"Austrian Kiwi"
A New Zealander holds up a mirror to the people of Salzburg
Jonathan Balchin, known online and on social media platforms as "The Austrian Kiwi", inspires thousands with his sketches - but he doesn't see himself as a star.
I'm not a star and I don't think I'm funny either." Jonathan Balchin (26) aka "Austrian Kiwi" is modest, the numbers speak for themselves: 574,000 people follow "Jonny" on Instagram as he pokes fun at Salzburg's peculiarities in his short videos. With his humor and New Zealand accent, he strikes a nerve and delights those his videos are about. They are about the Salzburgers' love of drinking or how an entire conversation can be conducted with just a differently accented "Oida".
The naive New Zealander
He slips into the role of the naive New Zealander in rural Salzburg, a foreigner in the Austrian authorities or desperately trying to find the right article with the right case. "Jonny holds up a mirror to the people of Salzburg," says his girlfriend Maria Padinger (25). "He is never insulting or accusatory."
The video idea came about in 2019 as a result of culture shock and "too much time" when he moved to Straßwalchen for his girlfriend. They met on a trip to Cambodia. Padinger returned home, Balchin followed her. "When I arrived, I was alone with Maria's family - without a word of German." He applied for jobs, helped around the house and milked the cows on the farm. "I just didn't leave," says Jonny with a grin. And turned the differences and idiosyncrasies into a business.
"Nine out of ten experiences are good"
Calls to the authorities in particular drove beads of sweat down his forehead. "As soon as someone hears my accent, the mood changes," says Balchin. "On the other side of the phone, they pretended not to hear me. Then it went beep-beep..." He also processed this in a video. "Nine out of ten of my experiences are good, but one bad one can ruin your whole day," he admits.
He wants people to put themselves in other people's shoes. He wants to contribute to this - and with his humor and easy-going manner, he not only makes the people of Salzburg laugh.
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