Author: Jen Sirois

The picture is of my host father and I dancing a traditional waltz at a wedding.

Adjusting to a study abroad program can be a challenging adventure, but by keeping active you’ll be able to start adjusting to life in a new country. Here are 30 things to do in the first month of your exchange!

Activities:

1. Spend lots of time outside of the house. Whether you live in a city or a rural town, there is always something to do.
2. Try local foods! Even if it looks gross, do it for the experience. Let your tongue be the judge, not your eyes.
3. Go to a wedding, funeral, or baptism. The customs are very different and interesting in each country.
4. Go to a festival or party to experience the celebration styles and music.
5. Do things with friends after school and on the weekends. Your new relationships should not be limited to your family.
6. Go shopping, and go to the non-touristy shops as well. It is very interesting to notice differences in fashion, the varieties of products, and the stores.
7. You might gain a few pounds or exhaust yourself from staying up late at a wedding, but it is totally worth it for the experiences you will have.
8. Learn a traditional dance or song from your host country. It’s very fun!
9. Every night. In twenty years, you’ll want to remember every detail of your exchange.

Family Life:

10. Talk with your host family. Read a book and relax in the family room, so that you have many opportunities for conversation. Your book can always wait-your experience abroad cannot!
11. Bake/cook a dish from your home country for your host family-they love to get a taste of your culture as well.
12. Don’t be afraid to ask your host family for small favors to make your transition easier and to make you happier (such as buying more fruit or going to yoga). They want you to be happy just as much as you do.
13. Give your family gifts. Gifts as small as pieces of candy with thank you notes attached show your appreciation.
14. Do things with your host siblings- if you have young siblings, play with them. If you have older siblings, see a movie or exercise with them.
15. Keep a clean room and offer to help clean the house. Most families appreciate tidiness.
16. Do the shopping every so often. You are an extra mouth to feed and this is one way you can thank your family.
17. Smile! Families get so sad when their exchange students are quiet and don’t show interest in activities.
18. Introduce your family to a popular movie in your home country. This will help them learn your language and your interests.
19. Buy a map of your home country and show your host family where you live, as well as major cities. They can put the map up in the kitchen or living room.
20. Show pictures of your biological family and home country to your host family.
21. Ask your host family to see pictures of their holidays, events, and family. They love it when you show interest in their lives.

Language Development:

22. Watch a little TV in your host country’s language. It will help you learn new words and understand the speech patterns more easily.
23. Learn ten new words a day. After a month, you will have learned three hundred words!
24. Read a book in your country’s language-you’ll develop your vocabulary and comprehension without even realizing it.

Dealing with Homesickness:

25. Expect the homesickness. It is much better to be prepared for it and not experience it than to experience it and be caught off-guard.
26. Bring food and listen to happy music from home. In the first two or three weeks, you will miss home. These things will make it better.
27. Sleep! You will be exhausted from learning a new language and adjusting to a new environment. You will be happier and less homesick and emotional if you sleep.
28. If you like to exercise, continue! It relieves stress. There are many types of exercise typical of each country. In Austria, I take a gymnastics class that specifically prepares people for skiing!
29. Make a schedule. A set schedule to talk with your biological family, exercise, do things with your host family, and have a little time to yourself will decrease homesickness and stress.

And, finally:

30. Remember what you came for. Enjoy the culture and don’t stay in your room all day. Try not to dwell on missing home too much, because when you do return home, you will regret not living in the moment. Don’t do anything that will buy you a ticket back home earlier than expected. Don’t be afraid to say “no” to an uncomfortable situation. Have fun, grow as a person, and learn more about yourself and the world than you have ever learned before!

Before coming to Austria to study abroad, I expected that the customs would be slightly different, but still very much Westernized. I was wrong. While Internet and electric appliances have made their places in each home, the traditions in Schardenberg, my town, remain very prevalent.

We drink coffee and eat little cakes in the afternoon, lunch is the most important and well prepared meal of the day, and the supermarket is about the size of an American gas station, while the church is the largest structure in town.

I recently attended a festival in nearby Passau, Germany, where many people (including me!) wore lederhosen or dirndls. Passau is only five minutes away from Schardenberg, and, despite being in different countries, they share much of the same culture and history.

Schardenberg is a tiny town that first started to grow about one thousand years ago and now has a little over 2,000 inhabitants. When people pass each other on the streets, they always say “Grüß dich!” which means “Hello!” in English.

There is a very strong community, and many people are related. There is a town soccer team and orchestra. My host sisters, Anna and Magda, play the piano and clarinet. They both sing as well. Everything is within walking distance, and people here walk very much. Last year, my sisters walked 900 meters to the bus stop each morning before school!

Many people partake in alpine walking. However, many fifteen- and sixteen-year-olds also ride on mopeds before they receive their car licenses at seventeen years old. The test for a license is much harder here than in America; the test here also requires that you know the parts of the car and how they work together.

