#13 Abroad Oida! - Alumni Talks with Barbara Abseck (IES Vienna 1988)
Abroad Oida!
In this episode of Abroad Oida!, IES Vienna hosts interview alumna Barbara Abseck about her transformative study abroad experience in 1988.
Key takeaways
- Barbara Abseck utilized her study abroad to fulfill German language requirements for Villanova University.
- The 1988 experience provided a unique historical perspective on visiting Budapest and Prague while they were still under Soviet rule.
Main topics
- Study abroad nostalgia
- Austrian art and architecture
Notable quotes
It was really one of the best parts of my life, it was just wonderful.
Conclusion
The episode highlights how studying abroad creates lifelong connection
Transcript preview
Speaker 2 (0:00) Hey everyone, I'm Toby and Speaker 1 (0:06) I'm Holly and Speaker 2 (0:07) welcome to Abroad OIDA, a study abroad podcast hosted by IES Abroad Vienna. Speaker 1 (0:13) IES Abroad sends thousands of students all over the world to live out their study abroad hopes and dreams and we here in Vienna are one of the cities that receive some of these wonderful people year-round. Speaker 5 (0:28) Welcome back to Abroad Euda, our wonderful podcast series at IES Vienna. We are happy to have a very special alumni today with us. And when I say with us, I mean my co-host Harry Zuber, our academic advisor here at IES Vienna, and myself, Saskia. I am the center director. And we're joined today by Barbara Apsek. who is a 1988 alumna of this program. Speaker 4 (1:02) Welcome, Barbara. Thank you. Thank you. So happy to be here. Great to have you. Speaker 2 (1:06) On Palais Speaker 4 (1:06) Corbelli. Speaker 5 (1:08) Yeah, we Speaker 4 (1:08) just Speaker 5 (1:09) did a Speaker 4 (1:09) tour of Speaker 5 (1:10) the old Palais here. I think it brought up a lot of memories. It did. We also talked about our upcoming move. So the IES Center is transitioning to its next Palais, which is very exciting, the Palais Harach. But let's look back in time a little bit. And before we do that, Barbara, would you like to introduce yourself briefly? Sure. Speaker 4 (1:35) Sure. Yes. Barbara Abseck, 1988. So a very long time ago, but it still seems like yesterday in some ways. And I'm originally from Long Island, New York. But since I graduated, I've been living in New York City, in Manhattan. And I've been back. to Vienna. This is my third time, but it's been 20 years since the last time. So it's been exciting to be back with my partner, my boyfriend, Tom, and show him around and to visit LA Corbelli and meet the two of you. That's fantastic. Speaker 5 (2:12) Welcome. My first question usually is always, why did you want to study abroad and why did you choose Vienna? Speaker 4 (2:22) I wanted to study abroad because I just knew it would be such a growth experience traveling. Speaker 4 (2:33) you know, being away from the States, learning about new cultures and just having that freedom. And at the time too, I came over as a sophomore, so I wasn't legal drinking age. And here you were free to just go to a bar. It wasn't like I was drinking a ton, but you know, you just had the freedom to go and do whatever you wanted. And it was wonderful. And I ended up studying in Vienna because I went to Villanova University and with my major, it was kind of liberal arts, communication arts, I had a language requirement and I had selected German because some of my ancestry is German and Austrian, also part Czech. So I wanted to learn a little bit of German and I thought, why don't I go to a German-speaking country to at least finish that part of it. And then I had some relatives, my mom, one of my aunts who had been to Vienna, and they said, you've got to go to Vienna. You're going to love it between the culture and the desserts and everything else, the art, the music. And they were totally right. And at the time, too, it's so close to what was then Eastern Bloc countries. And so we visited. you know, Budapest and Prague when they were still under Soviet rule. And that was interesting and sad at the same time, but definitely an experience. And one of the classes I took here was Eastern European economics. So that was useful as well. Speaker 5 (4:14) You also took Austrian art and architecture, which we're also still teaching. So there's a lot of connection, Speaker 4 (4:20) though. I'm guessing the content has changed a little bit. That was a wonderful, wonderful class. And you remembered my teacher's name. Yeah, I think that was, must have been Bea, don't Speaker 5 (4:32) you think? She Speaker 4 (4:33) was so wonderful and enthusiastic. And she had mentioned that she had studied under Oskar Kakoska and she would take us to museums. And we really, we learned so much. And it's exciting for me because in New York, Since then, they opened the Neue Gallery, which is all artists from Austria and Germany. And they have a cafe downstairs and a restaurant that has all the Austrian food and desserts. And so it's a little bit of Vienna back in my hometown now. Sound familiar, Harry? Yeah, that sounds Speaker 3 (5:11) exactly like my experience was. And that opportunity to go as a young person. And be exposed to these different works of art, these different cultures, these different ways of life. And then to bring some of that love of it back home with you. That's such a special experience. Speaker 4 (5:31) And yeah, Speaker 3 (5:33) what a place. Speaker 4 (5:34) It's true. I mean, I don't think there's anyone in my life, people I've worked with, friends, family, who do not know that I studied in Vienna because I reference it so often. It was really one of the best parts of. My life, it was just wonderful. I was so sad to leave. Well, Speaker 3 (5:53) we're glad to have you back. Speaker 4 (5:54) Thank you. Speaker 5 (5:55) So everybody was telling you about the place and you had all these images in your head. You land in Vienna, 1988. What was it like? What was your first real-life impression? Speaker 4 (6:07) Well, it was exciting because the program had somehow helped. us organize a bunch of us to fly over on the same flight. So I met a lot of people at JFK airport. In fact, one of my roommates who I'm still, she's still one of my dear friends, Linda, we met at JFK and we were on the flight together and we met a lot of other people. And then we landed and we were all escorted to Marriott cell for an orientation. And that was just such a cute village. And it was in January and it was, you know, people were skiing and what have you. And that was when we met a couple of other people who we liked, Katie and Joe. Joe was a woman. And we decided we all wanted to room together. And then to our delight, Joe picked the number one room pick. So we had the first pick of the housing. And we lived in the 7th district with a house heir who was only 28 who was an economist. So he wasn't there that often because he was often traveling to, I think, Belgium to help. Speaker 4 (7:24) coordinate Austria's entrance into the European economic community. Because again, back then they weren't in it yet. And it was wonderful. It was a beautiful apartment. And like I said, walking distance and it was great. And when he was around, when we were getting ready to go on one of the balls, he was teaching us how to do the Viennese waltz. Oh man. It was really nice to live with Speaker 5 (7:49) a local. That sounds great. And earlier we found out that this was on Neustiftgasse number five. And when I was a student, I lived on Neustiftgasse 23. You guys were neighbors? Almost. And now Harry, you and