When We Said Buongiorno/Guten Tag to Bolzano/Bozen

Although I always hoped that I'd have the opportunity to travel, I never thought that it was more than just wishful thinking.  I grew up hearing stories about where my relatives came from in Europe and about the struggles they faced as immigrants in the United States.

On my maternal side, my grandfather's family came from Italy, and my grandmother's family came from (the former) Czechoslovakia and the Austro-Hungarian empire.  I still don't know if I'm more Austrian or Hungarian, although I saw a girl who looked mysteriously like me on the train to Budapest.  At any rate, Ben and I knew we wanted to visit Italy from the minute we decided to move to Austria; his last name ends in a vowel too.  Capisce?   

Our journey took us to Bolzano/Bozen in northern Italy.  It's the capital city of Südtirol, or Alto Adige.  Why am I writing all the names in two languages, attentive reader?  Well, after World War I, the city left Austrian hands and became Italian.  Its history of Austrian and Italian possession is very evident in the city today.  Around town, Italian and German float off the tongues of the locals.  It seemed like almost everyone could speak Italian and German, and in many cases, English too.  All of the signs are in German and Italian.  Even though I knew we were in Italy, it was a little hard to believe because the two cultures and languages are so intertwined.

Our train went through the Brenner Pass on its way to Italy.  Doesn't really look like spring has hit the Alps yet, huh?  In the last two pictures, you can see what's called Lawinenschutz, or Alpine avalanche protection.

But once through the Brenner Pass, the scenery changed.  Say hello to the Dolomites and to a field of grapevines. 

  

After arriving, we quickly checked into our hostel and headed into town.

Apfelstrudel in Italy?  Yes, especially when ordered in German.  

For our first dinner, we went to Weißes Rössl/Cavallino Bianco/Little White Pony. Being a teacher, planning is a way of life, so, naturally, I spent some time reading reviews on Trip Advisor to come up with an eating itinerary.  Do you do this, or am I the only one?  Anyway, this restaurant had great reviews, and it did not disappoint.  I had pasta carbonara with speck, which is a cured ham and a specialty of Tyrol.  Ben had spinach spätzle with ham. Lecker/Delizioso. 

Illuminated magnolias in the main square reminded us of spring's arrival.  

This dog, who joined us for a digestif of grappa, received about 1,000 pets, sat on Ben's foot, and stole my heart.  When his owner came to collect him, she asked in German if we would like to take him home.  Ben said, "yes, no problem," and then she laughingly said, "one problem," as she kissed him and took him from our lives forever.  We need a dog.  We need a dog.  Repeat.

Also, we meet a cool Swiss gentleman who couldn't believe that Ben was American and spoke German so well.  That's always good to hear.  He told me that he met his wife in Milan and that she did "this" (*mimicked his hands being tied together*), and he still hasn't found the key.

The friendliness in Italy shocked me, as I've become accustomed to Salzburg and how people keep to themselves. Cultural differences, man.      

A presto!  

The 10 Most Fascinating Aspects of Life in Austria: Part III

And, it continues....

5. The Austrian Educational System (written by Ben)

First, an anecdote from one of my fellow Austrian teachers:

“So, after your talk yesterday about how relaxed Austrian schools are, I reflected on something that would shock an American teacher. One of my students in class had his birthday. A friend of his came into class unannounced with a Birthday Cake”… (this is not the shocking part)… "but, we had no way of cutting the cake. At that moment, a random student pulled a 6-inch hunting knife from his pocket and proceeded to allay everyone’s worries by cutting the cake.” This teacher then proceeded to tell me how she left the room, and completely trusted the students to behave. 

In Austrian schools, there is a very relaxed feeling. The students all know each other. The teachers all know each other. They all gather in large groups and converse. The students stay in one class-group and the teachers visit the different classrooms. In between periods, the teachers return to the teachers’ lounge, have a coffee, some bread and cheese, or some chocolate, and chat. Sometimes they stay there for 10 minutes, taking their time long after the bell rings. When they go to their class, the students are usually crowded around someone’s phone, a card table, or the computer and listening to loud music. These students are left COMPLETELY alone for 5-10 minutes. This is the ultimate fear of any American teacher. The students could be: selling and doing drugs, stabbing each other with scissors, breaking any number of expensive machines… etc. This never happens. The students are simply well-behaved.  

Other minute differences include: Jesus hanging by a cross in every room of the building (no Austrian flags) and a school chapel on grounds. When I asked how a publicly-funded school could do such a thing, I was told the country is mostly Catholic…. so crosses for 100% of the folks, why not?

Finally, the school is centered around one question: what would be best for the environment? These students will only ever get anxious, worked-up, or angry about the environment (and sometimes U.S. Foreign Policy :) ). It has poured its way into every lesson in every class. In education, we refer to these as interdisciplinary themes and you would think my school is training a generation of global superheroes.

6.  Austria and the English Language

Another part of the Austrian educational system is their belief that students should speak two, if not three, languages.  English is the mandatory second language, and students begin learning English when they're in the equivalent of our elementary school (It's called a Volksschule here.).  While I have relied on Ben to do all of our important business (set up our bank account, register for health insurance, communicate with most everyone, etc.), I have managed to speak to Austrians in English without much of a problem.  

When we first arrived, I had major "language" shock.  As an English and literacy teacher, words and language are my life, and not being able to understand signs, ads, directions, announcements, and the like threw me for a loop.  Once we found out in April that we were moving here, I began trying to learn some German.  I bought CDs that I listened to in the car, I used Ben's Beginner's German book during free periods when I worked, and Ben and I tried to keep some exchanges in German.  Needless to say, with moving, planning and having a wedding, and preparing to come here, I didn't have much time to learn German.  If only I had known years before that I would be spending a year in Austria (and that my future husband spoke German), I would have taken German in college.  

I do feel like I'm missing some of the experience because I'm a language outsider.  And, I had a period when we first came when I was very self-conscious; I didn't want to go out by myself when Ben was working because I was afraid someone would speak to me in German and I'd absolutely freeze-up (it's happened...).  And, I hated that I didn't feel empowered because I was so dependent on someone else to do everything important.  But, because the Austrian educational system understands that English is a global language, and because many of the tourists here speak English, they teach it in their schools and I feel like I can manage being here without knowing that much German.         

That isn't the whole story, but that's as much as we're going to go into it for today.