The World Is So Small! – More Austrian people in St. Petersburg

As you might already know, already in our first week we met two students from Austria, Julia and Maria, with whom we still keep hanging out. There just seems to be a “magical bond” between Austrian people in Russia.

So also today when meeting up with Geraldine Kraus, an Austrian lady (who I know because she comes from my hometown and because her daugther used to go to school with my mum and because she used to be the teacher of one of my aunts [uff! confused now?]), it was quiet comfortable to “hang out” with her, talk to her and walk around Saint Petersburg.

Why am I writing all this?

Feeling Austrian in Piter
First, I think it is quiet interesting, that when you are with either people from your “nationality” or at least with people who speak your language (also with Andrea, our roommate from Germany) there is some special bond. There is some weird comfortability, some closeness that sometimes is even kind of weird. Still sometimes this “speciality” is also quiet useful: There was never really anything like a big “HOMESICKNESS”, as I always had some people around me who felt I little bit like me, who I could talk to about my problems – without having to fear, that I would offend them, if I spoke about my problems with some facettes of Russian culture. And today there was also this genuine feeling, that even though I was in St. Petersburg, it felt like being in Austria, somewhere, in some city I don’t know yet (and where a lot of Russian tourists are).

Successful Austrians in Russia
Secondly, it was very interesting as Geraldine Kraus is a very interesting person and her reason for being in Piter is also quiet interesting and I would say, it has even some newsworthiness (still I put this fact to the end of my blog entry – I am very sorry for those who are journalistically interested in my/our blog-entries). Geraldine Kraus actually retired a few years ago but since about 2001 she used to be in touch with Russian schools. At home she used to do “Schulentwicklung” (development of eduction) and some day she also started to consult some Russian school close to Moskow about how to develop their school (system). Some years later also in the “Leningrad Area” (the area around St. Petersburg) she started to develop a programm for “school inspectors” or better to say for the education of school inspectors.

Well anyways, I think this is interesting, because in Austrian media it is always said that the Austrian school system is very bad, but then it is very interesting to speak to this lady and that she is telling me, that she actually also helped to develop (the school system) in other Eastern European countries. Sometimes Finnish and Austrian knowledge is brought to these countries and sometimes it is just Austrian knowledge. And so this really surprised me as the Finnish school system in Austrian media is very often mentioned as a rolemodel for the Austrian school system. – I am not going to comment on Austrian understanding of a good school system and the differences I have already experienced between U.S., Italian, Austrian and Russias school system because that would be too much for now. But I thought I had to share this knowledge about successful Austrians in Russia with you.

(carina)