other blogs I'm checking out

I've added now a list of other blogs I'm checking out regularely (see blog links on the left hand). Two of them, the ones about Ireland, are compulsory, the other ones are blogs of my frieds etc.

I've choses Georg's blog since in my opinion it's a very interesting, varied, vivid and good written blog, I can learn a lot from. On his website i also found the blog-link of an American woman who is living in Italy. Since I'm very interested in the Italian culture, I'm glad I came across this interesting blog. I will add some more blog links asap.

stereotypes Austria

Since I only copied the interview last time I will comment it now.

For me, everything Pam claimes in her interview is true in some way. I too, hold the opinion that the formality in Austria is not bearable. I mean this title madness and also the formal way of greeting doen't cast a positive light on Austria. It's even horrible for us not knowing how to greet remote acquaintances, isnt't it? How bad must the situation be for foreigners?

The point that Austrians can be xenophobic at times, I agree with, too. It's a shame, but that's unfortunately how the situation is. And parties like the FPÖ for instance don't help either to improve this outdated attitude of some patriotic, stubborn Austrians. - sorry, but this is something that annoys me a lot. I experienced that Austria isn't really a travel country . I've never met any Austrians on my journies. Well, this could naturally also be due the shape of my small hometown (-: . But still, I think some Austrians are not interested in other cultures and are therefor not open-minded. What's a pitty, since you miss a lot when you do not explore the world.

The positive aspects she mentions are food, art and nature and all of them are definitely the treasures of Austria. I think this is something we can really be proud of or at least we should be thankful to live in such a safe and secure country. When friends from overseas visited me on the countryside in upper styria they were highly impressed and jelaous by the breathtaking beauty of my homeland. They simply loved it - and I love it too. Just yesterday I was hiking with a couple of friends in the area around the Hochschwab where I live. It was absolutely beautiful and I can recommend this to everybody who loves our nature because it's good for body and soul.
Okay, enough for today. (-:

Nerd's eye view - next try

To be honest I'm not really fond of this blog, but we have to check it out, though. I couldn't really find any entries which were remotely interesting for me. The only thing I found worth reading I want to share with you now. It's an interview about expats Pam recently took part in. I picked out the most interesting aspacts concerning culture and oppinions about Austria. I have to appologize for copying this part, but I don't have too much time today - it's Easter sunday and the Easter meal is waiting (-:

Here we go - enjoy:

-What do you think about the Austrians?
I find Austrians are friendly in a formal sort of way. They are absolutely willing to make the effort to communicate with you, and they can be quite a cheerful lot. But I also find their formality stifling. One doesn’t just drop by an Austrian’s home, one is invited. I also find them a bit disinterested in the new, and if you’re a foreigner, that means you. They can be very hierarchical and bogged down in titles – I find it odd that my mother-in-law will say hello from her front gate to Mrs. Lady with Dog even though they have known each other for 50 years. I am sometimes introduced as “Mrs. Husband’s Name” and I never get used to it. I don’t even use my husband’s name, so I have to look around and see who they’re talking about!
I once met a baker who had traveled a lot in the US. He said that he was stunned by how the people he met would invite him home to stay and MEAN it. Strangers he’d met in campgrounds would open their homes to him, let him sleep in their spare room, feed him, and show him around. “It takes an Austrian 10 years to invite you to stay in their home!” he said.

-What are the positive and negative aspects of living in Austria?
Ah, the nature (where we live) in Austria is stunning. The snowy winters, the clean sparkling rivers, it is an outdoor lover’s playground almost all of the year. The food is outstanding, not just the meals you get in restaurants, but the quality of the ingredients you can get in the markets – there is so much less weird chemical stuff in the food. Austria isn’t a particularly challenging place to live, there are no deprivations, and it’s clean and stable and very safe. Austria is the land of Mozart, opera, high culture and art, and there’s plenty to enjoy.
On the downside, in spite of its updated appearance, Austria is old Europe. It’s bureaucratic, painfully slow to adapt to change, xenophobic at times. I dislike the cultural homogeneity and the isolation of nonwhite, non-Christian populations. Austrians dislike change and for this American, accustomed to embracing the new, it’s very frustrating at times.

-Do you have any tips for our readers about living in Austria?
Learn the language, learn the language, learn the language. That’s huge. Embrace nature – it’s one of Austria’s finest resources – I learned to XC ski there and love it. Expect bureaucracy and be patient with it. Things will get done even if it takes nine times as long as you’d expect. Eat cake and plenty of it because cake is high art in Austria. Traditionalists are likely to feel very much at home almost anywhere in Austria – less conventional types should make a beeline for Vienna.

Gaelic as official language of Ireland

Today I checked out the blog of the Polish expat who moved to Ireland (Krystian Kozerawski)

http://www.drakkart.com/eire2/


The most interesting entry I could find is called: Language as a national identity.

http://www.drakkart.com/eire2/2006/07/18/language-as-a-national-identity/

Since I'm very interested in language related facts and figures I was captivated by this enty.


Last time in class when we discussed the Irish identity I was wondering why only a few per cent in Irland are able to communicate in their official language, Irish (Gaeilge). Well, he has an explanation for this phenomenon.

Given the fact that Ireland faced many invasions, it was very hard to keep their own language alive. Besides, the famine and the emigration didn't help either. Only because of the symbolic meaning Irish has become the official language.

It is still told in school, but hardly anybody is really capable of speaking it. Only in the remotest areas of Irland Gaelic is spoken in every day life. I was surprised to find out at Wikipedia that Irish is an official language of the European Union. That fact seems rather strange to me as English (the second official language) is spoken throughout the country.

Krystian wrote that he wants to learn Irish but he couldn't find anybody who was able to teach him the language. Only some people he met could sing songs or could communicate in Irish. In addition to that he wrote that some of them find Irish cool and sexy, which can be helpful in attracting women or men. ??? Very strange, but obviously that's what he experienced.

I think this decline of Gaelic is also due to the difficulty to study the language. Lisa wrote down some words in Gaelic last class and nobody could pronounce it the right way. It's an exraordinary language, with a lot of letters unpronounced and therefor extremely hard to learn. It's not at all resembling English, like I thought first. (totally different grammar, structure...)

Here is the map where Gealic is spoken:




Not really widly spoken for an official language (-:

Nerd's eye view

I just had a glimpse at nerd's eye view. wow, this is nothing you can compare with my miserable blog. I need more time to check out the entire (ok, maybe not entire, entire) blog. I've already read the info in our script and so I already know who she is and what it's about and I will not tell you again.

more about it when I find some interesting entries.