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Nadine Lichtenberger, her Austrian husband Bernhard, and their children Jessica and Jeremy. |
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Nadine Lichtenberger, age 32 at the time of this interview, was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Orange County, California. She has an undergraduate degree in Comparative Literature with a minor in German from California State University Fullerton. In 1988 she married an Austrian journalist and has resided in Linz since January 1989. She is currently employed as Administrative Assistant at the Institute for International Management Studies at the Johannes Kepler University in Linz.
GW&M: So just how did a California girl end up in Linz, Austria?
LICHTENBERGER: It's not such a strange story. Some other American girlfriends of mine here have better stories on how they met their husbands. I studied Comparative Literature with a minor in German at Cal State Fullerton in Orange County. During college I took a 2-month trip to Europe and was just fascinated with this area. A few years later I went on a private study abroad program to the University of Salzburg. It was there I met my husband, Bernhard. I returned home to California to finish my undergraduate degree and in the meantime Bernhard came out to California and stayed during my last semester. After I finished school we decided to return to Austria. I have to admit that in addition to being head over heels in love with Bernhard, I was fed up with California, anxious for a change of scenery, interested in carving out a new life somewhere else (you know, those crazy thoughts you have when you're in your early 20s!). Bernhard also had a job offer from Linz so we decided to take it and move to Linz. We figured if it didn't work out, well, the world is our oyster and we could go and do whatever we want to!! Well, we're still here in Linz, my husband is still at the same newspaper and things are going great there. We happily enlarged our family with a daughter, Jessica, and a son, Jeremy.
GW&M: How did you start out with your work in Austria?
LICHTENBERGER: I spent the first year in Linz teaching English as a second language at private language schools and adult education centers. Then I was really lucky and got the job here at the Johannes Kepler University Linz. I work at the Institute for International Management Studies and we do foreign exchange programs on the MBA level with partner universities in the US and Canada. We work with both students and faculty. It's a very interesting job that I've always enjoyed doing and was looking forward to coming back to after my 3 1/2-year maternity leave.
GW&M: How did you get your first job and your present job?
LICHTENBERGER: I got my first job at a private language school by just writing and inquiring about the possibility of teaching English. As I later found out, there is a great demand for native English speakers to teach English courses and I was able to get courses at the adult education centers quite easily. In many cases they do not even require proper qualifications as a teacher or instructor; it is sufficient just to have English as a mother tongue. I was very lucky to get the job at the university. I found out about the position from another American who was offered the job but could not take it. She referred me to the institute and I was hired.
GW&M: Do you ever have thoughts about moving back to the US?
LICHTENBERGER: I would love to, but the problem is that we are rather financially dependent here. I don't think we could make the move to the States. I wouldn't mind going back because now with the kids, I find it is terrible being so far away from my family. My parents adore the kids, naturally, and my kids LOVE their Grammy & Grandpa as well as my sister and her husband. It's hard. But I truly believe my husband would never find a job that pays him what he earns now (much less with all the benefits of 38 days paid vacation a year, etc.) and I know I would have to go back to school for an MA to get any kind of good job. There's not much I could do with my degree (I don't want to teach). Plus my husband doesn't want to move to the US. He loves going to California on vacation, but he says he can't see himself working there, commuting, or calling southern California home.
GW&M: Why is that? Not even counting Arnold Schwarzenegger, I personally know several Austrians who like living in the US very much.
LICHTENBERGER: My husband is a journalist with the Oberösterreich Nachrichten in Linz, and while his English is very good, he feels it is not good enough to be a journalist in the US (meaning writing and reporting in English). He honestly feels there is nothing he could do job-wise in the US which would also include the great benefits he receives here. In some ways I have to agree with him because I know how difficult the job situation in southern California is right now.
GW&M: Other than the obvious things, like the fact your husband wants to stay in Austria, what keeps YOU from going back?
LICHTENBERGER: For all the good reasons I'd like to move back (I could make quite a list!), to be honest the only thing that stops me every time is the violence and crime in the US. Austria is much safer in that respect. We don't have to worry about a lot of things here that are daily occurrences and commonplace in the US. The other day I was trying to explain to someone here what a carjacking is and they just looked at me dumbfounded and flabbergasted that anyone would even think of using a method like that to steal a car, often hurting or killing the car's owner in the process!! Carjacking is unheard of here. I like the fact that I feel the environment is safe enough that I don't have to watch my children like a hawk so they won't be snatched off the street, lured into some sexual molester's hands or God only knows what. I'm not saying it's crime-free here, but in comparison to what goes on the States, I feel it's a safer place to live. I always make the comparison that the local news here in Linz starts off with something like, “Neues Postamt für die Gemeinde So-und-So...” [“new post office for..”] and the local news in LA starts off with how many people died in street violence or other horrific stories and goes on for almost the whole half-hour newscast it seems!
GW&M: I knew that Austria's social benefits are among the most generous in Europe, but I was amazed when you said that you had 3 1/2 years of paid maternity leave!
