Down in the deep blue sea

Little bit on Austrian culture oddities today, which might become a regular feature of blogs to come (ah, so what! I should have been doing this all along).


The Austrian Ball
The Austrians love a good ball, which is definable as: a dance for any special occasion, event, or organization during which - but not limited to - the consumption of excessive amounts of beer, wine, and liqeour as well as dancing, and various performances that exceed rational proportions.

My graduating students at the BORG (the Bundesoberstufereal Gymnasium and not the Star Trek space oddity) had their ball on Saturday evening. They brought in a big brass band and a lot of community members who I never expected to see (including quite a few older ones) showed up and cut up the parquet floor. When Austrians dance, they don't do the bump-and-grind that Americans find so pleasing. They prefer ballroom dancing from waltzs to foxtrots to tangos. Even though the liquer flows, they still swirl about the dance floor in one form or another.

It's difficult to compare an American high school prom and an Austrian ball. Balls aren't limited to students - adults, and teachers come too. The young and old mix freely and happily through the fact that the drinking age is 16 for beer and 18 for hard liquer; most of the students are slightly fluid.

Alcohol and age. Two As that summarize the big differences between American and Austrian balls. Oh, and Dancing. AAD. Alcohol, Age, and Dancing.

Second Austrian cultural oddity.
Ketchup packets at McDonald's. If you're any average American, you love ketchup on your fries (no gainsayers allowed). There is nothing odd with reaching into the bin and grabbing 10 or 15 packets of ketchup at any fastfood chain in America. If you come to Austria, check your ketchup urges at the door or BYOK (bring your own ketchup) because it costs 25euro cents extra for about two packets worth. A terrible injustice to anyone who enjoys that red sauce crafted from the wiles of Zeus on the top of Mt. Zion... Mixing religions. Anyway, DAMMIT. I want my ketchup'd fries!!