Being PC Not Necessary

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Once again I am behind on my posts, so I'll give you two for one 😊

Tuesday, 8/05
I woke up determined to figure out how to brew myself a good cup of coffee without any measuring instruments. I think I am getting the hang of it, but it's funny how few automatic functions my coffeemaker has. It won't stop the drip if I remove the pot, and it doesn't shut off. But typical of everything else on this trip, I'm getting the hang of it. We arrived to class and began to discuss the Reformation. Though I've learned about it several times, it is still an interesting topic, and my professor explains it with a lot of enthusiasm. Our class assignment for the day was to visit the Imperial Treasury in the Hofburg, but when we arrived to the exhibit it was closed for the day. Austrian businesses (and apparently museums) close randomly. It seems like a somewhat undependable system, but its acceptable to just not be open, I guess. A few of my classmates were interested in visiting the Sisi Museum, and the tour included the Royal Silver Collection and the Imperial Apartments. The Silver Collection included every pot, pan, plate, or glass that ever existed in the royal's posession. Or at least it felt that way. There were hundreds and hundreds of sets of dishes and goblets and all sorts of fancy stuff, which was cool for the first half but got a bit boring later. There was a small display on napkin folding, and apparently some folding patterns' instructions are top-secret. After all the dishes we entered the Sisi musuem. Empress Elizabeth of Austria was married to Franz Josef and known as Sisi. In Austria, she has Princess Di- level fame. The tour was very cool, but there was a very loud tour group going along with us. It was a tour unaffiliated with the museum, and I felt like the guide was shouting way louder than necessary. Especially since the rest of us were trying to listen to our hand-held audio guides. We sped up so that we could be out of earshot of the loud guide, having to sacrifice some displays for the sake of some quiet. Sisi was kind of a mysterious person, quiet and withdrawn, and obsessed with diet and exercise. We even got to see her workout equipment in her room. We walked through the Imperial Apartments, and for some reason I had a flashback from a Hearst Castle tour. Its weird to see places with such over-the-top wealth where famous people once stood. We left the tour, and everyone was pretty tired. We decided to head home, as Duane was giving our program a laundry lesson at 4:30 and some of us wanted to attend. Thank goodness we did! The washing machine is different from any I've seen before, and there was a lot to learn (even for someone who considers themselves a laundry expert!) We have to use a laundry card, but we have to go to the bank to put money on it, and there are only 5 cards for all 25 of us. The prospect of coordinating the sharing of the cards seems overwhelming, so I may just buy my own. After the laundry I went to the grocery store across the street for the third time since I've been here. Every time I go to the store, I feel more and more confident about how to find what I want and how to use clues on the label to figure out what I'm buying. It's very convenient to have the store right across the street, it's definitely a different shopping experience than what I am used to. I can pop in, find an armful of stuff I want for the next day or two, and walk home. I don't have to drive, park, or make a big deal of it. It's convenient for one person, but if I had to shop for more people I'd be in trouble. I dropped off my groceries, and headed to the mall on the next block. I wanted to buy a bookbag to use during the day while I'm here. The mall has an H&M, as well as tons of other stores that resemble stores at home but with different names. I found one store that had TONS of cute sunglasses for like 5 euro. So when I break one of the pairs I have, I know where I'm going to replace them. The mall closes at 7pm, but had a bar. I thought this was slightly odd, given that the bar had no outside exit. The bar must make enough money during the day to stay in business, I suppose. 5 minutes to seven, we were getting shooed out the door. Austrians seem to rarely work past 7pm. Aside from restaurants and bars, everything shuts down between 6 and 7. Excluding the bar in the mall, the bars that I went to on Saturday night seemed to have no closing time. It's interesting to observe the Viennese attitude towards work. You don't work past daylight, but you can party until sunrise. I got home, changed, and went out to the Naschmarkt for dinner. We went to a Sushi restaurant. I noticed the restaurant's logo was an asian man pulling his eyelids into the "asian" shape. I was slightly horrified, as the restaurant had primarily Asians working there. Apparently the concept of political correctiness means nothing in Austria? The service was especially uninterested, which Vienna has a reputation for. We finished our meals and headed home. I tried handwashing some shirts, and jumped on Skype to discuss Orientation with Sam. After chatting for an hour, I was exhausted and went to bed.

Wednesday, 8/06
I woke up this morning and made the best cup of coffee yet on this trip. My roommate still hadn't woken up a half hour before we needed to leave, so I knocked on her door to make sure she was moving. I ate my last banana, mostly because I could not wait any longer or else it would be too brown for me! I should NEVER buy more than two bananas at once. We jumped on the U-bahn to head to class, and settled into our usual seats. The university we have our lesson at has a cool espresso machine down the hall. There is a can to pay for your espresso, there are many examples of honor-system paying in Austria. I'm pretty sure none of my classmates pay for their coffee, but they make multiple cups every day. I don't know if its because they don't see the can and don't know (though I have been taught that nothing is really for free) or if they're just working the system. I don't want to be a nark and say something, though I am kind of embarrassed and think it reflects poorly on UC Davis that we don't cough up 70 cents for a cup of espresso. In class we discussed the Reformation and Counter-Reformation again. After class everyone is always starving, so we head straight to lunch. My professor asked me if I wanted to go to lunch with her and another classmate, and I accepted. We initially went to a cafe, but when we got the menu we were shocked at the prices for the food. We decided to go to the fast-food stands nearby. I ordered the Kasekrainer in hot dog form, and really enjoyed it. We found some other students from our program, and all sat together on the grass. Our professor began to discuss the differences in European and American health care, primarily that in Europe, healthcare is provided by the state. She expressed the opinion that the American practice of healthcare is "evil" for excluding those who have expensive illnesses. She said that a European does not have to fear unemployment as a time without healthcare. My classmates were asking a lot of questions, and the thing I am most curious about is what the downside to universal healthcare is. My professor spoke of its virtues, but I know there are two sides to every story. Aside from healthcare, there are obvious differences in the "liability mentality" as I am going to call it. Austrians aren't PC and will get healthcare regardless of anything. Americans are PC-conscious because who knows who you'll offend, and your words are a liability. We don't easily insure people with a high risk of various diseases, because they're a liability. Americans seem to be in a constant dance of avoiding liability, but Europeans don't even seem to be aware of the concept. A fierce Democrat, my Professor claimed that if McCain were elected, she's planning on moving to France. After our lunchtime discussion, we headed over to the Kunsthistoriches Museum (Art History Museum) but only had time to look at one floor. I saw some originals by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Raphael, and Albrecht Durer. Pretty awesome! We finished the visit with some Sachertorte (chocolate cake with apricot filling) and coffee. We headed home, as most of us had to work on our blogs and try to plan our weekend trips. I plan on staying in town and biking along the Danube, and visiting the Klosterneuberg (?) Monastery and their famous wine gardens!

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Photos

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Mr. Lee's sushi joint, not interested in being politically correct as we can see

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Mozart statue in the park near our classroom

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fun napkin folding in the Imperial Silver Collection

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hand-painted plate with a Vesuvius theme, as viewed from 3 different countries

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a real Vermeer!

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Raphael

Comments

[Emily]

Weekend Plans!
So I just read that you are going to the monastery this weekend! I loved that place! I definitely recommend going to the wine gardens, but watch the time because they closed before we could get there the first time!