LICHTENBERGER: The maternity leave here is einmalig!! [unique!] Due to recent cutbacks it was recently shortened from two years to 18 months, but it's still great. It's paid for women or men! (The number of men going on paternity leave is actually on the rise!) You don't get your full salary, but a sum set by the Arbeitsamt [state employment agency]. It's like $500 a month. It doesn't matter if you earned $70,000 a year or $20,000 a year, you get that predetermined amount. Also, women are required by law to leave the job two months before their due date (Mutterschutz) and those two months are fully paid. You also get your full salary two months after the birth (paid by the company too) before the maternity leave money (Karenzgeld) kicks in from the Arbeitsamt. Oh, we also got ÖS 5,000 [just under $500] from the government for the birth of each child (Kindergeld). I was away from my job and home with my children for 3 1/2 years and just recently returned at the end of October.—I've never considered myself to be a berufliche Hausfrau (especially Austrian - I'm very untypical. My windows are dirty and I can't whip up a strudel from scratch).
GW&M: How does maternity leave work with the employer?
LICHTENBERGER: The employer is required by law to keep your job for you (or an equivalent job) to return to after maternity leave. There are a few hidden hitches though. The company is required to take you back for at least three months and if they decide to fire you or get rid of you after that, then it's good-bye! Also, I find there's not enough adequate daycare centers or places to watch children under three years old. At three they can start preschool and go all day, but if you don't have an Omi [grandma] or someone to help out with a child under three, it's almost impossible to return to work full-time. They have in-home daycare (Tagesmutter) but, as in the States, that can be an expensive option and there's a shortage of women who want to be a Tagesmutter. I'm VERY lucky that my mother-in-law lives close, retired last year, is physically able to watch the kids, and volunteered to do so!! I might have had to seriously consider quitting because the daycare costs would've been too much and it wouldn't have been worth going back to work.
GW&M: Are your two children being raised bilingually?
LICHTENBERGER: Yes! That is something that is extremely important to me!! My husband and I use the One Parent-One Language method at home. I speak only English with them and my husband speaks German. My children know that I can speak German because I speak it with family and friends here as well as when we're running errands in town but they also know I will not speak German with them. I have found many Austrians surprisingly receptive to the idea and they find it wonderful that the children speak two languages fluently. My daughter is currently in an English preschool in town where the emphasis, however, is on both languages. My husband was a little worried because my daughter's English was much stronger and better than her German. But since she's been in preschool her German has improved greatly.
GW&M: That sounds great to me! I know it can be very difficult to do. It takes a conscious effort.
LICHTENBERGER: Raising the children to be bilingual is a big thing to me because I don't think I could personally bear it if the kids only spoke German. Besides my parents would kill me!—They were very worried about that when I became pregnant with my daughter. I think they were afraid they wouldn't be able to communicate with her. But since it is very important to me, I try to be consistent about only speaking English to them (even when we're out places or in front of people who do not speak English - I just have to make that extra step to translate).
I'm also fortunate to have my American friends, and we started an English playgroup for the kids, so they can get together with other kids who speak English as well. That way they don't feel so isolated, like 'my mom is the only one who speaks this funny language.' I've also spoken to many exchange students whose parents tried to raise them bilingual English/German in the US or Canada, and they said the biggest thing was no one else spoke the language and they felt so different from the others. So I'm glad we have this playgroup.
[ED. - Also see Bilingual Families by Nadine Lichtenberger]
GW&M: I guess that also helps with the two cultures - Austrian and American.
LICHTENBERGER: Definitely! A group of us expat Americans try to uphold as many American traditions as we can. This includes celebrating Halloween, Thanksgiving, having a Christmas party where Santa makes an appearance, and the Fourth of July. Easter here is pretty much celebrated in the same way with the Osterhase [Easter bunny] and everything. We try to make each celebration as close to home as we can. For example for Halloween we carve jack-o-lanterns, bake pumpkin pies and other goodies, dress the kids up in costumes and try to arrange a way for them to trick-or-treat. I usually hold Thanksgiving at my home with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and the works!! It really means a lot to us Americans because Thanksgiving really kicks off the holidays for us and it's hard being away from family and friends at that time. So it's great we can at least get together and party, and the kids get to experience that! For the fourth we have a big BBQ complete with softball and games and other activities. The Austrians are actually very receptive to the idea. They're curious about what we celebrate and most Austrians have had fun participating in these events.
GW&M: How did you meet your American friends?
LICHTENBERGER: I think we all met each other by coincidence. I met my friend Debbie at the university, who in turn introduced me to Claudine, and then it just snowballed. Someone knew someone else who was also American, and we all have kids about the same age and the same goals of teaching them to be bilingual, etc. And it's just kind of turned into a big group. It's great moral support on holidays like these, great contact for the kids to see that it's not just mommy who speaks this ?funny? language called English, and great to bitch and moan about things that bug us here and feel like you have someone who understands!
GW&M: Most Americans tend to have what I call a “Sound of Music” image of Austria, if they have any idea at all. What have you observed about that?
LICHTENBERGER: I'm sure you already know that most Austrians today don't even KNOW about the movie!! In Salzburg, where it was filmed, they were pretty quick to realize that Americans (as well as Brits, Australians and Canadians) go completely ga-ga over the sights where “Sound of Music” was filmed! In Salzburg you can easily find many “Sound of Music” tours where they'll take you to the locations where scenes were filmed, etc. So with the exception of Salzburg, most Austrians have never heard of the film, much less seen it!! My husband was horrified when he watched it in the US one year! He thought, great! Now all Americans think Austrians run around wearing curtains!
[Editor's note: In Vienna and Salzburg tourists can buy caps and t-shirts with a “No kangaroos” logo—a clever way the Austrians have found to cash in on the typical Anglo-American confusion over Australia versus Austria.]
NEXT > Part 2 of this interview
MORE > Bilingual Families by Nadine Lichtenberger
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