Another Monday filled with clashes

2009-12-07

It's Monday afternoon and I had my last session in one course earlier today. The only thing left is a home exam due next week.

This course has been interesting in many ways. It has focused on cross cultural management and issues related to this subject. I am glad to finally be done with it (at least in terms of attendance). Despite its interesting content, it has been a difficult course to take due to several reasons. The most prominent are to the clash and confrontational demeanor that they invite the attendants to adopt. Each session felt like a heated debate regarding influx of refugees, the degree of emancipation around the world or immoral elements in foreign cultures (just to mention a few). Don't get me wrong, I think it is brilliant when a class or course can be something else than just monologues by the lecturer(s). I appraise the idea of different opinions and debating. But unfortunately, I have always had the feeling that the majority of the presumptions and debates in the classroom have been based on inaccurate and sometimes completely incorrect ideas of different cultures and mentalities.

This whole theme of the confrontation of cultures and ethnicities is something that I sense very strongly on a daily basis, and it is something that I have felt for some time now. I have the feeling that it is increasing, and it disappoints me. The general trends around Europe in this area are demoralizing and disappointing altogether. A lot of nations are turning more towards xenophobia, and I conclude that on the recent results in various elections around our continent.

A very schematic example of my observations is an article about the Swedish (originally Bosnian/Croat) football player Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Regarded by professionals and journalists as one of the best football players in the world right now. The content of this article is not interesting, but the commentators' field below the article is truly disappointing and disgusting in many ways. Xenophobic comments represent a significant fraction of all comments left by readers. These comments are directed towards the player himself but also fans of him that in many cases are presumed to hail from foreign cultures and countries.

Anyway, a few weeks ago I had a very unpleasant experience when an Austrian girl in this cross cultural course attacked me with insulting and outrageous questions/comments about my origin and my family! This asswipe is just one of many who despise anything that differs from the domestic and traditional values. Like I've said in previous posts, it has to do with fear fundamentally. Fear of being attacked or polluted by something unknown and alien.

This is not all of it (naturally). There are a lot of issues related to segregation as well. As a reason for people to become more segregating (and vote for right-wing extremists with hostile views one immigrants and foreigners). I won't go into that topic in this post, but it is clearly something that is current and disturbing.

I learned a lot during this course in cross cultural management. I really feel that I gained something from it, even though it still is not over. But I am also disappointed in how insular and narrow minded people tend to be. How unwilling many people seem to be about seeing things from other perspectives and not always assuming that one is right oneself.
I'm glad that I won't have to spend more hours in that classroom, discussing these things back and forth with people who only see things in black and white. But I am fully aware of the fact that these confrontations won't end with this class, it is probably something that I will have to live with for the rest of my life.

Thank you for reading.

A taste of Linz

2009-10-20

Post three following my return to the city of Linz.

First of all, like I might have mentioned in the first post following my return to Linz, I see that some improvements have been made to the city since last year. There are some things I would like to underline:

• More cultural hotspots and arrangements. Since the city became the cultural capital of Europe 2009, it has become more "cultured" and less "alternative" so to speak. Linz is a heavy industrial city with a lot of concrete. Highly sophisticated Museums, buildings and improved technical solutions to the already existing infrastructure contributes to make the city less dull and more interesting.
• The tram is now running round the clock on weekends, and that is a huge help when we go out. Less taxis (that might not even show up) and more environmental transportations impresses me.
• The responsible people of the dorms and campus have realized the simplicity and smoothness of WLAN. Wireless Internet is a must in all western European cities. Period.
• Like I mentioned yesterday, I see less people with festival outfits and more people with professional appearances. More of that please.

There are however still things that I dislike, regardless of where I might find these things I might add. The following things do not impress me at all:

• Bad water. Linz is one of those cities where the water running out of the tap tastes bad. It makes the coffee taste like saltwater, it leaves unpleasant stains on surfaces and in pots, and last but certainly not least, it forces me to buy mineral water in order to not dry out. I consume about 9 liters per week.
• The cleaninglady who is supposed to clean my apartment for me. She is an urban legend, I barely see her and hear her. And of course, I don't see any work being done in my apartment! I am paying for room service but all I get is someone who empties my trash three times a week. She doesn't even change the plastic in the bin, she just empties it in her cart, slams the door and disappears. Imagine how disgusting it is to use the one and same plastic bag in the bin for over a month.
  I have been thinking of buying my own mop in order to make things a little better, but if I do that she will probably never come back.
• Stores (and other common places) that are closed on Sundays. Austrians are very catholic, and because of that they strongly believe that no work should be carried out on Sundays. I don't like that. 
  
• The concept of air-conditioning  appears to never have reached the Austrian nation. In a country with one of the highest smoking rates in the world where smoking indoors, both in buildings but many times also in public transport takes place, it only makes it worse. Every country has flaws, and I would most probably nag about something else and bring it up here if I was still in Sweden, but this is beyond anything else. I find it difficult to breathe at some of my lectures. The lecture halls are spartan, the furniture and equipment that has been equipped there belongs to another century. Dust flies around by the least motion, causing endless coughing, sneezing and also creating health risks. What we breathe in will eventually end up in our lungs, and getting it out from there is quite some challenge.
  A Swedish lecture hall:
  
  
  
  
  
  A lecture hall in Linz:
  
  
  
  
  

That was all I had to say for this time. In my next post, I will thoroughly go through my apartment (with images of course) and grade the different features. Thank you for reading.