13... It's culture innit!

Most of these posts have been descriptions of things we've been doing. As things settle down and day-to-day life seem less unusual it feels less obvious what to write about, so I thought for a bit of a change I thought I'd write about some of the things that Anna and I have been discussing recently, and (brace yourselves) just stuff that I've been thinking about.

One of the many reasons that we wanted to live somewhere else for a while was to spend some time with people from other parts of the world and maybe try to see the world through their eyes. With Anna having an international job in a international organisation and us both enjoying the company of an international hiking club, we're certainly going some way to achieve this, which is great. It's somewhat ironic that we don't actually meet that many Austrian people, but we did know that it was going to be a bit like that.

It's really interesting seeing all these different people rubbing along together and hearing from Anna how that plays out at work. Sometimes you can tell that an interaction isn't quite working, or on occasions I have found that a way someone acts really doesn't chime with me. I had this with someone who was really friendly and clearly a really thoughtful person who considers other people a lot, which I have a lot of respect for. The bit that didn't chime was just in the way they went about doing it. But then, I paused for a beat and considered all of the layers and layers of stuff that makes their background completely different to mine, and the way they interact with people so different to the way I do. I soon realised a couple of things: firstly, that this is what we came here for ("fool of a Took!"); and, secondly, that this was me still having things to learn... which is great of course. It's culture innit!

Parking my own filters helped me to see this person completely differently and for who they really are. Patience, respect and real listening are so important in all sorts of interactions. And they are certainly really useful tools when your interactions are crossing language divides, geographical ones and cultural differences! And of course, part of this is about your own frame of mind. I reflected after this interaction that I wasn't feeling 100% about things when it happened and the impact that had on my response was probably the bigger part of what I was experiencing. We have talked a lot recently about the way that people have so much influence on how they themselves feel and so often it seems like people seem to be stuck in cycles where they make themselves unhappy, which is a real shame. And I suppose that it's important not to get drawn into it.

We've also been talking a lot about addressing gender inequality in the workplace and doing it in a way that is sensitive to the needs of the people involved. There are some great initiatives going on in the nuclear industry at the moment that are making strides in raising awareness of the issue and also raising awareness of the industry to people who might want to come and join it. We've talked about how these initiatives might not necessarily chime with everyone though and that there is a need for a range of approaches. We've talked about how approaches like positive discrimination can seem like a blunt tool that risks of people feeling patronised if not carefully implemented. I doubt many people want to feel like they got a job because of characteristic that have; surely people want to feel that they got a job because they deserve it? And when initiatives are dreamt up and implemented by the people that are the embodiment of the problem, there is a good chance that they are going to grate with a lot of people. Tricky territory indeed, but it does feel like some steps are being taken to move things in the right direction.

These conversations often end up moving from gender to neurodiversity and other diversity issues. For a while now I've had a beef about current approaches to management and to recruitment being something of a self fulfilling prophecy. It often feels that they are geared around ending up with the same "type" of person, irrespective of gender or any other characteristic. That lack of diversity of thought is a real risk to any organisation. There are of course some good examples where organisations are moving away from this sort of thing, but it takes a brave leader to fill their team with people that will challenge them, tell them they are wrong and actually listen to what they are being told. Some way to go in many organisations I'm sure. Oh, and don't get me started on listening! Why are so many people so bad at it...?

Anyway, enough of the opinion...!

I have been asking for favours a fair bit recently. Those of you that know me well will know that my preferred natural state is to try and make other people's lives easier - if everyone else is ok, then I'm ok. As a result, asking people to do things for me is something I find quite difficult. But, it's something I've had to do a bit more of recently, be that sorting out things here in Vienna or tying up some loose ends in the UK. I keep asking myself how I would feel if it was the other way round and of course I'd be happy to help out. I just hope I'm not trading on this too much, please let me know if you're getting fed up of it!

We have now been in Vienna for six months! And our new apartment for six weeks. Amazing. We are now starting to feel properly settled in, surrounded by our furniture and unlike us, we actually got all the pictures up within a couple of weeks. And the new tenants moving in to Mereghyll makes this all feel terribly real. A new routine has developed, with Anna cycling in to work three days a week and mixing the U-Bahn with some running on the other two. I join Anna for the biking, but I confess to skipping most of the runs...! I do have to cycle twice as far though. It's a fab ride from the new apartment, with only the first kilometre on the road and everything after that cycle path along the Danube canal and river. The last couple of weeks we've needed lights and winter leggings, but it's definitely still worth it for the fresh air and some good views of the city.

We have both been missing friends and family a fair bit recently... It's been good to meet some new folk, but I think you forget how much you have to work at new friendships and the opportunities feel a little far apart at the moment. The "cosy slippers" of old friendships are much missed by us both. I think we had hoped to have seen a few more visitors by now, but it turns out that it was COVID that was going to be a bigger factor than our lack of a spare bed. But we do have a visitor lined up, which is very exciting! And hopefully we'll get to see a few more folk over the next six months as travel becomes ever easier.

Take care everyone! And here's a bit of "and finally":

• Internet shopping has some way to go here compared to the UK, delivery times are long and you only get one shot at a delivery! This resulted in me carrying 30 kilos of flat pack furniture back from the post office... We've had a surprising amount of stuff delivered that's been disappointing - not well packaged, damaged en-route, or just faulty... So people in the UK, show your appreciation to those van drivers and on-line retailers who I think do a pretty good job!

• I went to a conference (on line) that was largely about geology! It was great to spend a couple of afternoons thinking about rock! It was especially good to discover that I am still capable of thinking about rock, in case it comes in handy - more of that in the next episode.

• Been on some more crackin' hikes and bike rides. Lots of autumn colours, grapes, pumpkins and bilberries!

• I'm slightly anxious about having included some opinion - hope I've not offended anyone, certainly didn't intend to.