As of this week, I have completed half of my time abroad with the IFYE program. I have been in Austria for a month and a half now. I have another month and half left to complete the three month program. The time just seems to fly by; the days are short and the weeks are even shorter! I have gotten to experience so many things. I have toured the large cities and been site seeing. I have become a part of three different families. I have tried new foods and activities. I have helped out on the farm. I have gone on solo day trips. And most of all, I have learned new perspectives. In thinking about how these new perspectives affect me now versus at the beginning of my trip, my thoughts have definitely changed. At the beginning when I first arrived, everything was new. I was learning all of these new things and comparing them to the life that I know from home. Some things seemed very similar, some completely different. My thoughts on one topic might be different than on another topic. I might understand one concept to be way better than the way it is done at home and another concept may not make any sense to me at all. Many things I learned over and over from each host family, explaining them to me in their own way and often with their own opinions. These things I came to understand soon became my new normal. I’ve accepted things for the way that they are and no longer think of them as a contrast. When I think about my current position on the culture shock curve, I consider myself somewhere between missing home and never wanting to leave. I love everything I am experiencing abroad but also have moments were I miss my home, my family and friends, my dogs, and yes even miss my job. The thought of my trip being half over is both sad and exiting. I am sad that I cannot have all the time in the world to be where I am now but also exited for the future of completing my trip and going home to share what I have accomplished.
My half way point on the culture shock curve
Something that I have gotten to learn a lot about with many of my host families is preparing homemade food. It is very common to prepare meals at home and thought to be a better way of eating - with my host families so far anyway. Some families produce more foods at home, others buy more from a supermarket, but all of my host families, farm or not, have kept gardens and have been very proud of them. I have gotten to help prepare many meals at home and often learn new recipes. I’ve experienced new combinations of foods - something that has also contributed to my new normal at the half way point. One of my favorite things that I have gotten to learn to make at home has been homemade marmalade. My host family maintains apple trees and a variety of berry plants including: red current, blackberry, raspberry, and huckleberries. They use all of the fruit for many things but a main production is the marmalade that they have been making from home for many many years. Through out my stay with this family I got to help pick and collect the fruit. I also helped clean the fruit, and spent many afternoons cutting and preparing them to be frozen (not all of the fruits are ready to be harvested at the same time so it needs to be frozen until all are ready to be made into the marmalade). One day once we had everything we needed, it was time to make the marmalade. I was able to learn the entire process and help with all the steps. The task took us all afternoon and into the early evening, but the marmalade we made will last my host family for the entire year, and that I have gotten to enjoy in my few weeks of being here! I’m very excited to have this new skill and hope to take it with me when I return home.
Making homemade marmalade