I.
My landlady and her husband speak in heavy Salzburger dialect. Which means that I understand about 65% of what she says, and that our conversations usually go something like this:
Landlady: "Have the roommates shown you how to use the washing machine yet?"
Me: "Nope, I don't start work until Monday."
Landlady's husband: "If you prefer, you can pay the rent in cash instead of with Dauerauftrag."
Me: "Yeah, I thought it was a beautiful day yesterday as well."
Her and her husband always have a way of looking highly amused every time I ring the doorbell to talk to them about something.
I admit that I have not taken a single picture of Salzburg so far...I know...now that everyone has arrived and orientation is behind us, all of us TAs here are just starting to explore and go on outings. Last night we met at a brewery, and today were are going to an opera. So I should have many more pictures to come soon!
In order for anything to get done in Austria, the stars must align and the gods must look favorably upon us. Which is why almost two weeks into my tenure here and I am still not registered with the local authorities. Not that they care. Austria, being positioned between Italy and Germany, approaches rules in a sort of some-rules-are-made-to-be-broken way. So in order to register, the following needs to happen: I have to be in town, my landlady needs to be in town, and the Meldeamt needs to be open. In the entire time that I have been here, all of these things have only happened once, which was the afternoon I got here.
I don't really know how anything gets done in Austria, though you could easily add Germany and much of W. Europe to the mix. Banks, magistrates, and basically every institution necessary to establishing one's residency and LIFE are seemingly never open. Forget about getting anything of importance or of any official capacity done on the weekend or in the afternoon. I was able to get the brunt of it all figured out before I left for Saalbach, but I still have loose ends to tie up. And having left on Monday morning for orientation and gotten back on Friday afternoon, that's two weekends in a row, which means every place I need has been closed. So in sum...while it's not a difficult process, it is a long one!
My landlady is going to California next month to visit her son. She said she is excited to go to the store late on a weekend night to buy groceries. When I asked her on Friday if the Meldeamt was open that afternoon so that I could finally submit my registration papers, she laughed like it was the funniest thing she had heard all year: "Are you kidding me? On a Friday in Austria?"
Don't even get me started about the continuing nightmare that is setting up internet in my apartment.
II.
I arrived in Salzburg on September 18th and immediately got to work completing the bureaucracy I described above. I was one of the first TAs to arrive in Salzburg, so I was really glad when Rachel arrived later in the week and I finally had some social interaction and someone to run boring errands with. The parentals came for the week (FREE FOOD AND EVERYTHING PAID FOR) and brought me my bike, which I've been using a lot to get around.
On Monday a big group of us British and American TAs here in Slzburg traveled to Saalbach Hinterglemm together for a week long orientation. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. It was about as idyllic of a setting as it gets.
This last picture was taken when we went hiking one afternoon. Our orientation leaders, all either Austrian or having lived here for decades, described it as a "walk." The leaders, anywhere from 10-40 years our senior, practically ran straight up the mountain. The rest of us Americans and Brits, used to somewhat flatter landscapes, finally made it up the mountain in several ragged bands huffing and puffing the whole way.
This whole Salzburg experience really proves what a small world we (or I?) live in...in addition to some Wooster friends who live in Salzburg or nearby, I met so many people at orientation with random connections to either Wooster or who know people there. Home away from Home!
My landlady and her husband speak in heavy Salzburger dialect. Which means that I understand about 65% of what she says, and that our conversations usually go something like this:
Landlady: "Have the roommates shown you how to use the washing machine yet?"
Me: "Nope, I don't start work until Monday."
Landlady's husband: "If you prefer, you can pay the rent in cash instead of with Dauerauftrag."
Me: "Yeah, I thought it was a beautiful day yesterday as well."
Her and her husband always have a way of looking highly amused every time I ring the doorbell to talk to them about something.
I admit that I have not taken a single picture of Salzburg so far...I know...now that everyone has arrived and orientation is behind us, all of us TAs here are just starting to explore and go on outings. Last night we met at a brewery, and today were are going to an opera. So I should have many more pictures to come soon!
In order for anything to get done in Austria, the stars must align and the gods must look favorably upon us. Which is why almost two weeks into my tenure here and I am still not registered with the local authorities. Not that they care. Austria, being positioned between Italy and Germany, approaches rules in a sort of some-rules-are-made-to-be-broken way. So in order to register, the following needs to happen: I have to be in town, my landlady needs to be in town, and the Meldeamt needs to be open. In the entire time that I have been here, all of these things have only happened once, which was the afternoon I got here.
I don't really know how anything gets done in Austria, though you could easily add Germany and much of W. Europe to the mix. Banks, magistrates, and basically every institution necessary to establishing one's residency and LIFE are seemingly never open. Forget about getting anything of importance or of any official capacity done on the weekend or in the afternoon. I was able to get the brunt of it all figured out before I left for Saalbach, but I still have loose ends to tie up. And having left on Monday morning for orientation and gotten back on Friday afternoon, that's two weekends in a row, which means every place I need has been closed. So in sum...while it's not a difficult process, it is a long one!
My landlady is going to California next month to visit her son. She said she is excited to go to the store late on a weekend night to buy groceries. When I asked her on Friday if the Meldeamt was open that afternoon so that I could finally submit my registration papers, she laughed like it was the funniest thing she had heard all year: "Are you kidding me? On a Friday in Austria?"
Don't even get me started about the continuing nightmare that is setting up internet in my apartment.
II.
I arrived in Salzburg on September 18th and immediately got to work completing the bureaucracy I described above. I was one of the first TAs to arrive in Salzburg, so I was really glad when Rachel arrived later in the week and I finally had some social interaction and someone to run boring errands with. The parentals came for the week (
On Monday a big group of us British and American TAs here in Slzburg traveled to Saalbach Hinterglemm together for a week long orientation. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. It was about as idyllic of a setting as it gets.
This last picture was taken when we went hiking one afternoon. Our orientation leaders, all either Austrian or having lived here for decades, described it as a "walk." The leaders, anywhere from 10-40 years our senior, practically ran straight up the mountain. The rest of us Americans and Brits, used to somewhat flatter landscapes, finally made it up the mountain in several ragged bands huffing and puffing the whole way.
This whole Salzburg experience really proves what a small world we (or I?) live in...in addition to some Wooster friends who live in Salzburg or nearby, I met so many people at orientation with random connections to either Wooster or who know people there. Home away from Home!
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