Cultural differences between Austria and America

The weeks really fly by. Mostly due to naps as I adjust to the eight hour time difference and the 6 a.m. breakfast schedule. To say the least, there have been a lot of things to get used to. The culture, although heavily influenced by America and still Adventist, is very different. I am not completely out of my element here as they do have haystacks on Sabbaths. Here are some of the biggest culture shocks I experienced this week and some other thoughts about Austria.

The people are very accomplished

I don’t want to generalize this to all of Europe but it is definitely true for the school. Pretty much everyone at the school is “accomplished.” Accomplished like in Pride and Prejudice: “must have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, all the modern languages, to deserve the word.” Everyone here is able to do all those things. Okay, well, maybe not drawing or dancing, but they play Fußball wonderfully well. The students and teachers all play instruments, and many people speak four languages fluently!

Polite but not warm (at first)

So far the Germans and Austrians that I have met are polite and nice but not particularly warm. The culture is more reserved. Sometimes it makes it difficult to read people. My Argentinian, Chilean and Italian friends are warmer, louder and have big personalities. However, as I have gotten to know more Germans and Austrians better, I have found them quite friendly and even warm. There just seems to be a larger barrier when first getting to know them. Overall, from my initial impression, I would call it an introverted culture. Being an introvert myself, I’m okay with that.

Recycling

Recycling is very important. I was told this by several Europeans before coming, but I don’t think I fully understood it then. The trash is extremely organized. Paper, plastic cardboard, glass, compost and one small random bin. Also, the cafeteria uses glass dishes, which, as you might imagine, is more work. I have dish duty on Mondays. It reminds me of the few weeks I worked at camp. Here, though, there are a lot more dishes. It surprises me how little trash I produce when I’m conscious of it and the trash can is small.

Be Pünktlich (punctual)

I come across this word more than any other in conversation. I think Germans and Austrians just really enjoy saying it. Even to casual events and activities in your free time it is important to be on time, and by that I mean a few minutes early. The Latin American students and I struggle to adapt to their standards. I think this has earned us a bit of a reputation. They certainly don’t neglect to comment on our arrival times. I am really working on it though.

Everything is smaller

The streets are smaller. The cars are smaller. The washing machines are smaller. The shower is much smaller. (If I were any bigger it would be a problem.) This is a relatively small difference, but I found it surprising anyways. When I commented on it my friends told me America was so extra and that we have everything big for no reason.

There are many other differences I could write about, such as everything being closed on Sundays, how everyone follows the rules and the fact that everyone goes to bed early, and I’m sure I’ll only discover more as time goes on.

By Sierra Lastine