Hallo! My name is Sally Dickey and I am a Walton College student studying Supply Chain Management. This past semester, I had the amazing opportunity to spend a semester abroad in Salzburg, Austria. I wanted to create a top ten list on how Austria is different from the United States.
Top Ten Differences Comparing Austria to the United States
- The Dining Experience
Everything about eating is different in Austria, and Europe in general. When you first walk into a restaurant in Austria, almost 9 times out of 10 you are expected to seat yourself. Then the waiters typically only come to your table three times, first to order (both food and drinks at the same time), second to bring your food, and third to pay for your meal. The waiters don’t typically walk around to see how you’re doing, you are expected to flag them down. There are also random aspects that are different in that water costs money, they never put ice in their drinks, and when you pay they bring the "cash register" to you with a wallet of cash and the credit card scanner as well. - Cash Based Society
I was not prepared for how cash based Austria is. I was fully prepared to use my credit card everywhere since that’s what it’s like in America. But the Austrian culture is very against using cards. Sometimes the waiters get visibly annoyed when you ask if you can pay with card. - Dogs
There are dogs everywhere. This shocked me. Not only do the Austrians walk their dogs everywhere outside, dogs are allowed indoors everywhere. The mall, the grocery store, restaurants, etc. This seemed to be common around Europe as well. But specifically, the Austrian dogs were so well behaved. They walk behind their owners and stop every time their owners stop. - A Reserved Population
The Austrians are much more reserved than Americans. They don’t talk to random strangers while waiting in lines or even smile at people when making eye contact on the street. I learned in my Austrian culture class that this has trickled down from the old generations from World War II. There were secret police everywhere and no one could trust anyone. Children were taught not to interact with strangers or to give them any suspicion so that was passed down a few generations. - Very Environmentally Conscious
Austria is very environmentally conscious because it derives from their culture of being nature oriented, connected to the mountains. If you want plastic or paper grocery bags you have to buy them, every trash can has different slots for sorting, and every toilet has two options for flushing power. - Public Transport
As well as the rest of Europe, Austria relies heavily on public transportation to get around their cities. This includes buses and trains. In America, besides huge cities like New York City, there aren't usually great public transport systems so everyone drives. There are few people driving in the cities in Austria. One reason is because cars and gas are much more heavily taxed than in America. Especially in Salzburg, tons of people ride bikes around the city to get around. - Education
Education is completely different in Austria. First, all universities are free, however only about 30% of people go to the universities. At 10 years old, parents are able to decide for their kids what path they want to go down, general education based or trade based. The way they teach in a classroom is also very different. In America, classes are very structured and very guided by the teacher. However in Austria, classes are much more independent and self-driven and it creates a large gap in the students' success. - Store Hours
This was a huge adjustment coming from America where most stores are open pretty late. All of the grocery stores in Salzburg close at 7pm along with most other stores. In addition, those same stores aren’t open on Sundays either. Therefore, you have to be strategic on when to get groceries. - Coalition government
The government is different in that it is a coalition government, where two different parties work together to form a government. There are also a lot more political parties than just two/three in America. Fun fact there is a communist party and they were handing out pamphlets one day around the school and I had no idea. - Smoking
For being such an environmentally friendly city, they sure don't take care of their own bodies. Smoking is so prevalent in Austria. People can start smoking at age 16 and they take advantage of it. My Austrian culture professor said that Austria is really behind compared to the rest of Europe in percentage of people who smoke. You can smoke inside most bars as well.
Senior Supply Chain Management Sally Dickey spent the spring 2019 semester in Austria with the help of our Office of Study Abroad Scholarship and the Walton College of Business.
Don't miss your opportunity to study or intern abroad! Start your search at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/search/
