This semester has been the best semester of my entire university degree. After three and a half years of daily grind in Toronto, Canada, coming to Linz has probably decreased my chance of having a heart attack by age 45, significantly. As stated in the Cultural Sensitivity Course our final submissions must be arranged in two parts. The first part consists of an intercultural Diary, and the second is a summarizing conclusion of our experience studying in Linz, and of our adventures in Europe.
Day 1
My friends and I took the train to Dresden from Linz and it was fairly uneventful. When we arrived the first difference I noticed was the massive clean train station. Everything was well made and the trains were all in a good state of repair. My older sister, Marta, lives in Dresden and hosted us for the duration. So as soon as we arrived, Marta made a fantastic dinner.
After dinner we had a walk to the center. Marta and her husband Andriy showed us the downtown and we had a beer at a nice restaurant. The walk was long and that night’s sleep was well deserved.
Day 2
Marta cooked us a great breakfast of tomatoes and eggs with cheese and meat. All of us went sightseeing. Did a long museum tour and then saw the old churches and the opera house that were almost completely destroyed in the thermite bombings of WW2. After the tours we went to Neustadt, where we had dinner at a nice restaurant to ease the pains of our stomachs from all of the walking around.
Day 1
Wow.....
What a dirty city. When we first came into Prague the first site was of the major train station which was covered in people begging for money and loitering. Within 10 minutes we were ripped off by the foreign currency exchange booths which litter the station. It seems we were mislead about what Prague really is. Prague, the city people always claim is so beautiful is covered in garbage and dog defecation! It looks old, but it’s filthy! After first arriving I told myself that I would like to leave as soon as possible.
After leaving the train station it became obvious that the city thrives off of us dumb tourists. Everywhere we went there was another exchange shop selling bogus exchange rates. The city core, where the tourists are, is like an oasis in the garbage dump! The high walls of the old buildings make you forget about the impoverished outskirts. The Charles Bridge was nice but so commoditized it was almost sacrilegious.
Day 2
Well, the day started out as usual. Our group agreed to have breakfast but then decided to skip. The castles in the high part of the city where one of the most intense tourist traps I had ever seen. Nothing in the city is left untainted or without a price. Vendors prey on tourists and they in turn are happy to shovel cash. Ah, the naivety I once had regarding tourism industry. The architecture was very nice and old. The people were also very nice in comparison to Dresden, but you were always aware of the local’s expectations. Foreigners’ = Money.
Day 3
The opera was the highlight of our Prague adventures, in my opinion. We all decided to wear our best jeans and shirts and attended a very nice rendition of Rigoletto in the nose bleed section for less than 10 euro each! The price for the show was worth it. Even though the city had its down side it did have superb culture once you started looking. Rigoletto was very nicely performed at the Prague state opera. I learned many valuable lessons from the show;
1 - Always verify an assassins’ work.
2 - Women are crazy over guys who don't care.
After the opera we found an authentic Prague restaurant where I had the heartiest man-meal ever! Four different types of meat, in a trough, with white and red cabbage and potato pancakes washed down with ample beer. Wow! What a meal. It only costs me 12 euro! I was definitely not in North America anymore and this was a case and point.
Prague shocked and delighted interesting city that you must get to know before you judge.
One of the things I promised to myself was that I would come to Austria to relax and not fill my days with non-stop assignments and tasks. Well the plan worked for a while until I became fairly bored with doing nothing other than travelling. So I joined a student group which I had been part of in Canada. It is called AIESEC and JKU has its own chapter which I contacted after the first month of my exchange. The Local Chapter was beginning a growth phase and I immediately saw where my skills could come into use. Using my previous experiences in Canada I created workshops, sessions, and goal setting activities for all of the members of AIESEC Linz. Within 3 weeks the entire membership was explaining that the workshops were really helping them with their school, lives, and organization. As a response I was offered a delegate seat to attend 2 conferences. The first conference in Furstenfeld, and the other conference, in Innsbruck; which I happily accepted. The organization has made me realize that one of my passions is too really inspire other young people and that I love to contribute to my local and international community.
Overall Conclusion of Exchange Experience
The Exchange Experience has literally changed my life. In making me live half a year in a completely different country with different values I feel that I have really grown and developed as a person. Most importantly the impact I have been able to make through my extracurricular involvement has reenergized my resolve to continue to engage and impact university students. I am officially completed my undergraduate degree on June 25th, 2008. As the date gets closer I have become to be more reflective and introspective. I am realizing that the conclusion of my university is not the end of a part of my life. It is the roots and foundation of a new part of my life. A part where I have the skill set and confidence to continue making a positive change that I so wish to see in our world. Being able to surround myself with people who share the same vision is something that drives me now more than any financial reward. Although I am sure that by surrounding myself with people of the same mentality will make the financial part of life become a non issue. On a final note, the exchange experience has made me realize that I have become independent. Fully funding all of my adventures and misadventures I have realized that I must reconnect with my family in a way that will make a difference for their lives as well. No man is an island and one must never forget where one has come from.
I am from Toronto, Canada but I have now lived in Linz, Austria.
I will never forget.
