- I watched a downloaded Friends episode the other day (thank you people who populate bittorrent. I wouldn't mind paying for U.S. TV but no darn network thinks about putting their stuff online). Anyway, it was the one in which Chandler and Monica want to buy a house in the suburbs.
"New York is great," Chandler says "but I want a house with a frontyard, and a street where my kids can ride their bikes outside."
"So, you want a house in the 1950s," Ross replies.
It is a sad pun on the reality of American life (or at least, suburbian life) is it not? And at the same time I am comtemplating about that I am thinking "so I live in a 1950s America right now." .... well, this is, of course, only in terms of security.
Here you really don't have to worry about your kids like you have to in the cities or suburbia of the States. At least to me, the USA is an intimidating place (when it comes to my kids). Too many psychos. I have to say that this probably applies to a lot of big countries. Austria is small and Vorarlberg is even smaller. Just across the border (in Germany) things look very different.
My friend Rosa would frown on such a statement but you have to compare the Austrian and US news on occasion. It's not like nothing ever happens here (well, maybe in Vorarlberg really not much crazy stuff happens) but compared to the States it's nothing.
I think it is about public taboos. In America nothing seems taboo anymore. Here you run into stiffness all the time (sometimes it is restricting or ridiculous) but it keeps the greater society "in check" so to say. A small example: People won't throw garbage on the street here. It is regarded as a big taboo.
Another example: People will not make any big noise on Sunday or any day after 8pm (you can imagine how we fit in here - 3 Dominican-Americans, and one Arab-Austrian.;)
...our landlord was about to kick us out the other day because we were barbequing for the umpteenth time (smoking up the place, sitting until late on our terrace.)
...these are kinda stupid examples, btw. but I can't think of anything else right now. Maybe one example would be that kids here rarely fight. There is no school grouping like it happens in US schools and you will probably never ever see a "cat-fight" (girlfight, for those of you who really don't know the term.)
Anyway, this was supposed to be a list and I am writing a short novel here...
ok. let's try this again:
- online banking. oh my God, is it a pain in the a. It is so annoying that I have no idea how much or little money we have on our account (which makes it very difficult to control and maintain a budget.)
just so you know what I mean.
this is my netbanking username and password:
username: 45odmf027cDHYlmDXz
password: 67ffYUiF57zKfpU
I AM NOT KIDDING! (of course, this is not my real username and password, so you can spare yourself any hacking attempts but this is the exact style. AND YOU CANNOT CHANGE IT!!!!!)
Are these people crazy?
- the seriousness at work (Do you think I can apply the Dilbert Principle to my daily rut - just to lighten things up a bit for myself?). Americans definitely know how to socialize better. (Here people consider this skill superficiality, btw. - I find this interesting. I really had the same opinion once. Now, I am somewhere else.)
this is one of my many hurdles of the day... seriously.. (Dilbert is my bible right now).
- the climate. I hear it's like 100-something degrees in NYC right now. ugh. sorry.
Here it has been raining for the past 3 days and it has now cooled down to about 12 degrees Celsius (0 degrees Celsius = 32 degrees Fahrenheit)...after having been around 30 degrees (100) every day for a month. Today I actually wore a sweater and a jacket to go to work. It is AUUUUUGUST, dammit! sigh.
Dario told me that Maia started crying about the rain again. It really seems to depress her. Another thing that worries me with Maia is the fact that she is a bit isolated here. She has picked up a lot of the language in a very short time, however, she still plays a lot alone at Kindergarten and she is so depressed about that that she refused to go today. She is such a socialite it must be really hard for her.
My friends in NY (with same aged kids) tell me their kids are starting to read now. From flashcards or whatnot. This is unthinkable here. It just doesn't work this way. People would consider such educational pressure (on such young children) psychotic.
They focus on the social aspect first (and for a long time). The kids don't learn the alphabet until they are about to go to school (5.5). On one hand I think this is a good route to go, on the other hand I believe in the power of early childhood education).
I am getting former NYC-mom panic that my kid is not using its full potential. Maia is crazy smart and I feel like I am not nourishing her talents. The new Austrian-mom in me is telling me that I should shut up, relax, and let her be a kid without worries.
- daycare. on one hand it's probably good for the kids to be with their parents as much as they are here. Maia is at Kindergarten only from 9-12 (well, she could be there at 7:30, but ..there is no way I am getting out the house at that time).
On the other hand, this system sure makes it hard for the other parent (usually the mother) to work (i.e. follow a career).
Well, at least the government gives you money to stay home with your kids for 3 years (about $700/month). Actually 2.5 years and then another 6 months if the other parent (usually the father) stays home as well.
In our particular case I wonder how good it is for our kids to stay home with Dario. They sure are loved and happy but I think they are getting a rather laissez-fair upbringing (a style I have been raised with and which I do not approve of).
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Alright, so this blog is about to burst out of its seams. And since I hate reading blog entries that are just too darn long, so I am going to apologize for the length of this entry and call it a night. (I really needed to write, I suppose.)
if you do want to see the extension of this list (observations - coming back home to Austria) you can check out this previous post: Austrian oddities....
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