By Fern Webber
Tell us about your study abroad experience in Vienna, Austria. What are the best features of your program? What are you studying there?
I came to Vienna through the Illinois in Vienna Program, or IiVP, which is hosted by the University of Illinois and also includes DePaul University. I decided on this program because I am a senior this year and wanted to do a study abroad program before I graduate, and my advisor and German professor Dr. Souchuk (who is also head of the German program at DePaul) recommended this one. She studied in Vienna when she was an undergraduate and she said that her experience abroad totally changed her life.
My favorite thing about the program so far is the many activities it provides for us to do. Most of them are optional, but I’ve done every single one so far, and they’ve all been well worth it. We’ve been boating on the Danube and hiking on top of the Raxalpe; raced around a bunch of different museums during the Lange Nacht der Museen; gone to a play by Arthur Schnitzler (Der Einsame Weg); toured the 1st District; and been to Wachau by boat, just to name a few. And there are lots more to come!
I am a German major, so I just decided to take all of the program courses, which are all geared towards German studies. In total, I am taking German 205 (a course of the history and culture of Austria), “Sprechen und Schreiben für Fortgeschrittene” (Speaking and Writing for Advanced Students), “Geschichte der Österreichischen Kultur” (History of Austrian Culture), and “Einführung in die deutsche Literatur des 20. Jahrhunderts” (Intro to German Literature of the 20th Century).
Because I would have had to pay extra to take any more classes – and because I was running out of available time – I did not sign up for any academic classes at the Wirtschaftsuniversität or the University of Vienna. However, I did sign up for a weekly archery class with the Universitäts-Sportsinstitut Wien, and so far, that has been really interesting. It’s also been good for my German, because the instructor talks very quickly with a thick Viennese dialect, so I really have to be paying attention.
How did you set up the mini-concert at the Haus der Musik (sound museum)?
In the beginning, I actually never thought of setting up a concert at all. On the first day I was here, Dr. Pfefferle (the head of the program) was showing us around on the U-Bahn, and we got into a conversation about what instruments we played. I mentioned that I played the piano and sang a little bit, and that I had once wanted to be an opera singer, and then forgot all about the conversation. Then, several weeks later, Dr. Pfefferle took me aside – we were on another train, this time on our way back from the Raxalpe hike – and told me that there was an open piano in the Haus der Musik that anybody could play, and asked me if I would be willing to give a mini-concert for visiting faculty from the University of Illinois there.
I told her that I would, but that I didn’t have a lot of time to practice, nor did I have access to a piano near where I lived. So I asked if it would be alright if I played some of my own songs, because I wouldn’t have to practice them as much as, say, a Mozart piece. She said she would like to hear them first, so I sent her some recordings of two of my songs that I had made for a friend last year. The sound quality on the recordings was not great, but Dr. Pfefferle ended up really liking the songs, and a day or two after I sent them to her, she sent me an email giving me the green light for the concert.
How did the experience impact you? How long have you played piano? Was this your first time playing piano for an audience abroad?
Whenever I perform music, no matter where it is or who I’m playing for, I’m usually only nervous until I start playing. This time was just the same: when I sat down at the piano and saw all those important-looking people taking their phones out and starting to film, it was a bit scary, but as soon as I put my hands on the keys and heard the first notes ringing out, the only thing on my mind was the song.
I’ve been playing the piano since I was 14 years old. At the time, I wanted to be an opera singer, and my voice teacher told me that I should learn to play the piano. My first piano teacher was also the woman who played for my high school choir, so I already knew her a little bit when I started taking lessons. Since then, I’ve studied the piano from three other teachers, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, and it continues to be an important part of my life.
This is the first time I’ve ever performed abroad, but it isn’t the first time I’ve performed music for an audience. I’ve been in choirs ever since I was a teenager, and I also attended Interlochen Arts Camp for two summers for the Vocal Arts program. Now those performances did scare me – mostly because all of the vocal faculty were standing in the back of the room, leaning in like hungry buzzards (or so it seemed to the 16-year-old me). So, I guess it’s no wonder that no other concerts or recitals seem all that intimidating now.
As for making up songs, I’ve always done that. I thought of my first original song when I was four years old; it was called, “Bunnies Go Outside the House.”
Tell us about your next adventure – what are your next steps?
That’s a very difficult question to answer, because I’m not entirely sure. I have always been very single-minded about my goals, so even though I love academic studies, I’ve always been in a hurry to get through with school and get on to “real life.” My plan was to graduate in the spring and then join the Coast Guard, which looked appealing because my goal was to help people and have adventures doing it. But here in Vienna, I’ve come to remember that learning things for their own sake is important, and it is real life, and that realization has made me more open to the idea of pursuing some form of graduate studies.
I’ve always loved science and especially biology, and I have been interested in medicine in particular ever since I was about four. I actually tried majoring in it for about a year when I was a sophomore, but I eventually switched majors – partially because I fell in love with German, but also because I was afraid; I knew that pursuing my interests in the field of biology would probably mean spending many more years in school, whether that meant becoming a doctor or some form of scientific researcher. For a long time, I simply was not willing to commit to that… but now, I’m starting to reconsider.
So, I guess what I’m spending all these words trying to say is, my formerly hard-and-fast plan has suddenly become… not so hard and fast. I’m going to take some more science this year, and if I do like it as much as I think I will, I might stay at DePaul for an extra year and get all the science credits I need to pursue medical school, or else, graduate studies in biology or chemistry. (And if I don’t enjoy it, there is always still the Coast Guard.)
Finally, if you were to ask me whether my time in Vienna has anything to do with any of this, I would say yes, it definitely does. Living abroad, speaking a foreign language every day, dealing with foreign customs and different classes and a totally new culture… it does change the way you think. It’s made me realize what I’m capable of doing, and also made me question things about my own life and plan for the future that I’d always just taken for granted. I would recommend studying abroad to any student who is considering doing it. If you possibly can, go for it, because you won’t just be learning about a foreign country – you’ll also be learning about yourself.
THE SOJOURNAL 