Finding your inner tourist

Jess Lee - rock.socks.jess@gmail.com Mast Op-ED Columnist

Have you looked up today? Have you taken time to notice your surroundings? Maybe you are reading this article as you speed walk up Hinderlie Hill on your way to class/lunch/committee meeting? Whatever the case may be, slow down for a second and look up. Now.

I recently had a friend visit me in the cradle of white civilization (Vienna) and her being here taught me something. It is okay to be a tourist in your own town.

I have spent so much of my time in the last two months hardening myself to the city around me in an effort to be authentically Viennese. I walk past cathedrals without losing pace, I stare straight ahead, and I do not take pictures of the men in capes selling tickets to music performances.

But my touristy friend did. And I was right behind her, whipping out my camera as a baroque building came into view or a break-dancer in the square did an especially complicated head-spin. I opened my eyes and rediscovered Vienna.

Stephansdom, the huge gothic cathedral in the center of town, is a remarkably intricate piece of architecture to stare at, or it is my neighborhood church. The giant street known as “The Ring,” which loops around the first district of Vienna, is not only a striking monument to the end of the 18th century, but also one of my fast routes to school. I don’t eat schnitzel as a cultural experience, I eat it because I like it and “Montag ist Schnitzeltag” (Monday is schnitzel day) at Café Benno.

My outsider stance means I am comfortable in the city, but still in awe of its characteristics. I still try to blend, but every once in a while, that camera comes out and I proudly stand with both my hands leveling the picture while saying something eloquent like: “Holy crap, that building is schweet! I wonder if you can get on the roof?” Even though I still struggle with my German pronunciation, the man at the Kebab stand near our school knows me, and my order (a Dürüm with everything but the red sauce).

This is what study abroad is about. Discovering a city, culture and a people with a unique interpretation. We travel to learn, to grow and to escape the humdrum of everyday life.

And we can do this discovery anywhere—even right here at PLU.

So, look up. Doesn’t the way the sun shines through the cherry blossoms in front of Ordal make your heart happy? Have you checked out the latest exhibition in the Ingram Art Gallery? Are you soaking in the sounds of a concert in MBR?

When was the last time you really noticed the incredible amount of beauty and talent that surrounds you? Do it now. Take pictures of students playing Frisbee, eat some of the local fare from the Tahoma Bakery, and then when you have “seen” PLU, take a daytrip to Tacoma. Explore downtown, find hidden murals and parks, learn about the Port of Tacoma’s history and environmental instability.

Discover your world again, and give Mount Rainer a good long look for me. Palaces cannot compare to that massive peak.