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.
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