Comparing "Home" to "Home"

The longer we live in Austria, the more of an adjustment we go through each time we visit the States. Austrian life, culture and routines have become our new normal and as such, returning to the U.S. has begun to feel "foreign". In some ways, American routines and ways of life are still a part of our DNA, and we do settle in after a period of time. But this takes longer and longer with each visit.

The things that we notice to be different between our former "home" and our current "home" also change. During this most recent visit to the States, there were differences that stood out to me that hadn't been as noticeable before. Here are a few...

• The Egg Yolks - Yes, the eggs are different in Austria (and perhaps Europe in general?) The egg yolks are bright orange. When we first moved to Vienna, we found this to be odd, but now, it is totally normal to us. When I first cracked open an egg in Minnesota, I exclaimed, "The egg yolks are so yellow here! How weird!" I had totally forgotten that this used to be normal to me. It may not seem like much, but it represented to me how much we have adjusted to our new home and how foreign our former country now seems.
• The Toilet Paper - The toilet paper in the U.S. is so soft! Enough said.
• The Restaurant Experience - This is a big one. There are several things about eating in a restaurant in the U.S. that are very different and have been difficult for me to get used to. Specifically...

• The cost of eating out is higher. Drinks are more expensive, food is also pricey, and you are expected to tip 20% (for a good reason...the servers depend on this for income). In Austria, drinks are cheap and tipping is more like rounding up. 
• There aren't coat racks everywhere. In Vienna, I always hang up my coat by the door. In the US, I have spent time looking for a coat rack in several restaurants, finally to realize that it's not very common.
• The bill! In Austria, you must ask to pay and sometimes track down your server to do so. I have come to appreciate this so much! But you can also sit and wait for awhile, before finding your server to ask for something. The benefit is you can take your time eating and are never rushed out the door. When you are ready for the bill, you ask for it. In the US, your server brings your bill as soon as you are finished and also checks on you often. After getting used to the Austrian system, this gives me the impression that they want me out the door as soon as possible, and I find the interruptions a bit of an inconvenience.
• Talking to Strangers - I have mentioned this before in previous blog posts, but it continues to astound me. People are so chatty in the US! I find myself being startled when strangers talk to me in public places. I should remember that they are just being friendly, but I'm no longer used to it.
• The Size of Things - In the US, everything is bigger - the cars, the open space, the stores (can we say "Target"?), the food portions, the houses, the highways...and I'm sure I could list many more. In the US, "bigger is better" is king, whereas in Austria, bigger can be considered wasteful or over-the-top.
• Where "Home" Is - In some ways, the US still feels like home to us. It will always be our native culture and after a period of time, we can slip back in. But now, we proudly and comfortably refer to Austria as "home" when we are talking to friends and family. Hearing someone say to us, "Welcome home", when we visit the US feels odd, because this is no longer our home. Home is now Vienna.

Photo credit: 5demayo from morguefile.com 
Photo credit: DMedina from morguefile.com

Signs of Spring

Part of the fun of having a new place to live in is that we get to try our hand at an herb and veggie garden again. The last time we were really able to attempt this was back in Illinois. We had mixed success last time around, but I (Nate) have been trying to learn all I can from the internet. We are only a week or so into it, and we already have sprouts. Today I got out my macro set up (taking close up pictures of things) to take some photos. Here are a few that I really liked!

baby sage leaf

Also sage. Once the first leaves sprout, these little ones form in between the stem.

Brand new mint leaves

This is zoomed in on the mint leaves. I really love the texture of the cells on the leaf.

The Significance of Our New Coat Rack

So today was a pretty big day - we got internet and a big chunk of our kitchen additions built! We have had a ton of help, but even with that, we have worked pretty hard the last week (yesterday marked a week since we have been back in Vienna). 

Just a minute ago, I looked over at our coat rack. Sure - it feels good to get something attached to the wall. Attaching something to the wall here can be a noisy process and a mess with a big drill. But this coat rack provides a more important sense of satisfaction.

