How did I become an Austrian lady… or not?
Shaping Cultural Experiences
Travel has been an integral part of my life since I was a young child. I grew up in a multicultural, bilingual home in the Netherlands with a Polish mother and a Dutch father. My
Update & BBC News Link
A brief update: One interview video will be uploaded tomorrow evening. I believe the BBC News One-Minute World News provides well-balanced reporting of news, hence why I wanted to share it. Top stories on May
From Nigeria to Boston
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VNkCazT_T4&feature=youtu.be
When you first meet Oluwagbeminiyi Osidipe, you encounter a very vibrant, friendly, and unique personality. Oluwagbeminiyi or Niyi – as she shortened her name for simplicity – was named by her mother, who had a “very personal experience” when she had her, Niyi explained. Niyi is a Yoruba Nigerian transplant who arrived in the U.S. in 2006. As one of the most densely populated (West) African countries, Nigeria derives its name from the river that spans its land. To the South, it borders the Gulf of Guinea to the Atlantic Ocean. Originally colonized by the British, Nigeria gained independence in 1960. Its main ethnic groups are the Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba, who speak English and their own respective languages, while major religions include Islam, Christianity and indigenous beliefs. Niyi shares her story, her views on politics, cultural differences she’s embraced with humor, and what we can learn from each other by expressing curiosity. Her message is simple: travel enriches us through its exposure to new cultures, and enables us to grow.
Mark Twain on Travel
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.” (American author Mark Twain, Innocents Abroad).
Have you had the opportunity to travel (extensively, within your country, or even once abroad)? Can you relate to Twain’s sentiments? How does travel enrich us?
Pleasing The Taste Palate
Food has the wonderful quality of uniting us no matter where we are. There is nothing partisan or narrow-minded about food. It simply invites us to indulge, create recipes, and share with others. Two of my favorite Polish dishes (included in collage) are pierogies and barszcz czerwony – a beetroot soup – served on Christmas Eve in Poland. How does food bring us together? What are some of your favorite dishes and why? Can food trigger memories?
Stereotypes: Truth or Fiction?
DEFINING STEREOTYPES: “An idea or statement about all of the members of a group or all the instances of a situation.” (Merriam-Webster). Stereotypes enable bias and preconceived notions to perpetuate, but can also reveal valid
Annual Human Rights Report
“The world changed immeasurably over the course of 2011. Across the Middle East, North Africa, and far beyond, citizens stood up to demand respect for human dignity, more promising economic opportunities, greater political liberties, and
Euro Crisis & Emerging Stereotypes
Brief Crisis Breakdown Since the onset of the global financial crisis, or Great Recession, in 2007, the Eurozone has feared impending growing global debt levels, as well as sovereign debt within European countries themselves. In
Remembering Tiananmen
Today marks the 23rd anniversary of Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests in Beijing, China. Inflation, a lack of career prospects, the fall of Eastern European communism, and political corruption, are all said to have fueled anger
Coffee's Uniting Power
A cup of coffee can bridge cultural gaps. At least, that’s what Gizem Salgicil White, founder of Turkayfe.org, believes. Her organization aims to create awareness of Turkish culture, particularly within America. Gizem is a Turkish native,
Today’s Culture with Travel guest post is by Nikoleta
“I got the job!” announced my father as we were reaching our apartment. I remember that moment so clearly! Although I knew that he was applying for some kind of job out of our country, he barely talked about it, and to be honest I wasn’t interested at all. Until he actually got it. Because it meant moving away from not only my school, friends, family, city – but also from my homeland. It meant moving to a place, where I did not speak the language and attending school that is nothing of the sort I ever thought of. I was moving for the first time, and it was the most drastic move I could imagine – everything has changed.
The first step to my integration was learning English and German. English because the school I was visiting was not an Austrian school, but an international one and German because it was the official language of the country I was moving to. So during summer break, unlike ordinary kids who go on holidays, I attended English courses and learned German at home. I went to Austria every now and then to get used to the new country. It was all so exciting, until the first day of school. No matter how advanced I thought myself to be, I simply wasn’t ready being put into a completely new community. I barely understood what people were saying, I didn’t know why they were doing certain things. And ironically at that time, my German was better although I spent more time learning English.
I could relate to German and Austrian culture in general much more. Being from Slovakia, a country that used to be part of Austrian Empire, we shared some features. History, food (our is yummier though, all except Sachertorte – my addiction). Due to this, I purposely moved to an Austrian community. I danced at an Austrian dance school opposed to an international one, I played volleyball on both the Austrian and international team and I hit the city as often as I could. I enjoyed endlessly chatting with friendly, older ladies who had nothing better to do. And I made use of my passion for reading and at some point read only in German. I started writing my diary in German as well, although, I admit it, that did not work out because Slovak is much easier 😉 Soon enough, I was fluent in German which allowed me to dig deeper into the culture.
Ironically, I met my first Austrian friend in an English class. She is a very special lady. She’s a rather loud one, funny, one that never leaves you cold. She is very typically blond with blue eyes. She is a passionate skier, during the summer she goes to nudist campsites. That’s what I later found is very typical of Austrians; no matter what body type they have, whether they are young or old, girls or boys, they seem to be shameless about their bodies. Personally, when I came I didn’t understand why they would do something of the sort. But now.. it’s a completely different story. No camps for me, but I did go to sauna, and I did go swimming in a natural manner. It still is awkward, but it’s doable.
And about skiing, well, there are no words to describe their passion. They live through skiing. They won’t miss any significant race in TV, they go skiing several times during a season. For me that was never important – me and watching sports? I usually don’t even know the most prominent figures not to mentioning being interested in sitting behind a television and watching others skiing. But now, it comes automatically. It’s a must.
Another way of connecting with Austrian culture is through their festivals. Although I do not yet own a Dirndl (but am planning on buying one soon!), I love attending Austrian festivals like Heurigen or Octoberfest (yes, we also celebrate it here :P). Not only is it fun, but it’s so amazing for getting to know new people. SO wonderful!
By no means am I a complete Austrian lady. I am a mixture of Slovak, Czech, Austrian and international.
Nikoleta is a travel author who established The Bonfire Dream in August 2015. At that time, she had no clue what she was doing, but through her love for writing and travel she created a platform full of funny stories, travel guides and personal experiences.
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Hi! I'm the founder of Culture With Travel and #CultureTrav. Please chat with us on social media and contribute in the comments! Follow @Nicolette_O
