*Nick in Vienna
I, like many people in America and Austria, have been watching quite a bit of the winter olympics this past week. The Austrians really like the winter olympics because it seems like everyone here loves to ski and skate. The public school system here takes a "ski week" where everybody takes off of school to go skiing. Seriously, I'm not kidding about this. While Americas are fretting over test scores and trying to add more hours to the school day, Austrians are saying, screw it, let's just all go skiing this week. Mind you, they still take religious holidays (far more than in the US) so this is just an extra week off.
Anyway, this post is about television in Austria and Europe in general. I've got cable here at my apartment and I watch a fair amount to practice my german. The primary difference is there are way, way less commercials. I first really noticed this during the Super Bowl a few weeks ago which was picked up by a local cable channel. During the game, which as far as I am concerned is a 5 hour commercial sometimes interrupted by a football game few people care about (I'm a baseball fan first, you see) they took very, very few commercial breaks. This was really odd. They were using the American feed, so it was very easy to tell when the Americans had cut to commercials, such as after punts, timeouts, injuries, etc. The Austrians rarely went to commercial, but instead played highlights of the game or talked about football in general. They only took a commercial break between quarters and at halftime. As another example, yesterday I was watching a replay of an olympic hockey game. Since it wasn't live they could do whatever they wanted (the games was originally played at about 4 am European time). What they did was never take a commercial. Not even between periods. As soon as one ended they just started the next.
But how do the television stations make money, you may be asking. In Austria and France, and probably in other countries but I don't know, they have a "TV tax." If you own a television set you pay a tax on it. That money is used to subsidize the stations (several of which are run by the government) so they can run programming without commercials ever 8-10 minutes (and if I had to guess are forced by law to not run too many commercials).
I'm of mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, TV watching is far more enjoyable and it does seem like Austrians are less materialistic (subjective, I know). We don't have kids yet, but I can imagine it is a pain if your kid sees 100 toy commercials a day. Here that doesn't happen.
On the other hand, the TV tax is very weird. I, as with many americans, believe that information should be freely available to citizens for a democracy to properly function. There is also a radio tax here, meaning that for a person to have a device that allows them to get local and national news, they have to pay a tax for it (I don't know how much the tax is, but I think it is around 250 euros a year for tv). Most Americans pay far more than that per year if they have cable or digital cable, but there are many who can't afford cable and their primary source of information is the local evening news.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Can you repeat that?
*Jane in Paris*
According to the Fulbright Commission, I officially passed the halfway point of my 9 month grant yesterday. The date also served as a deadline for my midyear report, which concerned the progress of my research and integration into French culture. As I answered the questions I realized that I am certainly not wasting the time given to me.
My contact with real French people increased from almost nothing when I decided to join a French Protestant church one month ago. Since then I have attended four worship services given entirely in French, eaten a meal with several other church goers three times, and last week I attempted the scariest thing for the first time: attending the college student group. This was stressful because as tends to be the case in the US, younger people speak very fast, and like in English one can take a lot of short cuts and use a lot of slang in modern French. But I want to learn how to speak real French, with real French people, so I had to go.
The youth pastor of the church is British, but he speaks French fluently and just as fast as the students. The group consisted of about 10 of us, who filtered in slowly as we gathered at the beginning to eat dinner. During dinner I spoke a little bit about myself and tried to hang on to stories the other students told at a blistering pace. After the meal we sang some Christian songs, and some of them were funny to me because they were American songs that I knew quite well that had been translated ("Lord I Lift Your Name on High" was one of them). Then we undertook a fairly complicated conversation that combined the Lord of the Rings, the Bible, and how the modern Christian fits into history. As it seems conversations with young Christians often go these days, we ended up in a heated argument about the afterlife. I say "we" because by this point I could understand most of the conversation well, and I had things to say in my head, but the pace of the discussion was much too fast for me to interject. Alex, the leader, had to call for us to stop talking several times before it finally happened.
So on the one hand I feel like my ability to comprehend spoken French has really gotten better, but my speaking ability is still frustratingly inconsistent. I find that because rhythm and exact pronunciation are so integral to speaking French I need to warm up. Today, for instance, I had to go pick up a package in a small town outside of France, and when the man at the reception desk began speaking to me with a heavy non-French accent I couldn't understand him at all. "Oh, you are not French," he said after awhile. It's still difficult for me to speak with someone suddenly like this. The longer I speak with someone the better I tend to pronounce things and to use more complex grammatical constructions. Because I speak the language so inconsistently I have gotten everything from "she is injuring the French language" (an exchange between two people at a US university fair that I understood perfectly well) to "you speak French very well." I think that sometimes people say the latter to mean that I pronounce the language well, which is no small feat in itself.
It's fun to take note of the strange changes taking place in the brain when I am learning a new language. When I spent two months in Germany as an undergraduate I experienced a period of about a week towards the beginning of my stay when I forgot scores of English words (one of them was "surprise," for instance). I could actually tell that my brain was rearranging the structures that deal with language to make room for German. Then when I began to learn French a year later German always seemed to get in the way, especially when it came to numbers. Now that I am living in France but spending considerable time in Austria as well it isn't too difficult for me to switch between the two languages. The French, however, is now impinging upon the German in my head because my German pronunciation has become to my ear quite tainted by French sounds. Nick is in the process of learning to speak German with real Germanophones at the same time, and so there are often funny moments during our Skype conversations where neither of us are getting our English out very well.
