How To Understand Austrian Culture And Society

Suhyeon Oh
Professor Teresa Rieger
Understanding Austrian Culture & Society
Portfolio 5 Like Maria wrote in the testimonial, one of the reasons I decided to come to Austria for exchange semester was I wanted to experience somewhere different. In addition to it, Austria seemed to satisfy all of my needs such as geographical location and beautiful nature. When I arrived in Wien Airport on the 3rd, September, to be honest I was so afraid. I cannot speak English well and know nothing about German, even the easy greetings. I do not know why I thought that Austrians might not be kind at that time. However, it turned out that I was totally wrong. People I met in Austria are so nice and they are always willing to give me a hand when I need help. Needless to say about

The city was really wonderful. Especially, the alpine mountains were breathtaking. I could not stop exclaiming when I stepped on the top of the Nordkette. It was one of the best scenery in my whole life. Even if I was not on the trip, I could always live close to the beautiful nature in my room, which made me get up feeling grateful in every morning. The second thing I love about Austria is well-preserved traditions. Starting from Rupertikirtag in September from Krampuslauf in December, Austrians think traditions important and try hard to preserve them. The most impressive part was people wearing traditional clothes on the festival. In South Korea, people do not usually wear traditional costumes if it is not personal important occasion such as wedding. Therefore, I was impressed by Austrians dressing up in the traditional way especially young people. It seems that they love and feel proud of the traditions. It was really great to have an opportunity to participate in the traditions with local people. Through the experiences, I think I could get to learn more about Austrian culture. The third reason was that people in Austria, they know how to