The views from Schardenberg are incredible. The town is on a hill that overlooks a river valley (where Passau is). In the distance, you can see the snow-covered Alps, and in the foreground, you can see rolling fields and meadows. In one direction is Germany, and in another is Austria. While running is a little harder here, the views make the affair much easier.

Lunch is a very important meal, and we alternate who cooks it each day. Yesterday, we had potato soup and a traditional dish called Apfelreis. This is rice with cinnamon and apples mixed into it. The apples were fresh from the aunt’s apple tree! My family also has a garden with lots of fresh vegetables and herbs. In the garden is a row of solar panels; Austria is very eco-friendly. After lunch, we usually play a card game. They introduced me to Ligretto, a fast-paced game much like Skipbo. They are trying to learn the American way of shuffling, which they call the “Vegas” style.

The supermarket is very different from American supermarkets. There is no cheddar cheese, evaporated milk, or peanut butter to be found! Instead, there is lots of fresh meat and bread. They don’t provide plastic bags, so we take a purse or book bag to carry the groceries.

While shopping in Passau, I noticed that leather and zippers are popular on clothing. There are leather pants, leather jackets, and leather skirts, and there are extra, nonessential zippers on sweaters, shirts, pants, and jackets. These clothes are sold in popular American stores such as H&M and Forever 21, as well as in stores unique to Europe.

I watched an Austrian Futball game at a friend’s house, a game that received much attention from the media. This game qualified Austria to play in the European Cup for the first time, and every news channel showed the happy result the next day.

My German is getting better, and my family is very helpful in the learning process. Magda quizzed me on the German word for zipper (Reißverschluss) until I knew it by heart! I cannot understand the local dialect, but luckily, everyone knows Hochdeutsch (High German).

So far, this has been a very eye-opening experience. I never realized how much culture can be found in everyday life. Not only have I noticed cultural aspects here, but I have also realized what cultural habits we maintain in America.

by Sierra Winters

I have been in Austria for less than 48 hours, but it seems that I have been here for much longer. I have noticed so many differences in culture, and it helps tremendously to have a resident’s perspective and guidance on the Austrian customs and current events.

For instance, Magda, my younger sister, spoke to me about the upcoming elections and how worrisome and controversial they are due to the immigration problems. Every day, ten thousand Syrians flood into Austria escaping the war. This number is huge, especially considering the population of Austria is only about eight million. The Austrians don’t know how to provide for them-the Syrians must not take their jobs, but how can Austria just kick them out?

Another cultural difference is the food, which is great here, and I am glad that they can provide vegetarian food for me. I had the most delicious marmalade crêpe at a Film Festival. The drinking age in Austria is sixteen, and many young people were drinking wine at the Festival.

My German friend, Anna, said that there would be lots of bread for meals…she was right! For breakfast on Monday morning, we had amazing bread (some of it had pretzel dough interlaced) with marmalade and butter, and for dinner we had bread again, this time with butter, cheese, and fresh vegetables from their garden. Good food must come with a price though, and in this case I am not speaking of a large belly. When Austrians eat their food, they use a fork and knife, and keep both utensils in their hands the entire time they eat. It is not easy to eat a sandwich or a crêpe while holding a knife in your right hand and a fork in your left!

My family showed me many sights in Vienna, like the Parliament building and the Schönbrunn Castle, a summer home for royalty. Schönbrunn has the largest garden I have ever seen, complete with a zoo and several fountains and many flower beds. We walked up to the iconic building overlooking the garden, where the prince used to have breakfast. It had a gorgeous view of the city.

Our flat was in the heart of Vienna, directly next to the Rathaus, or the local government building. We also went to a film festival, where there was lots of traditional food and a play showing on a large screen for everyone to watch. Transportation fees in Vienna are on the honor system-we may or may not have forgotten to buy me a ticket. Oops…

After shopping in Vienna, we drove about 2 ½ hours to Schardenberg, where we live. It was mostly dark when we arrived, but I could still see the beautiful rolling hills. Running will be much more difficult here! When I entered the house, my mother, Margit, asked me to take off my shoes and she gave me a pair of slippers to wear instead. This is a common Austrian practice.

One of the first questions Magda asked me about America was can we “go out?” It turns out that in Austria, there are national curfews, similar to how minors cannot go to many malls at night on the weekends. Teenagers must be home by certain times according to their ages and where they are going.

The reality of partying is no subject that is purposefully ignored or strongly discouraged by the parents. Families are very honest about drinking (if they are of age). There is a much more honest environment here than where I live in America, and I think this makes for a much safer and more comfortable life.

The speed limit on the highways is between 100 and 130 km usually and on the backroads, it is 100 km. Thankfully, my family does not fit into the stereotype of reckless Austrian drivers.

Josef gave me three rules: no smoking, no drinking, and no kissing boys who don’t brush their teeth! The first day, we spoke mostly English, and now we are talking about 50/50. I can speak German well, but it is hard for me to understand it when other people speak it.