Multiculturalism (in the Kitchen and Elsewhere)

Just got back from Eddie, Wes, and Chris's room downstairs, where most of us met to cook Chinese food for dinner tonight! We are really having a multicultural food experience here in Austria...but Eddie makes the best fried chicken and Laura and I cooked two huge pots of rice.

Speaking of ethnic food, Shireen and I went to Indigo, a posh fast-foodish Indian restaurant in Josefiau, for lunch yesterday. It's kind of the Austrian version of Indian food..and has sushi too for very cheap prices.

Last night International Kolleg (another dorm) hosted Heimbar, a biweekly party in the basement. It wasn't a far walk, so some of us went over to hang out with other Austrian and international students. It's really a very good idea; the drinks were cheap and the music was great. We'll definitely be going back there, even though Monday night's an odd time to have a party.

Now that everyone's back from spring break, I'm meeting more Austrian students. It's always interesting to talk to our new friends that live in the dorm (and some that we meet out and about at bars and restaurants) and hear about their experiences growing up in Europe. It's even more intriguing to hear their views on the USA and American life. Many of them have studied abroad or been on vacation in the States or in Canada and have unique observations to share (like the fact that we have a bad cheese selection). So much of this trip includes learning about individual perspectives, and how culture difference doesn't change them quite as much as you'd think.

One of the most eye-opening aspects of living in a new country is learning about its political norms and traditions. We're lucky enough to be staying here during the presidential elections, which only happen once every six years. In an effort to learn more about what everybody's talking about (the election's on Sunday), we've been talking about politics a lot in class. The two main candidates, Heinz Fischer and Barbara Rosenkranz have brightly colored billboards with slogans on every corner around Salzburg. I think it's pretty clear who will win, though. Fischer, the current Austrian president, is very popular and Rosenkranz is radically conservative, something that has a very bad connotation in this part of the world. It's still very interesting to learn about the political opinions of Salzburg. I care a lot about this town.