustrated with my classes right now.

Posted on

Riegersburg

Riegersburg, Austria

Today the group took an all-day trip to Riegersburg to visit a castle.

The bus left around 2 p.m., and it was literally an all-day trip since we did not return until late in the evening.

Our only stop on the way there was a chocolate factory. The factory manufactures hundreds of different flavors including a chicken-favored chocolate. Ick.

After a tour of the castle, we made a stop at a local winery and sampled some local wine.

When we finally got back to Graz, I went with a few students from the group to a local cafe where we sat outside the cafe and drank. The cafe is apparently a popular hangout for local journalists and the inside of the cafe is decked out with typewriters and newspapers on the wall.

Posted on

McBeer

A Beer at McDonald's

I finally did it. I finally crossed something off my to-do list for this trip. I had a beer at McDonald’s.

Ever since I got here a week ago, several people have asked me whether I am experiencing culture shock. Honestly I had not until I went into McDonald’s today and order a beer.

For the most part the McDonald’s here are not very different from American McDonald’s. Both are full of noisy kids, parents who probably need a beer and nasty food. The Jakominiplatz McDonald’s where we went was full of noisy kids pushing and shoving their way to the counter. I now understand why they have beer at McDonald’s here.

I was a little disappointed because my original goal was to have a Happy Meal with a beer, but the lady at the counter refused to fill that order. I ended up with a Cheeseburger, French Fries and a beer.

Although the food McSucked just like in America, the beer was surprisingly not bad. In fact, I think it was much better than the one I had earlier in the week at the Eckstein restaurant. The beer was light and went down pretty smooth.

Da-Da-Da-Da-Da! I’m tipsy!

Posted on

VinziDorf

After our regular classes today, the group took a trip across Graz to visit VinziDorf, a home for the homeless.

VinziDorf is a church-ran program that takes in homeless no matter their situation. Unlike some programs where the homeless have to find jobs or get kicked out, VinziDorf allows the residents to stay as long as they wish and do as little as they wish.

It is called VinziDorf (Dorf is German for village) because the community is comprised of several “containers” where the residents are housed. They even elect someone from the community to be the Burgermeister (mayor).

Many of the residents at VinziDorf are alcoholics who do not wish to give up alcohol. The program allows them to bring their beer and wine with them, and has a very hands-off attitude.

The only time the alcohol is taken away from them is when they are drunk and causing trouble. It is normally returned to them after they have sobered up the next morning.

The reason that alcohol is allowed is that many times the homeless will refuse shelter if it requires them to give up their alcohol.

VinziDorf was by far one of the most practical things that I have seen since I landed here. It is really great what this church and its volunteers do for the less-fortunate in Graz.