This is my very first time blogging. I will be spending the next five months or so in Vienna for study abroad, so I thought it would be a good idea to document this experience through a blog.
I am very excited and nervous at the same time. It is my first time in Europe so I hardly know what to expect. What I know is that I am eager for a change. In the last five semesters at University of Puget Sound, I have changed my direction many times, and I feel I have made many mistakes, including decisions on my major field of study. I found myself losing my appetite for learning and for many other things I used to be interested in. I hope to maybe regain my old interests or discover new ones in a complete strange city. I hope to get better at German and learn about Austrian and Central European culture, art, architecture, literature, and much much more. On the other hand, I do not want to have any expectations – I want to free myself from all of that and just be able to go out and appreciate whatever I run into. I want to travel around and get lost.
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| Clark Fork River in Missoula, Montana |
Meanwhile, I am staying at my sister's in Missoula, Montana for the holidays. This means I have lots of time on my hands and almost complete control over how I spend it. Winter in Missoula is very cold, almost colder than I remembered. I like to monitor the whether, and I almost have to. I mean, I find it occupying my thoughts because I am constantly cold and because it determines whether I want to, or am able to, go out or not. As of right now, it is 10º F outside. Let's see... it is 29º in Tacoma, 21º in Vienna, 57º in Taipei, 36º in Copenhagen, and 41º in London at the moment (I look at the temperature in Copenhagen for no significant reason; it's fun. And London... well, I will spend one day there before I get to Vienna, so I guess that is a sufficient reason). I amuse myself thinking that by having lived in Missoula, I can never be scared of the cold almost anywhere else I go. Oh, and I shouldn't fret about the heat either, as it gets
pretty hot in Taipei in the summer. My point is, if there is one, that is, this is a cold, gray, quiet, and lonesome time before the big adventure, and I am patiently waiting for my departure...
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| I made some cookies for Christmas: Rosenmunnar, Scandinavian almond bar, and honey lace crisps. Honestly, I simply decide what to make based on two things: the name and the appearance. |
