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| Picture with my roommates |
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| It is Ball Season in Vienna. This is the TU Ball at Hofburg Palace. |
29 January 2011
Some pictures taken by Marliz
My roommate Marliz takes a lot of pictures, hence the lack of reason for me to repeat the task. Yesterday I got a bunch of them from her so now I can show you some of the regular activities going on in our household.
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| As you can see, most of our time is spent in the kitchen eating dinner and drinking wine out of our mismatched mugs and glasses. |
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| After the Music Workshop audition. Finally done! This is a Rococo music hall in our little IES center, which will be where all the performance/practicing activities take place. |
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| Making dinner again – see, I still have my German vocab cards in my hand! Even though I suck at German. |
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| Taking the U-Bahn to Prater Dom, a very large club in Vienna, not exactly my place, but at least I've seen it |
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| Exploring the city |
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| Ice skating at the Rathaus (City Hall), also my first time |
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| Marliz found it amusing that I would pick up and read Austrian newspaper on the U-Bahn. No, I cannot understand the German as well as I like, but at least I am trying. |
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| Leaving the apartment, heading to the TU Ball! Thank you Marliz for doing my hair and Kitza for helping me with makeup – I am useless when it comes to female specialties like these. :) |
23 January 2011
Downpoint
So far in Vienna I have been doing very well. Easily accepting differences and trying new things.
Today I am not feeling well, might be getting a cold. Talked to my sister for the first time after I left her place in Missoula. I also heard the news from Taiwan about my grandpa. He passed away today.
I suddenly feel so far away and exhausted and have no more energy to deal with my roommates, German homework, and every little things that is not perfect.
I know I have tried to avoid talking too much with my sister and family because I think that will make me think too much and possibly miss them... well, compared to my roommates, I really haven't been contacting the States, or Taiwan, that much at all. But now, the negative effect is really getting me. I cannot go to my 95 year-old grandpa's funeral, nor can my sister, nor my two cousins, who are in London now. It's Chinese New Year in ten days. I have never really minded being away for Chinese New Year, or at least I have been good at keeping myself busy enough to avoid thinking about it, and it's been six years since I have had a real Chinese New Year, but now...
I have to be strong.
Today I am not feeling well, might be getting a cold. Talked to my sister for the first time after I left her place in Missoula. I also heard the news from Taiwan about my grandpa. He passed away today.
I suddenly feel so far away and exhausted and have no more energy to deal with my roommates, German homework, and every little things that is not perfect.
I know I have tried to avoid talking too much with my sister and family because I think that will make me think too much and possibly miss them... well, compared to my roommates, I really haven't been contacting the States, or Taiwan, that much at all. But now, the negative effect is really getting me. I cannot go to my 95 year-old grandpa's funeral, nor can my sister, nor my two cousins, who are in London now. It's Chinese New Year in ten days. I have never really minded being away for Chinese New Year, or at least I have been good at keeping myself busy enough to avoid thinking about it, and it's been six years since I have had a real Chinese New Year, but now...
I have to be strong.
21 January 2011
End of the First Week in Wien
It is my first Freitag in Wien!! After our test, I went to a really decent wine tavern that was established in the 17th century (Haydn went there, of course!) with my German class (the wine was free because IES paid for it, I believe). I had a glass of Weisswein and now I am back at the institute typing on a German keyboard. I keep messing up because the y and z switch places on these keyboards. Too bad I can't figure out how to type ß! Oh, oh I found it! Weißwein. There! The test was, okay I know this is really lame, but, it was stressful. I got placed in Intermediate II German. This is a bit advanced for me and, like what normally happens in my life, I again find myself behind. Why am I always behind? My hypothesis is that I am just a special individual who cannot stick to one thing for more than about two years. This means I am always picking up new things to learn. This is why I am almost always the least experienced in whatever my current occupation happen to be. Like music. I had no intention of being a music major at the time I entered college. Somehow I enrolled in the first-year theory class and just went with it. I only started what is now my instrument, the bassoon, three semesters before I entered college. People ask me why I switched to the bassoon. Well, currently my standard answer is that my high school symphonic band lacked bassoonists and they offered to pay for my bassoon lessons until I graduated from high school. Flute lessons were even expensive for me, so I went with it. I could have said that I loved the bassoon and just think it's such a cool instrument and was more than happy to pick it up, but honestly, I had very very little knowledge of the bassoon before I committed to it. Anyway, I am just trying to show why I am always falling behind in most of my endeavors – I stop and pick up new things, like I stopped French and picked up German, stopped flute and picked up bassoon, see? I wouldn't say that I gave up, though. No, absolutely not. I am prepared to continue with French as soon as I find a chance.