I would be interested to hear about other people's experiences with foreign language. It has been so difficult to learn these languages over the last ten years, but persevering until I actually got them "in my head" has been an ample reward.
According to the Fulbright Commission, I officially passed the halfway point of my 9 month grant yesterday. The date also served as a deadline for my midyear report, which concerned the progress of my research and integration into French culture. As I answered the questions I realized that I am certainly not wasting the time given to me.
My contact with real French people increased from almost nothing when I decided to join a French Protestant church one month ago. Since then I have attended four worship services given entirely in French, eaten a meal with several other church goers three times, and last week I attempted the scariest thing for the first time: attending the college student group. This was stressful because as tends to be the case in the US, younger people speak very fast, and like in English one can take a lot of short cuts and use a lot of slang in modern French. But I want to learn how to speak real French, with real French people, so I had to go.
The youth pastor of the church is British, but he speaks French fluently and just as fast as the students. The group consisted of about 10 of us, who filtered in slowly as we gathered at the beginning to eat dinner. During dinner I spoke a little bit about myself and tried to hang on to stories the other students told at a blistering pace. After the meal we sang some Christian songs, and some of them were funny to me because they were American songs that I knew quite well that had been translated ("Lord I Lift Your Name on High" was one of them). Then we undertook a fairly complicated conversation that combined the Lord of the Rings, the Bible, and how the modern Christian fits into history. As it seems conversations with young Christians often go these days, we ended up in a heated argument about the afterlife. I say "we" because by this point I could understand most of the conversation well, and I had things to say in my head, but the pace of the discussion was much too fast for me to interject. Alex, the leader, had to call for us to stop talking several times before it finally happened.
So on the one hand I feel like my ability to comprehend spoken French has really gotten better, but my speaking ability is still frustratingly inconsistent. I find that because rhythm and exact pronunciation are so integral to speaking French I need to warm up. Today, for instance, I had to go pick up a package in a small town outside of France, and when the man at the reception desk began speaking to me with a heavy non-French accent I couldn't understand him at all. "Oh, you are not French," he said after awhile. It's still difficult for me to speak with someone suddenly like this. The longer I speak with someone the better I tend to pronounce things and to use more complex grammatical constructions. Because I speak the language so inconsistently I have gotten everything from "she is injuring the French language" (an exchange between two people at a US university fair that I understood perfectly well) to "you speak French very well." I think that sometimes people say the latter to mean that I pronounce the language well, which is no small feat in itself.
It's fun to take note of the strange changes taking place in the brain when I am learning a new language. When I spent two months in Germany as an undergraduate I experienced a period of about a week towards the beginning of my stay when I forgot scores of English words (one of them was "surprise," for instance). I could actually tell that my brain was rearranging the structures that deal with language to make room for German. Then when I began to learn French a year later German always seemed to get in the way, especially when it came to numbers. Now that I am living in France but spending considerable time in Austria as well it isn't too difficult for me to switch between the two languages. The French, however, is now impinging upon the German in my head because my German pronunciation has become to my ear quite tainted by French sounds. Nick is in the process of learning to speak German with real Germanophones at the same time, and so there are often funny moments during our Skype conversations where neither of us are getting our English out very well.
I would be interested to hear about other people's experiences with foreign language. It has been so difficult to learn these languages over the last ten years, but persevering until I actually got them "in my head" has been an ample reward.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Doing a Puzzle
*Nick in Vienna
Jane and I write a lot about all the highfalutin things we do in Paris and Vienna, but a large chunk of our time is spent doing normal activities. When Jane was here last week for a quick visit we didn't do any operas, ballets, or museums, but instead mostly stayed home (except when we went rock climbing and out with Mason) and worked on a puzzle. I will say that Austrians really seem to like puzzles. We walked to a store somewhat like Target and they had a huge puzzle section, all of them of very high quality and made in Germany. Anyway, it was very nice to just stay in for a couple days and work on the puzzle, which we didn't finish but will still be here at the end of February when Jane comes back. Mason, however, did not seem to care for the puzzle. We think he could tell we were doing something fun but he couldn't take part. He mainly just paced around and whined because he wasn't getting our attention (which he got plenty of, trust me).
Jane and I write a lot about all the highfalutin things we do in Paris and Vienna, but a large chunk of our time is spent doing normal activities. When Jane was here last week for a quick visit we didn't do any operas, ballets, or museums, but instead mostly stayed home (except when we went rock climbing and out with Mason) and worked on a puzzle. I will say that Austrians really seem to like puzzles. We walked to a store somewhat like Target and they had a huge puzzle section, all of them of very high quality and made in Germany. Anyway, it was very nice to just stay in for a couple days and work on the puzzle, which we didn't finish but will still be here at the end of February when Jane comes back. Mason, however, did not seem to care for the puzzle. We think he could tell we were doing something fun but he couldn't take part. He mainly just paced around and whined because he wasn't getting our attention (which he got plenty of, trust me).
