Today was my first day at the IAEA headquarters in the Vienna International Centre (VIC). Basically, it was an exercise in paper creation and paper pushing. And I get to do it some more tomorrow! Yay! I had dressed in a suit for today, and boy, was I glad I did: the few people not in business dress stuck out like sore thumbs. It was fun to walk through the halls and hear many different languages. I also found out that I get 10 days off a year (kind of like statutory holidays): they range from the Austrian National Day to Christmas Day to Eid al Fitr. It's nice that they recognize more than one religion's holidays, even though the Christian ones still dominate.
I also discovered that there is a small office (computer lab, really) at headquarters for us staff coming in from Seibersdorf for the day. Oh yes, if you didn't know yet, my office will be at the Seibersdorf Laboratories site, about 30 km outside of Vienna. Getting there is a bit of an issue: there are two shuttle buses going from Vienna to Seibersdorf, but they follow very different routes through the city and only go once a day in each direction. The only other option is a lunch-time shuttle leaving from the VIC. The upside is that it will be difficult to just stay at the office for a coupleextra hours work. The downside is that if extra work is needed on weekends, I'll have to cart stuff home and then to the VIC.
So the commuting situation is not ideal, but what can you do. Actually, what I could do is buy a car and drive myself to work. The incentives are the commuting flexibility and the sweet deal I'd get on a new car (no federal tax and also duty-free). However, if I drove, I'd have to contend with traffic. Plus, within Vienna itself there is absolutely no point using a car, as there is very limited parking and a superb public transit system. So I'll give the public transit + shuttle bus option a try for a few weeks and then reevaluate.
The highlight of the day at HQ was seeing how big the commissary is - that's a duty-free store available to UN staff. It's big enough that it has several aisles, and even a separate section for luxury items. Perfume, gold, silk ties, anyone? Of course, there is a purchasing limit at the commissary, based on one's salary; so the more money you make, the more they bend the rules and allow you to purchase duty-free stuff...?
I also went to an Austria Bank (actual name, kind of like Scotia Bank) to set up an account. It always fascinates me how European countries can be so advanced in some technologies and not in others. In this case, I see that online banking will be a pain. For security purposes (i.e. in order to confirm that I am allowed to access my account), there is a complicated system involving numeric codes, the list of which is ON PAPER ONLY. For example, the online system will prompt me to enter the code starting with 41 and ending in 7. I'll have to look it up on the list and enter it to get access to my account. Really? An online system that relies on a piece of paper for security? Of course, once I have a cell phone, the system can send me a text message with the correct code to enter.
In fact, cell phones have a lot more uses here, up to and including paying parking meters. I keep getting asked for my Handy (cell phone) number, I seriously need to get one soon. After having looked online for a long time, I have determined 2 things:
1. Rates quoted for international calls/texts include 2 categories: EU countries, and other international countries (specifically Egypt and Turkey). Somehow it's really hard to find info on rates or inclusions/exclusions for communications to North America.
2. I really need to find an electronics store with a helpful, non-commission salesperson to walk me through the different options, including how basic landlines work, and what all those abbreviations are - the ones that are so pervasive (and probably obvious to residents) that no one bothers spelling them out! Confusing!
Must investigate both the Handys and the commissary in the next few days, when I have a bit more time and more comfortable shoes.