But I see now that I was really going to talk about my experience in Wien so far, not about my frustrations, as I go on and on about falling behind. Here, I can make a (good?) transition: speaking of bassoon, I auditioned for Music Workshop on Wednesday. I have to say, I had honestly been worried about this required audition for more than a month. It totally dampened my spirits over winter break. I was always looking forward to Vienna, and then remembered that there is an audition. I was worried that I wouldn't be admitted, of course. But my other concern was that we had to play in front of all the music program students! I really believed that after the audition I will have no friends. NO FRIENDS! I always feel this way. This is why I almost never perform for a large audience (the more people heard me, the fewer potential friendships, see?). But after the audition, people still talk to me, and even tell me I did well (and of course I messed up here and there). It's unbelievable! Now I feel like a whole person – I feel like I can play what I can, be who I am, and still have friends. I never felt this way at Puget Sound. Ooops, now when I post this on the Puget Sound Adventures Abroad journal I will have to eliminate this part. But really, at Puget Sound, I probably never get a chance to perform. I did play at a noon recital, and so forth, but that was all for very small audiences. This audition, even though it is still supposed to be pretty casual and is designed to help us hear each other and start learning to work with each other, is perhaps my largest "performance" yet. So at Puget Sound, I always feel like I am hiding something. I want to learn to take off that mask here.
I am trying to make myself do a lot of things here in Vienna. I want to be less constrained in front of people. I want to be able to feel more relaxed when meeting new people and changing my environment. My biggest challenge is the people. On the other hand, I am fairly comfortable taking random adventures on my own, I am capable of reading maps, using various kinds of public transportation, and enjoying stumbling into unexpected things. I might say I have done plenty of that. But I do not know how to be with people. This means I sometimes toss myself in uncomfortable situations. This is what I think: whatever I am afraid of, be it meeting new people or what, I just need to toss myself into some heated oil like deep frying a piece of eggplant – or Schnitzel, since I am in Wien, but I pick eggplant because I am not fond of meat – and after a while I will come out form the pan and rid of that fear. Here am I still sizzling in the saucepan. Luckily, I have some very fun roommates who are not quiet at all. I am gonna learn something from them.
This first week of intensive German was, intense. Lots and lots of vocab to memorize. I want to know them, but I can also feel my brain shrinking. Next week we have tests almost everyday, oral test/presentation, essay, articles, und... was noch? I could have switched down a level, I suppose. It might seem very lame to be studying and worrying about school work. But think about it. My goal, one of my main goals, is to become better in German. Obviously I have to put some time and effort into it and this is my perfect chance to refine my language skills. I think it should be worthwhile. Although I am scared of next week. I could go see three operas next week (Stehplätze are cheap but we will have to go early and stand through the wait and the whole opera) with my roommates, ("where else can you go see three operas a week like this?"), on the other hand though, I am content to just live the Vienna life, like a regular resident of the city. I like walking down random alleys, going grocery shopping, sitting in parks, browsing in a bookstore, riding the bus and trains with other regular Viennese people, and maybe go see one opera next week. And of course, the intensive German things are going to keep me busy. This is actually this first time I have some downtime to reflect and write.
It snowed today. I don' know if it will snow more. I haven't seen Vienna in snow yet.
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| Deutschlandsberg, Steiermark. This is where we had our four-day orientation. |
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| Hike to the Castle Museum in Deutschlandsberg |
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| View from the Castle |
I am trying to make myself do a lot of things here in Vienna. I want to be less constrained in front of people. I want to be able to feel more relaxed when meeting new people and changing my environment. My biggest challenge is the people. On the other hand, I am fairly comfortable taking random adventures on my own, I am capable of reading maps, using various kinds of public transportation, and enjoying stumbling into unexpected things. I might say I have done plenty of that. But I do not know how to be with people. This means I sometimes toss myself in uncomfortable situations. This is what I think: whatever I am afraid of, be it meeting new people or what, I just need to toss myself into some heated oil like deep frying a piece of eggplant – or Schnitzel, since I am in Wien, but I pick eggplant because I am not fond of meat – and after a while I will come out form the pan and rid of that fear. Here am I still sizzling in the saucepan. Luckily, I have some very fun roommates who are not quiet at all. I am gonna learn something from them.
