Vorort / The Suburb

As an American living in a small town in Austria, this work has evolved over the past two years to become about my own conflicting emotions tied to always feeling like an outsider in a small town.

Their routines are like clockwork. Every Sunday at 7:30 am, Gottfried makes his way to the local bakery to buy fresh bread. Hannah, my oldest neighbor, takes her daily walk at precisely 4 pm. Arno, the hunter, is out in the woods with his hound by 5 am at the latest. When I first moved to this small town, I got to know my neighbors through the rhythm of their everyday lives.

The repetition of their daily lives creates a sense of familiarity. But as an American expat living in Austria for many years, I am both a part of this world and apart from it. This book began as an attempt to bridge the gap between myself and my neighbors. But over the past two years, it has evolved to focus more on my own mixed emotions about feeling like an outsider in a small town.