I am of the opinion that you can never fully comprehend a
culture unless you take the ultimate leap and explore said culture directly.
That is the case with Vienna; which after spending a quarter studying it in
class (German 299) and becoming very familiar with it through photos and
readings, once I arrived in it, I couldn’t help but to feel sublimely perplexed.
My transition into Vienna was particularly complicated and
quite a new experience. I first travelled from Seattle to Barcelona and spent three
days there with Haoda. The switch in language and culture were a consistent hardship
in my visit, since I had to speak Spanish in Barcelona and also had to speak English
with Haoda. The latter phenomena remained constant as I arrived in Vienna; only
this time I needed to brush up my German language skills. The difference in German
accent and the presence of other language were one of the first things I notice
as I ventured into the city.
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One of the best ways I find to define a culture is through
its diversity in food, and I can say, Vienna is a very diverse city! (even more
than I thought so.) My first meal arriving into Vienna was a Falafel, and since
then I have tried to explore the city not only by visiting monuments but gastronomically!
Smoking culture in Vienna and I’ll venture to say in Europe,
is very extensive. Coming from Seattle and being a social smoker I can say that
there is a different social perception of smoking here. At least no one gives
me judging looks when I light up a cigarette while having a cup of coffee!
Finally one of the things that I find very fascinating is
the fact that I’m living in a place whose culture is old but still prevalent. I
felt especially overwhelmed as I visited the Central Café, where so many intellectuals
and artist gathered at some point in history, and while I sipped my wiener
Melange, all I could think was that if time were to be bend and past and
present became one, I could find myself sat right next to Sigmund Freud.
Michael Carrizosa
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