February in Vienna!

Recent Events

A few weeks ago on the way to a friend's place, I met someone from Washington D.C. who is teaching here in Vienna. It was a rather strange coincidence: the weather outside was, as it often is, cold, windy, and surely unpleasant to endure for even a short 5 minutes or so. A young lady ran up to the doors of the Strassenbahn after the doors had already closed, and asked (with facial expressions, of course) that someone press the button and let her in. I got up and let her in, as I was in the end seat, and she looked so grateful. I exclaimed "Gut! Sie haben es geschafft!!" (Great - you made it!!) So - as she told me a little later - she thought I was from Austria, until she heard my friend and I conversing in English. Soon we were in a conversation about our studies, where we're from and so forth. A completely random incident, but interesting too. We'll be getting together for coffee this week to share somethings about our times and experiences here in Vienna.

Each Thursday there is an event, "Thirsty Thursdays," in which Webster students and others head out to a particular bar in town to have some drinks and a good time. I personally am not big on drinking, as I have seen the problem of substance abuse in all forms have a devastating effect on family members and other people I know. However, I realize now that it is a mistake to think that everyone who, for example, drinks or goes to bars, is going to end up like those I know with problems. It is mistake that I'm sure many make, in some form or another, and is also one that can put unncessary barriers between people or groups. So - this past Thursday - I joined the group and we went out together. And although I didn't drink much, just a small glass of weak beer, I had a blast and met others who are studying here and who also have high standards regarding education and career goals.

The aspect of Vienna that I am enjoying the most is the public transportation system. Very intricate, far-reaching, timely, efficient - really puts the public transport in many U.S. cities to shame. Yesterday I was talking to a good friend about the recent decision by the Obama administration to increase the cigarette tax. She said she supported it 100%, even though she's a smoker, because the extra funds will go towards aid for low-income families and children. It reminded me of the recent election, when St. Louis could either vote for or against an increase in state tax for the benefit of our Metro public transportation system. The bill did not pass. I have suggested often that perhaps the reason it didn't pass was because of the drastic drop in gas prices around the time of the election. During the summer, the price of gas per gallon had jumped almost to $5.00 per gallon - nationwide - and I heard many complaints about the inefficiency of our public transport system. It's odd that when we get the chance to possibly improve the system through a very small increase in taxes, we (as a whole) deny it and take what seems at the time the best - a lower percentage taken from our incomes. If St. Louis had been voting for or against that bill under the same conditions that America saw during the summer months, I think that bill would have passed.

At least from what I can see, when citizens are aware of the use of their tax dollars and not doubtful of that use, and moreover, when the use is for a common cause that needs to be addressed, those citizens are more willing to accept the tax.

On Saturday night, some friends and I went to a nearby district to have a look at the Donauturm (Danube Tower), a huge radio tower that is a pretty prominent tourist attraction here in Vienna. We went to the top and enjoyed a spectacular view of the city - which including walking on the outside terrace. We remarked afterwards that it was best that we went at night - the lights really made all the difference. I could see the topogrophy of the entire city, how the elevation rose and fell, just by these lights. There was a nice little cafe at the top, where we sat for an hour or so and sipped hot drinks. Then someone noticed that, oh my goodness! the FLOOR is moving! So we sat there, puzzled and confused. Does the floor appear to move because the ceiling actually rotates, or does the ceiling look like its moving because WE are moving? The conclusion: the floor was moving. One of the most interesting things I've seen in quite sometime.

I caught a nasty cold or something-or-another and have been "hackin' up a lung" for a few days. The cold and windy weather finally caught up with me!

As I'm being introduced and re-introduced to questions concerning topics like truth, justice, the state, freedom, reality vs. realivitiy, and similar things in my classes, new light is being shed on each and every thing that I think about. As I wrote in the previous post, I have always had a great desire to "change the world," have an impact on things - big or small - and to be "an agent of change." Yes, that's all good, but this world is not so easy to change, because while change is good and desired by many, it is not at all easy to let in. But one thing I do know, particularly in light of the recent inauguration of Obama, changing things is possible. Change for the worse is just as possible, if not more likely, as change for the better. It's now up to us to decide which to choose.

Other Thoughts

This semester in Vienna, I feel, is when my college education is truly beginning, and I'm now grateful that I did this so soon and didn't wait until I had time or money or until they offered this or that class or until I felt completely "ready" to spend a semester in another country.
My thoughts and discussions with others are becoming increaasingly rewarding and insightful, particularly concerning ideas about culture and language. You will never really understand your culture until you have experienced another. A cure for xenophobia? Perhaps not entirely, but a start in any case.

During my first year of college, some folks in our dorm stayed up to the wee hours discussing things like this. I remember one topic in particular: the responsibility of our generation. Sometimes it may seem that, although just about every young person wants to have a voice, change the world, do something BIG, we are not taking full advantage of what is available to us. So many times I've talked to students who are frustrated the so many are "throwing their college education out the window" or "not taking full advantage of the opportunities they have." And the question is raised: how can we change something we're not actively engaged in right now? Why are we (youth, students, etc) skipping class or staying out too late and not taking college seriously, making bad use of thousands of dollars of someone's money (family, state, national, private funds)? I too have often wondered about this. I am finding more and more that there are folks who recognize the responsibilities and privileges of our generation and our times and who are seizing every opportunity to be the best they can be.

I'm a "BIG IDEAS" kind of person, and I know a bunch of other people who think about big ideas often. This trait of mine -for better or for worse [I don't know] - is causing me to grow tired of small and trivial topics and concerns. Now that is not to say that day-to-day, practical knowledge and typical discussion is trivial, small, or useless. It has its place, like everything else. But I delight most in hearing a statement or discussion about ideas that move an individual, a society, a nation. I understand why questions like "Why does it seem that we as a whole are not taking our education seriously?" or "How are we to change that which we are not knowledgeable about?" are being raised. These questions seems to show this frustration with the small things, the itty-bitty nuances that are like distractions to the BIG ideas.

It could be that this kind of thing is old-fashioned, or that I haven't run across enough folks in my age group just yet who think about these sort of things regularly and try to express their thoughts coherently. Either way, I think we (young or old) will return to such ideas, thoughts, and topics some time soon.

[Photos: 1. U-Bahn station at Kaisermüllen - Vienna International Center by night, 2. view of Vienna and the Danube from the Donauturm 3. President Obama's Inaugural Address; "...we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations, and worn out dogmas, that have far too long strangled our politics."]