My second home, the Door of the World

Austria, Autriche, Oesterreich... means the same in different languages. A country that through the years, has learned from its history and gone through some difficult times.

And what does it mean to me? To me Austria is not only my second home, but also skiing on beautiful mountains, partying in Après-ski cabins, is enjoying delicious dishes such as Schnitzel and Frittatensuppe, is licking your fingers with my favourite desserts like Germknoedel and Buchtel with Vanillesosse, is Christmas with Gluehwein and Punsch, is the U-bahn and the nightlife of Viena, is the Fasching and Hausieren in Oberpetersdorf, is Bruji and its great concerts, is Dan Mladine and all the Burgenland-Croatian culture, is the marvelous wine from Blaufraenkischland, the elegant wine from Steiermark, is the friendly folks I met in Bad Gleichenberg, is Stiegl, Goesser and Ottakringer!!!, is Zotter and Milka chocolate, is Mannerschnitten, Mozartkugeln, Kuerbiskernoel, is seeing snow for the first time, is my beautiful people from Oberpetersdorf, is Veliki Boristof and the Emriches, is me being able to find loyal and constant friends, is Oberpullendorf and its locals, is the Danube, is Mozart and Strauss, is Art and History, is the Stephansplatz, is the culture of cafés, is the Albertine… to me, Austria means so much, it was my life for some years.

And my life there, is divided in two parts: The first one, the exchange with AFS. The second, my studies in Tourism and Hotel Management.

The first time I set foot on austrian soil, I was 17. The goal of the exchange was to learn the language and get involved in the culture, during a year. We were a group of 160 exchange students of AFS, from many parts of the world. All of us sharing a sort of fear and excitement, arriving to a country to which we were going to belong. There were many beautiful moments we shared, we had so much and so little in common. It was a true cultural exchange!

And so it's how I arrived to Burgenland, a province south of Viena, east of Austria, limit with Hungary. Famous for its exquisite variety of wines, among them the "Blaufraenkisch". This kind is one of my favourites.

Oberpetersdorf, border town with the province of Low Austria, is the town where I grew and where my great austrian family, raised me during that year.

Besides I had the pleasure of meeting much more people, that took me in and taught me a lot!

Horitschon, Oberpullendorf, Mattersburg, Grosswarasdorf... are names of towns in Burgenland, that have marked my history and where I have thousands of memories. They're towns that stand out not only for the quality of people in them, but for the beautiful green and flowery they posses.

Austrians have a very particular way of expecting Christmas. They have a calendar from December 1st to 24th, in which each day contains a chocolate. When you wake up you can take your calendar and get the chocolate for the current day. This makes the wait pretty sweet :)

In Oberpetersdorf, I joined the traditional Saint Nicholas day, December 06th... all the young people from the town would disguise as Krampus (devils) and divided in many groups. Each group had 6 or 7 Krampus and one Saint Nicholas. We would visit a determined number of houses in the town with kids. We, the Krampus, would scare the kids, but after they sing or recite a poem, Saint Nicholas would award them with sweets and/or gifts. It was fun going out with the groups, since I had never participated in such an activity. I was dressed up as a demon, screaming and scaring people… drinking “Gluehwein” (warm wine), to not feel the cold, sharing with my friends from the town. I already felt part of the town.

And then christmas arrived with the family and the snow, gifts and chocolates around the natural pine... Then New Year to the music of the Blue Danube, dancing on the iced covered streets, showering in champagne at midnight. What memories!

Fasching is an austrian tradition. It all starts on November 11th at 00 hrs. From that moment, the carnival season starts, in which they throw fancy parties or Balls in which they dance typical rhythms such as waltz or polka. The central day for carnivals or Fasching is in February. In Oberpetersdorf, it's organized by the group of young people from the town. The single guys invite the single girls to be their date during the celebration that lasts for 4 days. It starts on a Sunday, the guys go to the girl's house, where their family has prepared a lunch. After the lunch the young couple head towards the “Gasthaus” (town's restaurant), where the people meet and the young couples get ready to open the party with a typical dance. Then the party continues for 4 more days…

And I can say that my Fasching, was one of the things I'll never forget… The first day I felt, a complete celebrity, since I was even on tv… They interviewed me, because they found it very unusual to find a peruvian, dressed in a typical suit and dancing polka. I could barely speak German, still I said what I thought about this wonderful experience. Wine after wine, vodka after vodka, red bull, beer, rum, Schnaps… All to celebrate the carnival! Oberpetersdorf and its Fasching, is the best thing ever!

That year went by pretty fast… the nights in Oberpullendorf, the Osterfeuer (the bonfire for Holy Saturday), the first spring, my Maibaum, the beginning of summer, the AFS camps, the classes at school, the bus and train trips through Austria and surroundings, the family trip to Italy, the arguments over cultural misunderstandings, the failed attempt to snowboard, the rebelliousness, the nostalgy, the tears, the laughter, the friendship, the care, the love… Everything happened!

Nobody knew at this point that I would return to stay for a few more years… After attending college in Peru for a year and a half, I found the way to return and continue my studies in Austria. And I returned… and it was like returning home.

It's when the second part of this story started… And how it started!

Vienna, one of the most ellegant and beautiful european cities, welcomed me with open arms. The experiences changed, now it was my turn to live on my own…

During this time I got to come close to a part that almost nobody knows about Austria: the Minorities… In Burgenland there are some towns, that over 500 years ago, were formed by croatians. In these towns, to this moment, it has been possible to preserve several traditions and the language (Burgenland-Croatian). They organize many activities so their culture keeps their flame alight, since with the pass of time, very few people maintain their traditions. There are other minorities, like the Slovenian-Austrians in the south, or the Hungarian-Austrians also in Burgenland. it's really interesting how in such a small country, one can find this cultural diversity… It teaches us a good lesson on how to preserve cultures so they don't get lost with the pass of time and make them unique in their kind.

And Austria started having a different taste for me: the people from Erasmus, the german class at the university of Viena, the Modul, the international and austrian from other provinces friends, the Catering job, the internships in kitchen and restaurant, staying up late studying, staying up late partying, the short nights, the long days, the Punschstandl, the asthma, the allergies, the nostalgy, the depression, the long weekend or vacation trips, the visits to Burgenland, the peruvian embassy in Austria and its activities, the peruvian dances group, the presentations at the UN city, the Ceviche and Pisco Sour prepared by me for austrian people, Bad Gleichenberg, the exams, the stress, my adoration for coffee, learning Italian and Burgenland-croatian, the family skiing trips, the celebration in the ski cabins, the falls, the setbacks, the getting up and keep going, the tryumphs, the gourmet food, the Spritzers, the Ouzo and Jaegermeister, camping in Wiesen, the Burgenland-Croatian parties, the nights out to HAK, the rolling sushi and the competitions, the Kebab and Durum, the european movies, the theater, Klimt and Schiele, the good music…

I finished my studies shortly before turning 24 and trust me I was the happiest woman on earth! To me, it was a great challenge.
And again, another goodbye... but this time it was an indefinite goodbye. It was really an ambiguous feeling. On one hand I was happy I had finished my studies and was able to return to my Perú. On the other hand, I was very sad to leave the life I had. It cost me a great deal to detach from Austria, but I had to fulfill my next dream. I think that the saying "what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger" it's very true.

Austria gave me something that I wouldn't change for anything and made me learn a lot about myself and the world. Let's say that it was the first step to begin knowing the world. And what parts of the world? That would have to be for the next...