Sunday, August 22, 2021

Testing There and Here

I’ve just returned to Austria from a month in the U.S. Still a bit jet-lagged, but relieved to be here. Some things in Europe are just a little more predictable. For example, COVID testing. Before leaving for the United States, I had to prove that I had tested negative for the Coronavirus. No problem. Austria has a comprehensive testing plan: 

Gurgeltests: You can get free “gargle tests” at the drug store and test yourself non-invasively at home. The program includes a video interface where you have to verify your identity (passport, driver’s license, etc) and film yourself for a minute while you swish saline solution around in your mouth and spit it into a test tube. The test tube is then repacked into the box it came in, and you take it to any of the 600+ drop-off stations throughout the city (grocery stores, drug stores, gas stations). Within 24 hours the test is evaluated, and the results are sent to your e-mail or cell phone, with a certificate you can download and/or print out. This PCR test is good for 72 hours and can be used for international travel and other situations in which a negative COVID test must be produced. Everyone is encouraged to perform this test 2-3 times a week to reveal non-symptomatic cases of COVID. 

Teststraßen: “Testing streets” (so-called because of their linear testing process) have been set up throughout Austria. This service is also free, but you have to register for an appointment on the internet. Same-day registration is possible. You have to prove your identity and registration upon check-in, and then simply follow the signs to different stations. These sites offer nasal swab antigen tests, and the results are available in 15 minutes. The antigen test is valid for less time and cannot be used for travel. But if you want to go to a party or visit an elderly relative, this test provides evidence that you have tested negative for COVID. If the test is positive, you will be tested with a PCR test at the same site. 

Testing at schools: Students and teachers in elementary, middle and high schools are tested 2-3 times a week at their institution. These are less invasive versions of a nasal swab test with results in 15 minutes. If you are unfamiliar with this kind of test, it uses the same technology as a pregnancy test: one line negative, two lines positive, with test results within 15 minutes. 

You can also be tested at your doctor’s office or at some pharmacies, shopping centers, and airports. 

NOTE: Most of these tests are FREE – those at the airport for entry into the country cost €69 as of August 22, 2021. 

After my arrival in the U.S., I had been advised to have myself tested to make sure I hadn’t caught something en route. I made an appointment online with our family pharmacy and was told the cost would be $90 (!) -- which was better than the hospital’s offer of $120 (!!). Later the pharmacy called to cancel the appointment because they were having problems getting test kits delivered. Instead they sold me a personal test kit, the less invasive nasal swab antigen test with two tests. I tested negative, thank heavens, and was free to roam about the country. 

 But I thought I needed a PCR test to return to Austria, and that’s where I ran into problems in the U.S. All sorts of testing opportunities were listed online for my area, but most of this information was outdated. Either they no longer offered tests, or the phone number was no longer in service; the tests were only for people with U.S. health insurance, or for students at the university; they offered only antigen tests or the results were available within 3-5 days (for travel purposes, PCR tests are only good for three days which makes this option absolutely useless). Luckily, I reviewed the travel conditions and discovered I needed either a negative PCR test OR proof of vaccination (which I had). I did not have to prove a negative COVID test or vaccination before getting on a U.S. domestic flight, or before getting on an international flight. I only had to sign an affidavit that I had not experienced any symptoms of COVID in the last 10 days and would wear a mask in airports and on the airplanes. 

This morning I realized I would be visiting with relatives who are elderly and/or immunosuppressed, and I hadn’t been tested since returning from the U.S. I got on my phone at 9:35, signed up for an appointment at the nearest Teststraße for 10:15, walked to my appointment, got my test (negative!) and was home by 10:45. And I didn’t pay a cent! 

I could wax here philosophic on the relative merits of universal health care or the importance of testing to control the spread of the virus or the double-standard of requiring a negative COVID test for entry into the U.S. but not for travel within the country or even the advantages of being vaccinated. But I’ll let the reader draw his or her own conclusions, while I enjoy a lovely afternoon with family and friends.

Thursday, January 7, 2021

Same procedure as last year?

