Erika Hajdu, junior
Stockerau, Austria
Population: 15,478

Having spent a lot of time abroad, including a study abroad program in Germany, I was well prepared for my three-month internship in Stockerau, Austria. Or so I thought.

My trips to visit my family in Hungary prepared me for the fact that stores in Europe close early every day (and forget shopping at all on Sundays!). Germany prepared me for the countless multi-colored and unlabelled recycling and trash containers, and for the dirty looks you get for choosing the wrong one. Wash U had prepared me for the early morning racket of construction from the building of a new apartment complex next door.

But this time, I’ve encountered some surprises. I can see the entire town of Stockerau in less than a half hour. Here, there is no Laundromat, which I unfortunately only realized after about two weeks in Stockerau. People in Stockerau do not speak the German I learned in class, and about 90% of the town’s shopping opportunities are limited to one main street, which is a very short street for that matter.

What do people do in such a small town? Quite a lot, actually. Along with the usual movie-going, caf‚-visiting and bar-hopping, sports are extremely popular. Although the city itself is miniscule, Stockerau is home to an enormous sports center that has facilities for figure skating, handball, judo, tennis and curling.

Winter in Austria is “ball season,” which means that every weekend hundreds of Stockerau residents dress up in their finest and attend the weekly ball. Ball season in Stockerau is even popular among the younger generations because alcohol flows freely and a separate floor is always set up as a disco.

I have also discovered some sight-seeing opportunities including gorgeous parks, where the snow-covered fields and icicle-accented trees are absolutely breath-taking. Just beware of outdated city maps. There is a lovely viewing tower in Stockerau, or rather, there was. The tower was torn down a few years ago, which I discovered after 20 minutes of wandering alone in the woods in the freezing cold only to find a cement block.

Despite my initial shock, Stockerau has captured a special place in my heart. There is a bright side to living in a small town: friendly people, shorter working hours (only 32 hours per week) and recognizing faces on the street, even if it is a co-worker urinating in a bush.

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