SOMETHING ABOUT TORNADOS – From Austria to America

something about tornados

Austria to America. All I was asking for was a basement when my husband, my 3 little ones and I moved from the suburbs of Vienna to the Cornhusker State of Nebraska. I felt a lot of fear to live in a state that is known to be in the so called Tornado Alley.

(weather radio, weekly test)

It was as early as March when Nebraska had its first Tornado Watch of the season. I’ve never experienced anything similar. Yes, there are thunderstorms, supercells, funnel clouds and Tornados around the Alps. There are even some stormchasers that run http://www.stormhunters-austria.com. Since the 1950´s there has been about 90 registered Tornados in Austria.

So I informed myself well in advance. I went around and asked our new friends, neighbors and acquaintances in Lincoln about Tornados and what to do. Do I keep on driving? Do I leave my house and drive to an official shelter? Do I run down to school? What exactly means a Tornado Watch and what is a Warning? Sirens? When do they go on? What if I don´t hear them?

What I hear makes me wonder and think about it even more. Not everyone is taking precautions. Not all have basements. Most never experienced a Tornado. A lot don´t take shelter during a Tornado Warning. Some simply pray and hope for the best. Most people live with the Tornado Warnings for most of their lives and take them what they are. Nature.

Someone then told me to buy a weather radio! How safe I felt all of a sudden. I bought even two. Just in case. One that fitted in my purse and I could take with me outside of town, anytime. That made me feel safer. (Oh, later that year I got my first iPhone – what a great help to get those weather apps).

We learned fast that not every Tornado Watch meant to go and run down to your basement. We learnt to live with it, like everyone else does who lives in a state that is constantly struck by Tornados. I’ve learned my lesson in being more calm about Tornados, but I’ve also realized that it´s the awareness that keeps you safe!

The awareness and an unfortunate accident kept us safe during several Tornado Warnings outside of town last May. Read more about this crazy experience on my blog: http://theaustrianwalnutproject.wordpress.com/tag/tornado/

How the American School System is experienced by Austrian kids and their parents – An Expat Story

My daughters first day of school in Nebraska will be not only the day when she went to school the first time in her life. She went to school in Nebraska. It always will be the day we officially started our journey in Nebraska. Good Bye Austria.

Welcome USA!

It was the fear to bring my kids into a situation like this one. Being in a country they´ve never been before. A country their language they didn’t speak or understand. Observing for many weeks she started little by little to speak, read and write in English. She was enrolled in the ELL Program. Today she is able to follow any conversations and has little problems to find the right words. School was not only a challenge for her, but also for me. Elementary schooldays in Austria start at 8am and usually don´t go any longer then lunchtime. Kids don´t eat at school in Austria, unless they are signed up for an after school program, which usually is another building, or within walking distance of school or it´s one of the newer full-time elementary schools.

Her first day started at 9 am and lasted until 3.38 pm. I still don´t know why schools out at that time in Lincoln, Nebraska. This was a long day. But – and this was the biggest surprise for me – the teachers convinced me to look after her in between and come by for lunch. Unless you are volunteering at the classroom (depending on the teacher) parents are usually not seen at elementary schools in Austria.

I loved the experience to help teachers, to join my daughter for lunch anytime! or to stop by and drop of her lunchbox. Lunch-boxes are something that we have never used before. Kids either have lunch at home or at the after-school program here in Austria. This includes a full 3 course meal. Soup, main dish and often a dessert. The menus have a bright variety and there´s never a meal served twice a month!

I decided to let my kids eat 2 – 3 times a week the school lunch, because I wanted them to have the total experience and to get to know the culture. Of course my daughter quickly found her favorite new dish. Corn dogs.

We were lucky. More than lucky. She was surrounded by wonderful, amazing, and caring teachers and students. One thing that was given to my daughter during those 2 years in Nebraska was a lot of love and joy throughout her journey. It made her grow beautifully. It made her open for others. It made her see things from another perspective. It made her what she is today. My wonderful 8 year old daughter.

See my blog for more thoughts about Nebraska and Austria.

http://theaustrianwalnutproject.wordpress.com/2013/04/06/u-bahn-in-vienna-vs-john-deere-in-nebraska/

THE STORY – AN AUSTRIAN FAMILY MOVING TO THE U.S.

WE WANT TO GIVE A WARM WELCOME TO OUR BRAND-NEW CONTRIBUTING WRITER, MELANIE DOERFL-TARDY!!!

