Arrival in Vienna

Giddy.

Certainly there are other adjectives that would describe the emotions I am having right now, but the other day,

as I was strolling through the Volksgarten

at dusk (see picture), taking in the scenery, watching the last rays of sunshine set behind the Rathaus... I started to giggle to myself. Vienna is an intoxicating city--everywhere you turn, there is something to take in, savor, marvel at, stare at, and as in my case, giggle over. The reason I giggled is that I can't believe I am actually here and I am absolutely, incredibly happy. A year and a half after I attended my first

Fulbright information session at Georgetown, I am now finally walking along the Ringstrasse, passing through the Nationalbibliothek, and sipping Melange at coffeehouses.

I arrived last Sunday, after an excruciating journey from Pittsburgh-Newark-Stockholm-Munich-Vienna. By the time I reached Munich, I was too tired to get all too excited about the fact that the Lufthansa flight attendant checking us in was wearing a yellow and blue Dirndl, in honor of Oktoberfest. When I return to Munich next week to visit Jens and Reneta, I am sure I will see plenty more of that!

I finally arrived in Vienna after about 24 hours of straight travel, only to realize that my main suitcase wasn't popping up on the conveyor belt at baggage claim. Exhausted at this point, I really didn't have enough energy to get upset or fret about it, and just turned in my information in hopes it would be delivered later that evening as promised. I then hopped a train into the middle of the city to find my apartment and meet my landlord and landlady.

My apartment is located in the 8th district of Vienna, otherwise named the Josefstadt (hence the name of my blog). A few of you have already looked this up online, but in case you haven't, here's the link. Vienna is structured in a circle, with the main center being the 1st district (the former imperial fortress), and the other districts fanning out from it like sun rays. I am about a 15- 20 min. walk from the middle of the city, which is where the university is located.

My landlord and landlady (Wolfgang and Riccarda) are both retired as a lawyer and doctor, respectively. They are both incredible sweet and charming, and very endearingly bicker and

banter back and forth with each other, in a fashion perfected over what I would assume to be decades of marriage. Riccarda was even so kind to stock my fridge with necessary food items, since all stores remain closed on Sundays. (I was delighted to find cheese-filled tortellini in there among the goodies!). My suitcase was also delivered later that night--and I realized that this was a perfect example of looking on the bright side of situations. The 50 lb. suitcase, which I would have otherwise had to 'schlepp' through the entire city on the tram and subway, was delivered right to my doorstep on the very same evening of my arrival! (It also taught me that it always pays off to pack extra clothes in your carry-on in case this kind of thing DOES happen--that way I was at least able to shower and change, which I desperately needed to do at that point!)

This past week has consisted of extensive orientation sessions with the Austrian Fulbright Commission. We have had a wide array of speakers, e.g. a diplomat from the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the ombudsman of the University of Vienna, a journalist/media consultant from one of Austria's leading weekly journals and a professor emeritus. Several of the speakers had been Fulbright scholars themselves in the past. The sessions consisted of 'crash courses' in

Austrian education system, politics, media landscape and history. In addition, we have also had a few 'how-to' sessions, attempting to guide us through the impenetrable Austrian bureaucratic system we have to navigate to register at the university and to get a visa (I think this whole process might warrant its own blogpost at later point when I have more energy to be witty--the phenomenon of the infamous "Meldezettel" needs to be explained!). All of the sessions have been incredibly interesting and only further affirms my assertion that Austrian culture is, indeed, very different from German. We have also had a few tours through the first district and one guided tour of the Nationalbibliothek. Here you can see the "Prunk Saal" in the library.

Part of our role, as a Fulbrighter, is to act as a sort of layman ambassador, increasing mutual understanding between the U.S. culture and our host culture. I hope that this blog can be the venue through which I can contribute to these efforts. I'd like to try to come back to some of these things I learned during the orientation, once I have had time to process some of the aspects that make Austria distinctly Austrian. I'd also like to discuss some topics I personally feel very passionate about at the moment--such as food practices in Austria as compared to the U.S. (I can't wait to post about that one!). But then again, I am there there will be times where I will also just post about my struggles with the "Wiener Dialekt" or my favorite cheese/beer/coffee varieties!

Ultimately, I want to try to give you, my friends and family, a better sense of this tiny country (the size of North Carolina!) which will be my home over the next nine months. Also, if there is something specific you want to hear about, let me know! :)

with love from Vienna,

Tessa

*Note: None of the views or opinions expressed here in any way reflect that of the US State Department or the Fulbright Commission.