Friday, February 5, 2010
French Kissing
*Jane in Vienna*
I am writing from the Vienna airport, on my way back to Paris after a short visit to see Nick and Mason. I wanted to talk briefly about a custom that the French are famous for, and that I am learning about: "faire la bise" or making the kiss of greeting. I can confirm that the ritual is still alive and well in French culture. This is something that French people do to show intimacy with another person, either because they are already in some kind of relationship to each other or because among strangers the possibility of a relationship is being initiated. The first time anyone ever did this to me was at a party that I may have blogged about that took place in October. Although I knew only one other guest, when I arrived every person there gave me the kiss, even though I had never met any of them before. The reason was because of the type of the event, a party, and also the fact that we all appeared to be about the same age. So it was as though everyone was welcoming me and letting me know that it was ok to treat them casually and to use familiar forms of speech. At the party I met a couple who lives in Paris, and I have since seen them several times, and we always make the kiss to greet each other. At the church that I have been attending for the past month the first time I went to the worship service no one talked to me (I didn't really give anyone a chance to), so no kiss. The second time I actually met quite a few people, but no kisses were exchanged. Oh but last week! - every single person I had met the week before greeted me with the kiss. So because I am getting to know this group of people at L'eglise du marais I will be exchanging the greeting kiss dozens of times a week.
It's surprisingly easy to get used to. Everytime I've done it you go to the left first. Three kisses is unusual - no one has ever done this to me, but I have seen it, especially among older people. I think maybe this is done if people have known each other for along time. You actually touch the other person's cheeks with your own, which to me is something more intimate than a hug. Everyone's cheeks are always soft, although I have exchanged the greeting kiss with bearded men, and this is kind of strange. Perhaps this ritual encourages French men to be clean shaven - I feel like I don't see a lot of beards in Paris. Hugs in the US don't really say anything to me, other than to tell me whether or not another person likes to hug. And there is always ambiguity about whether or not to hug someone - do you know each other well enough, does the other person hug or not? But in France there are seemingly unwritten rules for the kiss, and I feel like it really means something. When the people at the church gave me the kiss I felt strongly welcomed by the community, even though people had been a little shy to speak to me at first. I think attending the lunch meals, which I have now done twice, indicated to the group that I was interested in having community and not just attending the service.
So in some, I am fond of this French custom. I don't think it would work in the US though - every time I see Americans making the kiss it seems snobby to me. Perhaps when I return I won't feel this way - I suppose you'll have to see what I do when I see you all again this summer.
I am writing from the Vienna airport, on my way back to Paris after a short visit to see Nick and Mason. I wanted to talk briefly about a custom that the French are famous for, and that I am learning about: "faire la bise" or making the kiss of greeting. I can confirm that the ritual is still alive and well in French culture. This is something that French people do to show intimacy with another person, either because they are already in some kind of relationship to each other or because among strangers the possibility of a relationship is being initiated. The first time anyone ever did this to me was at a party that I may have blogged about that took place in October. Although I knew only one other guest, when I arrived every person there gave me the kiss, even though I had never met any of them before. The reason was because of the type of the event, a party, and also the fact that we all appeared to be about the same age. So it was as though everyone was welcoming me and letting me know that it was ok to treat them casually and to use familiar forms of speech. At the party I met a couple who lives in Paris, and I have since seen them several times, and we always make the kiss to greet each other. At the church that I have been attending for the past month the first time I went to the worship service no one talked to me (I didn't really give anyone a chance to), so no kiss. The second time I actually met quite a few people, but no kisses were exchanged. Oh but last week! - every single person I had met the week before greeted me with the kiss. So because I am getting to know this group of people at L'eglise du marais I will be exchanging the greeting kiss dozens of times a week.
It's surprisingly easy to get used to. Everytime I've done it you go to the left first. Three kisses is unusual - no one has ever done this to me, but I have seen it, especially among older people. I think maybe this is done if people have known each other for along time. You actually touch the other person's cheeks with your own, which to me is something more intimate than a hug. Everyone's cheeks are always soft, although I have exchanged the greeting kiss with bearded men, and this is kind of strange. Perhaps this ritual encourages French men to be clean shaven - I feel like I don't see a lot of beards in Paris. Hugs in the US don't really say anything to me, other than to tell me whether or not another person likes to hug. And there is always ambiguity about whether or not to hug someone - do you know each other well enough, does the other person hug or not? But in France there are seemingly unwritten rules for the kiss, and I feel like it really means something. When the people at the church gave me the kiss I felt strongly welcomed by the community, even though people had been a little shy to speak to me at first. I think attending the lunch meals, which I have now done twice, indicated to the group that I was interested in having community and not just attending the service.
So in some, I am fond of this French custom. I don't think it would work in the US though - every time I see Americans making the kiss it seems snobby to me. Perhaps when I return I won't feel this way - I suppose you'll have to see what I do when I see you all again this summer.
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