CHECK OUT MELANIE’S ‘THE STORY’ OF HER MOVE TO & EXPERIENCE IN THE U.S. :):

We – that is my husband and our 3 little kids –  moved from Austria to the

United States of America in 2011.

For most of our family members, friends and

neighbors that did not make any sense. Leaving your apartment, your friends,

your job? With a one year, three year and five year old? Why would you

sell all your cleverness and buy bewilderment? One reason to move

was to spend an unforgettable time as a family together and the desire to do

something else. Something that would take us to another scene. We have been

rewarded with a wonderful and fulfilling journey over those 2 years in the States.

For this to happen I went through stages of resistance, anger, fear but also joy, excitement and bewilderment.

Our days were filled with packing and a lot of

organization from the moment we decided to move.

Packing, sorting, cleaning and in between there are all those forms,

passports, contracts, … to take care of (and everything that comes with

it like taking passport ID photographs of a 3 year old).

The moment we arrived in Lincoln,

Nebraska felt surreal and I wondered

I if I would ever be able to feel

something for that place that looked so

plain, simple and not metropolitan to

me at first.

As we arrived in the midst of a typical Nebraskan summer it was hot and humid.

We hit a 100 Fahrenheit those days and although air-conditioning is not

a common thing in Europe I appreciated quickly the constant use of A/C in the

United States of America. Yes, it took me several weeks to adjust my body

temperature because we indeed keep it “GEMÜTLICH” in Austria during those

hot summer days without any air-conditioning.

The dictionary tells me that is an atmosphere of comfort, peace and acceptance. Yes, it is seldom to find Stores, Shops, Shopping Malls and Hotels that offer A/C.

We moved to an astonishing neighborhood in Lincoln, Nebraska.

That´s were our adventure began …. over the next weeks I´ll tell you more about our journey from Austria to Nebraska and back home, against all odds we experienced the beauty within all this packing, organizing, selling, buying, …..

Until then, Babba – the ultimate Austrian expression for saying Bye.

~Melanie

Want to know more about the beauty of Nebraska or the lovely places in Austria?

Join in and follow me: austrianwalnutproject.com

 

Amazingly Inspiring Arnold

Hi TTMAA fans,

We’re sure you have heard of Arnold Schwarzenegger, probably the most famous Austrian alive! He comes from a little town in Steiermark but has become not only an Austrian success story, but a worldwide inspiration for what motivation, determination and focus can make you achieve ;).
We hope you feel the inspiration watching this cool interview. We know we did.

Have a wonderful week!

~Your TTMAA Team

P.s.: We’re gonna put together a full bio of his amazingly unconventional life soon. So stay tuned ;)!

 

Redbull – An Austrian Company

My friends and I went to a bar the other day in L.A. It was one of those cute ones. The ones that had great music, ambience and a little area where you could shake off the stress from the day.
All of a sudden, one of my friends returned to the group after he left us not too long ago and takes a few sips from a really well-known blue, red and silver can. Then he sighed and smiled and said, “I was sooo tired. But thanks to this little American miracle drink I’m feeling great again. Let the party begin!”
“Hold on a second, you think Redbull is an American company?” I asked him.
“Of course it is,” he replied. I sighed and wondered once again why so many people did not know that Redbull was not an American, but a product from Austria, an Austrian company. Well, and then I figured out ‘why’. Because no one ever told them! So with this blog post I make it my mission, to let you guys know and tell you a little more about the wonder brand redbull.

Though instead of giving you guys a boring case study on Redbull (which I had to do for one of my business classes), I found this short little video that you guys can watch for a short history of the company.

Redbull, which was created in Austria in 1987, is really an amazing as well as fun company. It’s founders and their children are on the Forbes list of the 500 wealthiest people in the world. Redbull is the MOST popular energy drink in the world and sold 4.6 billion cans only in 2011 with numbers rising every year. The company entered the U.S. in 1997, by starting in California and has grown to take more than half of the energy drink market in the entire U.S. and is used for a variety of other things as well…

I think that Redbull’s success comes from not only its talented founders, but especially from its focus on constantly leading a diverse international marketing campaign and from endorsing and sponsoring talented athletes and extreme sport personalities throughout the world.

Either way, we as Austrians are very proud of Redbull and that it was created in our country. It’s a great company to work for (from what I heard from a friend who works there) and I hope that I was able to make you know a little bit more about Redbull.

And remember: Redbull gives you wings haha ;)!
Redbull verleiht dir Fluegel!