It is funny, but having a place to put our coats makes this new apartment feel just a little bit more like home. It reminds us that this place will eventually feel like home - our home - and that we can stop flitting from place to place and really settle here. I know we won't be here forever, but it is a huge comfort to not just say, "when I am settled, I want that," but to actually be able to dream and make it a reality.

I think I am beginning to realize that we are finally done with this last stage. We are done with 3 months here or there. We are so thankful to be here and that God has sustained us through all of our wanderings. We are praying that we will faithfully serve him in the land he has led us into, building upon all that we've learned as we've experienced constant transition.

Things We are Getting Used To... (Part 2)

Now that we're in a new place, we thought we'd share with you again the things we're getting used to...

New team mates and friends!

We have joined Jeff and Sarah Fry with Darwin Park Community Church (the area is named after Charles Darwin's grand father Erasmus who was born here and was kind of a big deal).

Tea!

We are drinking more tea than ever now that we are in England. We have even learned how to prepare it properly. The trick is in the wrist.

Self-directed Studying

This new stage means we do a lot more self directed studying and working with a tutor twice a week. It is a good chance to work on things at our own pace!

 Space Heaters

We are making it through the winter with the help of these little guys. English buildings tend to be a little colder than we are used to, but Bethany is layering on the socks and powering through. 

 One Comforter

After 3 months of separate comforters in Austria, we are back to one again. It is so interesting how different places do things!

Pull String Lights and Shower

Here is the light switch and power for the shower in our bathroom (more on that below). It is easy to whack them in the dark when you are trying to turn the lights on. But they add a certain exotic feel to the bathroom.

Push Button Shower

Lastly we have our push button shower. It is electric (I think) and you control the heat with the dial in the middle. It works, but it is an interesting system for sure!

To see our first installment of "things we're getting used to" when we moved to Austria, click here

A "Classic" Cross-Cultural Experience

So far, we've been here for a week and a half. Time flies! We've been spending most of our time acclimating to life here, by exploring different parts of the city, purchasing household goods, figuring out where to buy toiletries and certain kinds of food... things like that. We have also had to accomplish a few more "official" tasks like getting cell phones, visiting government offices and opening an Austrian Bank account. We are slowly whittling away at the list!

One of the tasks, however, has taken us much longer than expected. We went out earlier this week to obtain international driver's licenses and, let's just say, things didn't go as planned. Here are a few "highlights" from our adventure:

• We found out that we could have done this at a AAA in the States (would have much been easier...but not as exciting!)
• We tried to find the Austrian auto club and got lost because Google didn't know where it was
• We found help at a Hilton Hotel and then walked half an hour in the rain to finally arrive at the auto club 
• After all this, we came home empty handed! 

We filled out paperwork and communicated in broken German to the receptionist (successfully!) and at the end of the appointment, we were handed documents and told to visit another office to the get licenses. This is very Austrian - lots of paperwork, offices and bureaucracy.

The whole time, we maintained a positive attitude, mostly because it was exactly what we had been told to expect. The task took MUCH longer than we expected, we got lost, we had trouble communicating and in the end, we did not even accomplish our goal. A classic cross-cultural experience!

As we continue to cross the bridge from one culture to another through experiences like this, we hope we can continue to laugh and enjoy the adventure. We hope to continue finding the positive in these situations, like the fact that we were able to communicate with the receptionist or that we are now one step closer to  our goal. There is always a silver lining and out of every experience, we learn something new.

Photo credit: MetalliX from morguefile.com

Things we're getting used to...

 Sleeping in two twin beds pushed together. Lots of room, which is good, but we have separate blankets, which is not my favorite.

 Drying all of our clothes on drying racks. It's common here not to have a dryer. I miss it already, but it's also much better for our clothes to hang dry!

 No car! We are enjoying riding the public transportation system everywhere, but we have to get used to travel time being less predictable.

Sorting garbage. Above is our sorting system in the kitchen, with containers for biodegradable items, metal, glass, plastic, paper, and "the rest".

 

A small washing machine. Isn't it cute? It washes just a few shirts and pants at a time...