I recently decided to visit my sister in Austria, but this trip disappointed me.

Like all of Europe, and AustriaThey live by their own laws and regulations. Many of our people who immigrated there, after a few years, become carriers of a foreign culture and, moreover, quite unique views. Anyway, they are obviously different from the people they were before. What is it, the costs of society, radical views on certain issues or simply changing slippers for the sake of warmth? To each his own.



However, it is one thing to move away from the roots from which they grew. It is quite another to become new citizens of the new world. And forget about relatives, relatives, traditions, some habits that once formed your personality. In a sense, a person is in a new place and must behave in a new way. But, on the other hand, forgetting about the basics is not the best solution. Moreover, in some ways it is condemned, both among relatives and among former, but fellow citizens. And then you have to act on the situation. Fish seek where it is deep and man where it is good.

I returned from Austria two months ago. I visited the small town of St. Pölten, where my sister and her husband settled, and was very impressed by its beauty and architecture. You know, I never even paid attention to what a city might look like. They were all the same to me. The center is beauty and order. Perhaps some historic buildings and structures. But you walk into the sleeping area and everything is the same. Yes, I am a tourist, I was only in post-Soviet countries. But this trip changed my mind. Unfortunately, it’s not just urban infrastructure.



Masha met me with her husband, but not at the airport, but in the center, in a cafe. I didn't ask her to, but I thought she'd figure it out. It's not every day that we see each other, and I thought it was an obvious gesture of politeness. It was not for nothing that I gazed at her when and where I would be taken. But no, she didn’t have enough time and energy. So I had to load up a taxi with my stuff alone. Including gifts for their family.

And then at the cafe, I was asked to pay for myself. I had a cup of coffee, but it was kind of weird. Even then, I began to have some doubts about whether I should have been involved in this adventure at all. I had the money with me, but I didn’t forget the concept of hospitality. How come this is just the beginning, and I still have to live here for a week. Is everything going to be like that?



Yeah, that's right. When we arrived at my sister's apartment, I was given a room that only accommodated a bed and had room for a table where I could put my laptop. There was no room for other things. So I had to put them in the living room. That's how they went down there the whole time I visited. Weird? Wrong word. Especially since Masha and her husband shared a separate room. You won’t believe it, but they’ve been sleeping in separate rooms since the beginning of their marriage. The sister says that this way they sleep better, and her husband likes to snore. I didn't even notice the last one.

I also got a separate food shelf in the fridge. By the way, I should have bought them myself. Because Masha was watching the figure and she needed special products. Her husband, Tobias, loves meat. As you can see, he was not going to share with anyone. And although I brought with me a lot of food, which, of course, shared with the owners, this attitude seemed even somewhat indecent.



Nothing more interesting to say, I probably can not. Our leisure was quite ordinary. My sister and I walked around the evening town, she showed me some interesting places, shared stories about her life. Not that I expected more. But we never even went to a bar. Just a boring, ordinary, measured life. Not even life, but pastime. I understand that we all have a routine. But that's too much. Even at home, we didn’t watch TV, but just came and everyone was stuck in the screen of his gadget. Like I couldn't do that at home.

Even when I left for the airport, no one saw me off. The sister and her husband just waved their hands at the taxi and that was it. I flew home and could not recover for a long time. It was as if all this time I had been in some enchanted village where time had frozen and no one had told the local population what it was like to have fun. People are like robots. At least my sister's family. How could she have changed so much? Or is she resenting me for something? But my arrival was her idea. What the hell?



For some, this kind of meeting may seem normal. But certainly not for me. Because, you see, I know my sister very well, and that girl reminded me the least of her in the past. Don't think wrong, but we're both party girls in life. We like noisy companies, parties. We like to talk loudly and have fun. Even me, who just turned 35. And Masha was always more energetic. No wonder she’s 3 years younger than me.

What do I see when I meet my sister? What was that? Minimum cosmetics, home manicure, new hairstyle. I didn't like her, by the way. No emotionality, no expression. Just cold, calm and some kind of dullness. I admit, in all my stay in St. Pölten, I have never seen young people having fun. On the contrary, everyone there seemed to be concerned about something. It's like they have their own personal problems. But they are dressed very well, in expensive cars, with nice faces.

Or maybe her husband re-educated her? I can hardly believe that. Masha and before him had men, but they always got a decent response if they behaved inappropriately in her opinion. My sister has always been a person of personal opinion, that's the nature. Silence is like a fish stopping swimming. There was no other way. What do I see now? Diet, it is with her perfect figure! Don't meet your sister on the plane. That doesn't fit in my head at all.



We can only guess what it was and how it will end. I don't think her husband is violent. Neither moral nor, especially, physical. He seems like a normal guy. However, in 3 years in a foreign country, perhaps it has changed itself? Have you absorbed the mood of the city, its rules and traditions? Then that's very bad news. Because to me, such a sister is like a stranger. I've known her too long and well. I'll try to invite her home for a while. One without a husband. She will find herself again as she was before. It’s hard to see someone so changed. It's difficult and really disturbing.