 

SAME PROCEDURE AS EVERY YEAR

Most Austrians are familiar with the exchange, “Same procedure as last year, Miss Sophie?”  “Same procedure as every year, James.”  It comes from a beloved British one-act play entitled “Dinner for One,” that is broadcast on Austrian television every New Year’s Eve at about 11:30 pm.  This is when the countdown to the New Year really begins, as the clock is superimposed over the story of Miss Sophie’s 90th birthday party.  When the play ends, there is just enough time to grab the champagne and glasses, put on your coat and go outside to wait for the stroke of midnight, the fireworks, the champagne corks flying, the first sip of bubbly in the New Year, and the Blue Danube Waltz on the radio.

At least, that’s been the procedure in past years.  2021 is different.

Last year I was in Duluth, Minnesota to celebrate New Year’s Eve on the shores of Lake Superior, a combination 60th birthday and Christmas gift for my boyfriend. I think we probably watched “Dinner for One” on a laptop, and we chilled Austrian champagne (from the liquor store in Grand Marais!) in the snow on the balcony of our hotel. The first disappointment of 2020 was that the only fireworks appeared briefly on the Wisconsin side of the harbor (I was expecting them to be fired over the Duluth Lift Bridge, Fourth of July style). How minor an inconvenience that seems now in light of all that’s happened the past few months.

December 31, 2019 - Grand Marais, MN

All the familiar procedures have been upended. Education has been moved online, with all of the challenges that brings to learners, teachers, and parents.  Graduation requirements have been waived.  Grocery shopping has become an odyssey of hand sanitizing stations, masks, and keeping one’s distance, even if it means circling around the store until the indecisive person blocking the dairy aisle has moved.  Vacations have been cancelled, as well as all other social engagements.  No spring break in Cremona, no Literature and Wine in Stift Göttweig, no garden party in Vienna, no trip to the US, no Lake Superior, no Christmas in Iowa. There was a brief moment this summer when it seemed like things might go back to “normal.” Restaurants set up outdoor options.  Theaters offered distanced seating and contact tracing.  But as soon as the weather grew cold and activities moved indoors, it’s been one lockdown after another.  Being cautiously optimistic, we expect the latest to be lifted January 25.

Procedures, however, are irreversibly changed.  Now it’s normal to be tested if you want to visit your family for a special event.  Family reunions take place on Zoom.  Everyone is eyed with suspicion – where have they been and who have they been with and should they really spend time in my house?  That goes for family members and friends as well as the chimney sweep or furnace repairman.  Will we ever go back to teaching in person?  Will teenagers ever learn to keep their distance and sanitize their stations several times a day?  Will I ever stop holding my breath for 30 seconds after a jogger runs past me?  When will I get to see my parents in person again? And why aren’t other people around the world asking themselves these same questions, instead of putting themselves and everyone else at risk by denying the danger of simply breathing in the wrong place at the wrong time?

I miss being able to laugh with friends, without worrying about how many droplets we’re spraying into the air.  I miss being able to hug people who are in need of a hug (or when I need one).  I miss sharing a meal without wondering whether it’ll land me in the hospital. I really miss live music. But I am adaptable. It might not be “the same procedure as last year” but if shifting procedures is what it takes to get back to some semblance of normalcy, then I’ll do my very best!

Happy New Year, y'all.

 


Tuesday, November 17, 2020

Lockdown 2.1

Here we are again... A lot has happened in the past few (dare I say it?) YEARS and in order to get back into writing and blogging, and to keep in touch with friends and family back in the States, I have returned to the keyboard. 

 What a long, strange trip it's been! 

 As of this writing, there are 15,826,732 active Covid-19 cases worldwide. Since the pandemic began there have been 55,650,339 cases. 11,563,398 total cases in the US with 252,963 deaths. 214,597 cases in Austria - 1,945 deaths. These numbers are mind-boggling because the cases six months ago seemed dramatic. 

 So a little context. In March 2020, I had just started the semester teaching English at a higher technical college in Austria. I had planned a relaxing weekend at my favorite bed and breakfast,  that schools would be closed as of March 16.  I hurriedly threw together a semester test for my graduating seniors to give on Friday the 13th, March 2020. I also cancelled my weekend in St. Radegund with heavy heart. 

 When Sunday morning rolled around, the media were announcing that not only was a lockdown imminent, but restrictions on travel between Austrian states were likely. I had to scramble. Did I want to spend lockdown alone in Upper Styria, or was it wiser to go to Vienna where I could be with my boyfriend and near the airport in case I had to bug out? I threw everything I thought was necessary into my car and drove to Vienna on Sunday, March 15.

