Editor’s note: Chloe Huckins is studying in Austria this summer as part of a class at the UO School of Journalism and Communication. She worked as an intern this past academic year in Public Affairs Communications and is now writing about her experiences overseas.
I arrived in Vienna, Austria, on June 20 with no map and two very large suitcases. After unwittingly risking a 100-euro fine by riding the train without a ticket, I found myself on a street corner in Vienna’s old slaughterhouse district.
By chance, I spotted a fellow UO student trundling his luggage down the sidewalk a block away. Luckily, he knew where he was going and we made it to our first German class on time.
We are the second group to undertake the Journalistic Interview Program led by professor Peter Laufer. We have only four weeks to complete a 10-week journalism course, engage in communications-based internships, experience Viennese culture to the fullest and pick up a bit of German while we’re at it.
Our trip thus far has been anything but ordinary, beginning with a cockpit fire that forced one student’s plane to land in Canada. Following our safe arrival, we learned that Russian president Vladimir Putin would be visiting the Austrian president to discuss the construction of a natural gas pipeline. Classmate and student journalist Jonathan Bach joined me at the Soviet War Memorial to catch a glimpse of Putin during his short appearance to honor Russian World War II soldiers.
We encountered a crowd of hundreds. Some proudly bore their Russian flags as cloaks and others held signs protesting Putin’s leadership while chanting “Putin raus” (Putin out), although many were simply curious onlookers. During the long wait, Jonathan wove through the crowd collecting quotes and stories while I took photos.
When the presidential convoy did arrive, we managed to catch a glimpse of Putin in his limousine, but the melee of military vehicles and enthusiastic protesters obscured the ceremony from view.
On our first weekend in Vienna, our host family invited us to hike in the Austrian Alps. In a picturesque mountain village, we rode a gondola to the highest peak and then spent two hours picking our way down steep rocky paths. At the bottom, we wandered through farmers’ fields to get back to town.
We were delighted to discover cows in one pasture and began to approach them with our cameras. The cows tossed their heads and slowly shuffled towards us. A member of our host family began waving his arms and yelling, “Cow attack! Cow attack!” which sent everyone running for the fence. Apparently, cow assault is a rare but not unheard of occurrence in rural Austria.
The following Monday, several students showcased the work they had produced at their internships during the previous week. Robert Wery helped produce the short video “Faces of Vienna” for Biber magazine, a Viennese publication with a focus in minority culture and political commentary. Jonathan Bach wrote an article featuring Vienna’s legendary Opera Café for the Wiener Zeitung, the world’s longest running newspaper.
The Local, one of Austria’s only English-language news sources, ran Jack Heffernan’s piece on the European Union’s proposed changes to cellular roaming charges, as well as Heffernan’s humorous perspective on Austria’s Google search trends. Carly Smith also writes for The Local, and recently interviewed a Turkish expat on the challenges of fasting during Ramadan.
As days pass, the sights, sounds and smells of Vienna begin to feel more like home. Our short stay prompts an endless scramble to see and appreciate everything this city has to offer, but sometimes it is better to sit in an old-fashioned Viennese coffee house and read the newspaper for a few hours. As professor Laufer likes to remind us, “Vienna waits for you.”
―By Chloe Huckins, Public Affairs Communications intern