This first week of intensive German was, intense. Lots and lots of vocab to memorize. I want to know them, but I can also feel my brain shrinking. Next week we have tests almost everyday, oral test/presentation, essay, articles, und... was noch? I could have switched down a level, I suppose. It might seem very lame to be studying and worrying about school work. But think about it. My goal, one of my main goals, is to become better in German. Obviously I have to put some time and effort into it and this is my perfect chance to refine my language skills. I think it should be worthwhile. Although I am scared of next week. I could go see three operas next week (Stehplätze are cheap but we will have to go early and stand through the wait and the whole opera) with my roommates, ("where else can you go see three operas a week like this?"), on the other hand though, I am content to just live the Vienna life, like a regular resident of the city. I like walking down random alleys, going grocery shopping, sitting in parks, browsing in a bookstore, riding the bus and trains with other regular Viennese people, and maybe go see one opera next week. And of course, the intensive German things are going to keep me busy. This is actually this first time I have some downtime to reflect and write.
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| A study room at the little IES Center |
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| Kusthistorisches Museum. I went on a tour there with an art history prof. It was absolutely glorious. Will visit again. Hopefully I can get a free museum pass since I am taking Austrian Art and Architecture. I think it is otherwise pretty expensive to get in. |
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| Me sitting in the Stadtpark studying my verbs. Oh, there's Johann Strauss. |
15 January 2011
First Week
My whole voyage started at around 5 AM on Tuesday and I haven't seen Vienna yet! Tuesday morning, my sister was very gracious and made me 蛋餅 and drove me to the airport. It was yummy. : ) I just want to say, I feel very grateful for the hospitality and kindness I received during my stay at A & C's. I know I will miss Bandit and his loud snore, and I will miss watching Skins and Trueblood with them!
As planned, I spent my Tuesday traveling, and Wednesday I wandered around London. Unfortunately I did not get to see my cousins, because they were just way too busy! But I will be back in the spring so there's another chance for us to meet.
On Thursday morning, I again began my travel before daybreak. All the IES study abroad students met at the Vienna airport and then we were shipped off to Styria for a four-day orientation. Internet is a bit slow so I won't post more photos. It's been a very busy and exhausting week and we start German intensive on Monday. All's well here and I can't wait to see Vienna!
As planned, I spent my Tuesday traveling, and Wednesday I wandered around London. Unfortunately I did not get to see my cousins, because they were just way too busy! But I will be back in the spring so there's another chance for us to meet.
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| I got to see the sunrise on the plane! It was so peaceful. |
One day in London
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| Here's a bookstore alley that I walked into randomly! But it is has exactly the kind of rare books and antiquarian prints, maps, and books shops that I had in mind! Like Margaret's father's store (from The Thirteenth Tale)!!! In case you don't know already, this is want I want to do for my life. I will visit this place again when I go back to London in the spring. |
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| Royal Albert Hall |
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| Touristy London pictures! |
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| National Gallery! |
10 January 2011
Last Day in Missoula
I thought before embarking for Vienna, I ought to write a cheerful entry, talking about how excited I am for my big trip, what I look forward to, and all that jolly good stuff. But that is honestly not how I feel. So you are warned. If you just want to read about how excited I am, you are going to be disappointed and should just not go on.
Maybe it's just me, being a born worrier. I am quite convinced that a normal person being in my position would be able to handle the stress very well and would be merrily preparing for departure. But all I feel like doing now, and this is probably my default mood, is to retreat to my little corner and hide under a blanket. Yeah, I have gradually learned how weak my personality is.
I have also agreed to write for Puget Sound's online journal entitled Adventures Abroad during the course of my study abroad. I realized the hardest thing for me would probably be sending a positive message in my writing. When I am not conscious of my readers, I complain and talk about depressing things too much. Then when I realize that, I have to go back and edit out the depressing elements, so as to make the whole thing sound healthier.
Having 20½ years of experience in flying internationally, I have grown from always looking forward to it, loving it, to now detesting everything about flying, airports, customs and security, and even to being absolutely terrified of them. What am I terrified about? Well, I am not that worried about the plane crashing or anything like that. What I think of are carrying my twenty-plus-pound bassoon, and laptop, etc – I have to move fast at the security to get everything on the belt when it's my turn, and sometimes if I was too polite and boarded the plane towards the end, there's not enough space in the overhead compartment for my bassoon... let's not get into all the potential problems there – and I think of the travel arrangements I have to make, and how exhausted I will be. It has become more difficult for me to sleep and I have felt sick on the plane way more frequently during my more recent trips... anyway, moral of the story: I do not like flying. Especially when I know I won't have a chance to get much rest afterward!