Teaching online for two and a half months was no picnic.  I had six different classes divided into 9 different groups, and sat in front of a computer from 10-12 hours a day, either teaching online or giving feedback on written work. Students were bored sitting at home, and tried to liven up online teaching by muting the teacher, kicking their classmates out of the lesson, or drawing on the virtual whiteboard.  

In between teaching online lessons, my boyfriend and I walked hundreds of thousands of steps through the Central Cemetery in Vienna.  We took all precautionary measures when shopping or taking public transportation.  Slowly Covid measures relaxed. In the meantime we went back to school with half the students in the building at a time.  My graduating seniors graduated, although they did not take their leaving exams in English, which I had been training them for for FIVE YEARS.

At the end of the first lockdown, Austria had had about 26,000 Covid cases and 700 deaths, which remained relatively steady through August.  Now we have 220,000 cases and nearly 2,000 deaths.  How the hell did this happen?

It doesn't matter.  We started a second lockdown on  November 3.  You may remember that on Monday, November 2, a gunman open fired on people celebrating the last few hours of freedom in downtown Vienna, so on November 3rd we woke up to a double Covid and terrorism lockdown. Although restaurants and bars were closed, shops were still open, and people went about their daily business.  The number of Covid cases steadily increased and our Lockdown 2.1 began today (November 17).  Shops are closed, personal services are closed, people are supposed to stay home from work, and the chancellor has ordered "MEET NO ONE" to protect the health care system which is being stretched to the limit in areas like Vorarlberg on the other end of the country.

I don't feel like my life has changed significantly, but it really has.  After the first lockdown, my boyfriend and I decided that we wouldn't actually kill each other if we lived together, so after the semester ended, I moved to Vienna lock, stock and barrel.  The day before my teaching contract ended in September I was invited to teach a couple of seminars at the Pädagogische Hochschule (Teacher's College) in Vienna.  So I've been teaching online since October 1.  

We enjoyed a couple of "calm before the storm" moments.  We went to a film festival in Freistadt (social distancing and masks in public spaces), and to a performance at the Burgtheater.  We met friends at outdoor cafes (including a snail restaurant).  I did finally get back to my favorite bed and breakfast for a few glorious days.  But now we are trying to play our part in the lockdown, which is intended to reduce the number of infections so drastically that the Christmas and Advent markets (for which Austria is famous throughout Europe) can open.  I have my doubts...

 I've already missed my summer holidays on Lake Superior, and I'm going to miss Christmas with my folks. So any words of wisdom or positive thoughts you can send this way would be appreciated.   

 


Tuesday, September 4, 2018

10 years later ... part three

The first day of school in 2013, I pitched up at the business college without a residency permit because it still hadn't been approved. And the director who had hired me said, "oh, by the way, we don't have enough hours for you here, so we're sending you to a technical college up the road to complete your contract." This was the first day of school!  And the technical college up the road was 15 miles up the road.  I didn't have a car.  I didn't have any money because I didn't have a contract because I didn't have residency yet!

10 years later... part two

I can honestly say that the decision to be a Fulbright teaching assistant in Austria changed my life.  Already during my first visit to Austria in 1986, I knew that someday I wanted to live in this magical place.  The assistantship allowed me to find out if my German was good enough, and if I could be accepted by the locals.  I rented an apartment from a former English teacher, and shared living space with a 24 year-old heavy metal rocker.  My mentor taught me so much about being a teacher and living an authentic life. I met friends and gained a lot of experience teaching in different settings. And it took a long time, but my German (or at least my Styrian dialect!) improved. I also realized that I didn't need loads of money to be happy, because my pay as an assistant was half my measly salary in the States.

Sunday, November 26, 2017

10 Years Later...

When I started this blog, it was to keep my friends and family updated about my new adventures as a foreign language teaching assistant in Austria.  That was in 2007. Ten years later I am living in Austria as a full-time English teacher in a higher technical college.

How did I get here, you may ask.  I won't say it has been easy, but I am a firm believer in "everything happens for a reason."  This is my take on the events that led me on this most amazing journey.

Wind Damage on the Putterersee