If you are Austrian and just read that statement, please do not blast me. =)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13545386

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http://www.prettyyoungprofessional.com/featured/be-my-friend-socializing-in-a-new-city.html

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In Los Angeles, it is understandable that at work you present one side of yourself. That is the professional side. The side of you that comes in on time, eats a healthy lunch, works hard and then leaves to go home.

In Los Angeles, we understand that when our co-workers go home, they aren’t the professional selves that they present at work. We appreciate that our co-workers put on a show at work and are professional. We simply do not care how a co-worker is at home as long as it does not affect our work lives. If it does affect our work lives we are cranky about it and wish our co-workers would keep their private lives private.

Austrians seem to want to know everything about their co-workers; who they are on a deeper level. I find this exasperating. I don’t care who you are on a deeper level. Just please be nice. Please work hard. Please leave me alone to do my job the best I can. Then let’s all go home and be who we really are in our private worlds.

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http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/ci_17150716

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOiump3__Mo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBEwpSzXVAg

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http://www.hgtv.com/video/vienna-apartments-on-a-budget-video/index.html

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http://www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr-snowglobes-20101219,0,2842044.story

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Americans are very involved in their career. Moving around to different companies or even moving to different cities to further their career is very acceptable. Americans are loyal to their career, not to their company or co-workers. I can understand this mentality because American companies are not loyal to their employees at all. It’s just understood that if your company needs to cut your throat to get ahead, your company will not hesitate.

Austrians on the other hand are very loyal to the people that make up their company. They build strong friendships within the company.

An Austrian will say something like, “I don’t want to disappoint my co-workers.” An American will say something like, “I can’t underperform or I’ll lose my job.” Co-workers are not thought about because in the end, a co-worker is a competitor.

The Austrian way makes the days-to-day job easier. I like coming into work and interacting with my co-workers. It’s not so cut-throat.

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Fresh start
Though a fresh start is tough because you start at ground zero, there are benefits to it. It allows you to try out stuff that people from your hometown might have said, “Impossible!” or “That’s just not you.” No one knows in your new destination what “you” means so no one really labels you. Yeah, I get labeled “the American” but no one here knows me well enough to say, “You’d just never do something like that.” Example. I was invited to a hockey game last week. When I told my LA friends what I did, there was stunned silence, then, “I can’t image you ever going to a hockey game.” See, no one from LA would have invited me!

Toughen up
You toughen up when you leave your comfort zone and live in a different country. You are assaulted with one challenge after the other and you just have to take care of it. Wanna complain about calling the cable company or going to the DMV? Hard day at work? Do all that in another language with different cultural rule that you might not be aware of. Once you defeat the challenges that an expat life throws your way, a lot of stuff just got ridiculously easier to handle.

Lifted to a higher level
When you are forced to learn a new language and a new way of life while still defending your cultural roots, you’re lifted to a higher level. You realize that there is no 1 way to do something. Isn’t that a revelation? That means when a challenge comes your way, you’ve got a ton of different options on how to handle it. You realize problems are a jigsaw puzzle with pieces you just have to move around until you get the right fit. Never again can something cage you in. Never again can someone say, “You can’t do that.” Your response is “I might not be able to do it like this, but let’s see what the options are.”

Mellow
You become a lot mellower when you are an expat. There is so much that you just have to roll with. Something happens and you blink in surprise for a moment. Then if you have enough practice you realize that you just have to shrug your shoulders sometimes and say “Whatever, I can roll with that.”

Yes, you CAN live without that
Brace yourselves people. I have no clothes dryer at home. I don’t have a bathtub (only shower). I only drive my car once a week (big words being from Los Angeles).  There is no ocean nearby. And yet I manage to be happy with life here. Who would have thought that?

Being an expat comes with a lot of challenges, but the benefits are far greater.

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One friend in particular has really helped me out. She’s a native of Vienna and in typical Austrian style, once she decided it was okay to become my friend, she did it 100%.

One of my greatest joys is getting together with her for our little ritual breakfast. We get together on a Sunday whenever we both have time and have breakfast at the Cafe Sacher Vienna. It’s super cheesy and there are always tourists but we don’t care. We talk about everything under the sun as we enjoy our Viennese breakfast (coffee, a roll, a croissant with butter and jam).

I find having a simple ritual with a dear friend is one of the things that really helped settle me in Vienna.

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