I have been having bad dreams about my journey for a few days now. Yes, I have already gone to the airport – with something gone wrong – several times in my dreams. And in reality, my bags aren't even packed yet! Oh, I did have a different dream yesterday. It was about me having to do a very bizarre stage setup for Wind Ensemble right when they (or should it be we?) are supposed to perform, and I could never get the setup right no matter how hard I tried! Wind Ensemble is just starting their tour in Colorado, by the way. I am not going because I am leaving in a day, obviously. And I will not be working at the Schnee (I mean Schneebeck Concert Hall) in the next eight months. See, that's how messed up my mind is!
One of the other things standing in my way that is adding to my stress is the audition I have to do in front of all music program students (all students are required to be present). Apparently it is not supposed to be a big deal, but still. I just want to say, it was never my intention to study music during my study abroad. Instead, I have always wanted to study abroad to learn a foreign language and to learn about the culture. Originally, I was in the Vienna European Culture and Society program, but then things with my degree requirements got complicated and I end up having to do quite a bit of music. I am never much of a performer, nor am I an experienced one, and I don't want my bassoon performance to be what people think of when they see me. Cause that is not me, if you know what I mean. (I always feel like I can make better friends without them knowing what my major is in the beginning, because if that's what they learn about me first, that becomes how they define me, almost, and that would just be all wrong).
I know I am probably just being ridiculous and giving myself a hard time. It is also almost 4 am in the morning and here I am writing about how worried I am. On the last day of my stay in Missoula, I will meet a teacher/friend in the morning, I will also visit the post office and mail three of my internship applications (I never feel satisfied with my cover letter, either) and a package, do laundry, pack, run errands, make some phone calls, and just go down my list. The good news is, I saw Book Exchange has Under the Net by Iris Murdoch today (it didn't have it when I checked a couple days ago) and I want to pick it up for my plane ride. I love used books; I almost only buy used books!
Alright, last day in Missoula: 10º F (–12º C), snowing...
Maybe it's just me, being a born worrier. I am quite convinced that a normal person being in my position would be able to handle the stress very well and would be merrily preparing for departure. But all I feel like doing now, and this is probably my default mood, is to retreat to my little corner and hide under a blanket. Yeah, I have gradually learned how weak my personality is.
I have also agreed to write for Puget Sound's online journal entitled Adventures Abroad during the course of my study abroad. I realized the hardest thing for me would probably be sending a positive message in my writing. When I am not conscious of my readers, I complain and talk about depressing things too much. Then when I realize that, I have to go back and edit out the depressing elements, so as to make the whole thing sound healthier.
Having 20½ years of experience in flying internationally, I have grown from always looking forward to it, loving it, to now detesting everything about flying, airports, customs and security, and even to being absolutely terrified of them. What am I terrified about? Well, I am not that worried about the plane crashing or anything like that. What I think of are carrying my twenty-plus-pound bassoon, and laptop, etc – I have to move fast at the security to get everything on the belt when it's my turn, and sometimes if I was too polite and boarded the plane towards the end, there's not enough space in the overhead compartment for my bassoon... let's not get into all the potential problems there – and I think of the travel arrangements I have to make, and how exhausted I will be. It has become more difficult for me to sleep and I have felt sick on the plane way more frequently during my more recent trips... anyway, moral of the story: I do not like flying. Especially when I know I won't have a chance to get much rest afterward!
I have been having bad dreams about my journey for a few days now. Yes, I have already gone to the airport – with something gone wrong – several times in my dreams. And in reality, my bags aren't even packed yet! Oh, I did have a different dream yesterday. It was about me having to do a very bizarre stage setup for Wind Ensemble right when they (or should it be we?) are supposed to perform, and I could never get the setup right no matter how hard I tried! Wind Ensemble is just starting their tour in Colorado, by the way. I am not going because I am leaving in a day, obviously. And I will not be working at the Schnee (I mean Schneebeck Concert Hall) in the next eight months. See, that's how messed up my mind is!
