The Night Before...
July 30: Sunday
'Twas the night before leaving,
And all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring,
Except me. See, I'm wondering if I'm the only one who waited until the eleventh hour to start packing. Or rather, to finish packing. See, I started packing several days ago, at a rate of half a sock per hour. Not enough. There was a lot of stuff left by the night of Sunday the 30th of July. Books and clothes and medical things. Toothpaste and toothbrush and tooth-grinding.
But I believe - strongly, firmly, stupidly - that everything works out in the end. And being a little late on packing is hardly the end of the world. There are enough pressures on the outside; I don't need more on the inside. So yeah, I may realize that I've forgotten a thing or two, while halfway across the Atlantic. And I may have not looked over the map of the city as well as I could have (should have). But you know what I need? A swift kick in the butt, and a merry continuance on my way.
Why Vienna, Austria?
Well, for starters, I'm half-German (though my spoken German is more like one-quarter coherent). I'm also a history major at UC Davis, and a lifelong lover of history. History runs very deep in Europe - particularly in some of these grand, old cities. The program is called "Vienna: Crossroads of Europe" for a reason, after all.
Now, that being said, Vienna and Austria itself have never grabbed my focus in the same way that Germany proper, or, say, England or Russia or Japan have. To me, it's the fabled Home of the Hapsburgs, and the previous capital of the old Holy Roman Empire, and a pretty-in-the-pictures place, but when it comes to hard history, I'm pretty ignorant even in the books-smarts category. And I find this exciting. A little intimidating, sure, but exciting.
Right: Over the last week were my last moments with my parents, my friends, my roommates, my girlfriend, and everyone else I knew who's still stuck in California. Many tears were shed in dread of my departure.
I'd say that I'm purposefully neglecting sleep so that I can be tired tomorrow, sleep during the flight, and achieve ideal Vienna-timezone-state; in reality, though, it's because, as I mentioned above, I put off packing. Such is life.
Left:My health clearance picture. But just look at me. More like DEATH clearance picture. AHAHAHAHA. Okay, I'm sorry. I'll stop.
(I won't stop).
