The following article will be about some of the major similarities Madeira has in common with the Mainland of the European Union, but also some of the most interesting differences for me, compared to my home town in Austria
Starting with some of the things which appear very different in Austria. First off, the mentality the people have on this island is about 180 degrees turned from the one the people in my area have.
There is a famous saying, “Schaffa, schaffa, Hüsle bua!” which means translated into English “Work and do not stop working until you can build a house and get a family”. In these past two months, I got the feeling that people on this Island keep things way more chilled than we do.
On the other hand, in general, Madeira is also Europe/EU, which means we suffer from the same problems here and everywhere in the EU. For example in Austria these days a lot of the people move from being open to new things and new cultures, back to this stupid nationalist thinking.
I also got the image of Madeira having the same kind of problem for example. But, I think this is not a bad thing because we are “together is this”, maybe this will help people realise that we are all the same, even if we might look a bit different, earn different amounts of money, believe in different things or have different interests.
My name is Raphael Johler, I was born and raised in Austria. A week ago I turned 19 years, which sounds like a lot to me, but in the end, I am just a kid with a bird’s nest of hair on his head.
Project co-financed by Erasmus+.
Raphael Johler
Students’ Union Austrian Volunteer