One of the other things standing in my way that is adding to my stress is the audition I have to do in front of all music program students (all students are required to be present). Apparently it is not supposed to be a big deal, but still. I just want to say, it was never my intention to study music during my study abroad. Instead, I have always wanted to study abroad to learn a foreign language and to learn about the culture. Originally, I was in the Vienna European Culture and Society program, but then things with my degree requirements got complicated and I end up having to do quite a bit of music. I am never much of a performer, nor am I an experienced one, and I don't want my bassoon performance to be what people think of when they see me. Cause that is not me, if you know what I mean. (I always feel like I can make better friends without them knowing what my major is in the beginning, because if that's what they learn about me first, that becomes how they define me, almost, and that would just be all wrong).
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| Break Espresso in downtown Missoula. I hung out there with a friend for about three hours yesterday afternoon. It is my favorite café. There is no coffee shop in Tacoma that can compare with the Break. |
Alright, last day in Missoula: 10º F (–12º C), snowing...
06 January 2011
Bassoon Reed Making
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| Blanks: two made with the boiling method and three with the rubber-band method (I don't really know what it's called) |
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| A small part of my reed making tools and canes: gauged and shaped cane, gauged, shaped, and profiled cane, knife, mandrel, pliers, brass wire, cutting block, thread, and easel |
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| Wrapped reeds, but not finished yet! There's still cutting the tip off, scraping, crowing and playing on the reed, then cut tip of again, redo everything, and finally give up and smash it against the sharp corner of a music stand! What a depressing process! I mean, I sometimes make reeds that work... |
02 January 2011
Where I will be living and other details
I got my housing assignment one or two weeks ago. I was honestly surprised by how excited it made me. Of course an Austrian address means almost nothing to me, but having an apartment makes everything seem so real. Until a few weeks ago, I could still foresee a dozen different changes that can stand in the way of my study abroad plan – I even really seriously considered changing my major completely (I mean, as opposed to, say, changing it from music business to music). But today, I dropped all my home university courses for the spring semester, which means I better be going!
Okay, back to the housing announcement. I don't know a whole lot about the neighborhood really. I will be living in an apartment with three other IES students. I Google-mapped it, so I know it is in Landstraße, the third district of Vienna. I just know that is where the famous expressionist landmark Hundertwasserhaus is located.
This is what my travel itinerary and upcoming semester looks like:
11 January Depart from Missoula at 7 am, layover at Seattle/Tacoma, then fly to Chicago O'Hare, and arrive in London at around 7 am on 12 January. Then I will meet up with my uncle and his family for a little bit, and leave London the next morning (13 January).
13 January Arrival
17 Jan – 4 Feb German intensive program
5 – 13 February Post intensive break
19 – 25 March Midterms
16 – 25 April Easter Break
13 – 20 May Final Exams
Currently I am working on putting together some internship applications. I want to apply for an intern position in Taipei too, so I have to write my résumé and an autobiography (I know, it sounds rather odd to me too, but it's typical in Taiwan for employers to ask for autobiographies – and head-shot photos – from job applicants, and I am trying to keep an open mind). I have the least idea in the world on how to write these things, in Chinese! Now, I can converse in Mandarin easily, probably even better than in English, but I can write and speak formally better in English. I also got all my job search trainings/workshops in the States starting from high school, but I have never seen an autobiography sample until I Googled it just now. I want to be a world traveler and a "global resident", so I have to be able to apply for jobs in different countries without a problem. I have also had a little lesson on how to write a German résumé. It is not all just about knowing the language. I find a whole lot of cultural values embodied in a sample/ideal autobiography. I found a piece of advice on the internet that says "強調優點但不炫耀" ("emphasize your merit but don't show off") – this is such a dangerous piece of advice! It hardly tells you what to do. I wonder about the boundary between modesty and arrogance in different cultures... the boundary can shift a lot from an American society to a Chinese one and I sort of learned it the hard way.
As I am filling out internship applications, I started thinking about getting an art minor instead of graduating early again. But we'll see if it's worth it.
I am crossing off my to-do list and I scrambled and made up a summer plan, or a list of options. Seeing people who I haven't seen in a long time and being asked "where are you going to be this summer?" suddenly make me feel the need to come up with a plan, at least a very very rough one. So here is my list of options:
1) Be a bum (my top choice, needless to say)
2) Summer research, if I can get a grant
3) Make improving my German or French as an excuse and linger in Europe, if I have the budget
4) Library, archival, curatorial, or conservation internship, or something of that sort
5) Summer job, probably in Tacoma
6) Summer class if I can afford it
The problem is, even though I say they are my options, they really are not. It all depends on whether I have the money, whether I land a job or an internship, and such and such.
