Hello. Welcome to my website. It started while I was in Europe for a semester, and I've kept it up since then. I'm now at the University of Chicago Law School, living in Hyde Park, and the story continues. If you want to say hi or visit me, email cfloyd at uchicago dot edu.
"Life is nothing if not the sum of your anecdotes." -Scotty The Body, on storytelling "But it ain't that bad, man. Just figure out the system before the system figures out you." -T. Matthew Smith, on the 1L year "The beer just doesn't taste as good when you're not drinking it with your buddies." -Anon., on being away from good friends "Somebody has to pay the rent around here. Why the hell not us?" -Cotton, on studying for exams
3/06/2003
Here are the general observations I said were coming. They're slightly late, but that's because I chose to go see some live jazz in a little pub down the street instead of sit at a computer. I knew you wouldn't be mad. Okay, here we go. None of these are meant to make fun; I'm just pointing out cultural differences that I find interesting:
--My first mistake in the country was attempting to cross an empty street when the signal said Don't Walk. All the street signs are taken quite seriously here. My guide person explained to me that Austirans are quite well trained. They will walk an extra block to make sure they find a crosswalk. Although to be fair, the students I saw around the university didn't take it so seriously.
--If a sidewalk has a bicycle sign on it, it's not a sidewalk--it's a bikepath. And the cyclists will yell at you for walking there. (My second mistake.)
--The cars are freakin' tiny, Mr. Bigglesworth. A Volkswagen Golf is a mid-sized sedan. And some of the cars would easily fit in the bed of an F-150. I weigh more than some of these cars.
--But the streets are narrow, so it makes sense. Somebody driving a Hummer here would be like piloting an M-1A1 tank down the street in Oklahoma. People would run for cover and the city would call up the National Guard.
--Graz is about the same size as Norman, but with 250,000 people instead of 90,000. There seems to be no such thing as a one-story building, and I have yet to see a house. Everybody has an apartment.
--You've got to register for everything. I had to register my presence with the police, with the apartments, with the city, and I had to register my computer for the internet. But you don't register for some of your courses. Hmph.
--People always come back saying how much better the beer here is. I will agree, with some reservations. So far as I can tell, the standard Austrian beer is a top lager. That is, it is crisp, tart, and clear. Think Becks, or imagine if Coors, Bud, or Miller were made right. But I can tell about as much difference between Austrian brands as I can between the American versions.
--And the bars (those I've been to so far) don't have much selection. I imagine that will change as I explore. But I think it's safe to say that a standard pub, llike you see on every street corner, has two, maybe three kinds of beer. They're usually the clear lager, maybe a weissbier. They taste fine, but I didn't run out to sing in the streets after my first sip. I just like darker ales better.
--Did you ever see the High Life commercial where the guy was so proud of his food because it was different shades of brown? That's Austrian cooking. Fried meat patties, fried pototoes. Noodles. I haven't had enough to tell all about it, but that's how it looks so far.
--They separate their trash here. At first I was very nervous about getting it right. I still have this worry that if I put colored glass in the clear glass bin, the entire sytem will collapse.
--The weather is by and large the same as in Oklahoma.
Okay, that's all I've got for now. But I've decided that Fridays are going to be Mail Answer Days. If you've got a question or comment, send it to me and I'll post it with my response. It'll be fun.
