Sarina - Crossing limits on various levels

Mirror of my world 

My childhood was picturesque in many ways. I grew up in my familys' own house with a big garden, a pool that I learned to swim in, swings on the walnut tree, bunnies and guinea pigs as pets, two older brothers and my grandparents and godpartners next door. We spoke high German at home as well as the Tranyslvanian Saxon dialect, I spent a lot of time outdoors, learned to climb trees, read adventure books and animal stories, put up horse posters in my room and spent my summers on one of the most beautiful austrian lakes. I learned to dance when I was in kindergarten, and according to my mum, I was a noticeable kid because I always asked waaaay too many questions and wanted to know everything about everything. (Whoever is in the same uni class as I am these days, such as my interviewee, will notice that not a lot has changed since then.) 

I liked singing along to songs even if I didn't know the language they were written in. Before I was tall enough to reach the work surface, I helped my granny and aunt,  to bake christmas cookies and cut veggies for soup, standing on a stool. I got scolded in elementary school once because I walked around class whistling and simply couldn't understand why so much happiness wouldn't be allowed. 

"The wild chickens" (Book and movie series in German) had a strong influence on me before I turned 10. About family events I can remember mostly that there always were very emotional and very political discussions. It seems that I got used to that at one point though, since, when my dad told me once that "Talking is silver but silence is gold", I replied that I liked silver jewellery way better anyways. 

If I should sum up my childhood, I need to think about our environment and my parents' house, about TV shows on Saturday night, about campfires in the yard, about summer parties with friends, about New Years' and my Dad who is showing me the glittering rockets which he is about to shoot. About the expectant Sunday mornings when my parents had gone to a dance the night before and had brought raffle prices. About Advent celebrations, fresh apple cake and kind hugs. I think about the playground in our street, about laughing till it hurts and about fighting over the last dumpling or the last cup of coffee. Some things seem to never change, even though life is now not all that simple as it used to feel once. 

SARINA - Crossing limits on various levels

Sarina Raphaela Wittmann got her first given name because her father read it in a book and thought of it as extraordinarily fitting for his first daughter. I don't know this because the girl I am presenting to you today would've told me about it during our online interview, but because I heard so myself in her house from her own father. You're about to get to know one of the most important people in my life. I thought I knew so much about her already, but while talking, she has surprised me once again, like so many times before. 

Sarina likes dancing in front of the mirror and only wants what's best for everybody. She was able to gain work experience in more countries of this world than many 23 year olds. As a teenager, she ordered food at McDonald’s in French when the store location allowed for that. She doesn't love decisions, which is why she does not tell me straightforward which additional languages she is planning on learning. Right now, Sarina speaks 6 languages and is learning two additional ones. She lives on german territory but also considers Austria as her home, even though our Pretzels can't compare with theirs.

At the time of our interview she is already unable to cross the austrian border because of the lockdown. As a regular border crosser since her childhood days, Sarina feels very connected to Austria. To her, Salzburg is the city where she has had a home since she was small. When asked about her favourite place around here, she tells me that it is the top of Gaisberg Mountain, situated on austrian territory. A lot of times she cannot distinguish between the one or the other nation. Of course there are jokes about eachother, she tells me with a smile. To conclude the nationality question she states: "Although I grew up in Germany, Austria never seemed foreign to me."

Growing up, that meant a small village in Bavaria for Sarina. Until she turned 10, she lived in what was an idyllic paradise. Everybody knew eachother, kids could play alone on the streets, in the fields and  the woods, nothing could've happened there. She tells me that she had a lot of freedom there and that some kids her age lived on her street. Therefore, I am not surprised when she answers my question about her childhood associations with "joy, play and family". 

A lot of enthusiasm is also sparked in Sarina when she smells roasted chestnuts, which take her back to her childhood home immediately.

Some mindsets have also changed in the course of her life. One of them is the fact that it used to be easier to impress Sarina. Horse owners used to have a huge advantage here, she confesses to me, laughing. Today you need to radiate authenticity to fascinate her. People with a strong believe in a cause that they work for impress Sarina. 

Concerning her exterior the young lady has gone through some changes too. When she was still in high school, she wanted to look average, straightened her naturally wavy hair every day. Nowadays Sarina is known almost exclusively with curls, which is why she has been pretty much undercover in town looking like she does on the photos. Reflecting on her youth she says that you should not think that much about what others think of you. You should be brave enough to be authentic. And to all the curly heads out there: Don't straighten your hair that often! :) 

You can't write about Sarina without mencioning other countries or cultures. When she was a baby, she already spent summers on a greek island, where she had "adoptive grandparents" who saw her as a family member. In her year abroad she slept in a hammock for a couple months and worked on an italian island. There's no language in the world that she would not learn for some reason because she likes learning them related to travel and other people. "I am the same person in every language, but different personality aspects show in different ways", is her answer when I ask her if the language she speaks in influences her acts. Sarina explains to me that languages give her the feeling of being able to meet and get to know people on a different level. She wants to travel around the world with the love of her life.  A con of all this internationality, which she tells me smirklingly: Sometimes she remembers jokes in the wrong language. 

In the beginning of this text I mentioned that I will present somebody who only wants what's best for all of us. Sarina tells me that as a daily goal, she wants to meet everybody with a smile and to brighten someone elses day. She states that she gets to know others with a positive mindset and that she walks up to them with good expectations. Sarina wants to give other people the chance to be themselves, no matter who they are. She tries to ban superficiality from her thoughts as far as that is possible. Everybody has a story that you don't know about and is fighting battles we know nothing about, she explains. Because of that, everybody deserves a chance. 

Finally she gives us something to think about. Sarina says that a lot of people are privileged and that we can give back to others who are not as fortunate. It's always possible to do good even if you think you don't have a lot of possibilities. She tells me that everyday, we have the chance  to decide what we want to do with what is given to us and how we want to change the world. 

Sarina explains that a lot of times, this comes by easier than you would think. Small acts can change others lives for the better. As an example, she tells me that she got on a wrong bus in Colombia, lost and all alone, without a place to stay on her destiny. She didn't know where to go, lonely and at night, when the bus driver told her to gather her things. He had talked to a colleague who was on the way to her destiny in the opposite direction. Without further ado, the driver stopped, crossed the highway with her and waited until the other bus had reached her. Before she could even thank him, he ran back to his bus full of passengers which was waiting on the other side of the road. 

This experience has shaped her, which is why she tells all of us: Be kind. 

At the beginning of this text, I mentioned that my interviewee surprised me, even though I knew a great deal about her beforehand. The story about the bus driver, on the other hand, was new to me, and it fascinated me that I, in another part of the world, at about the same time period, but before we both knew each other, had experienced something similar. In the northern U.S., on my way to Nashville, Tennessee, I had missed a bus during my au pair year and had to cope alone in a strange train station until the next bus left in the middle of the night. After initial despair, I learned a lesson: many strangers were willing to help me, I was not alone. Since then, I carry a motto in my heart: Practice random acts of kindness. 

Let me know which of Sarinas personality aspects you did not expect! I am excited to get to know something about YOUR life too. Good talks are balm for our souls. 

Hanna