Okay, back to the housing announcement. I don't know a whole lot about the neighborhood really. I will be living in an apartment with three other IES students. I Google-mapped it, so I know it is in Landstraße, the third district of Vienna. I just know that is where the famous expressionist landmark Hundertwasserhaus is located.
This is what my travel itinerary and upcoming semester looks like:
11 January Depart from Missoula at 7 am, layover at Seattle/Tacoma, then fly to Chicago O'Hare, and arrive in London at around 7 am on 12 January. Then I will meet up with my uncle and his family for a little bit, and leave London the next morning (13 January).
13 January Arrival
17 Jan – 4 Feb German intensive program
5 – 13 February Post intensive break
19 – 25 March Midterms
16 – 25 April Easter Break
13 – 20 May Final Exams
Currently I am working on putting together some internship applications. I want to apply for an intern position in Taipei too, so I have to write my résumé and an autobiography (I know, it sounds rather odd to me too, but it's typical in Taiwan for employers to ask for autobiographies – and head-shot photos – from job applicants, and I am trying to keep an open mind). I have the least idea in the world on how to write these things, in Chinese! Now, I can converse in Mandarin easily, probably even better than in English, but I can write and speak formally better in English. I also got all my job search trainings/workshops in the States starting from high school, but I have never seen an autobiography sample until I Googled it just now. I want to be a world traveler and a "global resident", so I have to be able to apply for jobs in different countries without a problem. I have also had a little lesson on how to write a German résumé. It is not all just about knowing the language. I find a whole lot of cultural values embodied in a sample/ideal autobiography. I found a piece of advice on the internet that says "強調優點但不炫耀" ("emphasize your merit but don't show off") – this is such a dangerous piece of advice! It hardly tells you what to do. I wonder about the boundary between modesty and arrogance in different cultures... the boundary can shift a lot from an American society to a Chinese one and I sort of learned it the hard way.
As I am filling out internship applications, I started thinking about getting an art minor instead of graduating early again. But we'll see if it's worth it.
I am crossing off my to-do list and I scrambled and made up a summer plan, or a list of options. Seeing people who I haven't seen in a long time and being asked "where are you going to be this summer?" suddenly make me feel the need to come up with a plan, at least a very very rough one. So here is my list of options:
1) Be a bum (my top choice, needless to say)
2) Summer research, if I can get a grant
3) Make improving my German or French as an excuse and linger in Europe, if I have the budget
4) Library, archival, curatorial, or conservation internship, or something of that sort
5) Summer job, probably in Tacoma
6) Summer class if I can afford it
The problem is, even though I say they are my options, they really are not. It all depends on whether I have the money, whether I land a job or an internship, and such and such.
01 January 2011
Knitting
| I knitted two hats so far. Actually I knitted three, but I ripped out the first one because I didn't like it – it looked too boring. |
I was actually not planning on knitting this winter. I left all my needles, yarns, and unfinished projects in Taipei at my parents' place. It all started when my sister gave me a Joseph's Coat gift certificate for Christmas. For those of you who do not live in Missoula, Joseph's Coat is a beautiful little local yarn shop located at the Hip Strip in downtown Missoula. I always love going there, but I can rarely afford the high quality yarns they carry. But this time, I went in with a gift certificate! While I usually like to save gift certificates, I am uncertain when my next visit to Missoula will be, so I just went ahead and bought some wool. I decided to make hats because they are fast and easy. And I can improvise as I go, ripping out whatever I do not like without shedding a tear. I should also say that I am no where near being a highly skilled, hard-core knitter. I just recently figured out how to knit with two colors and was excited to try it out. I made up my own pattern/motifs as I went and had lots of fun with it. I liked deciding what to knit next after finishing a round.
I am trying to decide how to best make use of my last ten days in the States before I leave for Vienna. It suddenly occurred to me that I should probably make some summer plans, at least apply to some summer internships while I have time. I really have almost no idea what I want to do for this summer. I don't even really know when I want to leave Europe after my study abroad ends. But I feel like I should make some effort to at least send some internship applications this year, and maybe apply for summer research grant as well. If I am to do an internship, it should ideally be one in library (preferably special collection), cataloging, museum, archives, that sort of thing, but I have doubts in what I can do with an in-progress music major. I think I should try to whip up an application in Chinese and apply to the National Palace Museum in Taipei, too. It would be amazing if I can get it!
I am cooking with a friend later today. I am actually quite looking forward to it. She said she got a new cook book for Christmas so we are going to look at it and decide what to make!
Missoula: 1º F, sunny blue sky
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